OK! I've marinated on this a little toooo long but I'm finally ready to give my review.
As a sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn, it's a very very strong one both in narrative and gameplay. There has been more than one session where I spent at least 5 hours playing this game just because I didn't want to leave the world of Forbidden West. The visuals have been upgraded exponentially, especially for character animations and cutscenes. I can feel and see how the performances are playing out between the actors just as I would be able to when watching a movie, and it's fun seeing all of these interactions play out.
Narrative wise, I really like Aloy's arc from beginning to end. I'm glad Varl has more importance in the story, and the new additions of characters such as Alva (my fav new character). And Beta works as a great "foil" (probably not the best word to use but I couldn't think of a better one) to Aloy given each of their origins and different circumstances. I'm also glad I got the Complete Edition so I could play Burning Shores. The narrative for that is also interesting and the story side quests are fun. Of course, there's some things with the story that could've been improved on, such as developing some of the Far Zenith members (particularly towards the end), and more time with Regalla. This also comes to pacing given that you're in an open world and have free rein to complete all quests (main and side) and side content any time you want, which takes away some of the urgency from the main quests. But overall, solid story.
Music in on another level and I'm here for the entirety of the soundtrack.
I think melee combat can still be improved, but I do love the additions that were made such as combos and valor surges. I'm someone who kinda forgets combos and will tend to stick to using the same one over and over repeatedly. I'm not sure how adding this would work for Horizon, but if there's a way that Guerilla can implement a combo rank system similar to Devil May Cry where you're strongly encouraged to use different combos to increase the rank and keep it from falling, it would help my brain in terms of using different moves. That and if there was a way to better control Aloy's movements (particularly when she's knocked to the ground), cancel out combos, and add blocking, that would make melee combat more fun for me. Otherwise, I still get satisfaction from performing stealth moves successfully.
I am a little saddened that the limit for traps and bombs was lowered in this game. I remember having a higher limit back in HZD which allowed me to get really creative with planning placement, particularly against larger machines like the Thunderjaw.
As for the side content (not counting side quests as I consider that to be a separate thing), I didn't participate in it too much like I did with HZD. I did complete the Blackboxes, Sun dials, most of the survey drones, and all melee pits as I felt they added to the world building. I might've completed most if not all the Hunting Grounds but can't fully remember for sure. The Arena I didn't interact with much because dealing with machines in the wild is enough for me personally. But I do wish I set more time for playing Machine Strike. At times it was frustrating, but as I got better with how the boards worked I began to enjoy it a little more. If I decide to play the game again in prep for the final entry, I'll try to play all the boards.
In conclusion, I think Forbidden West does a lot of amazing things with some areas still needing improvement.
As a sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn, it's a very very strong one both in narrative and gameplay. There has been more than one session where I spent at least 5 hours playing this game just because I didn't want to leave the world of Forbidden West. The visuals have been upgraded exponentially, especially for character animations and cutscenes. I can feel and see how the performances are playing out between the actors just as I would be able to when watching a movie, and it's fun seeing all of these interactions play out.
Narrative wise, I really like Aloy's arc from beginning to end. I'm glad Varl has more importance in the story, and the new additions of characters such as Alva (my fav new character). And Beta works as a great "foil" (probably not the best word to use but I couldn't think of a better one) to Aloy given each of their origins and different circumstances. I'm also glad I got the Complete Edition so I could play Burning Shores. The narrative for that is also interesting and the story side quests are fun. Of course, there's some things with the story that could've been improved on, such as developing some of the Far Zenith members (particularly towards the end), and more time with Regalla. This also comes to pacing given that you're in an open world and have free rein to complete all quests (main and side) and side content any time you want, which takes away some of the urgency from the main quests. But overall, solid story.
Music in on another level and I'm here for the entirety of the soundtrack.
I think melee combat can still be improved, but I do love the additions that were made such as combos and valor surges. I'm someone who kinda forgets combos and will tend to stick to using the same one over and over repeatedly. I'm not sure how adding this would work for Horizon, but if there's a way that Guerilla can implement a combo rank system similar to Devil May Cry where you're strongly encouraged to use different combos to increase the rank and keep it from falling, it would help my brain in terms of using different moves. That and if there was a way to better control Aloy's movements (particularly when she's knocked to the ground), cancel out combos, and add blocking, that would make melee combat more fun for me. Otherwise, I still get satisfaction from performing stealth moves successfully.
I am a little saddened that the limit for traps and bombs was lowered in this game. I remember having a higher limit back in HZD which allowed me to get really creative with planning placement, particularly against larger machines like the Thunderjaw.
As for the side content (not counting side quests as I consider that to be a separate thing), I didn't participate in it too much like I did with HZD. I did complete the Blackboxes, Sun dials, most of the survey drones, and all melee pits as I felt they added to the world building. I might've completed most if not all the Hunting Grounds but can't fully remember for sure. The Arena I didn't interact with much because dealing with machines in the wild is enough for me personally. But I do wish I set more time for playing Machine Strike. At times it was frustrating, but as I got better with how the boards worked I began to enjoy it a little more. If I decide to play the game again in prep for the final entry, I'll try to play all the boards.
In conclusion, I think Forbidden West does a lot of amazing things with some areas still needing improvement.