Horizon Forbidden West

amazon Horizon Forbidden West reviews

In 2017, Guerrilla Games officially released their first “escape” game from the first-person shooter genre: Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Received much praise from the press and built a large fan base. Victory rushed up, and not long after that they achieved success with the DLC “Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds”.

After a period of silence, Guerrilla Games officially returned with information and performed many hot gameplay scenes, showing the next “big” progression that Aloy is about to await players to discover.

With what Guerrilla Games has learned from before, and the enthusiastic anticipation of fans, in particular, is Horizon: Forbidden West a “blockbuster” to look forward to in 2022?

One of the greatest strengths of Horizon: Zero Dawn continues to be promoted and expanded in Horizon: Forbidden West: an open world meticulously built with countless scenic wonders based on real-world locations, and at the same time do not forget to blend the sci-fi essence full of emphasis.

As in the previous part, most of the setting is taken from locations in many Western countries. Now, the development team of Guerrilla Games is strong enough to bring in Horizon: Forbidden West many ancient Asian cultures.

Covering it is a ruined ruin, surrounded by thorny wilds because it is a post-apocalyptic technological era, so there is still a faint smell of machinery, “refurbished” on the body is clinging vegetation every nook, room, skyscraper, even just dust, or the deep sea.

Everything about the landscape gives the impression of traveling in the world of the magical Avatar movie!

The tribes present in the world of the game have different customs and unique architectural backgrounds. The writer especially likes Utaru village the most – a sacred, rich, verdant land with a healthy lifestyle.

The biggest flaw in the graphics of the first part: is the stiff facial gestures of the characters, now almost completely modified, each character class in all dialogues, cutscenes are thoroughly processed, and the eyes are more emotional, limiting the “stiff” situation a lot.

It can be said that Horizon: Forbidden West is one of the games with the best facial gesture system and character model in today’s games, comparable to The Last of Us Part II, or if only considering As for the sub-classes, their liveliness is not inferior to other open world games.

The highly detailed machines from the early days are still respectable when there are many new, more complex, fierce species such as Shellsnapers – inspired by turtles but extremely large; or more goosebumps in the face of Slitherfangs – inspired by tyrant cobras!

Every mechanical working mechanism, every piece of armor on their body is meticulously rendered to every “pixel”, the physics are compelling!

The environment interaction system is also improved, for example, the characters and machines go through the grass to spread the foliage. Deserts, snow, and sand in the sea all have subsidence when interacting. The graphic outfit that was incomplete in the previous part now becomes almost a lot better in the rich graphics that Horizon: Forbidden West brings.

Another commendable point is the water environment, when players start diving into the deep sea, they will not be able to “Oh” because of the beautiful light reflection ability, accompanied by plant interactions, and images of fish. The swimming pool is built to perfection! If going to the dark deep waters, Horizon: Forbidden West will give us a sense of grandeur and mystery when facing aggressive swimming machines.

Sound is another huge plus that any player will surely have a hard time criticizing. With Sony’s new 3D sound technology, especially those who own headphones that support this technology, or a “slightly genuine” sound system, will realize the elaborateness that the development team can bring.

They are not only “good” when heard, but many times are very helpful in determining direction and orientation in many situations such as when you need to find items or attack the enemy in the hide places.

Improved graphics and sound are evident in most blockbusters, but it’s the gameplay that improves on the flaws or not that is crucial to determining the core’s success or not!

Horizon: Forbidden West is still based on the relatively stable foundation of Horizon: Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games has received feedback from both reviewers and players; and with the experience, they have brought to the game impressive highlights of their own!

If in Horizon Zero Dawn, the melee ability was very sketchy and didn’t have much effect, now, they have become mobile, and many combined attacks with long-range are more useful.

The melee moves have been re-animated, making every hit powerful, easy to control, and quick. Of course, the game can’t be compared to the “elders” of the “senior” ranks specializing in combat such as God of War, Devil May Cry V, etc. but the investment is very suitable for Aloy’s wild, tribal fighting style, even when stealthy, the enemy finishing moves are also very bold and skillful!

Next, the skill table of Horizon: Forbidden West also removes redundant skills from the previous part, such as riding a horse and collecting flowers at the same time, exchanging unnecessary items into “shards” (currency units) in-game exchange), etc.

Now the skills are carefully selected and refined, showing a much more pronounced impact, a more “bulging” effect in each specific skill unlock option. For example, the bow can shoot multiple arrows with the same force that affects the armor “waste” more blood, shoots bombs with a wider impact than the original, etc.

Weapons and costumes each have their upgrades (with the right item for forging). To upgrade them, players need to find a workbench on the map.

Machine battles continue to be the pinnacle of Horizon: Forbidden West: a flexible fighting style that can flexibly combine stealth and direct/passive attack. Now with new, more aggressive machines, it is very important to equip them carefully in this part.

As the writer mentioned, in Horizon: Forbidden West, players will many times have to wade rivers and seas to explore and get the necessary items to perform related quests.

However, players are not always favorable and active but often fall into a passive position, full of tension and suspense. For example, in the case of Aloy underwater exploration, mobility is less flexible and quite disadvantageous in combat. All players can do is hide in tall vegetation, if detected by underwater machines, they can only dodge attacks or drop smoke bombs underwater to create a way out. The chase screen under the dark deep sea in a passive and hunted mood created a sense of excitement, “heart attack” indescribable for players!

The climbing system in Horizon: Forbidden West is learned from many famous game series, although it is difficult to compare with the Assassin’s Creed series, it is also enough to expand the range of interaction so that players can climb comfortably and accompany them. Aloy also has ropes and gliders, which are so common in open-world action games these days – allowing them to take shortcuts or soar quickly at multiple locations instead of walking or climbing each slow step.

These tools are also supportive in many combat situations such as shooting ropes to dodge attacks and then quickly bouncing back to deal damage in melee attacks, or pop parachutes to another place to pave the way for yourself to conquer the war.

The map of Horizon: Forbidden West still possesses familiar activities such as the Hunting Grounds areas, the “tall necks” – similar to climbing towers in Ubisoft games but now bold puzzles with challenges become great than; Hunt down troops at Bandit Camps, visit the Caudron tunnels – a complex type of dungeon that was featured in the first part, to be able to “overdrive” huge machines to support the player later.

Other new activities are added to increase the gameplay value of the game, ranging from easy to difficult, relatively demanding in terms of agility, mastering skills, including horse racing screens, participating in melee pit competition, a large machine fighting arena, and even chess competitions in territories.

If you’re bored with the above activities and want to find something more exploratory about the wonderful world of Horizon: Forbidden West, players can search for scenic locations and puzzles based on hints to “unlock” the game’s hidden background stories!

Not to mention, learning from other famous open-world games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or most recently Ghost of Tsushima, semi-open like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, God of War, and Horizon: Forbidden West does not forget to bring in the zones. Area ruins from small to large to solve puzzles with the reward of moving, climbing, and even having to find the right codes to open the room to get the good stuff! These are also activities the writer likes very much because they are brainstorming a lot.

It can be said that Horizon: Forbidden West is a definite upgrade in gameplay: many entertainment activities, and many things to explore with a rhythmic and flexible battle array.

The reason the writer separates from the gameplay comment is that this is the most impressive thing when experiencing Horizon: Forbidden West.

The plot takes place right after the events of Horizon: Zero Dawn when Aloy “deals” with the potential threat from Hades. It seemed that everything was fine, but not long after that, the atmosphere suddenly changed completely for the worse.

The vegetation gradually died, spread by the deadly red, spreading like an epidemic, affecting the lives of not only people but also all species. No matter how many places I searched, I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

On one occasion when he returned empty-handed, Aloy revisited the Meridian kingdom, accidentally learning that Hades was still alive and having been sent a signal to the west. Realized that she needed to find out why, why, and what she believed would be the answer.

That is when the journey begins when she sets foot in the land of the West, said to be cursed and full of hardships.

The missions are performed very attractively, full of “twisted” push, causing unpredictable surprises in most of the stories, behaviors, and character motifs in particular.

Later, the mission line expanded, much crazier. The side-quests are also well-groomed, not inferior, or can be said to be equal in quality and quality with the main quest lines.

It’s been a while, since The Witcher 3, to see a game with well-executed side quest routes, full of cutscenes, and meticulous dialogue like this!

Companion characters from main to secondary are built with complex storylines, deeply and impressively exploiting their egos, and lifestyles and challenging their beliefs about what they believe.

Aloy himself often asked questions and felt the responsibility was too heavy on his shoulders. But the other good thing is that in Aloy, everything she believes has a chance, full of positivity in everything she’s experienced so far at Horizon: Forbidden West.

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The game creates many lessons for players to experience for themselves. The voices of the characters all leave a good impression on the writer with all emotions expressed clearly and satisfactorily, especially our main character: Aloy, keeping the “bloody” essence in the story themselves in each dialogue.

These factors contribute greatly and increase the overall positive perception of the main and secondary missions; good for both the overall plot and the game’s world in general. What is said to be “sometimes good, sometimes not” in the previous section?

The next impressive thing is that based on the time taking place in the main – side storyline, many lands of Horizon: Forbidden West gradually change according to the context.

Like the land of the Utaru tribe at the beginning is desolate and dead, over time the context will change, not keep the same until the end of the game. This method is quite similar to Fortnite which changes the level of the game every season, but the other thing is that there is no need to wait for any updates from the developer.

New side quests will also appear as players re-visit the lands. There is another small thing that the writer quite likes in Horizon: Forbidden West, that is that Aloy’s companions are not “disappeared” after completing the task, but still, stay to welcome her even though not necessarily what to do next. Seeing them is also a small pleasure.

The side activities that the writer mentioned above are mixed very well with the context, and have their narrative to explain why they are there rather than naturally being there.

The game creates a consistent unity in the design of the setting, the activities, the appropriate customs of each tribe, and the secrets of each region.

That is why the overview world of Horizon: Forbidden West becomes alive, harmonious, and meaningful according to the plot changes of each milestone!

Horizon: Forbidden West is a very good and beautiful open-world game, but if you have to think about it, many elements are still incomplete.

The scope of the game in this period has become complex and vast, so obviously rendering errors are inevitable, and the animation freezes when “loot” or fighting minions. The state of the machines naturally disappearing or… jerking up into the sky is also a relative error that happens quite a lot in the version that the writer experiences!

Not to mention that many buildings in the distance fail to render, clearly see the architectural arrays … suspended in the sky, but only when you get close enough, the surface veins “reinforced” into shape, this happens in many enemy camps.

In a total of more than 55 hours of gameplay, the writer was also splashed 5 times because of using the fast travel feature or when he was chasing, he fell in a hole, dying!

There are many other funny little bugs, but they are also located in many quest lines with companion characters, sometimes they disappear or are … lying dead in place.

But the heaviest is that some side quests still have to reload the game to redo, then the system of Horizon: Forbidden West will be completed.

If all the combat areas of the game are improved, the stealth part is the only part that still… keeps the same defect: The intelligence of the enemy is “human” but still very stupid!

For example, when the signal of suspicion has passed, they will say a green sentence: “Nothing, she must have gone!”, and quickly return to the previous travel schedule despite the corpses of their companions still lying here.

Even older games, like the Splinter Cell series, do better with artificial intelligence than Horizon: Forbidden West.

New tools such as the rope-shooting tool or climbing system are not applied more to combat. This leads to some rather odd cases, such as Aloy not being able to climb trees despite climbing very well! Because she can’t climb trees, she can’t kill soldiers as Lara Croft does in Rise of the Tomb Raider or Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima.

In the case that Aloy can shoot a pole, he can’t use the rope to flip people to enemies or machines like Just Cause 3, and Doom Eternal. Quite a pity for this potential tool!

The Hunting Grounds challenge and the machine battle area are generally quite similar.

The other is that Hunting Grounds focuses entirely on certain skill requirements to be completed in the shortest possible time, while the other area focuses solely on destroying all machines in the shortest time possible, not anything special.

So why not combine them into one?

A battle arena but want a higher score to include certain requirements?

At least, in my opinion, Horizon: Forbidden West will look less repetitive in terms of the game’s side activities.

As for the Melee Pit activity, it surprisingly looks like a slightly more advanced tutorial, rather than a cool mini-game.

Some challenges even allow melee combos with bows. Players can only really fight on the final challenge of each tribe.

I do not want to compare, but in this area Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate does a lot better, at least in terms of the nature of the operation: solo!

However, these are just a few personal observations of me that Horizon: Forbidden West may change, if the developer decides to bring this activity back in a later part.