Horizon Forbidden West Reviews

Horizon Forbidden West is ranked in the 98th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Gamepur
Aden Carter
8.5 / 10.0
Feb 21, 2022

While the difficult combat might not be for everyone, fans of open-world RPGs will fall in love with both the world and the story of Horizon Forbidden West. Despite some middling side-content, Horizon still holds its own against every other open-world game on the market.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

Horizon Forbidden West is another must have game for PS4 and PS5 and it requires many hours of your time, if you want to discover everything.

Review in Greek | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

Horizon: Forbidden West is still a top-tier game that’s well worth emptying one’s pouch of metal shards to purchase.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

‎If you loved ‎‎Horizon Zero Dawn‎‎ at the time, ‎‎Forbidden West‎‎ has enough arguments to leave you with your mouth open. Surely he will manage to hook you for several dozen hours and have you intrigued with everything he presents about his lore. Good work by Guerrilla Games, but there is potential for much more.‎

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2022

A successor to Horizon Forbidden West would need a refined story with a little less depth for unimportant secondary characters, less weapons with better focus so they’re used more, and improved mount controls (and hopefully flying access from the start). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll love her next episode as much as I’ve loved the previous two.

Read full review

JVL
Top Critic
17 / 20
Feb 14, 2022

While a few tweaks are still needed, if you liked Horizon Zero Dawn, you'll love Horizon Forbidden West.

Review in French | Read full review

Ken McKown
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

There is a ton to love here and I really loved coming back to this world. This is a must own for PlayStation owners.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

Read full review

8.7 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

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

8.8 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2022

You notice immediately that Horizon Forbidden West massively builds upon the first game and offers a lot more of machine models and side activities. The Gameplay stays excellent, only the story takes a lot of time to gain momentum. Forbidden West is still a sequel how most fans would've wanted it to be.

Review in German | Read full review

8.9 / 10.0
Feb 19, 2022

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.

Read full review

8.9 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2022

Small gaffes aside, Horizon: Forbidden West is everything I'd hoped for from the first game - and a lot more. It's a beautiful piece of work that deserves all the time a PS4 or PS5 owner can give it. It's a must-have in any game library and should be at or near the front of your rotation.

Read full review

89 / 100
Feb 14, 2022

A consistent sequel that surpasses the first part in gameplay, but is far behind in terms of story.

Review in German | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Feb 19, 2022

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.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Feb 23, 2022

The more meaningful side quests as well as the new and returning weapons and enemies make for one excellent game. Yes, there are some technical aspects which could still be polished up, but overall Forbidden West is a fantastic experience.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Feb 14, 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

9 / 10.0
Mar 22, 2022

Horizon Forbidden West is a phenomenal game. It does everything it aims to do to a very high standard. However, it does very little to expand upon Zero Dawn outside of refining the formula.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Apr 30, 2022

It’s absolutely gorgeous, the controls are tight and responsive, and the new weapons are a blast to play around with. The addition of the Pullcaster and underwater exploration were huge improvements to enhancing the gameplay. It’s a rich world that easy to get lost in. Even after beating the main story, I still want to go back and see what secrets I can discover.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Feb 18, 2022

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.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Mar 3, 2022

Horizon Forbidden West goes bigger and better in almost every regard but some rough story elements and clumsy climbing mechanics keep it from being as outstanding as it is visually.

Read full review