Review: Horizon: Forbidden West – PS5
#RiseAboveOurRuin
Intro
Hello again, dear readers and friends! On February 28, 2017, Guerrilla Games took the gaming industry by storm when they released Horizon: Zero Dawn on the Sony PlayStation 4 console. Better known for the Killzone series of First Person Shooters, the nice folks at Guerrilla showed everyone that they can make anything they put their mind to.
Horizon: Zero Dawn was a complete success and, most of all, a great surprise for gamers everywhere. An Open-World Action RPG that even after 5 years still stands the test of time as one of the most impressive games on the older generation of consoles and, most importantly, one that remains forever in our hearts as one of those unforgettable experiences.
The next adventure in Aloy’s journey is Horizon: Forbidden West, another Open World Action RPG that promises to raise the stakes higher than ever before.
We received our review code for Horizon: Forbidden West from Sony Interactive Entertainment and Guerrilla Games a few weeks ago, and since then we ventured into the forbidden, but not forgotten lands and wilderness of the North with Aloy and her friends.
As I sit down now with my MacBook to put my thoughts on the digital paper, I ask Siri to play the Horizon: Zero Dawn soundtrack to better immerse myself into this wonderful universe.
Before I go on to the story, gameplay, presentation, and the accessibility sections for Horizon: Forbidden West, I must tell you right from the start that this game is bigger, better, bolder, and braver than Horizon: Zero Dawn. But that’s what we all want from a sequel, and with Guerrilla being one of the best game developers in the industry, it’s no surprise to anyone, anymore, that Horizon: Forbidden West is a masterpiece.
Story
Set just a few months after the dramatic conclusion of Zero Dawn, the action in Horizon: Forbidden West sees Aloy trying desperately to find answers about the impending doom that awaits the world. At the same time, she must face the distinct possibility that she won’t be able to prevent another apocalypse.
I must tread very carefully here because I don’t want to spoil anything from the previous game or God forbid, the non-disclosure agreement, of course, about what happens in Horizon: Forbidden West.
I think that is enough for me to say that Aloy will travel to the Forbidden West in search of answers and with the hope to save the world once again. She will encounter old friends and enemies, from main characters to formidable machines, to unforgettable locations – Aloy’s journey will be filled with secrets, dark mysteries, and non-stop action.
With our first playthrough for Horizon: Forbidden West, we finished the main campaign in 30 hours with just a handful of side missions completed, which I think is really impressive. I’m sure that a completionist will sink hundreds of hours into Horizon: Forbidden West, but for us, it was enough in order to be able to prepare this article for you.
We will return for sure to the Forbidden West when the time will permit that luxury.
Gameplay
The game mechanics in Horizon: Forbidden West are built upon those in Zero Dawn, but everything is much smoother and works better. The fighting, climbing, swimming, swinging, and absolutely everything related to Aloy’s movement and physics looks amazing and feels natural.
When we start the game, we have the option to choose the difficulty and the level of information that we want on the screen. Explorer mode will force the player to find everything on their own – the path, the way to the objectives, and the hud will be minimal and exploration mandatory.
We played using the Guided mode, meaning that our way was marked from the beginning and that objectives and paths were clearly displayed. We like to play games for fun, so we always choose the easiest way possible. For those looking for a challenge, there are a lot of opportunities to find just that, being by choosing the hardest difficulty or by combining it with the Explorer mode.
I won’t touch on every mechanic available in Horizon: Forbidden West, but I want to tell you about the harpoon that Aloy can use to reach almost inaccessible areas and about the shield that becomes very handy when you need to glide when jumping or falling from higher places.
In her journey, Aloy will face fierce machines that can be defeated only by using well-defined strategies and powerful blows. The combat is always exhilarating and addictive! Only by using an extensive range of powers, upgrades, active and passive special abilities, Alloy will be able to defeat these foes and continue in her mission.
As with any RPG before it, Horizon: Forbidden West wants you to explore the world, vanquish its creatures, and uncover long-hidden mysteries. An extensive skill tree for Alloy will ensure that those who venture into the Forbidden West will scrounge for resources in order to unlock every upgrade possible.
The hours will fly by without you noticing the passing of time. Horizon: Forbidden West will grab you by the neck and pull your body and soul into this completely immersive universe!
Graphics, Sound, and Performance
Horizon: Forbidden West is without a doubt the best-looking game on the current generation of consoles. The PS5 is a powerhouse of technology. From the amazing graphics to the instant loading of the world and to the seamless fast travel, not even a second is lost from when you press a button and you see its action reflected on the screen.
The world of Horizon: Forbidden West is full of life, color, and activities for you to enjoy. From the open fields to the mountains with their peaks touching the skies, to the luxurious jungles, the sandy, barren deserts, and to the snowy wilderness, Horizon: Forbidden West is something to behold! Delivering one of the most photorealistic and cinematic experiences, this game delights and entertains with its lush environments sprinkled with sunken cities, and warring tribes.
Alina tells me that for the first time in a video game the characters have that human spark in their eyes. That unique thing that makes them look and feel alive!
The same level of attention to detail is reflected upon every little thing in Horizon: Forbidden West. Every character, machine, area, and texture is polished to a shine, and although from time to time a texture will load a little slower, or a bug will rear its ugly head, the game is a visual treat.
Yes, I know that I can’t see any of it, but Alina did and that’s enough for me.
Although I am legally blind and couldn’t see a thing, I was able to feel and hear everything. Thanks to an accessibility function that I will talk about below, I was able to feel every action Alina took on-screen and even take part in the adventure…
The DualSense springs to life in our hands immediately after booting up Horizon: Forbidden West. You will feel every leaf, every drop of rain, every rock pebble, and every grain of sand thanks to the fantastic implementation of the haptic feedback. During fights you will get an adrenaline rush when you realize that your weapons feel real, of course, that is because the adaptive triggers will trick you into thinking you are there.
There are many other surprises waiting for you in this adventure, but I don’t want to spoil them for you, so all that I will tell is that the world is always feeling fresh thanks to a day & night cycle, dynamic weather, and even some storms.
The 3D audio opens an entirely new dimension combining the epic soundtrack with fantastic voice acting and excellent sound design and direction. The music feels alive, it comes and goes as it pleases, but always accentuating the most important moments of Aloy’s beautiful adventure.
Top-notch actors from renowned TV shows, audiobooks, and even Hollywood movie stars bring all these characters to life with unparalleled skill and emotion. As you may know, I review audiobooks and I am a huge fan of voiceover artists, so I must give the highest of praise to Ashly Burch, the actress who plays Alloy, her performance is absolutely incredible, full of emotion and gritty.
Also, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lance Reddick, and others contribute to the complete level of immersion when it comes to voice acting in Horizon: Forbidden West.
Even the secondary NPCs are almost all the time as remarkable as the main characters.
Horizon: Forbidden West runs smoothly on the PS5. As always, we have two graphic modes, one for Performance and one for Fidelity. We prefer the higher resolution and textures to the detriment of frame rate, but I’m sure that a lot of you will choose the 60 FPS option.
Accessibility
Horizon: Forbidden West comes with a strong suite of accessibility options that will help a lot of impaired gamers to venture into the wilds alongside Aloy. Probably everyone who is not legally blind will enjoy this adventure.
First of all, the accessibility menu is displayed prominently in the user interface, right on the main page. That is a very good approach to make it easily accessible. We have options that allow the gamer to customize a lot of the functions such as Auto Shield that will activate automatically when Alloy falls, Auto Heal that heals her when life level drops under 50%, but using resources from the inventory, and Auto Mount navigation or Auto Completion of the QTEs.
The only things missing are accessibility options for the blind. There is no menu narration, no text to speech, no audio cues or audio assistance for navigating the world. That’s really sad and too bad because this could have been such an immersive experience for blind gamers everywhere.
The only thing that can be considered assistance for the blind is the option for co-pilot, the ability to add a second controller so one of the players can guide the other. That’s what we’ve used. Alina handled the camera stick and other commands so I was able to participate in fights and feel all the things mentioned above.
It saddens me to see that even years after the pledge for accessibility made by Sony Interactive Entertainment, we are still getting games developed by teams under the PlayStation Studios umbrella without an inclusive suite of accessibility options that cover all the spectrum of disabilities.
In 2020 Naughty Dog, with help from Brandon Cole, a blind gamer, and award-winning accessibility consultant, has changed the meaning of accessibility in video games, revolutionizing the industry with The Last of Us, Part II. This is a AAA game completely playable by blind, low vision, the deaf, people with motor impairments and other disabilities.
PLEASE, SONY, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES AND RELEASE ALL UPCOMING GAMES WITH A SIMILAR SUITE OF ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS AND MAKE IT A STANDARD IN YOUR STUDIOS!
Nevertheless, I am grateful that I’ve been able to experience Horizon: Forbidden West using the co-pilot function, and thanks to the excellent implementation of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, plus 3D audio, I was able to feel like I took part in this epic adventure.
Conclusion
I guess that you gathered from what I said above that we consider Horizon: Forbidden West to be a masterpiece on all levels. From the intriguing storytelling to the addictive gameplay, to the amazing graphics and to the immersive sound design, there is absolutely nothing here to complain about.
Horizon: Forbidden West is in every way possible better than his predecessor and that’s no small fit to accomplish considering that Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the best games on PlayStation 4.
If you have a PS5, you can purchase Horizon: Forbidden West with your heart resting easily, because it will be the best game you will play for years to come.
Yes, I know that God of War Ragnarok will also BE released this year, but to be honest with you and excepting the fact that I will make some readers angry, I am more attached to Aloy than to Kratos lately.
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Review copy provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment & Guerilla Games via PlayStation Romania
VERDICT: AMAZING
Victor Dima
Excellent review for what seems to be an epic and soon to be classic game. Wow, you paint such a vivid picture with your words. So much detail and insight, i feel immersed in the world of Horizon: Forbidden West even before pickibg up the controller. It almost amazes me how you were able to so with out any spoilers! But I have read your other reviews and just know that is your gift. Straightforward and honest, but also enticing for both true gamers and casual fans equally alike. You had me hooked early on, and by the end I decided to definitely get this game and refer everyone I know to your site for future reviews and games to check out from a trusted source. Thank you for sharing this!