Horizon Forbidden West

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Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Guerrilla Games [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s) Mathijs de Jonge
Producer(s) Joel Eschler
Programmer(s) Michiel van der Leeuw
Artist(s)
  • Jan-Bart van Beek
  • Misja Baas
Writer(s) Ben McCaw
Composer(s)
Series Horizon
Engine Decima
Platform(s)
Release
  • PS4, PS5
  • 18 February 2022
  • Windows
  • 21 March 2024
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Horizon Forbidden West is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), the game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States recovering from the aftermath of an extinction event caused by a rogue robot swarm. Player, assuming control of Aloy, must venture into the Forbidden West to find the source of a mysterious plague that kills all it infects. The player can explore the open world and complete quests using ranged and melee weapons against machine creatures and hostile rebels. Forbidden West introduced new gameplay mechanics to the franchise, such as new transversal tools, underwater exploration, and expanded melee combat.

Contents

Guerrilla Games began developing Forbidden West in 2018. Development of the game peaked at over 300 full-time employees and cost around US$212 million, making it one of the most expensive video games to develop. One of the team's goals was to "recapture the magic" of the original game, and the team made efforts to expand exploration and combat to support various playstyles. Guerilla also invested more resources into creating the game's cinematics and spent more time creating character-driven side quests for the game. Ashly Burch and Lance Reddick returned to provide the voice for Aloy and Sylens respectively, and they were joined by Angela Bassett and Carrie-Anne Moss. As with Zero Dawn, the game was powered by Guerilla's in-house Decima engine. Announced in June 2020, the game was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 18 February 2022.

The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the visuals, combat, the cast's performance and quest design but criticized its story and Aloy's characterization. Most reviewers agreed that Forbidden West was a bigger and more refined experience when compared with Zero Dawn, though it was more of an evolutionary experience instead of a revolutionary one. It had sold over 8.4 million units by April 2023. It was nominated for several end-of-the-year accolades, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022. An expansion, Burning Shores, was released for the PlayStation 5 in April 2023. The game and the Burning Shores expansion was collected together and re-released as Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition for PlayStation 5 in October 2023, and ported to Windows by Nixxes Software in March 2024. A new installment in the Horizon franchise is currently in development.

Gameplay

In this gameplay screenshot, Aloy is fighting against a flying animalistic machine with a Boltblaster. Horizon Forbidden West screenshot.jpg
In this gameplay screenshot, Aloy is fighting against a flying animalistic machine with a Boltblaster.

Horizon Forbidden West is an action role-playing video game played from a third-person perspective, set in a world populated by dangerous, animalistic machines. The player controls Aloy, a hunter who ventures into an uncharted frontier known as the Forbidden West, a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States to investigate a mysterious plague. [1] Aloy's primary weapon of use is bows and arrows with different ranges and rate of fire. Other weapons in the game include a blastsling which allows Aloy to slingshot bombs towards enemies, and a Shredder Gauntlet, which launches serrated discs useful for tearing armor and components, among others. She can also lay down traps and tripwires, as well as using the ropecaster to tether enemies to the ground, immobilizing them. [2] Certain weapons in the game have different ammo types, allowing players to inflict elemental damages towards enemies. For instance, acid ammo may melt an opponent's armor, while shock ammo can stun enemies. Elemental damages can also be chained. For instance, purgewater arrows may result in a "drenched status" for a machine, making them more vulnerable to shock arrows and stopping them from inflicting elemental attacks of their own on Aloy. Elemental status of a machine will gradually accumulate, and the machine will be significantly affected or damaged by that elemental status for a brief period of time. [3] The player can use Aloy's Focus to tag an enemy, and scan them to identify their weaknesses. [4] Aloy may also detach parts of the machines through her attacks, crippling a large amount of their health, remove their attack capabilities, and occasionally being able to use their own detached weapons against them. [5]

Melee combat is significantly expanded when compared with Zero Dawn. Aloy, with her spear, can now chain up her attacks with various types of combos. For instance, the "Resonator Charge" ability allows players to release charged enemies against their opponents as they attack enemies with their spear. [6] Stealth is also a viable tactic, as Aloy can hide in tall grass, distract unsuspecting enemies, and silently strike enemies without drawing attention. [7] As Aloy progresses in the game and completes various quests, she earn more experience points (XP). [8] With sufficient XP, Aloy's health will increase and skill points may be unlocked. Skill points can be spent on one of six skill trees targeting six different playstyles: Warrior (melee combat), Trapper (using traps), Hunter (ranged combat), Survivor (scavenging resources), Infiltrator (stealth) and Machine Master (overriding machines). [9] By playing the game tactically (such as performing headshots against human enemies or tearing components off a machine), players are granted with additional combat XPs, ultimately enabling them to unleash "Valor Surge", a powerful special attack that inflicts a large amount of damage towards enemies. [10]

Exploration

Like its predecessor, Forbidden West is an open world video game. The game offers two modes of exploration: Guided mode highlights key items and locations of interest, while Explorer mode has a more minimalistic user interface, requiring players to reach locations with the help of a compass. [11] Fast travel points can be accessed after discovering campfires in the wild, [12] while visiting shelters enables players to change the time of day. [13] Players will meet different non-playable characters (NPCs) and complete side quests for them. [14] While conversing with other NPCs, players can sometimes choose from one of three dialogue options, with each representing Aloy's tone and attitude towards a scenario or character, though they will not affect the game's narrative. [15] Players can identify locations of interest by ascending to the top of a Tallneck (a giraffe-like machine) and overriding it. [16] They can also venture into "cauldrons", which are often a series of platforming challenges culminating with a boss fight. [17] There are a large assortments of side activities the players can do in Forbidden West, including finding collectibles such as survey drones and ancient black boxes, [18] clearing rebel camps and outposts, [19] completing salvage contracts and timed hunting challenges, [20] [21] competing in fight pits against humans or machines, [20] and finding relics through solving environmental puzzles in ancient ruins. [22] At major settlements, players can also play an in-game board game named "Machine Strike". [23]

Aloy is an agile character, and her Focus allows her to highlight climbable surfaces. [5] As the player progresses, they will unlock the pullcaster which can pull down obstacles. It also serves as a grappling hook, allowing players to access difficult-to-reach areas. [24] She will also unlock a diving mask which enables underwater exploration, and a Shieldwing which allows her to glide through the air, further aiding her transversal. [23] Completing cauldrons in the game allows players to unlock "machine overrides", enabling them to tame certain machines, use them as mounts to travel great distances, or turn them against other machines in combat. [17] As players explore the world, they will also collect various resources, such as medicinal berries to refill Aloy's health, and other crafting components necessary for expanding Aloy's inventory, and upgrading weapons and outfits at workbenches scattered in the game's world. [25] [26] Both weapons and outfits are divided into different levels of rarity, with the rarer weapons providing stronger perks to players. [27] Ingredients can also be brought to a village chef, who will cook a meal for Aloy which can boost her stats and briefly improve her combat efficiency. [12] While Aloy can only carry a limited amount of items in her inventory, extra items collected in the wilds will be directly transferred to a cache found in major outposts or settlements in the game. Accessing the cache allows Aloy to restock necessary items. [5]

Synopsis

Ashly Burch (14703225936).jpg
Ashly Burch
Lance Reddick at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.jpg
Lance Reddick
Bursh and Reddick portrayed Aloy and Sylens respectively, reprising the roles from Zero Dawn.

Setting

Horizon Forbidden West continues the story of Aloy (Ashly Burch), a young hunter of the Nora tribe and a clone of the Old World scientist Elisabet Sobeck, as she leads a band of companions on a quest to the frontier region known as the Forbidden West to find the source of a mysterious plague that kills all it infects. On her journey across these lands, Aloy encounters new regions ravaged by massive storms and deadly machines, and conflicts with a tribe of nomadic raiders, some of which have tamed the machines as war mounts. She discovers a vast array of environments and ecosystems, including lush valleys, dry deserts, snowy mountains, tropical beaches, ruined cities, and underwater settings. [28]

Plot

In the six months following the defeat of HADES (Anthony Ingruber) in Horizon Zero Dawn , Aloy has been searching fruitlessly for a working backup of GAIA (Lesley Ewen) to restore the planet's rapidly degrading biosphere. After she discovers that her former associate Sylens (Lance Reddick) did not destroy but stole HADES, he contacts Aloy and asks her to continue her search in the region known as the Forbidden West.

Aloy and her friend Varl (John Macmillan) cross into the west to find the ruling Tenakth tribe amidst a civil war between Chief Hekarro (Geno Segers) and the rebel leader Regalla (Angela Bassett). Aloy tracks Sylens to a facility where she finds HADES badly damaged and permanently deletes it. She recovers a GAIA backup without its subsystems but is interrupted by a group of futuristic humans. The group, consisting of their leader Gerard (Dan Donohue), his lieutenant Tilda (Carrie-Anne Moss), enforcer Erik (Marc Kudisch), and accompanied by a clone of Sobeck named Beta (also voiced by Burch), possess advanced technology that renders them invulnerable. They take a second GAIA backup while Aloy barely escapes.

Zo (Erica Luttrell), a member of the nearby Utaru tribe, guides Aloy to a control center where she rejoins GAIA with her subsystem MINERVA. GAIA locates the other subsystems, AETHER, DEMETER, and POSEIDON, and advises Aloy to retrieve them before attempting to capture the more advanced HEPHAESTUS. GAIA reveals the extinction signal that triggered HADES and mutated the subsystems originated from the Sirius system; Aloy suspects that the futuristic humans sent it. She later tracks down Beta, who informs Aloy that her group are, in fact, Far Zenith, an organization of billionaire colonists who fled Earth during its global extinction, having managed to extend their natural lifespans. After their colony on Sirius collapsed, the Zeniths returned to Earth to use GAIA through Beta's genetic make-up for their own recolonization. They already acquired subsystems ELEUTHIA, ARTEMIS, and APOLLO, but Beta has stolen their GAIA backup.

Aloy recovers AETHER after helping Hekarro advance in the civil war and retrieves POSEIDON from the ruins of Las Vegas. Journeying to California, she encounters the Quen, a foreign tribe attempting to solve ecological crises in their homeland. Aloy helps tribe member Alva (Alison Jaye) acquire data while recovering DEMETER. After obtaining a high-level clearance from the private bunker-turned-tomb of a grotesquely mutated Ted Faro (Lloyd Owen) before it's burned down in the ruins of San Francisco, Aloy helps GAIA to trap HEPHAESTUS but is attacked by the Zeniths. Erik kills Varl and recaptures Beta while Gerard steals GAIA, but Tilda double-crosses them and helps Aloy escape. Tilda explains that she was romantically involved with Elisabet Sobeck and regretted leaving her; having been inspired by Aloy, she wishes to stop Far Zenith. She further reveals that Sylens has been supporting the Tenakth rebels to use them against the Zeniths. Aloy refuses to sacrifice the Tenakth and instead defeats Regalla herself after thwarting the latter's final attack on Hekarro.

Aloy and her companions assault Far Zenith's base, while Beta releases HEPHAESTUS into the Zeniths' network and it builds a near-endless amount of machines that tie down Far Zenith's army of drones. Sylens disables the Zeniths' personal defences, allowing Aloy and Zo to kill Erik, while Tilda kills Gerard. Aloy and Beta learn that the Far Zenith colony was destroyed by Nemesis, a failed mind uploading experiment they created; the Zeniths fled from Nemesis and hoped to steal GAIA to colonize a new planet. Nemesis also sent the extinction signal to Earth and is en route to destroy the planet. Tilda tries to force Aloy to abandon Earth with her, but Aloy refuses and is forced to kill Tilda. Sylens reveals that HADES told him about Nemesis and also plans to escape Earth, but has a change of heart and decides to aid Aloy against Nemesis. Aloy's companions disperse to spread the warning of Nemesis while Aloy and Beta reactivate GAIA.

Burning Shores

Some time after the defeat of Far Zenith, Sylens warns Aloy that one Zenith member, aerospace magnate Walter Londra, remains unaccounted for. The last known sighting of Londra places him at a location to the south called the Burning Shores, the former site of Los Angeles. Upon arriving in the Burning Shores, Aloy meets a member of the Quen tribe, Seyka. Seyka agrees to guide Aloy to Londra's hideout on Starlight Rise (Griffith Observatory), in return for helping her disable a Zenith defense tower. Seyka takes Aloy to her settlement, Fleet's End, explaining that her fleet was separated from the main Quen expedition heading to San Francisco, shipwrecked on the Burning Shores, and have been stranded since. It is revealed that Seyka stole a deceased Diviner's Focus and found a clue that some crew that had gone missing are located at Starlight Rise. Admiral Gerrit allows Aloy and Seyka to pursue this lead since one of the missing crew is Seyka's sister and the fleet's last remaining navigator.

Working together, Aloy and Seyka destroy the Tower and make their way to Starlight Rise. Upon reaching it, they discover signs that Londra has captured the missing Quen crew and has been forcing them to excavate his old headquarters. They find evidence of him retrieving data on a project called "MSP" and follow his trail north to the wreckage of a Horus war machine resting near the Hollywood Sign. They come across a Quen camp and are dismayed to see that the missing Quen crew have willingly joined Londra, worshipping him as a god who promises them "Ascension". They infiltrate Londra's Ascension Hall and discover that he is using the Horus to build a rocket to take him off the planet. However, in order to get the lift he needs, Londra salvaged experimental nuclear booster engines from the Starlight Rise but the use of them would irradiate the entire Burning Shore and its surrounding lands. After eliminating Londra's henchman Zeth, they learn he has taken a small number of his most loyal Quen, including Seyka's sister, to a nearby abandoned amusement park in preparation for their journey.

Aloy and Seyka infiltrate the park and make contact with Londra's personal AI, Nova. Nova explains that Londra intends to use his rocket to take himself and a select few Quen and genetic library collected from his Quen followers to found a new colony away from the threat of Nemesis. However, to ensure that his followers will not betray him, Londra reactivated his Mutiny Suppression Protocol research, using it to brainwash Quen into being his loyal followers. Nova then deactivates Londra's security measures in return for Aloy deleting her so she can finally be free from Londra's constant tweaking of her personality matrix. They enter Londra's inner sanctum, where they find him ready to seduce Seyka's sister Kina. Seyka then intervenes, forcing Londra to flee back to his bunker underneath the Hollywood Sign. Londra activates the Horus and uses it to attack Aloy and Seyka, who sabotage its cooling system to weaken it and open a breach in its hull. Aloy then infiltrates the Horus and kills Londra.

In the aftermath, Aloy sends all of the data from Londra's Focus to Sylens, and helps the Quen in Fleet's End make contact with Alva so they can coordinate on reuniting their fleets. Aloy also has an option of starting a romantic relationship with Seyka before temporarily parting ways. Upon returning to her base, Aloy meets with Sylens who has managed to decrypt some of Londra's data, finding a list of 21st century companies that were developing experimental weaponry that may be key to defeating Nemesis.

Development

Guerrilla Games began developing Horizon Forbidden West in 2018, a year after its predecessor Horizon Zero Dawn was released. [29] It was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. [30] According to documents from Sony, the five-year development peaked at over 300 full-time employees and cost around US$212 million, making it one of the most expensive video games to develop. [31] The studio was split into three subteams: the Core Design team responsible for combat, player system and user interface, the Quest Design team responsible for the design of the game's main quests, side quests and tutorials, and the World Design team responsible for creating an immersive game world and populating it with activities. [32]

Gameplay design

One of the team's biggest goals was to "recapture the magic" of the original game and to maintain momentum. As with the original game, the team identify three main pillars for development: having strong and memorable characters, exploration emphasizing the majesty of nature and ancient ruins, and "clever" combat which encourages strategic planning. [33] As Aloy journeys into the Forbidden West, the team wanted to ensure that "there is always a mystery for her to unravel, and always more for her to explore". [34] As a result, underwater and aerial exploration were added to the game, though the development of both were noted to be "challenging" from a technical perspective. [35] Quest designer Samantha Schoonen described underwater exploration as a "natural extension to traverse long-lost unknown places", and the team intentionally avoid the oppressive tone typically found in underwater levels in other video games, and instead focused on "fast and agile traversal" and stealth gameplay. [36] Gameplay was designed to promote player's choices. For instance, new tools were introduced to aid transversal and exploration, as well as providing different but viable ways to solve environmental puzzles; various playstyles were supported, enabling players to choose how they prefer to engage with enemies, and switch between playstyles at will in the game; [37] skill trees were also overhauled completely. [10] Cauldrons return from Zero Dawn, though its design are more varied to upset player's expectations, with some of them tied to setpieces. [38]

The gameplay team identified Aloy as a "smart, fast, agile, precise, and resourceful" character, and had to translate these personal qualities into gameplay mechanics. Melee and ranged combat were more interweaved together, with Valor Surges such as the Resonator Blast allowing players to quickly change from melee to ranged combat as a part of combo. [37] The team introduced more variety to human enemies, such as introducing armoured enemies; their artificial intelligence was also designed to be more aggressive in Forbidden West. [34] Whereas in Zero Dawn, human and machine enemies were two disparate groups, Forbidden West attempts to integrate the two together by having Aloy fighting against human enemies commandeering machines. [37] A number of new machines were introduced in Forbidden West, including larger flying machines such as the Sunwing (inspired by flying reptiles and primitive birds), and the Tremortusk (inspired by mammoths and war elephants). Zero Dawn establishes the machines in the game as caretakers of the world, and the team programmed each machines to exhibit behaviours that will match their roles in an ecosystem. [39] Additional textures were added to each machine so that players can better identify the weak points on each of them visually, and more audio cues were introduced to each machine to better signal to the player their actions. [40] Hunting machines is more vital in Forbidden West, as the studio made them a more integral part of crafting, with certain upgrades costing a specific machine parts. [41]

The world in Forbidden West is slightly larger than that from Zero Dawn, though the studio focused on increasing the world's density to ensure that it was filled with content, and the team attempted to make these content engaging through telling side stories with them. [34] NPCs encounter in side quests may appear again as player progresses further, and the team rewarded players more handsomely with side quests, and tied them to the overarching narrative so that completing them felt more worthwhile. [4] After evaluating player's feedback of Zero Dawn, the team decided to make each settlements more dynamic by introducing a "general sense of them being more lifelike" with improved animations and better NPCs AI patterns and schedules. [4] An improved crowd system was introduced, with a more diverse range of audio, so that each area within a settlement will feel different. [41] As Aloy heads west, she will encounter members of different tribes. According to the team, the Oseram are "social and historically patriarchal", the Utaru is "agrarian" and more laid back in nature, while the Tenakth are more militant and combat-focused. The team created various animations and outfits distinct to each tribes, highlighting the differences in the cultures and the ways of life between them. [4] These allowed players to identify tribe members from afar visually, and enabled them to get a bearing of where they are in the world. [42]

Story and characters

Carrie-Anne Moss May 2016.jpg
Carrie-Anne Moss
Angela Bassett by Gage Skidmoe.jpg
Angela Bassett
Moss and Bassett are newcomers to the franchise, providing voice work for Far Zenith member Tilda and rebel leader Regalla respectively

Aloy returns as the game's protagonist. In Forbidden West, she had to deal with another catastrophic extinction-level event, live up to the legacy of Elizebeth Sobeck, an esteemed scientist whom she was a clone of (as depicted in Zero Dawn), [43] while needing to prove herself again while venturing into the Forbidden West. [44] Writer Benjamin McCaw added the overwhelming amount of pressure Aloy faces as a significant part of her character arc in the game. [45] Ashly Burch returned to provide voice and motion capture for Aloy, along with Lance Reddick as Sylens, John Hopkins as Erend, and John Macmillan as Varl. Newcomers include Alison Jaye as Alva, Noshir Dalal as Kotallo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Tilda and Angela Bassett as Regalla. [46] Unlike Zero Dawn, Guerilla invested more resources into creating the game's cinematics. Advanced motion capture tools allowed the team to record dynamic movement and character expressions more extensively, enabling team to create scenes that were character-centric across main quests and side objectives, though the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the team had to recruit local talents in Amsterdam to substitute certain cast members. [47]

According to McCaw, Aloy's dynamics with other characters were difficult to write, as Aloy's unique upbringings and aspirations to live up to Sobeck's legacy (who saved the world by herself single-handedly) meant that she often pushed away her friends as she felt like she had to accomplish the task alone. The main theme of the story is integrating Aloy into a society and learning to accept help, ultimately understanding that instead of saving the world "in abstract", it was the people in the world who are worth saving. The team spent more time developing character-driven side quests in order to deepen Aloy's relationships with them. [43] Aloy's relationship with Beta contrasted with Aloy's own relationship with Sobeck, and was described by the team as "the heart and soul" of the game's story", and the most difficult part to write. [48] [43] According to the game's writer, Beta served as a "dark" reflection of Aloy, and embodied "all of Aloy's conflicts about wanting to be like Elisabet, wanting to connect to others, but feeling isolated". [43]

Far Zeniths were an important part of the story, and their role was known to the team even during the development of Zero Dawn. Having long achieved self preservation, Far Zeniths was egotistical and had little regards for the rest of human life. [49] Tilda, one of the surviving members of the Far Zenith, was created as a "Dutch technologist, authentication expert, and art collector", and the team collaborated with the Rijksmuseum to select 10 art pieces and recreate them inside Tilda's mansion in the game. [50] Ted Faro, the billionaire who doomed the world in Zero Dawn, returned in Forbidden West. According to McCaw, he has become a "human cancer", "a massive cancerous growth" due to unnatural techniques used to extend his lifespan. The team made an intentional decision not to show Faro's face, because Forbidden West was not intended to be a horror game, and the team felt that by only showing his silhouette, it left rooms for players to imagine what he would have look like, making the encounter more frightening. [51] As with the previous game, Sylens is not an antagonist in Forbidden West, though he and Aloy shared an "adversarial" relationship. In the game, the two will need to learn to collaborate despite their mutual disdain for each other. [52]

Technology

It was the first multi-platform game for Guerilla since Shellshock: Nam '67 (2004). The studio focused on pushing the game's visuals for the PS5 during the first half of the game's development, then pivoted to work on the PS4 version to ensure there would not be significant parity. The goal for the studio was to ensure that it was one of the best-looking PS4 games while ensuring that the PS5 version will look even better with easily observable differences. Aerial exploration was nearly scrapped as the team felt that the PS4 version cannot support this feature. [33] The PlayStation 5's increased processing power, custom solid-state drive storage, Tempest Engine, and DualSense controller provides the game with advanced haptic feedback, 3D spatial audio, enhanced lighting, special water rendering, improved visual effects, and reduced loading times. [53] [54] [55] This version has an optional "performance mode" at 60 frames per second with a lower base resolution, [56] and an updated version of the Decima engine supporting high dynamic range. [57]

Release

Forbidden West was officially announced by Sony in June 2020. [58] While originally set to be released in 2021, the game was delayed as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted production schedules, and the team wanted to avoid overworking employees in order to reach deadlines. [59] Prior to launch, Sony's decision to not offer a free a upgrade path for PlayStation 4 owners was heavily scrutinized. While Sony subsequently offered a free upgrade path following player's backlash, it was criticized for pricing the PS5 version higher while players of the cheaper PS4 version can freely upgrade their copies. [60] [61] The full game was released on 11 February 2022. [62] As part of Sony's Play and Plant initiative, Sony will plant one tree in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation in three distinct forests for every player who received the "Reached the Daunt" trophy. [63]

A comic book series, set after the events of the first game, was published by Titan Comics on 5 August 2020. [64] Sony partnered with Dark Horse Comics and released a 200-page art book for the game on 18 October 2022. [65] Steamforged Games partnered with Sony again for a board game based on Forbidden West named Seeds of Rebellion, and launched a Kickstarter campaign for funding the project in November 2023. [66] A cookery book titled Tastes of the Seven Tribes by Rick Barba and Victoria Rosenthal, is set to be released in early 2024. [67] To promote the game, Sony released a large assortment of merchandise, including partnering with the LEGO Group for the release of the Horizon Tallneck LEGO set, and collaborating with Nendoroid to create toy figurines of Aloy. [68] [69] A pop-up cafe was set up in Paris promoting the game from February 9 to February 11, 2023. [70] [71]

In June 2022, Sony released a free update for the game, introducing New Game Plus, a new difficulty level, and the ability to redistribute skill points, among other new additions. [72] At The Game Awards 2022, an expansion titled Burning Shores was announced. It was released only for the PlayStation 5, and was about a third of the size of the original game. [73] [74] Unlike The Frozen Wilds, the expansion of Zero Dawn, Burning Shores pushes the narrative forward, as it was set after the events of the main game. It also gives Aloy a potential love interest with Seyka, as the team felt that Aloy pursuing a romantic relationship a "natural evolution" for the character following her growth in the events of Forbidden West. [75] Seyka was voiced by Kylie Liya Page, [76] while the antagonist Londra was voiced by Sam Witwer. [77] The team also added a thalassophobia mode for players who fear large bodies of water, and an in-game memorial for Reddick following his passing in March 2023. [78] [79] Sony bundled the main game with the Burning Shores expansion and re-released the game for PlayStation 5 on 6 October 2023 as Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition. [80] Nixxes Software then ported the Complete Edition to Windows on 21 March 2024. [81]

Reception

Critical reception

Horizon Forbidden West received generally positive reviews upon release, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [82] [84] Critics generally agreed that it was a bigger and more improved experience when compared with its predecessor. [94]

The game's world received praise from critics. Kimberly Wallace from Game Informer enjoyed the visual design of various locales, and liked how side quests further expanded the world's lore and provided additional insights into the game's world. [86] She praised the world for evoking a "constant sense of discovery". [88] The underwater level of Vegas was singled out by some reviewers as one of the game's best locations. [86] [95] Simon Cardy from IGN praised the settlements for how lively they are, and remarked that each tribe and settlement often had their own unique characteristics. He compared the side quests favourably to that of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt , as players are often rewarded with both good gears for future use, and standalone but satisfying narratives. [89] Phil Hornshaw, writing for GameSpot , also wrote that the open world activities in the game were diverse and well worth the player's time. [87] Some critics were unimpressed by the game's lack of ambitions. [87] James Tucker from NME wrote that Forbidden West would have been a fairly middling open-world game if it was not elevated by its narrative. [90] Writing for Vice , Matthew Gault noted that it was not a revolutionary experience but instead a "competent distraction that soothes and smooths the brain by repeating what open world games have been doing for years". [96] Critics had a mixed opinions on the game's climbing mechanics which were found to be inconsistent. [88] [89] [90] The game's visuals received critical acclaim from critics, with Wallace describing the game as a "technical marvel", [86] and Lavoy describing the visuals as "breathtaking". [91]

Sam Loveridge from GamesRadar remarked the game's focus on developing its characters an improvement over its predecessor. He praised the game's diverse cast of characters, citing that each of them has a unique personality and backstory. He also liked the improved animations, making characters in the game more lifelike and therefore, helped players to connect with the characters and the game's world. [88] While critics praised Aloy as a character and found her struggles to be compelling and relatable, [88] [91] Hornshaw felt that she was often brooding and generally not as interesting as the surrounding cast, [87] and Matt Minotti from VentureBeat remarked Aloy's reluctance to accept help to be "illogically extreme" sometimes. [97] Hetfield described Aloy's character as a disappointment and went on to describe Aloy as "obnoxious" and "unbearable" in the game. [7] Some critics also remarked that Aloy often ceaselessly provided hints to players the solution to environmental puzzles, [90] [7] with Hetfield concluding that it robbed players of "all agency to discover anything for yourself". [7]

Simon Cardy from IGN praised the improvement to the game's storytelling, noted the use of cinematics instead of audio logs to convey important parts of the story. He, remarked that despite an uneven start, Forbidden West was able to pick up its pace and noted that the story was at its best when it was revolving around the cast's personal dramas and the social and political conflicts surrounding the tribes. [89] Several reviewers remarked that newcomers to the franchise may not be fully engaged in the game's narrative due to its constant callbacks to the events that happened in Zero Dawn. [89] [98] Dom Peppiatt from VG 247 compared the game's structure to Mass Effect , and wrote that "the flirtations with BioWare-style story ideas shows just how much of a future this series has". [92] The game's cast performance and its motion capture technology was also praised by Hornshaw for enhancing the game's storytelling. [87] The story received some criticisms from reviewers. Melindy Hetfield from Eurogamer wrote that the story went "fully off the rails into wild, nonsensical sci-fi", and criticized the ending and its antagonists. [7] Ben Rayner from Digital Spy , likewise, felt Forbidden West's pivot on "hard sci-fi" a baffling choice that missed the point of the franchise. [93]

The gameplay also received generally positive reviews. Wallace described combat as "adrenaline-pumping", and appreciated the sequel's expanded destructibility and more elaborated setpieces. While she liked the quality-of-life improvements Forbidden West introduced, she was unimpressed by the progression system for only offering unexciting upgrades. [86] Bill Lavoy from Shacknews , however, called gameplay the game's greatest strength, praising the game's new gameplay additions and the diverse skill tree options. [91] Loveridge wrote that taking down large machines was always challenging but rewarding, and liked how Guerilla changed up the formula to its Tallneck and Cauldrons side activities when compared with those from Zero Dawn. [88] Cardy praised the enemy variety, and noted that challenging combat prompted players to make full use of Aloy's arsenal and skills. [89] Critics generally liked how the game gave players more options in combat and exploration when compared with Zero Dawn, [89] [85] [86] though some remarked that the new additions could be overwhelming and that the game struggled to introduce these mechanics to players. [88] [99] [7]

The expansion Burning Shores also received generally positive reviews from critics. [100] Jay Peters from The Verge wrote that he preferred the expansion over the main game as it was a more focused and condensed experience, and he liked the game's relatively more grounded story. [101] Cardy praised the new weapons and Valor Surges introduced in Burning Shores, and liked the expansion's level design. While he felt that the villain of the expansion did not get enough screentime to shine, he felt that Burning Shores's focus on character development an "essential chapter of Aloy’s story". [102] GameSpot' Steve Watts further added that the final battle of Burning Shores demonstrated "incredible scale and scope", overshadowing the one from the main game. [103] Seyka was praised by Marcus Stewart from Game Informer. Describing her as one of the "primary highlights of Burning Shores", Stewart remarked that she was more charismatic than Aloy, though he felt that their relationship in the game was a bit rushed. [104] Seyka and Aloy may share an optional kiss at the end of the game, depending on player's decision. This scene resulted in the game being review bombed on Metacritic. Metacritic subsequently responded that they were aware of "abusive" reviews being posted online and revealed that they will be imposing stricter moderation in the future. [105]

Sales

In the United Kingdom, Horizon Forbidden West was the best-selling game during the week of release, and became the 2nd biggest launch for a PS5 game at the time, behind only Spider-Man: Miles Morales . [106] By the end of 2022, the game had sold 530,454 units in the UK. [107] It went on to become the fourth best-selling physical video game in the UK. [108] In the US, it was the second best-selling video game in February 2022, only behind Elden Ring . [109] It went on to become the ninth best-selling game of 2022 in the US. [110]

In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version was the third best-selling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, with 48,476 physical units being sold. The PlayStation 5 version sold 43,012 physical units throughout the same week, making it the fourth best-selling retail game of the week in the country. [111] By 26 March 2023, the game had sold 155,267 units in Japan. [112] In Germany, the game had sold over 200,000 units during its launch month. [113]

In May 2023, Sony announced that the game had sold over 8.4 million units by 16 April 2023. [114] Following the game's launch on Windows, it became the publisher sixth biggest launch on Steam, [115] though it was unable to surpass the concurrent player peak of Zero Dawn. [116]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryResultRef.
2022 Golden Joystick Awards Ultimate Game of the Year Nominated [117]
Best StorytellingWon
Best Visual DesignNominated
PlayStation Game of the YearNominated
The Game Awards 2022 Game of the Year Nominated [118]
Best Game DirectionNominated
Best NarrativeNominated
Best Art DirectionNominated
Best Audio DesignNominated
Best Performance (Ashly Burch)Nominated
Best Action/Adventure GameNominated
2023 New York Game Awards Statue of Liberty Award for Best WorldNominated [119]
Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a GameNominated
Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game (Ashly Burch)Nominated
26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Game of the Year Nominated [120]
Adventure Game of the Year Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Animation Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Character (Aloy)Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Nominated
Outstanding Technical Achievement Nominated
50th Annie Awards Best Character Animation – Video Game Nominated [121]
[122]
23rd Game Developers Choice Awards Game of the Year Honorable Mention [123]
[124]
Best AudioNominated
Innovation AwardHonorable Mention
Best NarrativeHonorable Mention
Best TechnologyNominated
Best Visual ArtNominated
British Academy Games Awards Animation Nominated [125]
[126]
Audio Achievement Nominated
Game Design Nominated
Performer in a Supporting Role (Alison Jaye as Alva)Nominated
Technical Achievement Won

Sequel

In April 2023 developer Guerrilla Games confirmed plans about "expanding the world of Horizon with Aloy's next adventure" hinting that a possible direct sequel to Forbidden West is likely to be in development. [127]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to Windows by Nixxes Software

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