A masterclass in graphical presentation and technical prowess, but an incredibly boring and hollow game.
I REALLY want to like this game, but I can't. I want to like it so much that even after I set it aside the first two times, I came back to try again, hoping the classic mantra of "third time's the charm" would ring true and I could see this game for more than I originally had. Obviously this didn't happen and I'm so disappointed by that, because I genuinely enjoyed Horizon: Zero Dawn at it's release. What makes Forbidden West different? By most accounts the two games are very similar, so it makes sense that I would enjoy both of them, right? I'm going to chalk this up to my tastes having changed a lot since 2017; so much so that Horizon Forbidden West could have never pleased me as I am today.
To me, this game is the poster child of the homogenization we've seen in the AAA space since the PS4/XBone era began. A third-person, action adventure, open-world, "story-driven" game featuring a "mascot" main character. Nothing about Horizon Forbidden West feels new, unique, or even enjoyable to me, except in how incredibly gorgeous it is. To say that every new game similar to this NEEDS to be unique or innovative is foolish. However, considering this game is coming from one of the greatest first-party studios owned by what many would consider the best publisher in gaming at present leaves me feeling disappointed. I think I've rambled enough about my general distaste for the game (and the greater AAA space), so I'm going to get more into the weeds about what I dislike about the game.
Firstly, I clocked in about 10 hours of playtime in Horizon Forbidden West and I have yet to feel like I've really PLAYED anything. The sheer volume of cutscenes and moments of exposition have greatly outweighed the gameplay sections, and half of the time I have actually had control of Aloy, I've had to spend it doing really boring and mundane platforming/puzzle solving instead of fighting the excellently designed monsters. Seriously, there are times where you watch a cutscene for 5+ minutes, walk 3 feet, and are met with another cutscene of equal length. It feels as if Guerilla (or maybe Sony/PlayStation) doesn't actually want you to play a video game, but rather have a story told to you. This is made even more apparent to me by the platforming/puzzle solving sections, which serve as a vehicle to move the plot forward with in-game dialogue like a cutscene, but have it disguised as "gameplay". Aloy is not fun to control in these sections either, as the platforming is so barebones and simple it's sleep-inducing. On top of this, she has as much likeability and personality as a 2x4, maybe less. Worse still, for someone who is incredibly boring, she sure has a lot to say about not shit. This game barrages you constantly with Aloy quipping about how to solve the issues you're facing in these sections, which takes any sense of agency and discovery out of the situation entirely.
Combat is always heralded as the best part of this game, which I completely agree with, but I don't find it good enough to carry the game to greater heights. Stealth is not a viable option in this game, because as soon as you let one arrow fly, the enemies can pinpoint your exact geolocation with 100% accuracy. You are forced to always be on the move and utilize your smoke bombs to stay in-cover, and at that point, I'd rather just approach everything "guns-blazing" so I'm not wasting resources constantly. I also have issues with the general combat system, as you have to breakup what should be fluid combat with a weapon wheel every time you need more ammo or to switch to a different damage type/weapon, and in longer fights you'll be doing this a lot.
I have many more things I dislike about this game, but for the sake of keeping this concise I'll just touch on the open-world nature of this game and close it out. I already gave the "doom and gloom" spiel of modern AAA gaming, but I truly feel like this game suffers from having an open-world with a seemingly endless number of things to do on the map. It's completely paralyzing to be faced with so many side-quests/menial tasks that are of no consequence to the overall experience.
For those that enjoy "map" games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Far Cry 5, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you'll surely appreciate Forbidden West for what it is, and will probably be completely enamored with the experience. But I can't keep trying to force myself to enjoy this game.
I REALLY want to like this game, but I can't. I want to like it so much that even after I set it aside the first two times, I came back to try again, hoping the classic mantra of "third time's the charm" would ring true and I could see this game for more than I originally had. Obviously this didn't happen and I'm so disappointed by that, because I genuinely enjoyed Horizon: Zero Dawn at it's release. What makes Forbidden West different? By most accounts the two games are very similar, so it makes sense that I would enjoy both of them, right? I'm going to chalk this up to my tastes having changed a lot since 2017; so much so that Horizon Forbidden West could have never pleased me as I am today.
To me, this game is the poster child of the homogenization we've seen in the AAA space since the PS4/XBone era began. A third-person, action adventure, open-world, "story-driven" game featuring a "mascot" main character. Nothing about Horizon Forbidden West feels new, unique, or even enjoyable to me, except in how incredibly gorgeous it is. To say that every new game similar to this NEEDS to be unique or innovative is foolish. However, considering this game is coming from one of the greatest first-party studios owned by what many would consider the best publisher in gaming at present leaves me feeling disappointed. I think I've rambled enough about my general distaste for the game (and the greater AAA space), so I'm going to get more into the weeds about what I dislike about the game.
Firstly, I clocked in about 10 hours of playtime in Horizon Forbidden West and I have yet to feel like I've really PLAYED anything. The sheer volume of cutscenes and moments of exposition have greatly outweighed the gameplay sections, and half of the time I have actually had control of Aloy, I've had to spend it doing really boring and mundane platforming/puzzle solving instead of fighting the excellently designed monsters. Seriously, there are times where you watch a cutscene for 5+ minutes, walk 3 feet, and are met with another cutscene of equal length. It feels as if Guerilla (or maybe Sony/PlayStation) doesn't actually want you to play a video game, but rather have a story told to you. This is made even more apparent to me by the platforming/puzzle solving sections, which serve as a vehicle to move the plot forward with in-game dialogue like a cutscene, but have it disguised as "gameplay". Aloy is not fun to control in these sections either, as the platforming is so barebones and simple it's sleep-inducing. On top of this, she has as much likeability and personality as a 2x4, maybe less. Worse still, for someone who is incredibly boring, she sure has a lot to say about not shit. This game barrages you constantly with Aloy quipping about how to solve the issues you're facing in these sections, which takes any sense of agency and discovery out of the situation entirely.
Combat is always heralded as the best part of this game, which I completely agree with, but I don't find it good enough to carry the game to greater heights. Stealth is not a viable option in this game, because as soon as you let one arrow fly, the enemies can pinpoint your exact geolocation with 100% accuracy. You are forced to always be on the move and utilize your smoke bombs to stay in-cover, and at that point, I'd rather just approach everything "guns-blazing" so I'm not wasting resources constantly. I also have issues with the general combat system, as you have to breakup what should be fluid combat with a weapon wheel every time you need more ammo or to switch to a different damage type/weapon, and in longer fights you'll be doing this a lot.
I have many more things I dislike about this game, but for the sake of keeping this concise I'll just touch on the open-world nature of this game and close it out. I already gave the "doom and gloom" spiel of modern AAA gaming, but I truly feel like this game suffers from having an open-world with a seemingly endless number of things to do on the map. It's completely paralyzing to be faced with so many side-quests/menial tasks that are of no consequence to the overall experience.
For those that enjoy "map" games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Far Cry 5, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you'll surely appreciate Forbidden West for what it is, and will probably be completely enamored with the experience. But I can't keep trying to force myself to enjoy this game.