HORIZON FOBIDDEN WEST [2022] PS5 REVIEW

🏆  MASTERPIECE  🏆

The positive:

💗 It is exactly what I wanted this sequel to be

💗 Surprising narrative twists to an already compelling story

💗 Great variety of enemies and sandbox-based encounters

💗 The addition of swimming adds enhanced depth to the world exploration

💗 New upgrade system improves the already rewarding gameplay loop

💗 Combat with machines feels as fantastic as ever

💗 Graphics look amazing in 4K/60FPS even surpassing ZD

💗 It's a world you want to spend time in, and like Aloy, will want to protect at all costs. 

The negative:

👎 A girl fighting robotic dinosaurs armed with a single bow still feels wrong

👎 Phenomenal cast of gigantic characters doesn’t get enough screen time

👎 Platforming feels clunky sometimes & some elements are overcomplicated

👎 The new threat introduced at the end is not properly executed and feels out of place

Horizon Forbidden West was released in 2022 as a Playstation exclusive and direct follow-up of Zero Dawn. Guerrilla strikes again with an intense blend of both fast-paced combat and tense stealth sections. With small improvements to the open-world loot & craft formula, it delivers an improved overall experience upon its predecessor. The real achievement, however, is in Forbidden West’s characters. While the scale and visuals never cease to amaze, the lasting impact is Aloy’s human story about reconnecting with what is important in life.

A BRAVE NEW WORLD

In Horizon Zero Dawn, we see Aloy go from being an outcast of the Nora tribe to a world Savior. The script was a masterclass on how to constantly attack the characters with exposition to get the plot moving, with a compelling arc where we find Aloy and her goals completely changed at the end. 

Forbidden West reveals a new path into California, on her quest to find a solution to the Blight, Aloy is forced to travel to a distant land. The blight is a red plague that is sweeping through the world's wildlife and foliage alike, placing the entire planet's ecosystem at risk. This land has been called the Forbidden West by the Carja due to the violent Tenakth Tribe occupying the region. But she is not alone in this journey, Varl and Erend, her two companions from the first adventure are along for the ride, with other curious and fascinating allies that you will pick along the way like Zo and Kotallo. 

Aloy remains a likeable and fascinating protagonist, she changed a lot with this newfound knowledge of the old world making her increasingly cynical about the tribal beliefs, traditions, and trivial conflicts of the many people she encounters. What I love about her is how she always shows empathy to others despite her being on a whole different level of comprehension of the world around her. She’s still happy to help out, but not without lecturing them about a more pressing issue that threatens the entire planet.

While the gameplay mechanics are improved, they still remained as awesome as before. Where the sequel shines is in its story. How Personal it gets as the stakes are too high and yet Aloy is still the focus of the main events. Forbidden West is about reconnecting with humanity and is about hope. And it works because of the rich characters that fill the world. Each one has deep layers, and their interactions with Aloy bring new perspectives, relating events back to you from a different angle. It fleshes out the world of Forbidden West and makes the overarching narrative and game lore come together.

COMBAT & EXPLORATION LOOP

Guerrilla improved how rewarding exploration feels. Like all of the best open-world games, there's always something to discover around the next corner, with some areas locked off until you've obtained the right skill. There's always the subtle encouragement to revisit earlier areas to discover what you've missed, and because of the strength of the game's side quests and other narrative beats, you won't want to miss a single thing. Everything you do has a purpose. The addition of swimming adds enhanced depth to the world.

Combat is still one of the highlights of the package! Every enemy type has multiple weak points, of which you can discover by scanning with your Focus. You can even knock certain components off a machine with a well-timed shot, allowing you to steal a Thunderjaw’s turret to add extra firepower to your arsenal. I love this feature, as it encourages players to think tactically before a fight instead of attacking head-on.

CONCLUSION 

Horizon II is everything I expected and more. Everything is improved upon. What a masterpiece. I just need the new game plus option, so I can experience the story again without the heavy grind for equipment & skills. Took me more than 80+ hours to complete the story with all the side quests. 

Even with the cliffhanger of a new threat at the end, I don't think we are going to see the 3rd entry in this IP. When Zero Dawn was revealed, I thought the whole concept of a girl shooting down dinosaur robots with bow and arrow to be such a dumb concept, I still think that now. But despite that, both Horizon I & II have become one of my favorite games of all time :)