If we talk about Sony, almost a year and a half into the new console generation life cycle, it is confidently leading the platform exclusive race. Microsoft could only dream of a powerful single-player unique like Horizon Forbidden West. The situation will probably change in the future when Bethesda and others do something worthwhile. Still, for now, PlayStation is the thing to have or chase if you don't.

For your information, let us tell you that Horizon Forbidden West is a direct sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), a post-apocalyptic, open-world game and most of all, it has a remarkable science-fiction filled with fascinating ideas. The story is Continuing a tight narrative means you'll need a lot more complete context. There is no point in playing part 2 if you don't know Zero Dawn very well. Once again, story is paramount here in, say, some Ubisoft open-world game with a less subtle plot. So, let's assume that your familiarity with Horizon lore is solid.

The point of no return

After Meridian is successfully defended, after Silence betrays Alloy and stole Hades, you'll find the rogue AI who planned to reset the biosphere. But the immediate threat was over, but the environment is still in steady decline, slowly approaching the point of withdrawal. Solution? Finding Gaia AI's backup unit and kickstarting the process of environmental renewal. The Forbidden West begins with our heroine exploring ancient ruins, but the road runs cold.

For information, let us tell you that the Forbidden West, a vast area from modern continental America to parts of Nevada and California, is the next logical step. It is home to the Tenakathas, a collection of warrior tribes with a troubled history along the Karja. Alloy must make up with them and forge an alliance that will enable him to respond to the ultimate threat looming over everything. But the most important thing is that it is not possible to discuss the story further without resorting to spoiler, so now let me end the discussion on this. Will discuss further when we get updates

All dressed up for San Francisco

According to Congressional Act 1344/Z3 every modern post-apocalyptic game must include the ruins of Las Vegas in some shape or form, and must follow the Law of the Forbidden West letter. As a bonus, we experience San Francisco as ruined and partially submerged. The vast game world is filled with things to do, places to visit, tribal villages to aid in, and mechanical monsters to hunt. The progression system for both Alloy's gear and abilities starts from scratch, with a very compelling, inconsistent explanation of why. Progress, on the other hand, is more elaborate in almost every way. For example, class trees are full of active abilities and passive enhancements that are too many to mention. Some parts of it feel like pure bloat, and you won't need to use most of it.

If we talk about Horizon Forbidden West then it feels very easy most of the time. Yes, except for one or two boss fights. This is especially evident when solving simple environmental puzzles in the ruins. Alloy will constantly advise you how to proceed, giving you detailed pointers that make the experiment pointless. The stream of forced guidance never stops, not even during battles with machines. Hit that thing with acid/fire/plasma! God forbid if I would need to scan the enemy or consult the database. Yes, I know accessibility is the new Holy Grail, but the devs don't really need to go all the way to please everyone.

New and improved

Here's one more thing that you need to know and that is, your combat arsenal has been expanded with some new and very lethal projectile weapons. I loved throwing spears with explosive tips because they are useful for peeling armor from tough opponents. The great non-combat addition is the glider, the regenerated energy shield that enables the alloy to float down safely from any height. That's why it simplifies exploration.

From a technical point of view, Horizon Forbidden West is indeed a masterpiece. And the game was released for both PS5 and PS4, but the proper way to experience it is, of course, PlayStation 5. Compared to Zero Dawn I played on the PS4 Pro, Forbidden West looks a lot more detailed in every respect. The morphology of the terrain is greatly expanded with prominent verticality and the ability to climb a wide variety of surfaces. Although the climb is not very consistent. For example, some rock surfaces are not climbable eve

Beautiful time vampire

We all know about sports that it is absolutely massive. If you end the story while dealing with the limited number of side quests, tasks and contracts it could take you around 35 hours as this is my personal experience. One thing I observed here is that you can spend more than double if you decide to clear the entire map and solve every tribal problem under the sun. Even though my final perfection score wasn't high, let me tell you my final perfection score was only 32%, so there's definitely a lot of meat here that I was just about ready to consume.

The storyline of this game has the same vibrancy as the previous game, making the game an interlude for things to come. Yes, we get almost all the answers and a semi-happy ending, but the stage is set for an even more apocalyptic conflict in the future. If the objective was to leave the player hungry for new horizons, Forbidden West successfully did its job.

Highs

• Great story, albeit less impactful than the first one.
• Tons of content that will keep you occupied for a long time after you finish the campaign.
• The game is a technical masterpiece on PlayStation 5.

Lows

• Too much hand-holding in solving environmental puzzles, navigation, and combat.
• Quests wildly vary in quality – lots of optional filler is average at best.

Review platform: PS5

Developed by: Guerrilla Games

Published by: Sony Interactive Entertainment

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