Horizon Forbidden West

It's brought down by a pretty boring story and too many characters to care about, but there is plenty to see and do and the combat is engaging and challenging (especially on higher difficulties) and rewarding of different play-styles. It could have used some streamlining, but it's nice to see an open world game that's based on hunting and exploration rather than liberating settlements (though that is a thing you can do if you want to). Considering that weapon and armor upgrades all require harvesting resources off specific enemies, it's refreshing that the drop rates are high, and the ability to shoot them off and collect them without needing to kill the enemies makes for some challenging mid-game decisions. Once you can fly, of course, fleeing combat stops being a challenge.

As others have noted, there is a huge amount of original voice acting and motion capture and just *massive* dialogue trees, so it's a shame that most of it just isn't very interesting. There is plenty of opportunity for political intrigue between the different groups and loosely allied clans that just never really goes anywhere. The late game twists with the Far Zeniths don't land with much weight because they've largely been a distant threat for most of the game, and up close they're just kind of silly.

The cauldron dungeons that aren't part of the main storyline are a platforming bore, with bosses that are generally pretty underwhelming since they're just stronger versions of enemies you've already encountered. With so much good content I'm willing to forgive that some of it feels a little less fleshed out. I got bored with the first one less than halfway through, but I'm looking forward to the DLC on this one, so it's definitely an improvement.

"Horizon Forbidden West" marks a significant improvement over the previous game, yet I wouldn't recommend it to the players who were not entirely sold by "Zero Dawn". Bigger and better, but just as forgettable.

The story picks up right after the end of "Zero Dawn", and it takes for granted that you still remember most of the lore and characters. Again, we have excellent world-building wasted by a mediocre plot, where the player is dumped with lots of facts and information without building up any kind of emotional involvement. There's a lot to keep in mind, but it's hardly about the characters' feelings or inner thoughts. The villains are barely explored, and despite the fascinating incipit, there is no climax nor satisfying ending to reward the player. Sure, there are not as many annoying holograms and static cutscenes this time, but we still lack any kind of cinematic tension.

Much care has been put into the side quests, and, remarkably, detailed information and independent story arcs have been provided for all the minor characters. However, the characters are so forgettable that things get tedious in the long run. They can keep you busy if you have a lot of spare time, but in my case, I would have preferred the developers to focus on carefully orchestrating the main plot and keep subquests quick and simple, if lack of resources was the issue.

Even if the narrative left a lot to be desired, the overall gameplay is usually fun. Optional activities are more immediate and highly varied. While in "Zero Dawn" the same type of activity implied the exact same routine each time, in "Forbidden West" things rarely repeat themselves. If one Cauldron lets you climb to the top, the next one will let you solve puzzles underwater. If one Tallneck needs you to find the right spot to jump from, the next one will ask you to repair its components.

Hunting machine has obviously been the best part of "Zero Dawn", and "Forbidden West" rewards us with many new enemies and a comprehensive selection of weapons and tools to play with. However, I recommend spending some time experimenting with buffs and different kinds of equipment, as killing machines can get damn hard towards the end. Unfortunately, melee still felt a little clunky, with combos beings a little too hard to remember and apply in combat.

Exploration rewards with valuable loot and lots of experience points, even though I recommend prioritizing the main story until you can swim underwater and overdrive flying machines. Otherwise, you will need to backtrack most areas later on.

As expected, the graphics are some of the best on PS4 and a feast for the eyes on PS5. I have noticed some pop-ins while rushing through the map, but the quality of the character models is impressive. Even random side quests characters have realistic animations and detailed models.

Overall, it's been a fun game to play for the first dozen hours or so, but just as it happened with "Zero Dawn", it gets boring very quickly. I really like the setting and overall atmosphere, but it still lacks that edge in both the narrative and gameplay that made other Play Station exclusives memorable.