GAMERTIMES

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST.
YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

So, it’s been a month since Horizon Forbidden West came out, and people seem to be enjoying the game. Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to Zero Dawn and quite frankly Forbidden West kinda feels the same as Zero Dawn. Of Course, they made vast improvements to Forbidden West, like underwater swimming, letting players fly in the sky through the Sunwing machine, and improvements in facial animation and character movements when they have a conversation instead of just standing and talking.

The game just looks visually so stunning, I mean, I could just get lost in those environments forever. Never really get tired of it at all. However, players who enjoyed Zero Dawn, have less chance of not enjoying the Forbidden West. The reason for that is the developers made sure the game looks identical to the first one and that players don’t end up disliking the game. For example, you’ve to climb the Tallnecks to reveal the whole map of the game of that particular section. You can hide in the tall grasses to take on the machines or hide from the machines. There is so much to talk about as we begin with this review of Horizon Forbidden West.

Let’s begin the review by talking about the game’s menu. They made fairly slight changes to the game’s menu by removing the crafting tab from the menu and letting players modify weapons or craft tools from the inventory section which should have been done in the first game, but you know a change is always welcome. The rest of the menu remains the same no changes there.

So, the game takes place six months after the events of the first game, only this time Aloy is traveling far more west to prevent the world from extinction again. A red plant which I think is called Blight is spreading rapidly across the country killing the other plants which could lead to starvation and then extinction if a solution is not found sooner. Aloy goes searching for the backup of GAIA before the previous one was taken over by HADES. Her search takes her to the Forbidden West, an unexplored region that’s home to the Tenakth tribe.

I like how Aloy feels all grown up and is now more eager or obsessed to save the world from extinction and is willing to do anything and everything possible to make sure it doesn’t end up to a point where there is no point of return. The new map is obviously big and impressive, I mean there is so much cover in the game, it would take you so much time to complete the whole map but at the same time, keeping you engaged in the game and does a great job in that.

Just like in the previous game, there are various camps to visit to save your progress, and also you can fast travel from the camp for free, so a fast travel pack is not needed at all. I mean you could still fast travel without going to camps to fast travel but there are literally an infinite number of camps out there, you’ll probably don’t need a fast travel pack to travel.

Then there are so many machines sites like the previous game with the addition of fewer new machines like Clawstrider, Bristleback, Slitherfang, Sunwing, Dreadwing, etc. Machines from the Frozen Wilds Fireclaw and Frostclaw are also in the game which is a great thing. There is a new thing in the game, The Arena, where you’ve to fight the machines and defeat them in the required time to earn medals. You can exchange those medals for legendary weapons as they will be very useful near the end of the campaign.

The Hunting Grounds returns in this game to offer combat training to Aloy which this time I felt a little easier when comparing to the previous game, just to let you guys know. Then there are Melee Pits where you fight under certain conditions to complete the challenge. After completing the 15 Melee Pits challenges (4 Melee Pits in different tribes), you fight “The Enduring” and try to defeat her.

The writing for new and returning characters has been done so well or you could say there is an improvement in the writing of supporting games when compared to the previous game. Varl and Erend who are familiar friends of Aloy join her on the mission of saving the world. The new characters Zo and Kotallo are fantastic as well. The character models already look very human and it grows on you as you continue to play the game.

Talking about the conversations with other NPCs, they have improved so much. In the past game where the characters just stand and talk and the camera is focused on their faces with not much movement while conversing, they improvised that and now it’s so much better and it feels livelier, except they need to really fix that poor lip-sync. The dialogues are something and the character’s lip-sync is just not properly there.

The weapons of the game I would just say are somewhat killer. I mean there is this legendary weapon called “Skykiller” and it’s my favorite so far. I love it. With the help of that weapon, I was able to takedown Specter Prime (the Final Boss of the game), in like two or three spike throws. It’s just too powerful in my opinion. Then there is another legendary weapon Forgefall which fires Precision arrows that have the most impact damage when compared to other weapons with precision arrows. It also has Plasma Precision Arrows which once shot give a short time to the enemies or machines before it plasma blasts on them.

Aloy’s Spear I should say is not like the last game. The damage it used to have on the enemies and the machines is just not comparable to this game. The spear is just best to use on the rebels and not the machines as by the time the resonator charges you are already interrupted a gazillion times by the machines. The Resonator Damage on the machine is also not that much when compared to previous game damage on both the machines and rebels without the resonator.

Okay, so the visuals of the game are just incredible. The setting of the game which is in snowy mountains, desert regions, the jungle, and magnificent shorelines is just so gorgeous and glorious at the same time. The view is just so stellar, I mean I could just explore the game without the need to do main quests or side quests, just free-roam in the open world. The details in the game are really cool to look at. There are tribes in the forbidden west that are kind of recognizable with their wonderful outfits and body paints.

There are 4 cauldrons where you can learn the overrides of the machines. Some are broken, you can craft the overrides using the Fabricator that is in The Base. Then there is a new thing called Gauntlet Runs where you race against other people through machines. Then there is a range of collectibles and puzzles to find and solve.

There is a grappling hook called Pullcaster, which is used for pulling crates, vents, and debris, also used while climbing, and using it to get on your machine mid-air like Sunwing. The Glider helps you to not take damage if you’re falling or maybe jumping from big heights to get the trophy.

Talking about the performance of the game, there are two modes: Fidelity and Performance. In Fidelity mode, the game runs at native 4K 30FPS with no sacrifices on the pixels and the details to look out for and of course, the visuals are too much to handle. It’s just incredible. Then there is the performance mode which runs at 4K 60FPS with the pixels taking a noticeable hit.

In the end, Horizon Forbidden West is a vast improvement over Zero Dawn. The conversations between the characters are so good, the gameplay is really fun, the visuals are just so stellar, and the game now feels more enhanced than ever. Guerrilla Games really used the feedback they got for the last game and utilized it here very well. Hats Off!

“HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST IS FUN TO PLAY THANKS TO THE IMPROVEMENTS STUDIO MADE TO THE GAME, MAKING IT MORE ENJOYABLE TO PLAY, MESS AROUND AND JUST ENJOY THE VISUALS OF THE GAME. STELLAR!”