Horizon Forbidden West Reviews
Horizon Forbidden West takes everything that fans loved about Zero Dawn and makes it better, with Guerrilla delivering another must-play PS exclusive.
Another beautiful technical achievement, Horizon Forbidden West is held back by clunky characters and new features that lack purpose.
A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast
People are going to play this game and have a lot of fun. That’s all a lot of people want from a game, and Forbidding West delivers. Through a certain lens, it deserves the perfect scores I’m expecting to see. But much like Ghost of Tsushima, a lot of you are going to come away disappointed by the lack of substance and new ideas. In many ways, Horizon Forbidden West is like it’s own machines. It’s grand, it’s gorgeous, but it has no soul.
What Guerrilla Games has achieved here is nothing short of phenomenal. Story, gameplay, mechanics, and the world itself are all such an improvement on the original game - which in itself is a feat alone.
Horizon Forbidden West reaches a new high bar for Guerrilla Games. It does more than surpass its predecessor; it takes Horizon’s fiction to captivating places and builds a rich world that rewards you for the effort you put into it.
Horizon Forbidden West sometimes packs in so much that it gets in its own way, but the many well-drawn characters populating its quests keep it compelling.
Returning to Aloy’s machine-threatened world is well worth the wait
I thoroughly enjoyed Horizon Forbidden West, and I suspect anyone who loves open-world RPGs will thoroughly enjoy it as well. But despite getting a kick out of fighting robot dinos, despite the enthralling time sink of “Machine Strike,” despite finding myself ravenous to return to this rich, inspired open world, I can’t shake how plainly Forbidden West misses the one philosophical throughline that helped its predecessor ascend to greatness: Sometimes, the question is more interesting than the answer.
Horizon: Forbidden West does a great job of building on the foundation that Zero Dawn laid out
If you’re a fan of classic Castlevania, you’re gonna like Infernax – and it’s so refreshing to play something that isn’t a soulslike or a roguelike and instead offers a true return to the days of old.
Horizon Forbidden West is an exceptionally crafted sequel, delivering a thrilling open-world experience that fans of the original game will love.
I’ve seen a lot of people say they have skipped Horizon: Forbidden West to play other games like Gran Turismo 7 and Elden Ring. I’m in the middle of Elden Ring now, and I feel like I have my training wheels on. But I wouldn’t skip Horizon: Forbidden West, as I feel like this is going to be one of the best games of 2021.
Anyone who digs these kinds of dense, map-based open world experiences is going to feel happy with what Guerrilla Games is offering here. This is something you could spend a lot of time with, first enjoying the story, then going out of your way to see and complete every last bit of content.
Horizon Forbidden West is a masterpiece. With a gripping story and a world ripe for exploration, you won't be disappointed.
With Horizon Forbidden West, Guerilla is armed with the grunt of the PlayStation 5, and we get not just a catalogue of alluring tones but a richer palette of ideas.
Horizon Forbidden West offers immersive content and an amazing world in which you will be lost for dozens of hours.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Horizon Forbidden West surpasses the first title in the saga with a sequel that surprises in its history and improves all aspects of its predecessor.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The overriding question “Horizon Forbidden West” left me with is ‘when will its prospective audience grow tired of the tired conventions that underwrite so many go-and-save-the-world adventure games?’ As much as I appreciated the fun that came from smashing up robots, “Horizon Forbidden West” won’t earn a spot in my long-term memory.