Set shortly after the events of the first Horizon game, in Forbidden West you play as the heroic Aloy. Her triumph at the end of Zero Dawn is short-lived, and although the world is celebrating her as a saviour, she knows that Earth doesn't have much time left.
The biosphere is failing. People are dying. Crops failing. Corrupted machines are still running amok. The once shunned warrior will need to go beyond her own expectations yet again and unite a divided world. Travelling beyond the Forbidden West, Aloy soon discovers new machines, new tribes, and new enemies lie waiting for her.
Don’t worry - I won’t spoil the intricate story of Forbidden West. To even tease the big events would rob players of some of what I suspect will be gaming’s big watercooler moments of 2022.
But suffice to say, the story is fast-paced, engaging and will have many players with eyes wide open and mouths ajar. There are certain characters whose very presence will change your entire understanding and appreciation of the game.
A new Aloy for an old world
What is evident in Forbidden West, is that Aloy is alone once more. Whilst humanity still worships and revers the machines (and the 'Old Ones’ who created them), Aloy now understands the truth.
She knows about the world’s origins. About Zero Dawn. About Elisabet Sobeck. About herself. She is a victim of her own curiosity and discoveries.
For much of the game, we see Aloy wrestle with this responsibility, trying to do it all on her own. She awkwardly avoids people’s questions about her mission, trying to preserve the ideals of an old-world, that wasn’t exactly kind to her, to begin with.
A host of new and old faces appear throughout, adding to Aloy’s merry band of misfits and forcing her out of self-exile.
New characters Zo and Kotallo are welcomed additions, adding fresh perspectives from the people of the West, helping cement its place in the world. Angela Bassett’s portrayal as the war rebel Regalla is a particularly poetic performance. Although she’s a thorn in your side for much of the game, and you will dread her, she commands the screen effortlessly whenever and wherever she appears.
High-octane action with astounding beauty
Having recently replayed Zero Dawn, I fell into the combat of Forbidden West like a duck to water. For the most part, it is quite similar, but, with some nice additions to elevate the gameplay.
You will still cycle through a myriad of weaponry in quick succession to dismember a plethora of rampaging machines. One second you’re shooting a hail of arrows, the next you’re slinging elemental bombs, to setting electric tripwires, to then slashing with your spear.
But there are some new features for you to explore. Firstly, acid arrows will become your new best-friends, a brand new way to shred armour plating. They are but one new weapon and ammo type. Aloy can also hurtle spikes to enemies, release shredding discs, fire Plasma, and much more.
Noticeably, melee fighting feels far more rewarding than the previous instalment. So too is the emphasis on stealth, where it may become necessary at times to dispatch enemies like an assassin, to thin their numbers before a confrontation.
Aloy also boasts a hugely expanded skill system, where you can tailor her abilities and playstyle to your liking. Hunter for example opens up new ways of using your bow, whilst infiltrator rewards you for using a stealthier approach. I chose to level several trees at once; as a Jack of all Trades, you’re more prepared for the variety of enemies the game decides to throw at you.
New machines come packing some serious heat, and are as unforgiving as their appearance lets on; we’re talking cannons, lasers, machine guns, and more cannons.
Needless to say, you’ll find yourself scanning them with your focus and relying on that information. Some parts of a machine are precious to Aloy, and you’ll try with all of your might to shoot them off cleanly. Other times, you’ll throw everything and the kitchen sink to kill it as quickly as possible in a hellish blaze.
Life-saving equipment comes in the form of a grappling hook, which lets you sling yourself out of harm's way, or traverse across hazardous terrain. You also unlock a glider early on, allowing you to eject yourself from danger off even the steepest of cliffs to relative safety.
It’s only when you’re in the thick of combat, where the screen is an explosion of sparks and explosions, that you’ll truly appreciate how astoundingly beautiful Forbidden West is.
Several times I turned an insignificant battle into a cinematic spectacle, using the game’s photo mode to truly set the tone. I suspect many gamers will lose endless hours simply by fighting mobs of mechanical dinosaurs and planning the ultimate photo capture.
Did we mention Machine Strike?
Like its predecessor, straying off the path in Forbidden West is encouraged and you’ll be handsomely rewarded with skill points, experience, items and a bounty of expanded stories. Listening to villagers’ rumours unlocks new hints on where the many side-quests and errands are located.
These quests, often about political tension, warring tribes, and persecuted refugees, help reinforce the beauty (and pain) of the world Aloy is trying to save. And because they’re dotted across the map, you can tackle them as you go for maximum story impact.
One of the shining gems of the game for me is the new minigame turned distraction, Machine Strike. If you’re a fan of chess, strategy and autobattlers, then you’ll invest a lot of time into this new game. Players command a team of machines on which to do battle. Use the board’s terrain to your advantage, and plan moves accordingly to sneak a victory.
Multiple ways to enjoy the game
Forbidden West is a game that wants you to succeed and has a host of accessibility options that will heighten the enjoyment and playability for many gamers.
I found myself toying with settings as an experiment, only to find they improved my experience tenfold. Even if you’ve never tinkered with accessible options before, give them a careful eye and you might be surprised at the results.
Firstly, there are 5 difficulty modes for you to choose from, ranging from ‘Story Mode’ which eases combat so you can explore more freely, and a ‘Very Hard’ mode, reserved for battle-seasoned gamers who want demanding combat.
You can change the difficulty at any time in-game. If you find yourself under-resourced, under-levelled and can’t seem to hit a break with a big boss fight. Relax the difficulty, get back in the race and keep playing.
You can also change the HUD to your liking, as well as subtitling options and control the volume of specific sounds found in-game. You can also control camera positioning, camera shakes, motion blur, and remap controls – all of which is important facets for gamers considering how energetic and utterly chaotic combat can be.
An example of gaming excellence
Expectations were always going to be astronomical for this sequel, but with the wait finally over, I can confirm that Horizon Forbidden West is a colossal game.
Action-packed, energetic, and set to one of the most captivating takes of a post-apocalyptic world, it is a shining example of gaming excellence and how to execute a sequel.
The story of Aloy is elevated to new heights, with jaw-dropping visuals set to the same signature, chaotic combat. A colourful cast of characters, both old and new, will carry the narrative, which will keep you second-guessing everything till the very end.
This destitute world of Horizon Forbidden West is all the more captivating, all the more real, where a once shunned hero defies expectations once again, to rescue humanity from its past mistakes.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on February 18 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
