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The Overlooked Success of Horizon Forbidden West | A Complete Analysis & Critique

LazerzZ・90 minutes read

Horizon Forbidden West is a deeply engaging game with rich lore, varied biomes, and an enhanced combat system. It focuses on character-driven storytelling, exploration, and customization, staying true to its identity and building on the success of its predecessor.

Insights

  • 1. The game Horizon Forbidden West builds upon the existing lore of Horizon Zero Dawn, expanding the universe with rich history, detailed biomes, and engaging tribes, offering a curated open-world experience with improved climbing mechanics and an emphasis on character-driven storytelling.
  • 2. Horizon Forbidden West features a detailed and varied gameplay experience, with a focus on exploration aided by map markers and question marks that guide players while leaving room for discovery, offering side quests, collectibles, and activities like combat challenges, machine strike, and armor customization to enhance player engagement.
  • 3. Aloy's character development and relationships drive the narrative of the game, as she navigates conflicts, discovers her purpose, and forms bonds with allies, culminating in a journey to save the world from the Zeniths' threat, setting the stage for a plot-centric third entry in the trilogy, emphasizing the importance of story and world exploration in Horizon's design philosophy.

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Recent questions

  • What is the main focus of Horizon Forbidden West?

    Horizon Forbidden West focuses on character, story, and role-playing, emphasizing the experience at locations rather than just finding them. The game prioritizes engaging with the world, exploring rich lore, and immersing players in a narrative-driven experience.

  • How does Horizon Forbidden West compare to Elden Ring in terms of exploration?

    Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring differ in their approach to exploration. While Elden Ring prioritizes exploration without handholding, deriving joy from discovering the unknown, Horizon provides map markers to orient players in the world, aiding decision-making on where to go and what to do.

  • What are some key features of the gameplay in Horizon Forbidden West?

    Horizon Forbidden West features engaging combat systems focusing on ranged and melee combat, a vast skill tree for customization, various activities like salvage contracts and arena challenges, and a significant role for collectibles in the game world.

  • How does Aloy's character arc develop throughout Horizon Forbidden West?

    Aloy's character arc in Forbidden West sees her pushing away connections to focus on fulfilling Elizabeth's vision, leading to conflicts with friends like Val and Errand. Her journey reflects her sense of purpose, determination, and growth as she navigates challenges and relationships in the game.

  • What is the overarching narrative of Horizon Forbidden West?

    The main plot of Horizon Forbidden West revolves around the world dying, with Aloy searching for a backup of Gaia to restore it and save the planet. The enemies in the game are humans who left Earth 1,000 years ago, discovered immortality, and returned to wipe out the biosphere, setting up a plot-centric third entry in the trilogy.

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Summary

00:00

Horizon Forbidden West: Rich Lore, Improved Gameplay

  • Horizon Forbidden West was released a few months ago, delayed due to the creator's desire to make a unique video rather than a generic critique.
  • The creator spent 60 hours playing the game, completing major side quests and the main story, deeply engaging with it.
  • The game's release was close to another highly anticipated title, but the creator prefers Horizon Forbidden West over Elden Ring.
  • The sequel builds on Horizon Zero Dawn, not trying to recreate it but expanding on the existing lore and world.
  • The game is set in the Forbidden West, an area alluded to in the previous game, offering rich lore and history for exploration.
  • The open world structure is curated, similar to Zero Dawn but with more control over exploration and landmarks.
  • The lore of the new tribes and factions in Forbidden West is as rich and engaging as that of Zero Dawn, adding depth to the universe.
  • The biomes in the game are varied, with detailed transitions and different mounts for navigation, including flying mounts and the shield wing.
  • The climbing system in the game is fluid and improved from Zero Dawn, with potential for further enhancement in future entries.
  • The game's map markers have sparked discussions on social media, with some preferring a completely empty map for exploration, similar to Elden Ring.

11:59

Exploration and storytelling in Horizon and Elden Ring

  • Horizon is a game focused on character, story, and role-playing, emphasizing the experience at locations rather than just finding them.
  • Elden Ring, in contrast, prioritizes exploration without handholding, deriving joy from discovering the unknown.
  • Map markers in Horizon help orient players in the world, aiding in decision-making on where to go and what to do.
  • Question marks on the map in Horizon indicate points of interest, but the empty space between them can feel like wasted exploration.
  • Horizon's design with question marks appearing only within a certain range adds to the sense of discovery and nudges players towards locations.
  • Unmarked discoveries in Horizon, like stories found off the beaten path, add depth and meaning to exploration.
  • A memorial in Horizon dedicated to a deceased producer, Patrick Monik, showcases the game's potential for unmarked, meaningful locations.
  • Side content in Horizon includes side quests and errands, with the former offering depth and interconnected storytelling about locations and characters.
  • Facial animations in side quests are notably detailed, enhancing character interactions and storytelling.
  • Bandit camps and outposts in Horizon, while varied in story and layout, can feel repetitive and mundane, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.

24:50

"Horizon Forbidden West: Engaging Combat and Collectibles"

  • The game features various activities like salvage contracts, arena challenges, hunting challenges, and races, offering minor but engaging challenges.
  • Collectibles play a significant role in the game, with different types like signal lenses, data pads, voice memos, black boxes, survey drones, vista points, and war totems.
  • Signal lenses introduce the concept of collectibles, while black boxes provide insights into past events through dialogue with Alloy.
  • Survey drones offer unique experiences when collected, while vista points allow players to view the old world and receive data and dialogue from Alloy.
  • War totems are hidden easter egg items referencing another game, God of War, providing a cool reward for collecting them all.
  • Machine Strike, a board game in the game, is compared to Gwent from The Witcher 3, allowing players to collect and use machine pieces to face off against NPCs.
  • Combat in the game focuses on ranged combat, utilizing bows and other ranged weapons, with the spike throw being highlighted as a powerful tool.
  • Melee combat has been significantly improved in Forbidden West, offering more depth and variety in engaging with both machines and human enemies.
  • The combat system involves utilizing personal weapon setups to target machine weak spots, detach weapons, and set off elemental chain reactions with specially tipped arrows.
  • The game features a vast skill tree with numerous abilities that can be unlocked using skill points obtained through various in-game activities, offering players flexibility in customizing Alloy's skills and abilities.

36:53

"Crafted armors, personalization, and engaging gameplay"

  • Armors can be crafted, bought, or earned through rewards, with varying degrees of rarity affecting stats.
  • Upgrading armors at a crafting bench allows continued use even if outleveled, with legendary armors being more powerful than common ones.
  • Armor shops offer a mix of outfits from different tribes, even those at odds with each other, like Utaru and Tanakh tribes stocking Karja outfits.
  • Dyes can personalize outfits, offering a range of color options to customize appearances.
  • The game's engaging gameplay loop, world structure, and exploration contribute to its overall appeal.
  • Story is the driving force behind playing the game, with a focus on discovering what happens next.
  • Aloy's character traits, including curiosity, determination, and love for people, shape her actions and relationships throughout the game.
  • Aloy's character arc in Forbidden West sees her pushing away connections to focus on fulfilling Elizabeth's vision, leading to conflicts with friends like Val and Errand.
  • Aloy's sense of purpose and determination drive her to face challenges alone, even risking her life to fulfill her quest.
  • Aloy's journey to stop Hades alone reflects her past experiences of solitude and the belief in the importance of her mission.

51:02

"Elizabeth's Colleague Declines Party Invitation, Reflects"

  • Elizabeth's colleague invites her to a party, but she declines, leading to introspection on her character.
  • Elizabeth is portrayed as someone who cares deeply for others, unlike her colleague.
  • Elizabeth's colleague reflects on her mental state and her changing identity.
  • Val saves Elizabeth, leading to the reconstruction of Gaia and meeting new characters.
  • The game introduces a hub for allies and Gaia, enhancing supporting characters' importance.
  • Aloy forms bonds with various characters while searching for Gaia's subfunctions.
  • Aloy's journey into the Forbidden West helps her rediscover her purpose and connect with others.
  • Aloy's visit to Las Vegas marks a turning point in her character development.
  • Aloy's growth is highlighted through her interactions with Beta, a clone of Elizabeth Sobek.
  • Aloy's relationship with Silence evolves, showcasing her newfound confidence and independence.

01:07:04

Horizon Trilogy: Eloy's Journey Against Zeniths

  • Silence is initially perceived as a bad person due to his self-centered nature, but he ultimately joins Eloy on a mission to escape an impending attack from Nemesis.
  • Silence asks Eloy to come with him, suggesting she would be saving a seed for a new world, akin to what Elizabeth did.
  • Eloy's character arc concludes as she no longer chases after Elizabeth but becomes her own person, leading Silence to change his mind and admire her.
  • The main plot of the game revolves around the world dying, with Eloy searching for a backup of Gaia to restore it and save the planet.
  • The enemies in the game are humans who left Earth 1,000 years ago, discovered immortality, and returned to wipe out the biosphere and start anew.
  • The narrative focuses on character building and world exploration, setting up a plot-centric third entry in the trilogy.
  • The game's design philosophy enhances main quests by grounding players in familiar spaces and building out the world and characters.
  • The story explores Horizon as a concept, using the Zeniths as antagonists to develop characters and set up the finale of the trilogy.
  • The Nemesis reveal ties back to the true threat from the first game, with the Zeniths being the core enemy that Aloy must face.
  • Val's death is a significant narrative moment, showcasing the emotional impact of his character's journey and the loss felt by players.

01:20:39

"Horizon Forbidden West: Success in Sequel"

  • Ted apologizes to Elizabeth, acknowledging her correctness and his wrongness, showing vulnerability and redeemable qualities.
  • The story explores the theme of attempting to live forever, symbolizing inevitable demise, paralleling Ted's fate to that of the Zeniths.
  • Ted's transformation into a Resident Evil boss felt too outlandish for Horizon, preferring a more subtle approach.
  • The story ties up loose ends from Horizon Zero Dawn, focusing on development, correcting past issues, and setting up future events.
  • Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel that enriches the open-world design, offering depth in side quests and a grand main story.
  • The game stays true to its identity, improving on Horizon Zero Dawn without trying to reinvent itself, focusing on existing lore.
  • The game's success is highlighted, with praise for its design, storytelling, animations, and overall improvement from its predecessor.
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