Horizon: Forbidden West review-in-progress — a lot of Aloy

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Some people criticize some of my favorite open world games by saying that they “feel empty.” It’s a complaint levied against the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I never mind the open spaces. I enjoy doing a bit traveling and exploration.

But if you’re one of those people, then Horizon: Forbidden West is the antithesis of a “feels empty” open world game. This sequel from Guerrilla Games comes out on February 18 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 (Sony gave me a PS5 code for this review). It’s one of Sony’s biggest exclusives since the launch of the PS5. And “big” is the operative word here.

In fact, it’s so big, I didn’t even get all that close to beating the game in time for the review embargo. Maybe if I had rushed through the story missions, I could have gotten there. But Forbidden West excels at making you want to see all of the extra activities.

In that respect, it reminds me of The Witcher III. Side quests don’t feel inherently “less” than the ones from the main story. The side missions expand on the world and characters, often ones the main scenario introduces you.

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They also offer beefy rewards. Yes, Forbidden West has a traditional level up and skill tree points progression system. I like that you often earn points directly for completing a mission or side activity. That’s a pretty tangible reward, and it makes it worthwhile and fun to check out all of those icons on your map.

Ah, yes. Icons on maps. Forbidden West is what I like to call a “map game.” It’s a certain flavor of open world gaming where you’re constantly opening that map,