Horizon Forbidden West is endlessly obsessed with the ethos of ‘more’

polygon.com:

I still remember the moment when Horizon Zero Dawn opened up past Nora territory, and I took my first steps into the vast wilderness. I went slack-jawed as I roamed red rock plateaus, admiring the topographical fidelity to the natural world. All of it was filled with robotic foes, which I fought with just bows, arrows, and a spear. I played every quest, completed every Hunting Ground; I got the Shield Weaver armor, and collected most of the metal flowers; I played through the Frozen Wilds expansion. Three years later, I went on a road trip through Utah and Colorado, to see this part of America myself.

Horizon Forbidden West has delivered on the promise of more on just about every level. It’s a buffet you might graze on forever, filled with quests, characters, encampments, environments, and collectibles — and battles against new deadly machines. The game’s many expanded traversal tools and combat options deeply enrich the time you spend in this gorgeous, nearly photo-real wilderness. But Forbidden West also stumbles over this “more is better” ethos. Both mechanically and narratively, itsuffers under the weight of its sequel ambitions, trying too hard to be grand, and sometimes losing sight of its strong world-building and storytelling heart. That said, Aloy is still a character I love, and her world is one I enjoyed spending time in — and one I plan to explore indefinitely.

Horizon Forbidden West, especially on the PlayStation 5, is breathtaking; it’s one of the most impressively realized wilderness games I’ve ever played. On PS5, you can regularly walk from interiors right into the wide world, without loading screens. This gives players incredible freedom in their journey westward, exploring gorgeous vistas bursting with