Saturday, April 27, 2024

Horizon: Forbidden West

 Horizon: Zero Dawn was one of my favourite games of the PS4 era and this game picks up shortly after the climactic battle at the end of that one, with protagonist Aloy heading into the titular west to unravel more of the mysteries of the artificial intelligences behind the great machine war of ancient times. The opening level nerfs all of the gear and skills built up in the first game, which initially feels frustrating but that doesn't last for long as you soon start to develop your character through different skill trees and weapons that you acquire. The shield wing that you pick up fairly early on allows you to glide from high places in a very satisfying way and the mid game diving mask allows exploration of flooded caverns and the seas around the pacific coast.

The environments are particularly lush on PS5, especially in the ruins of Las Vegas and San Francisco, with some memorable places to explore. There are new tribes and factions present with involved plot lines, and a new threat from an unexpected direction that comes later on, upping the threat level considerably. There are some new twists on the robot dinosaurs, and hunting and bringing them down is consistently enjoyable, although it can get frustrating repeating the same fights hoping for a critical component that you need to upgrade your gear. 

The PS App tells me that I have spent 77 hours on this game to finish the main quest, and I was nowhere near clearing all of the optional side quests and collectible markers from the map! Definitely worth playing!






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