Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to one of the most refreshing open-world action games of the past decade, featuring an evocative world mixed with technology and ancient history. Set six months after the events of the previous game, this new adventure continues the story of Aloy, a young tribal hunter who must travel to a new landscape when mankind is threatened. During her journey, she battles against fierce mechanical creatures as she explores the mystical new environments and seeks answers. Like the first game, Horizon Forbidden West is a wholly magnificent and impressive open-world game that anyone can enjoy.

Main Game Features

• Explore a vast landscape full of mysteries
• Mixture of third-person action and parkour
• Use gadgets and gear you discover during your journey

Story

The main story of Horizon Forbidden West tells the tale of Aloy, a tribal hunter who has fled from her home village and explores a post-apocalyptic United States years after humanity is left on the brink of extinction. Set half a year after the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy must explore a brand new section of the country to uncover information about a deadly plague. As the world decays around her, Aloy and her companion Varl head west, encountering all sorts of obstacles along the way. Between feuding factions of survivors and a new group of technologically advanced adversaries, it's a tough challenge for Aloy as she attempts to recover missing pieces of the GAIA system before it's too late.

Horizon Forbidden West flawlessly combines neat futuristic designs with a desolate post-apocalyptic world, creating a unique fusion of flashy technology and aging landscapes. The large cast of characters, which includes both returning characters and some fresh faces, is voiced very well, making it easy to get invested in the story. It helps that Horizon Forbidden West is beautiful to look at and highly cinematic, resulting in a sci-fi epic on par with Uncharted 4. Simply put, there's an awesome story to discover with tons of cool moments and interesting surprises.

Gameplay

Horizon Forbidden West offers a lot of new features and gadgets for players to enjoy, but the core of the game sticks closely to what was established in its predecessor. The game plays like a mixture of Monster Hunter: World, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Aloy is agile and deadly, swiftly defeating enemies with her bow and other offensive abilities. The new Valor Surge mechanic makes combat even more exciting, opening up new tactical avenues. There are a slew of new items that Aloy can use in her adventure, including the Focus Scanner, Shieldwing, and more. Players can either choose stealth to gain the upper hand or brave their foes head-on, providing a nice variety in gameplay.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Horizon Forbidden West is its world design, which offers much more variety than ever before. While the first game featured mostly barren deserts, abandoned villages, and lush forests, the sequel adds new biomes to explore. You'll travel through snow-covered mountains, explore once great cities that have fallen into squalor, and more. There's a notable emphasis on underwater combat and exploration, encouraging players to brave the ocean coast and explore dangerous cave systems. Overall, there are lots of quests to pursue and tons of ways to improve Aloy's abilities, making this an addictive and wondrous adventure.

Conclusion

Horizon Forbidden West proves that the success of the first game was more than just a fluke, as it's not only just as good as its predecessor, but improves on almost every core feature. The gameplay is smoother, the world is more varied and graphically impressive, and there are loads of new features to enjoy.

Pros

• Action is fluid and packs a punch
• Lots of environmental variety
• New features and gadgets are very fun

Cons

• Some areas are better than others
• Occasional graphic issues and glitches
• Can be overwhelming at times