Guerrilla Games saw major success with Horizon Zero Dawn, which was a standout game on the Playstation 4.
It received high praise for its mesmerising open-world experience, which found the right balance between combat and story-driven missions.
Now five years later protagonist, Aloy sets off on her second adventure in Horizon Forbidden West.
Horizon Forbidden West is a direct sequel that takes place roughly six months after Aloy defeated Hades in Horizon Zero Dawn.
After harmony between the tribes had been restored, a new mysterious plague called the Red Blight has started to infect and kill everything it touches.
Aloy has been tasked with finding the source of the destructive ailment, which takes her on a quest to the Forbidden West.
As Aloy attempts to explore the wider and deeper parts of the Forbidden West she will encounter a vast array of diverse ecosystems, witness devastating Supercell storms and battle new mechanical beasts.
Horizon Forbidden West’s plot is impressive, to say the least, it's engaging narrative is filled with rich characters and amazing heartfelt moments.
Guerrilla Games have done a great job at paying more attention to the supporting cast making them much more captivating than before.
Horizon Forbidden West is a visual spectacle that offers a great sense of adventure and discovery throughout the entire journey.
The different ecosystems have been beautifully crafted with so much attention to detail. The game now features underwater elements from the get-go and they are simply stunning, filled with dazzling coral reefs.
It's also great to see how the mechanical creatures coexist in each specific area. The machine’s themselves have grand designs with so much intricate detail it's almost a shame to constantly hunt them, I really enjoyed watching them roam free.
Horizon Forbidden West features some of the best motion capture I’ve seen on the Playstation 5, characters models are so fluid and life-like during combat and traversing the world.
Each of the main characters delivers sterling performances that are full of emotion during cutscenes.
The captivating performances are also a testament to the actors who brought the characters to life, Ashly Burch’s portrayal of Aloy is top-notch.
Horizon Forbidden West pays much more attention to NPCs within the tribes and settlements, which are filled with excellent characters that have bespoke animations that make them more than just background filler.
There are two visual modes on offer here, Performance Mode and Quality Mode. Performance looks like it runs at 60FPS which was my preferred mode as there was just no beating the super-smooth frame rate during those high octane action scenes.
Horizon Forbidden West has a stellar musical score that is constantly shifting to match each of Aloy’s situations. There are many unique sounds that blend naturally into the world elevating the visuals, creating something truly special.
Horizon Forbidden West features a massive open world that’s much larger than Zero Dawn and one of the main limitations was how free exploration was.
Forbidden West has tackled this by allowing Aloy to scale much more of the world than before.
Using the focus will reveal what areas are climbable, even though she isn’t able to completely free climb everywhere, this extra element really opens the game up allowing Aloy to scale greater heights and discover much more.
There have been other additions that add an extra degree of freedom to Aloy’s arsenal. The Pullcaster tool allows Aloy to propel herself to marked points allowing her to access hard to reach areas.
The Shieldwing will allow her to safely descend from great heights or glide to new areas. She can also use it to stealthily surprise enemies from above.
Since the Pullcaster can be used in mid-air, players can combine both of these tools to explore much more.
The world in Forbidden West has been opened up a lot more by allowing Aloy to explore underwater structures that are filled with dangerous currents.
It’s great that the developers have created a huge underwater ecosystem that offers a diverse experience from Zero Dawn.
Aloy will also be able to once again override machines to travel around the world as well using the Fast Travel Pack for instant movement across the map.
Combat has seen a massive overhaul that emphasises using different weapons and skills to take down enemies. In Zero Dawn players would mainly opt for the bow to take down machines but now the spear is a core feature within her arsenal.
Aloy has improved striking melee attacks and a better combo system makes her much more formidable up close. This emphasis of using your weapons in harmony is shown through the Resonator Blast skill.
This new skill works by allowing Aloy to charge up energy from her spear strikes, then she will be able to place the energy onto the enemy and shoot it with a bow causing massive damage.
Another new skill is her Valor Surge which will allow Aloy to execute a special move resulting in a specific type of damage.
There are various kinds of Valor Surge that can be unlocked from one of her six skill trees catering to different play styles.
The main crux of combat lies in how well players understand their enemy and that's not an overstatement.
Aloy will do battle with various tribes and machines. However, there will be tribes that work in unison with machines meaning that those particular machines will have a different attack pattern than they would in the wild.
The game has an accessible system that allows players to learn about their enemies and find numerous ways to defeat them, which is very handy at keeping one step ahead.
Horizon Forbidden West combat is fantastic, with the on the fly action offering an exhilarating experience, forcing players to learn about all the weapons and machines in the game.
Outside of the main quest, there is a slew of side missions that surpass what was on offer in the previous game, these could vary from visiting the grounds hunting grounds, completing salvage contracts to doing battle in the arena and more, but that’s heading into spoiler territory.
There is a lot to tackle and I was really impressed with just how diverse the side activities really were. They also offer great rewards that can drastically change your playstyle aiding you on your adventure.
Guerrilla Games have also incorporated the PS5’s Dual Sense controller into Horizon Forbidden West gameplay for a much more immersive experience.
It is the little things like being able to adjust the intensity of the adaptive triggers that let you really feel the pullback of your bow and arrow.
Verdict
Horizon Forbidden West is an amazing sequel that fulfils most of the missing elements from the first game. Its immersive adventure is easily one of the best experiences on offer on the Playstation 5.
Guerrilla Games should really take a bow for crafting not only a brilliant action game but manages to do the seemingly impossible by improving on Horizon’s already fantastic lore, adding stunning new locations and stellar characters.
Horizon Forbidden West is out on 18 February for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
