Horizon Forbidden West Reviews
After playing for more than 40 hours, I’m still mesmerized by the core gameplay loop of building up my tool kit and adjusting my approach to take on new, more powerful machines. More than that, though, I’m mesmerized by the world.
Anyone who enjoyed Zero Dawn will find something to enjoy in Horizon Forbidden West. It’s so much better than the original with a great story, well-integrated side content, and impressive enemy design. It doesn’t reinvent the open-world formula, but that’s not always a bad thing.
Aloy's journey through the Forbidden West is a grand one complete with awe-inspiring environments as you take down new machines with an expanded arsenal. Although the story is lacking the personal touch of the first game, if you're looking for an action-filled adventure with thoroughly enjoyable gameplay then you certainly can't go wrong with Horizon Forbidden West.
Taking place around 6 months after the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, Forbidden West begins with a recap cutscene of the events of the previous game before Aloy heads off where she must rebuild a super-AI called the Gaia in hopes to save her world. This is the part where I say, if you’ve never played Horizon Zero Dawn, I strongly suggest you go back and play through that first. Horizon Forbidden West is easily my current contender for game of the year. It’s got everything you need, an interesting story, satisfying combat, and visuals so good you’ll be forever in “Photo Mode”. Horizon Forbidden West is a must-own for anyone with a PlayStation 4|5.
The story will take new players to unexpected and breathtaking places, and fans of Horizon Zero Dawn will have plenty of their questions answered. While Horizon Forbidden West takes great leaps in its visual and story presentation, it stays the path with its gameplay, making small but notable additions that improve the experience.
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.
If you loved Zero Dawn and simply wanted more, warts and all, this is easy to recommend. But if you were looking for something groundbreaking with a lot more polish, then Horizon Forbidden West is really a mixed bag.
Buy! Experience! Enjoy! - that's basically all there is to say. If you liked Horizon Zero Dawn, you won't be able to get past Horizon Forbidden West. Everyone who is (finally) hooked by the release of the sequel is cordially invited to experience this masterpiece, but should think twice before starting with the predecessor. You definitely won't regret it, I put my hand in the fire for that. Regarding the story, there will surely be extensive discussions and comparisons about which one is better, but I won't join in. I find Horizon to be an impressive overall work. For example, Lord of the Rings only works for me as a trilogy. Not that I would now indirectly anteasern the third part (or yet?), but as a complete work Guerrilla has created here for me the almost perfect continuation.
Review in German | Read full review
Horizon: Forbidden West is better in every way. Aloy and the combat has matured, and top notch accessibility options ensure many types of players can experience her journey.
Horizon: Forbidden West is an enjoyable game from start to finish which easily allows you to become lost in its virtual mythology. The gameplay, sound and graphics work hand-in-hand to create an engaging PS5 title. It's also well-written and directed by the developers with fantastic voice acting and a soundtrack that sounds it has been taken from a Hollywood blockbuster which makes this game a masterpiece on the PlayStation 5 and a must play game… no, masterpiece of 2022!
Guerrilla brought us a workshop on how to make the ideal sequel, taking everything that needed improvement from the first game and adding new layers based on those same improvements. Aloy's journey continues to be memorable, setting the saga up for what seems to be the biggest and ultimate battle our favorite warrior has ever faced.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Horizon Forbidden West, by most counts, is another strong release for Guerrilla Games and PlayStation. This is very much a sequel that just looks to go bigger and better than its predecessor, and in that regard, it very much achieves what it sets out to accomplish. Although I wanted more from the story and the game's general structure is very much the same when compared to Zero Dawn, fans who loved the last title should still love the adventure that this follow-up takes you on.
Horizon Forbidden West succeeds in maintaining the high premise that teased us in the first chapter, while reformulating and strengthening some of the weak points. The retro engineering of the machines, as well as the AI that made them so fearsome, remains sublime on both the technical and design sides, expanding the catalogue of enemies. The human AI isn't quite up to the task, but the exploration is one of the most rewarding to experience on Sony's console. The open world, with its ingenious puzzles and meticulously painted regions with colourful microclimates, is one of the best in recent years. There are no vacuous areas of meaninglessness; everything is condensed to offer an experience that is never monotonous, that respects the player's time, and never wanes interest. The story experiences a swinging situation. While on the one hand there are palpable flashes of brilliance, which almost eclipse the narrative quality problems highlighted in the first chapter, on the other hand you arrive towards the finale with breathlessness and many questions. Although there are some technical glitches, which never undermined the experience, eighty hours of gameplay flow pleasantly in one of the most evocative and inspired worlds ever created in the PlayStation forges. It's all enhanced by a sophisticated formula that brings out all the combat styles and lively nature of Horizon. Water, land and air are teeming with life, while among the moss and climbing plants we can explore rust giants of the past, seeing our reality from a new perspective. The aesthetics presented by the development team manage to excel and shine in every aspect throughout the experience, providing moments of pure visual enjoyment. Embedded beneath the programming codes, however, is a message that should be read with the heart, before the mind. I hope that the moral shock raised in the work will reach all fans, trusting that the social criticism made by Aloy will be useful to inspire our generation as well. All in all, this is a must-have for those who love the genre and who own a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5, but it could have been more daring to break through the threshold of memorability.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Horizon Forbidden West is a worthy sequel to Zero Dawn. While the second game in Aloy's journey doesn't bring anything groundbreaking, it does come with a much bigger scale, all while introducing enhancements that make exploration easier and combat deeper. But the reason to play this game is to get lost in the deep world and lore.
Horizon Forbidden West is an exceptionally crafted sequel, delivering a thrilling open-world experience that fans of the original game will love.
An incredibly solid sequel that makes everything that was good about the original bigger and better, from world building to combat or traversal mechanics.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Forbidden West exceeded all expectations. If the first game had some problems here and there, its sequel constantly amazes and will be remembered as one of the best PlayStation exclusives in history.
Review in Russian | Read full review
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.
Because at its core, Horizon Forbidden West is a game about saving the world—both in the sense of preservation, and in the doomsday-averting action that involves shooting supervillains with pointy sticks. It’s about asking ourselves what we’re willing to pay, and lose, to ensure some part of our legacy persists. And it’s about what you can do in a world where the rich and powerful have murdered your future, while greedily ensuring their own lives on. It’s not a masterpiece—masterpieces rarely come this big. But it’s a world worth keeping, nevertheless.