FIt’s been five years since Sony gave the in-house Playstation 4 one of the best open-world games with the Guerrilla Games studio “Horizon Zero Dawn” and once again got everything out of the console, which was already getting on in years. Protagonist Aloy redefined how female main characters can appear in video games, the cinematic story should be further exploited as a series or film in the not too distant future. With the successor “Horizon Forbidden West” the successor has now come onto the market. The venerable PS4 also received a version, but the main focus is on the sophisticated version for the Playstation 5.
Horizon Forbidden West takes place six months after the events of Zero Dawn, and the brief story recap at the start of the game is more than needed. The story of Aloy, who had to fend off a new threat to life on earth 1000 years after the fall of human civilization, was too opulent and cinematic. If you haven’t finished the main game, you should probably spoil yourself and read the story in peace to be able to enjoy the story of “Forbidden West” from the beginning without too many question marks in your head.
While at the end of “Zero Dawn” you thought you had saved the earth, at the beginning of “Forbidden West” this sense of achievement is immediately taken away. The AI ”Hades”, which was actually defeated, threatens humanity again. In order to turn them off, Aloy has to travel the long way to what is now western America.
Anyone who has played the predecessor will quickly find their way around the open world, but a very good tutorial at the beginning leaves no questions unanswered, even for newcomers. How the bow, spike launcher, tripping trap, bolt shooter, and rope launcher work is easy to figure out. The weapons are gradually introduced and can be upgraded with time and new materials. In the game world there is again a lot of climbing on steep walls and slopes, which is a lot of fun.
The 25 machine-like opponents, reminiscent of primeval animals, populate the world again, on the way west Aloy meets 15 new ones. Their vulnerabilities can be analyzed and exploited with a technical tool called “Focus”. The various weak points give the fights a pleasant tactical depth without being too overwhelming. Larger fights should be thought through beforehand, especially later on. For example, set traps help against particularly nasty monsters by being able to stun them temporarily, among other things.
Even more role-playing elements
In “Forbidden West” Aloy is also troubled by wild tribes, the fight against human opponents has been refined, since they now also have weak points that can be analyzed. In the fights, neither against machines nor people, the desired target can be firmly aimed at, so a button-tapping develops.
On the Playstation 5 you can choose between two graphic modes. The game runs at a frame rate of 30 FPS in graphics mode and 60 FPS in performance mode. The quality suffers a bit in performance mode, but the game runs smoother, which in turn helps especially in combat situations.
Collected experience points can be invested in a talent tree, in the categories warrior, trapper, hunter, survivor, invader and machine master. Compared to its predecessor, “Horizon Forbidden West” offers even more opportunities to develop Aloy in a role-playing manner, which is immensely motivating. Most impressive are the new courage pushes. This can, for example, temporarily increase the damage caused to opponents or activate a camouflage mode.
The game world in “Forbidden West” is even bigger than that in “Zero Dawn”. To explore these, there are new tools. A grappling hook, for example, offers new possibilities when climbing, even if it sometimes seems a bit awkward to use. As in “Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, Aloy now has a paraglider with which she can easily glide down from high towers, cliffs and mountains, which, for example, makes it easier to return to missions.
The West, newly developed by Aloy, offers some moments that leave you amazed. Walking through the ruins of Las Vegas, for example, as well as seeing San Francisco. In between there are deserts and snow-covered areas in which “Forbidden West” can show off its graphics power, especially on the Playstation 5. Aloy herself now looks even more detailed, her long hair moving realistically with the action. NPCs are also nicer to look at and seem more lifelike. As in the debut, the dialogues often have a certain wit that loosens up the sometimes longer conversations in a pleasant way.
Conclusion on “Horizon Forbidden West”
Overall, “Forbidden West” surpasses its predecessor “Zero Dawn”, especially in terms of play. The many new subtleties and details, be it the new enemy types or the development of the protagonist and her weapons, make the game one of the best open world titles. The game world is so rich in subtleties and different characters that you can immerse yourself for days. 30 to 40 hours of game time should be scheduled for the main quests alone. Only the story can’t keep up with the first work. That’s more in praise of Zero Dawn than criticism of Forbidden West. The mysteries surrounding the downfall of mankind, the newly emerging danger that Aloy must fight and the unknown origin of the protagonist herself were cinematic and a motivating force that was second to none. Well, in Forbidden West, those big mysteries are somewhat lacking.
A story that stands out more from the predecessor and didn’t want to continue telling it might have been a solution to avoid this. But these are criticisms on a very high level. Because: “Horizon Forbidden West” is one of the best current open-world games and will be one of the must-have titles on Playstation 4 and 5 for years to come.
Horizon Forbidden West
Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 5
Publication: Since February 18, 2022