Horizon Forbidden West

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Horizon Forbidden West
Developer(s)Guerrilla Games
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)
EngineDecima
Platform(s)
Release18 February 2022
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. A sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn, it is an open world single-player video game set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States. The player must travel and complete missions using survival skills, melee attacks, and long-distance weapons in a world overrun by a deadly plague, hostile machine creatures, and other survivors.

Horizon Forbidden West was released on 18 February 2022 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and received generally favorable reviews.

Gameplay

Horizon Forbidden West is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. The player controls Aloy, a hunter in a world populated by dangerous, animalistic machines. In an open world, she explores the mysterious frontier known as the Forbidden West, a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States, specifically the states of California, Nevada, and Utah.[1] The map is larger than in the previous game, filled with secrets that lie beneath ruins of the Old Ones. A multitude of recognizable locations include a ruined San Francisco and the Yosemite Valley with various biomes.[2][3] Underwater exploration is a primary addition.[4][5] Exploration is improved with revamped climbing mechanics, and improved traversal options with the Valor Surge system, freeform climbing, and tools such as the Shieldwing, Focus Scanner, Diving Mask, and Pullcaster.[6] The mission structure for quests better supports variety in objectives with compelling reward systems. The game has improved animation works and cinematics.[7]

The game focuses heavily on melee combat with both aggressive machine animals as well as a variety of human enemies. Aloy uses a variety of tools and stealth to engage foes, as well as several new varieties of weapons, such as a Shredder, a discus that can be caught and reused and eventually detonate, as well as Berserk arrows, that can incite machines to attack each other, even with Aloy having to override them. Apex machines are also introduced, which are stronger and faster versions of the machine, and can not be overridden.

Plot

Setting

Horizon Forbidden West continues the story of Aloy, a young hunter of the Nora tribe, as she leads a band of companions on a quest to the arcane frontier known as the Forbidden West to find the source of a mysterious plague that kills all it infects. On her journey across these uncharted lands, Aloy encounters new regions ravaged by massive storms and deadly machines, and conflicts with a tribe of nomadic raiders who 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.[8]

Plot

Six months after the defeat of HADES, Aloy has left Meridian to search for a backup of GAIA to reverse the effects of the planet's degrading biosphere. Aloy and her friend Varl search a facility that once belonged to Far Zenith, a company that specialized in space colonization, in hopes of finding a GAIA backup there. The search proves to be fruitless, however, when they discover the backup was sabotaged. With no more leads, Varl suggests they track down Sylens. They investigate the Spire, where Aloy finds out Sylens stole HADES. Sylens contacts Aloy and invites her to find him in the Forbidden West, where he is willing to share valuable knowledge that HADES was hiding. She is warned by the Carja that the Forbidden West is ruled by the isolationist Tenakth tribes.

Aloy crosses over into the Forbidden West and quickly discovers the Tenakth are in the midst of a civil war between Chief Hekarro, who advocates peace with the Carja, and the rebel leader Regalla, who wishes to continue the war against them. Aloy follows Sylens' path to the facility where HADES was developed, where she finds HADES badly damaged. With most of its memory files corrupted, Aloy permanently deletes HADES. She also recovers a GAIA backup that is missing its subordinate functions. Aloy resolves to restore GAIA to her complete form, and she manages to find MINERVA's location. There, she is then encountered by a group of humans with futuristic enhancements who have their own clone of Elisabet Sobeck. They take a second GAIA backup and send their enforcer Erik after Aloy, who barely escapes.

Varl reunites with Aloy and takes her to the Utaru tribe, where a Gravesinger named Zo guides Aloy to a nearby control center holding MINERVA. Aloy gets MINERVA to rejoin GAIA, who then locates AETHER, DEMETER, and POSEIDON. GAIA then advises Aloy to retrieve them first before attempting to capture HEPHAESTUS, which has evolved significantly since becoming free. GAIA also reveals the extinction signal that triggered HADES originated from the Sirius star system, leading Aloy to believe that it was sent by the futuristic humans she encountered and that they are descendants of Far Zenith's colony ship, the Odyssey. Aloy first recovers AETHER, helping Hekarro with his war against the rebels in order to gain access to it. GAIA then receives a distress signal which Aloy and her companions go to investigate, rescuing the second Elisabet clone named Beta. She explains that Far Zenith has already acquired ELEUTHIA, ARTEMIS, and APOLLO, but Beta managed to steal their GAIA backup. She further explains that the Far Zenith colonists are the original colonists that left Earth during the Faro Plague and managed to extend their natural lifespans. Their colony on Sirius collapsed, so they returned to Earth to find GAIA for their own recolonization, creating Beta during their voyage.

Aloy recovers POSEIDON in the ruins of Las Vegas and she heads into California to find DEMETER. There she encounters the Quen, a foreign tribe from across the Pacific Ocean that sent an expedition to recover data that can solve the ecology crises in their homeland. Aloy helps their Diviner named Alva to get the data they are looking for while recovering DEMETER. GAIA then devises a method of capturing HEPHAESTUS, but it requires Ted Faro's Omega level access code. Aloy heads to the ruins of San Francisco to search for Faro's bunker with the help of the Quen and their leader Ceo, who worships Faro. Entering the bunker, they discover that Faro managed to keep himself alive for the past thousand years using gene therapy, but mutated into an abomination as a result. Horrified, Ceo orders his men to kill Faro, but inadvertently triggers a failsafe that destroys the bunker. Aloy and Alva narrowly escape while Ceo is crushed by a falling Faro statue.

With the Omega clearance, Aloy takes GAIA to the GEMINI Cauldron to trap HEPHAESTUS. After capturing HEPHAESTUS, Far Zenith's leader Gerard arrives with Erik and his lieutenant Tilda. Erik kills Varl and recaptures Beta while Gerard steals GAIA, but Tilda helps Aloy escape. Tilda explains she used to be romantically involved with Elisabet and, having been inspired by Aloy's deeds, wishes to aid Aloy and stop Far Zenith. She further reveals that Sylens has been supporting the Tenakth rebels so that he can wield them against Far Zenith. Aloy refuses to sacrifice the Tenakth and instead resolves to defeat Regalla so that Sylens will have no choice but to work with her. She thwarts Regalla's attack on Hekarro and chooses to either execute or persuade Regalla to join her cause.

Aloy and her companions assault Far Zenith's base, with Regalla (if spared) sacrificing herself to protect Aloy. Beta releases HEPHAESTUS into Far Zenith's computer network, allowing it to manufacture machines that begin attacking Far Zenith. Sylens uses a device to disable Far Zenith's protective shields, while Aloy and Zo are able to kill Erik. After Tilda kills Gerard, Aloy and Beta learn that the Far Zenith colony was actually destroyed by Nemesis, a rogue AI that resented humanity when it was abandoned by the colonists. Nemesis also sent the extinction signal to Earth and is now en route to destroy the planet. Far Zenith was in fact fleeing from Nemesis and hoped to steal GAIA to colonize a new planet beyond Nemesis' reach. Tilda, who still laments leaving Elisabet behind on Earth, tries to force Aloy onto the Odyssey so they can escape together. However, Aloy refuses to abandon Earth and is forced to kill Tilda. Sylens reveals that HADES told him about Nemesis, with his ultimate goal being to steal the Odyssey and APOLLO to escape Earth. However, he has a change of heart and decides to aid Aloy in the battle against Nemesis. Afterward, Aloy's companions disperse to spread the warning of Nemesis while Aloy and Beta reactivate GAIA.

Development

Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn.[9] It was developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.[9][10] The director is Mathijs de Jonge and the narrative director is Benjamin McCaw.[11] Joris de Man, The Flight (composed of Joe Henson and Alexis Smith), and Niels van de Leest return to compose an original score for the game alongside Oleksa Lozowchuk.[12] Ashly Burch, Lance Reddick, and John Hopkins reprise their roles as Aloy, Sylens, and Erend, respectively.[13][14] Angela Bassett plays a new character named Regalla, and Carrie-Anne Moss plays Tilda.[15] Using motion capturing, Aloy's motions were acted by Peggy Vrijens.[16]

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.[17][18][19] This version has an optional "performance mode" at 60 frames per second with a lower base resolution,[20] and an updated version of the Decima engine supporting high dynamic range.[21]

Release

Horizon Forbidden West was announced during Sony's PlayStation 5 reveal event in June 2020 with a planned release in 2021.[9][22][23] On 27 May 2021, Guerrilla Games showcased a 14-minute PlayStation 5 gameplay demo for the game in Sony's State of Play presentation.[21] In June 2021, head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst said they were on track for a late 2021 release but development was being partly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they were having trouble getting access to performance capture and talent.[24] On 25 August 2021 it was announced that its release had been delayed to 18 February 2022.[25] The game had "gone gold" on 27 January 2022 according to Guerilla Games, meaning that physical copies were ready to be produced, with any further development delivered through online software updates.[26]

The PlayStation 4 version can be freely upgraded to the PlayStation 5 version.[27][28] The PlayStation 4 version comes on two Blu-ray discs using 97GB, and the PlayStation 5 version comes on one Ultra HD Blu-ray using 98GB.[29]

A comic book series, set after the events of the first game, was published by Titan Comics on 5 August 2020.[30] On 3 June 2021, Guerilla released an extended play (EP) titled The Isle of Spires composed of four tracks.[12] On 16 February 2022, Argentine singer Nathy Peluso released "Emergencia", an electronic single inspired by the video game. In the music video, Peluso takes on the role of Aloy.[31]

Reception

Horizon Forbidden West received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[32] Critics disagreed about the impact of the expanded scale of the game's map, story, and missions.[48][49] In a review published by Wired, Swapna Krishna praised Horizon Forbidden West as a successful open world game and as a manageable alternative to the less forgiving gameplay of The Witcher 3.[48] However, in a mixed review for The Telegraph, Dan Silver characterized the game's open world and scale as "overwhelming".[49]

In a separate review published by NPR, Krishna compared the game favorably to the first in the series, writing that it "continues the achievements of its predecessor" while "seeking to improve upon them in every way".[50] Jason Schreier, in a review for Bloomberg, echoed this sentiment, writing "The mantra for Horizon Forbidden West's development appears to be: make everything bigger, better and more beautiful."[51]

Some critics noted bugs at launch, ranging from nuisances to issues that led to the game crashing or the critics losing saves.[51][52]

Sales

In the U.K, Forbidden West was the best selling game digitally during the week of release. At least 49% of all sales in the U.K were made digitally.[53] During the release of Elden Ring, sales dropped nearly 80%.[54]

References

  1. ^ Singh, Surej (31 July 2020). "New explorable regions in 'Horizon Forbidden West' revealed". NME. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. ^ Woo, Ginny; Gurwin, Gabe (11 June 2020). "Horizon: Forbidden West Confirmed At PS5 Reveal Event". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. ^ Avard, Alex; Sheridan, Connor (11 June 2020). "Horizon Forbidden West is the Zero Dawn sequel and it's headed to PS5". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ^ Crouse, Megan (16 June 2020). "Horizon Forbidden West: 7 Things We Want to See in the PS5 Game". Den of Geek. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  5. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (17 June 2020). "Horizon Forbidden West aiming for a 2021 launch on PS5". The Verge. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. ^ Gingerich, Megan (4 June 2021). "Horizon Forbidden West: All Combat and Traversal Improvements Shown in the Recent Trailer". FameRant. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  7. ^ Sinha, Ravi (7 January 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West – Improved Cinematics, More Rewarding Side Quests, and More Detailed". GamingBolt. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  8. ^ Clark, Nicole (19 January 2022). "In Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy and her friends 'save a dying planet'". Polygon. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Dornbush, Jonathon (11 June 2020). "Horizon 2: Forbidden West Announced for PS5". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  10. ^ Bonifacic, Igor (16 September 2020). "'Horizon Forbidden West' is also coming to PS4". Engadget. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  11. ^ Jonathon, Dornbush (3 June 2021). "Horizon Forbidden West: New Details on Free Climbing, Combat Revealed". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  12. ^ a b McAllister, Gillen (3 June 2021). "The music of Horizon Forbidden West: meet the composers". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  13. ^ Sarkar, Samit (11 June 2020). "Horizon Forbidden West announced for PS5". Polygon. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  14. ^ Horizon Forbidden West - State of Play Gameplay Reveal | PS5. PlayStation. 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Wallace, Kimberley (19 January 2022). "Breaking Down The New Horizon Forbidden West Trailer With Guerrilla Games". Game Informer. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  16. ^ Schmid, Timo (22 February 2022). "Peggy Vrijens hoofdpersoon in wereldberoemde game". 1Limburg (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  17. ^ Riley, Sean (14 June 2020). "Horizon: Forbidden West release date, gameplay, story and more". Laptop Mag. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  18. ^ Wood, Chandler (20 August 2020). "Developers Detail Unique Ways They Are Using the PS5 DualSense Controller's Adaptive Triggers and Haptic Feedback". Playstation Lifestyle. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  19. ^ Barker, Sammy (18 June 2020). "PS5 Will Ensure There's Virtually No Loading Screens in Horizon Forbidden West". PushSquare. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  20. ^ Sheridan, Connor (3 June 2021). "Horizon Forbidden West 60 FPS Performance Mode confirmed for PS5". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  21. ^ a b Kat, Alex (27 May 2021). "Horizon Forbidden West State of Play: Lots of New Gameplay, But No Release Date Yet". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  22. ^ Horizon Forbidden West - Guerrilla Talks | PS5. PlayStation. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ Statt, Nick (9 November 2020). "Sony clarifies when to expect some of the PS5's biggest 2021 games". The Verge. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  24. ^ Shuman, Sid (2 June 2021). "Hermen Hulst Q&A: What's Next for PlayStation Studios". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  25. ^ Sarkar, Samit (25 August 2021). "Horizon Forbidden West launching in February 2022". Polygon. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  26. ^ Smets, Angie (27 January 2022). "Guerrilla celebrates the game going gold with a first look at gameplay on the PS4 Pro console". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  27. ^ "UPDATE: Pre-order Horizon Forbidden West now: Collector's and Digital Deluxe Editions detailed". PlayStation.Blog. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  28. ^ Reed, Chris (2 September 2021). "Horizon Forbidden West: Here's What Comes in Each Edition". IGN. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  29. ^ Bains, Callum (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West is so large it needs two discs on PS4". TechRadar. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  30. ^ Robinson, Andy (21 May 2020). "Horizon Zero Dawn's sequel comic will now release in August". Video Games Chronicle. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Nathy Peluso lanza "Emergencia", en asociación con PlayStation". CNN (in Spanish). 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  32. ^ a b "Horizon Forbidden West for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  33. ^ Carter, Chris (14 February 2022). "Review: Horizon Forbidden West". Destructoid. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  34. ^ Jones, Brandon (14 February 2022). "Review: Horizon Forbidden West". Easy Allies. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  35. ^ Harmon, Josh (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  36. ^ Wallace, Kimberly (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West Review – Leaping To Greater Heights". Game Informer. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  37. ^ Faulkner, Jason (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West Review: 'An Early Contender for Game of the Year'". GameRevolution. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  38. ^ Hornshaw, Phil (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West Review - Squad Goals". GameSpot. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  39. ^ Loveridge, Same (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West Review: "Nothing Short Of Phenomenal"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  40. ^ Dunsmore, Kevin (14 February 2022). "Review: Horizon Forbidden West". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  41. ^ Cardy, Simon (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West Review". IGN. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  42. ^ Tailby, Stephen (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
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  44. ^ MacDonald, Keza (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West review – an eccentric adventure with robot dinosaurs". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  45. ^ Peppiatt, Dom (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West review: Another beautiful string to Aloy's bow, despite some open world drawbacks". VG247. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  46. ^ Wise, Josh (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
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  48. ^ a b Krishna, Swapna (23 February 2022). "'Horizon Forbidden West' Does Open Worlds Right". Wired. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  49. ^ a b Silver, Dan (14 February 2022). "Horizon Forbidden West review: machine-busting action RPG ramps up the scale for sprawling sequel". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  50. ^ Krishna, Swapna (16 February 2022). "Review: 'Horizon Forbidden West' brings a personal saga to a primal post-apocalypse". NPR. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  51. ^ a b Schreier, Jason (14 February 2022). "Sony's Horizon Forbidden West Is a Worthy PlayStation Sequel". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  52. ^ Frisch, Benjamin (14 February 2022). "This New Game Is So Good, It's Worth Buying a Whole System Just to Play It". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  53. ^ "Almost Half of Horizon: Forbidden West Sales in UK Were Digital". 25 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  54. ^ "Elden Ring Tops UK Charts As Horizon Forbidden West Drops to Second". 28 February 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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