Horizon Forbidden West kept me in awe throughout most of my very long playthrough. Its open world is spectacular, and machine combat has been expanded upon for the better as each encounter has forced me to change strategy constantly. The game is a lot of fun, however, I feel as if the one thing that holds it back is how it handles its story.
The story of the game is serviceable but definitely not the highlight. What Zero Dawn had over this game is that it felt "fresh" in the gaming world. Diving into the world of Zero Dawn was handled perfectly, as Aloy herself is discovering the tribes and their lands the same as we are. While Forbidden West's open-world is miles ahead of Zero Dawn's, the story and tribes that surrounded Zero Dawn's map kept me always wanting to find out more. I've always found the tribes and culture of Horizon to be more interesting than the futuristic apocalypse dives that have been the focus of the two past games. In Forbidden West, I found that my own stories that I had formed from exploration and the side quests were more interesting than the main quest itself.
The Tenakth and the Utaru are a very cool tribe, however, I felt like they had lacked the diversity of the other tribes in Zero Dawn. The original tribes of Zero Dawn felt uniquely distinct politically, ideologically, and physically however the Tenakth differentiate themselves with just colors and the Utaru with white paint. Not to say that they weren't cool to see, but to me, they lack the diversity of Zero Dawn's unique tribes that make up the Meridian.
Gameplay-wise, the game is a ton of fun. Machine Combat is better than ever and the ability to create unique builds for Aloy based upon her already pre-existing qualities allowed for fun experimentation around the world until I ultimately decided to rock a full explosive Bow and Arrow build. Melee really needs some reworking, as half of the time it's just hitting sponges until they eventually die.
The open world of the Forbidden West is what truly shines in this game. there is a wide assortment of things to do in this game that revolves around what you discover and do throughout your adventure. Discovering new locations was always a blast, as I spent way too much time looking through every nook and cranny to see what each location had to offer. Collectables are everywhere as well. Some are more interesting than others but the game truly keeps you busy. The unique locations and different biomes were a sight to behold, and for once I actually enjoyed diving into Cauldrons. Racing is a blast and the arena offers some fun challenges to test your strength. These kept me the busiest, however towards the end they began to feel a bit tedious.
Forbidden West is a really enjoyable game through and through. While I think it lacks some of what made Zero Dawn great, Forbidden West makes up for it in a truly engaging and explorable open world. The game on a technical level is a gaming marvel, and I feel like in the sequel Guerilla will find the best parts about both games and truly make the perfect block-buster experience.
The story of the game is serviceable but definitely not the highlight. What Zero Dawn had over this game is that it felt "fresh" in the gaming world. Diving into the world of Zero Dawn was handled perfectly, as Aloy herself is discovering the tribes and their lands the same as we are. While Forbidden West's open-world is miles ahead of Zero Dawn's, the story and tribes that surrounded Zero Dawn's map kept me always wanting to find out more. I've always found the tribes and culture of Horizon to be more interesting than the futuristic apocalypse dives that have been the focus of the two past games. In Forbidden West, I found that my own stories that I had formed from exploration and the side quests were more interesting than the main quest itself.
The Tenakth and the Utaru are a very cool tribe, however, I felt like they had lacked the diversity of the other tribes in Zero Dawn. The original tribes of Zero Dawn felt uniquely distinct politically, ideologically, and physically however the Tenakth differentiate themselves with just colors and the Utaru with white paint. Not to say that they weren't cool to see, but to me, they lack the diversity of Zero Dawn's unique tribes that make up the Meridian.
Gameplay-wise, the game is a ton of fun. Machine Combat is better than ever and the ability to create unique builds for Aloy based upon her already pre-existing qualities allowed for fun experimentation around the world until I ultimately decided to rock a full explosive Bow and Arrow build. Melee really needs some reworking, as half of the time it's just hitting sponges until they eventually die.
The open world of the Forbidden West is what truly shines in this game. there is a wide assortment of things to do in this game that revolves around what you discover and do throughout your adventure. Discovering new locations was always a blast, as I spent way too much time looking through every nook and cranny to see what each location had to offer. Collectables are everywhere as well. Some are more interesting than others but the game truly keeps you busy. The unique locations and different biomes were a sight to behold, and for once I actually enjoyed diving into Cauldrons. Racing is a blast and the arena offers some fun challenges to test your strength. These kept me the busiest, however towards the end they began to feel a bit tedious.
Forbidden West is a really enjoyable game through and through. While I think it lacks some of what made Zero Dawn great, Forbidden West makes up for it in a truly engaging and explorable open world. The game on a technical level is a gaming marvel, and I feel like in the sequel Guerilla will find the best parts about both games and truly make the perfect block-buster experience.