Review
The original Horizon: Zero Dawn, was surprisingly one of my favorite games that I have played as an adult, with some of the most addicting gameplay ever and a very compelling story that kept me hooked the entire way through. And I got an excellent value for the first game since I picked it up used at Gamestop for $4, and with that and the Frozen Wilds DLC, only put a total of $15 into for a game Ive played through twice already. So, needless to say, my body was ready for a bigger and hopefully better sequel the near masterpiece the original was. But could it....DID it, live up to the hype?
In most cases, yes.
Forbidden West is my first true next gen game...well, kinda, since it isnt really a TRUE next gen game since it was also on PS4, but you get my point. Its the first full game Ive played through on PS5 that was optimized for the PS5. That being the case, the graphics were absolutely beautiful. The lush and crisp details from the environments to the character to details were magnificent. The lighting and water effects were particular were done well, although maybe not as well as early trailers suggested. Still, I wont hold it against Guerilla as the game is still amazing to look at. The new land that is the "Forbidden West" is wonderfully crafted and a joy to explore, especially when you get to points that allow you see a majestic sprawling shot of the landscape. Clearly, alot of love went into it.
The gameplay didnt change much, and thats not a bad thing. There really isnt a ton more I can say here that I didnt already say about the original. The gameplay is something special and makes it hard to put down. There were some added dynamics that made things even better, such as the glider and a couple different weapons and special equipment that helped extend the game in various ways, but while I didnt love all the small changes made to gameplay, most of it fit it seamlessly with the excellent gameplay from the first game.
One of my favorite aspects of this game were the new sidequests. The sidequests in the original were largely nothing special and really didnt extend the game by much. Forbidden West borrowed from Witcher 3 and just had question marks pop up EVERYWHERE, and most of the sidequests were very satisfying and rewarding. I spent more time playing sidequests or doing side tasks like upgrading my gear than playing the main story. Thats more a testament to how fun the side stuff in this game is. and I didnt even do every little thing. There is a card/boardgame mini game called "Strike" that I never really got into, but outside of the first tutorial, didnt really give it much of a chance. I may have liked it if I got into it, but there was so much else going on that I just focused on everything else and never went back to that.
The story was good, but not quite as intriguing and engaging as the first one. In Zero Dawn, it felt like so much more was at stake, and you were drawn in as you learned about how Earth fell to the fate that it did. This story was good, but never quite got its claws into me the way the first game did. The one aspect of the story that WAS better about Forbidden West were the characters, who were much more fleshed out than the original. In the first game, you felt like a lone wolf, and while there were a few non playable characters that were developed decently (Erend, Liz Sobeck Rost...kinda, etc), this games story made you feel as if you werent alone on your mission. I still would have liked to seen relationships fleshed out better, but overall, you grew to care about many of your companions more than in the original.
As much as I enjoyed the overall game, I didnt love everything. Again, while the game largely felt like the first one in regards to gameplay, many of its new features didnt really add a ton for me. I wasnt a fan of how many weapons there were with somewhat negligible differences. I didnt mind different weapon varieties. but it just seemed like there was a different bow or weapon for every little thing, and it was bit overwhelming IMO. I wish they just wouldve focused on different ammo types and gave us various ways to customize weapons to make them how we wanted. You could still do that, but I just wasnt a fan how I needed to change my weapon wheel so often, and in many cases, it didnt feel like some of the weapons were as effective enough to warrant changing around that often. It wasnt a huge deal, but it added a small element of frustration that wasnt there in the first game. For me, anyway.
The new character development system was better IMO, but not as much of a leap as I was hoping. First off, I hate when sequels nerf you like this. I spent the entire Zero Dawn game turning Aloy into a bad arse, and this game made you feel like you were just starting again. No strong weapons, relatively weak and you feel like a rookie again in many ways. I get why they do this and for the most part I dont mind too much, but I at least wish we were able to keep certain skills from the first one without having to relearn them. There were a few, I guess, but I hated that I wasnt able to override certain enemies that I was able to override i the first one. I was able to override a Thunderjaw at the end of Zero Dawn. but that was short lived since I had to go through all the new cauldrons to do it this time! Was a little annoying.
On top of that, I didnt find most of the new active abilities all that useful. Sure, I used some of them, like Elemental Fury, Powershot and the stealth one numerous times, but they never felt like they were NEEDED to win any battle. Maybe on higher difficulty they would be, but on normal, I just didnt find myself needing them all that much, so I only used them sparingly and often, forget I even had them during battles simply because I never felt like it gave me any more of an advantage.
On a last note for gaemplay, I was extremely mad that they took away the ability to whistle and draw enemies to your location. Why? Sure, throwing rocks works to draw them to other places, but when I wanted to bring them to me, the only thing I could do was throw a rock right in front of me, but it wasnt as effective, and I dont understand why they took it out. As much as I love the stealth stuff, I feel like there are several aspects that could be done better.
They clearly focused more on developing the melee combat aspect of the game, and while it was better, still left alot to me desired, and didnt really add much to the game. The melee pits were fun, but outside of that, I barely used melee because there was no real incentive to do so.
The story again, while good, just felt a bit underwhelming compared to the first game. I guess its unfair since it was always going to be hard to top that, but I guess I just didnt feel the same tension, nor was I as interested in the backstory since I already knew most of the backstory, and the new stuff just felt kinda like additional information.
Bottom line: Despite it not feeling like a monumental leap forward, the game is still quite amazing. I spent over 100 hours with it and I feel like I could go back and play through it again, and I couldnt say that about a game I wasnt a massive fan of. Cant wait to see what comes next!
Gameplay: 9
Story: 7
Graphics: 9.5
Value/Replayability: 9
Personal Enjoyment: 9
Final Score: 9.1 (Originally had 8.9, but I enjoyed it more than Ghost of Tsushima, so I bumped it up a new notches)
PS... I still havent finished the game, but I am probably going to wrap it up this week or next weekend. Even though I have not completed every little task I started on (signal towers, depths, a few side missions and errands, etc...), I feel like I have gotten everything I wanted out of it.
I wouldnt mind playing through again, but probably not for a few years when Horizon 3 comes out.
I also hear there might be a remake/remaster of Zero Dawn (not sure why, but mkay), a DLC for Forbidden West (Cant wait!) and potentially a MMO for the Horizon world, which COULD be really cool if done right IMO).
So, lots of Horizon stuff to come!
Edited by 43M
