The game’s sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, takes the exciting story and world of Guerrilla Games to a new level, with a larger world to explore, more science fiction at the forefront, and new challenges for players to overcome. It’s almost impossible to tell the story of Horizon Forbidden West without giving away some of its predecessors. Six months have passed since Aloy defeated the HADES and left Meridian in search of a backup for GAIA. At this time we found the information we explained below in our Horizon Forbidden West review.
Knowing that the backup would be able to restore the world, Aloy travels west with her partner Varl, but their search ends in failure. Carl suggests that, despite their recent communication, the best option is to contact Silence. After learning that Silence has gone even further west, Aloy sets out to find him. Reunited with the Karja tribe before leaving for the Forbidden West, Aloy learns of the ongoing civil war she will have to participate in and a new threat to the planet.
The story of Forbidden West is full of events, all fascinating. The main plot relies heavily on science fiction elements and is happily positioned as a direct sequel, developing the Zero Dawn story in new and exciting ways. All of its various episodes are interesting additions to the narrative. The plot of Forbidden West has received much attention because it forces players to think about the issues of climate change and capitalism, without ever denying the existence of hope.
About
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release date: February 18, 2022
Price: $49.99
System Requirements
Operating System: Windows 7/8/10/11 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz / AMD FX-8320
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB
RAM: 8 GB
HDD: 65 GB
DirectX: 11 Compatible Graphics Card
Horizon Forbidden West review: Combat
Combat is the highlight of Horizon Forbidden West, although it is not too different from Zero Dawn. Scarlet is very good with a bow and arrow, so most of the fighting will be done by attacking from a distance. Don’t think this makes combat in Horizon easy, however, because most machines are fast enough to get close to you within seconds, or are equipped with an arsenal of high-tech weapons that can hit you from afar.
Each monster has several weak points that can be discovered by scanning them with Focus. With a well-aimed hit, you can also eliminate some of the machine’s components, allowing you to steal a Thunderhawk turret to add additional firepower to your arsenal. we like this feature because it encourages players to think tactically before combat, rather than spontaneously unleashing. It is also important to check what elements each vehicle is vulnerable to, because you can purchase bows that deal fire, ice and hit damage.
In Forbidden West, these types of elements have been expanded: acid, plasma and pure water now have new side effects: acid slowly depletes enemies’ health, pure water temporarily weakens element attacks, and repeated plasma blasts can cause small explosions that inflict damage. Guerrilla Games has also introduced a weapon upgrade system that has an ultra-satisfying gameplay cycle similar to that of the Monster Hunter series. Each weapon, whether it is a bow, a rope launcher or a brand new flamethrower, can be upgraded using various components looted from defeated machines.
Horizon Forbidden West review: Graphics
Horizon Forbidden West looks fantastic on PS5. The various biomes look incredibly distinctive and offer breathtaking views from the mountaintops. The character designs are also impressive, and Scarlet’s eyes are able to express a wide range of emotions.
The various vehicles also look superb, with all their intricate details coming together in a beautifully detailed design. Not only does each monster have different characteristics, but they also move differently, whether it’s the clumsy leaps of a lair or the thunderous thunder jaw blows of a thunder jaw.
Even the loading times on PS5 are lightning fast; we only had to wait a couple of seconds to be revived. Initially there were some technical problems that caused a black screen to appear for a split second when entering a new location, but the pre-launch update seems to have already eliminated this bug.
Conclusion
The simplest thing to say is that if you liked the first game, you will also like Horizon Forbidden West review, otherwise it will not win you over. Despite the improvements made, the game is pretty much the same with a new paint job. The battles are more difficult and the look of the game is better. However, the game has failed to improve the open world, which is an integral part of the game. The appearance is outdated and the invisible force field surrounding the machines looks extremely sloppy.
The most important addition is the wide variety of machines that can be fought and that alone is worth the game. It is always disappointing when a sequel maintains the same flaws we complained about in its predecessor. But incremental improvement is always improvement, and Horizon Forbidden West is a better game than Zero Dawn, even though Zero Dawn was already quite good.
