Horizon Forbidden West Reviews
Horizon Forbidden West is a triumph for Guerrilla Games. It takes the shining promise of Zero Dawn and elevates it in almost every way possible. This truly feels like the RPG the studio has always wanted to make, and I’m so glad that it finally gets to breathe without being overshadowed.
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.
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.
There are dozens of stories across Horizon Forbidden West that are every bit as cool, engaging, and thoughtful as that one. That makes it somewhat disappointing that the main story doesn’t quite hit the same heights in the end, as there’s a sagging middle that takes a little of the wind out of the finale. But it’s not something that’s worth sweating over, as the company that Aloy keeps consistently makes the trek work taking every step of the way.
Horizon Forbidden West is an exceedingly clever sequel, a deep and addictive action RPG, a dense world that unfolds with an impeccable sense of pace, a visual tour de force and the masterful delivery of a promising concept.
[Horizon Forbidden West] is a game of contrasts. A game about robot dinosaurs where you spend far too much time fighting robot meerkats and boars instead for some reason. One with brilliant voice acting that you begin to hate because some characters won't shut up. Where the side quests are great, but they're so simple as to feel pointless.
Forbidden West isn't a game that will surprise you or make you rethink the possibilities of what games can do, but it's proof that games can still be really fun even if they don't try anything new, and that's something we don't often see from big budget corporate games like this one.
Horizon: Forbidden West is a masterclass open-world game for gameplay and visual flair, but falls flat with its story. While it gets close, Forbidden West never reaches the potential heights of what it attempts to set up. Instead, Forbidden West serves as a solid chapter in what could be a fairly large tale that is an absolute joy to play and take in.
Horizon Forbidden West doesn't try to reinvent the genre, and it's barely an evolution either. The developers have simply mixed all the current ingredients in perfect proportions. What they did in the end was throttling the freedom, gradually revealing the full extent of the experience in Forbidden West. One of the finest adventures we've recently had for sure!
Review in Polish | Read full review
Thematically rich and bursting with content, Horizon Forbidden West is a beautiful and bloated behemoth of a game.
Horizon Forbidden West is everything you could hope for in a sequel. Not only does it provide more content to sink your teeth into, but it makes smart design decisions that refine its systems to be near faultless. Aloy’s personal story continues to evolve, this time with an even stronger supporting cast and memorable antagonists propelling her journey to another level. Above all, its moment-to-moment gameplay expertly combines the fun traversal, exciting combat, and creative problem-solving to awesome effect, meaning it always feels excellent to play. Horizon Forbidden West is one of the best open-world adventures available today and is a stellar experience from its strong introduction all the way to its dramatic conclusion, and beyond.
This is one of those sequels where the developers have really upped their game in just about every way, and even though I’ve now finished the main campaign, I still can’t wait to play more of it!
When Horizon Forbidden West lets you enjoy its incredible open world in peace, Aloy's second outing is a marvel to play, even if its swollen map doesn't fully make up for a lack of true invention.
Horizon: Forbidden West is a gorgeous and highly polished experience that takes full advantage of the Playstation 5's superior hardware. And while a dream come true for explorers, the sub-par story just prevents it from being a true masterpiece. Recommended for fans of the genre.
As an action-adventure, an RPG, a narrative, and open-world sandbox, and a way to simply spend time exploring a breathtaking world – it falls short. Engaging at times, thrilling too, but also disjointed, clunky, and unfocused in ways we didn’t expect.
A sequel should always be better, and Horizon Forbidden West is much better than its predecessor, by a distance as great as the journey itself.
An expansive, beautiful and engrossing new adventure that deepens the series' lore while doubling down on what made the original such a classic. A masterclass in meaningful open-world design, where exploration and curiosity is encouraged and rewarded.
Aloy's new journey is one to remember: the Forbidden West is a living, captivating and fascinating world, and everything you loved about Zero Dawn is back in a bigger, better and deeper way, in one of the best open worlds by PlayStation Studios.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In addition to ensuring a solid storyline and combat performance, Horizon Forbidden West also makes a lot of attempts in the application of new technologies and deserves to be evaluated as a work full of the spirit of exploration. However, from the perspective of gameplay, for Horizon Forbidden West, it is a bit unsatisfactory in the control of the pace of gameplay and the content enrichment of the open world.
Review in Chinese | Read full review