


The game’s ruins are a perfect example of that. Image used with permission by copyright holder When Horizon Forbidden West casually drops in a surprisingly deep figure-battling minigame, it could reasonably become an instant obsession for an unsuspecting player. Open-world games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla tend to give players tons to do, but each activity can feel flat as a result, as if developers were spread too thin to make any one idea sing. Just about everything in Horizon Forbidden West is bigger and, for the most part, better. Jack of all tradesĬombat isn’t the only element that gets a workout here. When a battle starts to feel hopeless, there’s always a way for players to get the upper hand. There are “super” abilities too, such as one that raises Aloy’s chance of critical hits for a short period.
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With the javelin, Aloy can throw a few up in the air and rain them down on a patch of enemies. Every weapon type can gain a special alt-fire mode that can quickly turn the tide of battle. To round things out, Aloy can now also execute special abilities, thanks to more in-depth skill trees. It’s a more thoughtful system that incentivizes players to mix up their attacks and get strategically aggressive. She can even create a weak point on man or machine by unleashing a charged power attack. This time, Aloy can execute more combos beyond light and heavy attacks. In the previous game, spear attacks felt like an afterthought, which made any battle against humans a slog. The game also retools its melee combat, which is a blessing. Moments like that make fights feel more strategic and reward players who can quickly analyze the design and behaviors of any new monster they face. When it rears its head off the ground, it exposes a weak spot: A column of grinding gears on its chest. Early in the game, Aloy faces an enormous metal snake that chaotically slithers around. While Horizon Zero Dawn mostly featured monsters based on dinosaurs, Forbidden West looks to the wider animal kingdom for inspiration - and it’s better for it. To make good use of the new tools, Guerilla Games has doubled the amount of machines in this game. While I tried to salvage as many parts as possible, some tough enemies required that I hit the panic button and prioritize survival over scavenging - and I got a big, gleeful explosion for my trouble. Tools like that only make battles more layered. Early in the game, I acquired an exploding javelin, which I could chuck at big monsters to cause massive damage, though it would destroy useful parts. But for players who don’t want to hide in the bushes waiting to strike, the sequel is much more accommodating to different playing styles. It turns every battle into a complex puzzle where patience is rewarded. Slowing down time and sniping a component off a machine with a well-placed arrow remains a satisfying thrill. Horizon Forbidden West doubles down on those strengths in every possible way with better weapons and enemies. The main hook of that game is that players use arrows, traps, and stealth to deconstruct detailed machines piece by piece. Upon firing my first arrow, I immediately remembered why Horizon Zero Dawn captivated me in 2017: Its combat is unmatched. Guerilla Games solves many of the biggest gripes players had with its predecessor to create a gorgeous open-world game with better traversal, more varied combat, and awe-inspiring machines that are a joy to tear apart. Though it’s not without its technical hiccups, Horizon Forbidden West is a strong addition to the PS5’s growing collection of hits. She’s persuasive I was right there with her. Aloy sees the potential utopia growing amid the decaying cities, like a rose in concrete, and is determined to save it.
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Instead, it presents a bright and beautiful open world full of tribes that have found ways to coexist with machines without sacrificing nature. Despite its gloom-and-doom premise, it’s not a cynical game. It once again drops players into a postapocalyptic world where humanity and nature alike have begun to reform following a man-made catastrophe that filled the world with deadly machines resembling malevolent versions of Boston Dynamics robots. Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to 2017’s hit Horizon Zero Dawn. THE GAME AWARDS 2021: Horizon Forbidden West World Premiere Trailer
