When Guerrilla Games released “Horizon Zero Dawn” in 2017, the gaming world took full notice of what the studio mostly associated with the “Killzone” franchise had developed. “Zero Dawn” was an open-world, post-apocalyptic experience featuring the player taking on sentient machines growing into more animalistic creatures sporting electric wings, fire breath, and more weak points than a poorly-made building. “Zero Dawn” featured stellar graphics, solid gameplay fundamentals including a climbing system straight out of “Assassin’s Creed”, and remarkable voice acting even when conversing with the most unimportant NPCs.
The wait for a sequel had gamers anticipating how the studio could expand upon everything crafted in “Zero Dawn”, revealing “Forbidden West” when it seemed like the world would reach its end, too. Having enjoyed the first game (though didn’t love it as much as many others did mostly due to the long-winded story and sluggish gameplay in certain aspects), I hoped the developers smoothed out some of the problems from the original iteration while expanding the world and its lore as promised.
Did I Complete “Horizon Forbidden West”?
Set six months after the events of “Zero Dawn”, the “Savior of Meridian” (a term she vocally hates, though opens the door to reasonably have people ask Aloy for help as they believe she can do anything now) heads west against the wishes of people who know about how dangerous the west is and those who’ve only heard rumors. The near thirty-hour story is nothing compared to how much time the player will most likely spend completing side missions, optional objectives, and simply traversing the world.
Similar to its predecessor, “Forbidden West” has a rather simple platinum trophy to obtain with requirements like completing certain side quests instead of all forty-nine, finishing the four optional “Cauldrons”, and scanning every enemy type, but not every enemy sub-type. After ninety hours of playtime, I attained the platinum trophy with over eighty percent overall competition and the intent of going back and finishing all those side missions, gather collectibles, and win that one race that proved too much for Aloy’s mount.
Did “Horizon Forbidden West” Live Up to the Hype?
The developers decided that a lot of what worked in the first game needed to return, while certain aspects should be modified to offer more challenge for those who thought the original game saw Aloy be at a god-like level by the time she reached level fifty. Combat is still a mixed bag with the positives tied to long-range weapons. Unlike the first game where the player was slowly introduced to tackling the mechanized enemies, the developers mostly hoped players were knowledgeable about how to overcome certain metal adversaries including scanning weak points with Aloy’s “Focus” (the game’s version of “Detective Mode” that is also useful in finding the plethora of collectibles), using a specific arrow or other offered tool in Aloy’s inventory including elemental trip wires, restraining ropecasters, and new items like spears & traps to take down each adversary.
An obvious change in regards to conquering enemies is most can’t be one-shot killed by hitting a particular weak point if Aloy is close to or under the level of the scanned enemy; making it necessary to plan accordingly to avoid being spotted and overwhelmed by the hard-hitting foes if the player is attempting a stealth attack. There was a lot of thought put into how to make combat different than the original by adding so many options for the player if they chose to utilize multiple instruments including new ammo types like “Plasma” that acts as a time bomb if Aloy builds up a struck foe’s intolerance, and “Adhesive” that temporarily slows down enemies via brown goo.
The dynamic combat that comes with fighting the animal-like adversaries makes almost every battle tense or downright insane depending on the beast’s size, speed & general aggression with the more volatile monsters hitting harder & faster without fear of retaliation compared to the original game. A great way to handle the inevitable onslaughts is through the extensive skill tree sporting six sub-categories focusing on melee attacks, setting traps, shooting, gathering resources & healing efficiency, stealth, and handling mechs including the “Override” ability that returns from the first game where Aloy can temporarily force loyalty from the mechs for help in battle or traversing the environment.
The passive skills gained through this tree including increasing the length of Aloy’s slow-down-time effect when aiming down the sights of a bow coincide well with the new “Valor Surge”. “Valor Surge” abilities vary in execution, but always provides Aloy a temporary boost or saving grace. Weapon-based “Valor Surge” abilities are naturally attached to the weapons associated with said “Surge”, gathering stamina as a battle progresses to use at any time when the bar makes it available such as being able to shoot a complete tripwire with the touch of a button instead of the player having to manually shoot one post, then the other post hoping that the second sticks in an appropriate spot.
The ability-centric “Valor Surge” that can be activated when the meter located underneath the weapon-based “Surge” is filled. Depending on the “Valor Surge” chosen, Aloy will dramatically perform a short cinematic act like painting her face or chugging a potion vial to precursor her return to battle where her arrows will do more damage or her health constantly restores without the need for manual input respectively. The more defensive “Valor Surges” can be downright game-breaking including the aforementioned health restoration “Surge” when the player upgrades it to its max level of three. Planning out what skills will benefit Aloy early is essential and can help survive some unexpected difficult moments.
Melee combat is expanded in terms of combos learned from the skill tree and general abilities added to her repertoire including the “Resonator Blast” that sees an enemy being temporarily stunned while gaining a new, illuminated weak point that does major damage to the foe if Aloy shoots the identified spot. Using her staff, Aloy can switch between light, quick attacks and heavy, slower strikes that have the potential of knocking an enemy over, breaking their guard, and even jumping off them for a follow-up arrow shot.
Unfortunately, the rigid nature of Aloy’s movements become locked in and, at times, uncontrollable no matter how the player tries to adjust her swing – thus leaving her open to counterattacks that can not only take away half of her health, but also stun her for a subsequent, potentially game-ending strike after she swats at nothing but air. The lacking lock-on system seen in games like these potentially makes combat frustrating as enemies usually move a lot faster than, at times, the player can react and rotate the camera while readjusting Aloy’s aim.
Limiting Aloy’s stamina and weapon output like placing traps or tripwires also hurts the combat aspect. In the original iteration, Aloy could dodge roll to her heart’s content to avoid attacks. In “Forbidden West”, Aloy can only roll three times back-to-back-to-back before stumbling. This wouldn’t be an issue if not for certain enemies (usually the bigger ones) pull off three to four swatting or projectile attacks at a time; leaving Aloy open to be struck if the player has used those three rolls to effectively avoid the first three attacks.
Tripwires and traps are now limited in the amount Aloy can place on the battlefield at a time; only being slightly expanded in number by skill upgrades and what she’s wearing. An odd design choice is having to scroll through the secondary items like this is the original “Grand Theft Auto” PS2 games. Instead of having a wheel pop up when holding down on the D-Pad, Aloy positions herself to either craft or manage the list of secondary items. There’s no way to do a quick pull-up of these secondary items when in battle.
One major problem that a changing of clothing can’t prevent is the camera when taking on the largest enemies or foliage gets a little too close to said camera. The gigantic adversaries not only move faster compared to those in the first game, but when they get in close it becomes almost impossible to see what’s happening and where to go to avoid being killed. Last, but not least in terms of combat-oriented setbacks are some of the animations when Aloy is knocked down; be it her being stun locked or simply taking too long to get up as an enemy prepares another attack that strikes Aloy right as she rises to rock her again.
Just like the last game, weapon modification with patches adds a little more kick to each shot; be it extra damage or elemental effects. Aloy’s armor too can be buffed by clothing-specific patches to increase her defenses against certain status effects and general defenses; not to mention cosmetic dyes made with flowers collected when traveling can change the color of her outfit. Some armor also has innate buffs like increasing the amount of traps that can be placed at a time by two, and even a suit that gives Aloy the ability to not die once per battle if her health reaches zero.
Similar to the weapon offering, armor is plentiful and players will most likely be switching up their attires depending on the situation. Almost every weapon and piece of armor has the ability to be upgraded using a workbench found at every settlement and items either discovered on fallen metal foes or hunting live animals. Of course the rarer the armor or weapon (as per the norm now – weapons & armor are assigned rarity levels from “Common” to “Legendary”), the more impressive and tougher-to-get resources are needed like a Stormbird nerve or a circulator from an Apex Stalker – two of the series’ most fearsome foes.
Aloy’s story following the events of “Horizon Zero Dawn” is a very interesting one. Instead of being a coming of age story where the protagonist comes upon the truth of how her world operates, Aloy now finds herself as a savior both exalted and criticized looking to stop the spread of corruption initiated by the sentient AI program Hades in the first game. Unlike the previous iteration, the story doesn’t take too long to really get going that’s helped by introduction of new tribes, adversaries, and mechanized beasts. Pacing is rarely a problem if players are taking part solely in the main missions with some being imperative to complete before exploring or finishing certain side quests such as gaining the ability to set vines on fire or even flying on a Sunbird.
Arguably the story’s biggest issues comes with its finale and the new antagonists. In terms of villains, the more rooted in primal reality enemies like Regella (voiced by Angela Bassett) work exceptionally well. On the opposite end is the unveiling of futuristic humans who can float, sport shields and laser guns. While the game is a sci-fi experience, these very unlikable adversaries almost go too far into that futuristic realm compared to everything else before and after their first & final appearances. Once again a “Horizon” game ends with the promise of something in the future that gamers have no idea if they will get that experience; and if they do, when they’ll be able to play the third “Horizon”.
To complement the narrative both positively and negatively is an expansive world of things to do, people to interact with, and missions to take part in including forty-nine side quests with some of the most expressive NPCs seen in a video game to date. While the actual side missions are usually nothing more than fetch quests or going somewhere to slaughter a machine, the characterization and interactions that come from said quests make them so rewarding.
Missions will have Aloy saving people from being executed after a wrong accusation, giving an elder a fleeting reminder of what she once loved, freeing people from the depths of a collapsing mine, exploring coastal waters to find lost treasure for a lamenting cook as food provides temporary boosts like more health or faster stamina regeneration. To top it off, most side missions reward the player greatly with skill points, metal shards (the game’s equivalent of currency), and grand items like weapons, armor, or valuables ready to be sold.
The developers expanded what the player can do beyond side missions and narrative quests by bringing back more fleshed-out versions of the open-world checklist options such as scaling those Tallnecks that reveal more of the map, and exploring the metallic fortresses known as “Cauldrons” that house both a boss enemy at the end and the gained ability to override certain beasts depending on the Cauldron completed. “Hunting Grounds” return featuring timed quests for Aloy to complete under dedicated scenarios, i.e. – electrocuting Scrappers and dropping environmental traps like a pile of logs on their stunned frames. Alongside “Hunting Grounds” are the new “Melee Pits” that both pushes the player to learn new melee attacks courtesy of the skill tree and taking on mini-bosses that must be defeated to confront a legendary figure associated with a single side mission.
And then there’s “The Arena” – a grand series of timed fights against mechs with limited stocks and rising difficulty levels. The rewards coming from clearing “The Arena” are some of the best weapons and armor in the game; not to mention potentially getting on a global leaderboard for clearing the finale of each “Arena” difficulty level as fast as possible.
Puzzle challenges are also available known as “Relic Ruins” that usually has the player pulling crates around, yanking walls down, and reading notes to discover codes necessary to unlock the reward-barred door. Like the “Melee Pits”, finishing “Rebel Outposts/Camps” will lead to a memorable side mission, while completing a set of collectibles such as survey drones is only beneficial in showcasing how great the game looks. Racing is, arguably, the worst of anything newly added with stiff, “Road Rash” style gameplay that only gets more frustrating when the rubber band AI suddenly pops up and stuns Aloy’s mount. On the opposite end of the satisfaction spectrum is “Machine Strike” – a chess-like board game with collectible & craftable pieces featuring opponents scattered across the map a la “The Witcher 3” or even “Final Fantasy VIII”.
Technically, “Forbidden West” is a perfect example of quality optimization. On the Playstation 5 there are two options for “Performance” and “Fidelity” with the latter sacrificing FPS for better graphics. Both modes are effective in having a consistent experience at least on a PS5 with no noticeable frame rate drops during a near ninety hour playthrough. The world itself is gorgeous to look at with rather quick loading times on the PS5 when fast traveling via campfires. Graphical glitches like falling into the world or certain objects are rare, but can happen. The haptic feedback triggers play a major role in shooting arrows with growing pressure when drawing a bow being more noticeable as Aloy shoots something like a “Precision” arrow rather than a simple “Hunter” arrow.
Sound is a major factor in making this an immersive experience including the booming drums during a hectic battle against a Snapmaw or the pitter-patter of Aloy’s footsteps when moving across the desert of the former Las Vegas. In a lot of ways, “Forbidden West” is a tour de force of world building and convincing the player to explore especially with the implementation of Aloy’s “Glider” tool similar to the one Link used in “Breath of the Wild”.
Unfortunately, actually exploring can be an issue due to some odd decisions in regards to climbing & parkour. Thanks to a fantastic set of adjustable settings to make things either harder or easier for the player including downed enemies not losing loot that would, under the original setting, disappear alongside that foe’s death, the player can turn on guide points and identifiable climbing possibilities. Oddly enough some rocks on the same “wall” Aloy is currently clutching the side of can’t be climbed without much reason or explanation. Other times Aloy will jitter on a ledge or when jumping from one spot to another.
Similar to its predecessor, there are definite issues with “Forbidden West” that are outweighed by some grand design choices for combat, side missions really making the world’s NPCs feel alive, and more options in regards to spending time avoiding progressing the main narrative. It may not be the grandiose sequel that changes a franchise, let alone a genre, but what “Forbidden West” does it mostly does immaculately without succumbing to the weight of its own ambitions.
Should You Play “Horizon Forbidden West”?
“Forbidden West” offers so much for the player to take part in from the extensive main story missions, to expressive side missions, various mini-missions & completion criteria, and general exploration options set in a new portion of this worn & plagued planet. The few technical issues don’t compare to how well most everything works be it during combat or just walking around as Aloy remarks about her current setting.
With that being stated, certain removed aspects from “Zero Dawn” in regards to fighting may turn off some gamers who enjoyed the first experience. Thankfully, those who are tired of open world games will find a lot to actually like without feeling too overwhelmed thanks to the design of certain abilities & items needed to progress via main story completion. Once again, this is another must-play Playstation game that is as rewarding as conquering a Thunderjaw with its own weapon Aloy shot off during the heat of battle.
