While I think the story, music, and a majority of the gameplay is beautiful, I do think the third level "Away" and the collectibles deter me from giving the game a higher rating.

With "Away," the sound design was too grating to my ears at times when having to stop time, making my speakers click or pop a lot. Not to mention, collecting the 7th memory is unnecessarily difficult in the Definitive Edition. I never played the OG version, but when watching a walkthrough to get the memories for this level, I saw how there were platforms and ledges you could climb on that were absent from the Definitive Edition. Instead, you have to carefully balance yourself on the log as it's falling. And a lot of the time, when I tried to move my character, he would go in the opposite direction and just fall. This change to me is not an improvement, but a downgrade. It was also this level that I started using guides to be able to collect the collectibles since they contained important story/character beats. This was mainly because I started to realize that you don't have the ability to backtrack or re-enter levels (at least, that was the case for me). The only way to backtrack is by quitting the game and restarting, which I find reductive. I would've much preferred playing the game without needing to get the collectibles, but because they carry a lot of weight story wise, I can't go and ignore them.

With that said, I say this game is a good game to play if you want to experience it as an art piece. But if you want to spend money on it, better to get it when it's on sale.

OK! I've marinated on this a little toooo long but I'm finally ready to give my review.

As a sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn, it's a very very strong one both in narrative and gameplay. There has been more than one session where I spent at least 5 hours playing this game just because I didn't want to leave the world of Forbidden West. The visuals have been upgraded exponentially, especially for character animations and cutscenes. I can feel and see how the performances are playing out between the actors just as I would be able to when watching a movie, and it's fun seeing all of these interactions play out.

Narrative wise, I really like Aloy's arc from beginning to end. I'm glad Varl has more importance in the story, and the new additions of characters such as Alva (my fav new character). And Beta works as a great "foil" (probably not the best word to use but I couldn't think of a better one) to Aloy given each of their origins and different circumstances. I'm also glad I got the Complete Edition so I could play Burning Shores. The narrative for that is also interesting and the story side quests are fun. Of course, there's some things with the story that could've been improved on, such as developing some of the Far Zenith members (particularly towards the end), and more time with Regalla. This also comes to pacing given that you're in an open world and have free rein to complete all quests (main and side) and side content any time you want, which takes away some of the urgency from the main quests. But overall, solid story.

Music in on another level and I'm here for the entirety of the soundtrack.

I think melee combat can still be improved, but I do love the additions that were made such as combos and valor surges. I'm someone who kinda forgets combos and will tend to stick to using the same one over and over repeatedly. I'm not sure how adding this would work for Horizon, but if there's a way that Guerilla can implement a combo rank system similar to Devil May Cry where you're strongly encouraged to use different combos to increase the rank and keep it from falling, it would help my brain in terms of using different moves. That and if there was a way to better control Aloy's movements (particularly when she's knocked to the ground), cancel out combos, and add blocking, that would make melee combat more fun for me. Otherwise, I still get satisfaction from performing stealth moves successfully.

I am a little saddened that the limit for traps and bombs was lowered in this game. I remember having a higher limit back in HZD which allowed me to get really creative with planning placement, particularly against larger machines like the Thunderjaw.

As for the side content (not counting side quests as I consider that to be a separate thing), I didn't participate in it too much like I did with HZD. I did complete the Blackboxes, Sun dials, most of the survey drones, and all melee pits as I felt they added to the world building. I might've completed most if not all the Hunting Grounds but can't fully remember for sure. The Arena I didn't interact with much because dealing with machines in the wild is enough for me personally. But I do wish I set more time for playing Machine Strike. At times it was frustrating, but as I got better with how the boards worked I began to enjoy it a little more. If I decide to play the game again in prep for the final entry, I'll try to play all the boards.

In conclusion, I think Forbidden West does a lot of amazing things with some areas still needing improvement.