Horizon Forbidden West is one of those games that you pick up and just can't put down. I really enjoyed Zero Dawn, but it definitely left much to be desired in some areas like combat and the side missions. This game though... I don't know where to begin.
The movement and combat in general feels better. There's so many new weapons and ways to take out foes both man and machine. There's so damn much to do in the world itself that you will easily spend most of your time exploring and doing side missions of all kinds more than the main story itself. On the topic of that I found the narrative so much more engaging. Zero Dawn had a great story, but the way cutscenes are presented and the way fights play out feel so much more cinematic here. The number of characters you encounter on your journey is greatly increased, and whether returning or new they all add to the world in their own way. Everything here feels more grand and even bigger in scope than it may first appear. I enjoyed it all thoroughly.
In terms of gameplay there's so much to go over. Multiple skill trees that give a plethora of skills to use, many different missions like taking out rebel camps, returning Tallnecks and cauldrons, settlements that feel alive and have plenty of side quests to do within, etc. I have to give a special shout out to the side quests because over the 15 or so I did across the different types... they all felt well thought out and worth my time. That's surprising to me in a game with so much to do. You'd expect there to be plenty of filler. But everything feels like it connects back to the world in a meaningful way.
I could go on forever about how much of a step up this is compared to the first game. This is what a sequel should strive to be. I didn't even go into how good this game looks and runs on PS5! I don't have a 4K setup but even without that the power of what the PS5 can do is still astounding. This is one of my favorite open world games I've played. I know everyone is raving about Elden Ring at the moment (and I don't deny its greatness). But Forbidden West deserves some credit of its own.
The movement and combat in general feels better. There's so many new weapons and ways to take out foes both man and machine. There's so damn much to do in the world itself that you will easily spend most of your time exploring and doing side missions of all kinds more than the main story itself. On the topic of that I found the narrative so much more engaging. Zero Dawn had a great story, but the way cutscenes are presented and the way fights play out feel so much more cinematic here. The number of characters you encounter on your journey is greatly increased, and whether returning or new they all add to the world in their own way. Everything here feels more grand and even bigger in scope than it may first appear. I enjoyed it all thoroughly.
In terms of gameplay there's so much to go over. Multiple skill trees that give a plethora of skills to use, many different missions like taking out rebel camps, returning Tallnecks and cauldrons, settlements that feel alive and have plenty of side quests to do within, etc. I have to give a special shout out to the side quests because over the 15 or so I did across the different types... they all felt well thought out and worth my time. That's surprising to me in a game with so much to do. You'd expect there to be plenty of filler. But everything feels like it connects back to the world in a meaningful way.
I could go on forever about how much of a step up this is compared to the first game. This is what a sequel should strive to be. I didn't even go into how good this game looks and runs on PS5! I don't have a 4K setup but even without that the power of what the PS5 can do is still astounding. This is one of my favorite open world games I've played. I know everyone is raving about Elden Ring at the moment (and I don't deny its greatness). But Forbidden West deserves some credit of its own.