Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores

 PlayStation 5
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 73 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 73
  3. Negative: 0 out of 73
  1. PLAY
    Sep 17, 2023
    70
    Seyka is a welcome addition to Aloy’s allies. However the DLC shows no intention of escaping the science fantasy nonsense the base game mired itself in. [Issue#28, p.88]
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  2. SECTOR.sk
    Apr 27, 2023
    70
    Burning Shores once again explores the theme of loneliness of a protagonist who must bear the fate of the entire world on her shoulders. However, the short gameplay of the DLC offers limited space for addressing the character's relationship issues. For fans of the series, Burning Shores offers a good excuse to return to the world filled with robotic monsters with a few new challenges. Nevertheless, the DLC fails to deliver a meaningful story and deeper character development that would make Burning Shores a must-play expansion for the players.
  3. Gamer.nl
    Apr 24, 2023
    70
    A good expansion exists out of the best features of the main game with a slight twist. The Horizon Forbidden West-expansion is made with that exact recipe. Whilst Burning Shores is resting heavily on the strong features of it's predecessor, it adds new locations, missions, enemies and weapons. Burning Shores has everything it needs to entertain people for 10+ hours.
  5. GameSpot
    Apr 24, 2023
    70
    Horizon: Burning Shores lays even more groundwork for the future of the franchise than Forbidden West, which had already signaled a clear direction for the next entry. It does this in a tight, engaging little package that reignited my love for the world and its characters without feeling burdened by it. While much of Burning Shores feels familiar, it's a sweet, condensed experience that captures what makes Horizon games great. After feeling more exhausted than excited at the end of Forbidden West, I'm glad for the reminder.
  6. Digital Trends
    Apr 20, 2023
    70
    Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a light, but crowd-pleasing DLC chapter that sets the stage for Aloy's next adventure.
  7. GLHF on Sports Illustrated
    Apr 19, 2023
    70
    Burning Shores doesn’t add a great deal to the story and character development is seemingly optional, but if you want more beasts to bash, more ways to bash them, and gorgeous scenery to ogle at, you won’t be disappointed.
  8. Edge Magazine
    May 18, 2023
    60
    The most significant addition is Quen marine Seyka, with whom Aloy forms a bond that goes beyond friendship. Yet the two fight more often than they flirt, and the need to either level or stock up between story missions means they don't spend enough time together for the would-be emotional climax to fully land. [Issue#385, p.120]
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  1. 3DJuegos
    Jun 7, 2023
    If you enjoyed Horizon: Forbidden West, you can't miss Burning Shores. Is impressive and very enjoyable. [Recommended]
  2. The A.V. Club
    Apr 21, 2023
    I want to like Burning Shores, honest: When the combat clicks, I can still feel the excitement and thrills that the mid-game of Forbidden West provided me oh so long ago. (Even if the fact that every new enemy seems to knock me down twice as much, and require twice as many hits to take down, drains a lot of that joy.) I still like Aloy (with Ashly Burch continuing to do a great job of grounding the character through the voice acting), and hearing Lance Reddick’s voice introducing me to the expansion couldn’t help but give my heartstrings a tug. But at the end of the day, the expansion can’t help but feel like it’s for people who, well… wanted more Horizon Forbidden West. And I have to conclude, in the end, that I no longer automatically fall into that camp.
  3. The Verge
    Apr 25, 2023
    Burning Shores, like other Sony expansions such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and The Last of Us: Left Behind, is all the better for being a tighter experience. It shows what’s possible when the production value of a blockbuster release is used to make something smaller and more intimate. Now, I’m much more excited for the future of Horizon than when I first finished Forbidden West. I’m even thinking about exploring the rest of the map.

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2023
5
#5 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2023

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.3

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2566 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,021 out of 2566
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 2566
  3. Negative: 1,442 out of 2566
  1. AvatarSane
    Apr 21, 2023
    2
    Review from someone who loves this universe very much. I am disappointed. The developers could come up with and show so many interesting andReview from someone who loves this universe very much. I am disappointed. The developers could come up with and show so many interesting and leading to the continuation, but they did... this.

    I should warn you that I'm only talking about the main story quests. Let's start with the good. The battle with Horus in the final is tense and dynamic, the gameplay is divided into several sections, each of which is a separate arena. The nature and music is amazing. You can swin on new machine and fly high as you can. Very beautilul clouds.

    Remember the most interesting story of Frozen Wilds, where Aloy visited the Banuk tribe and found out mysterious secrets together with the locals? So forget it.

    And it's not even about deceived expectations. The second part, in principle, became simpler and more mundane and less focused on the details of Laura, although there were also enough of them, and I liked the progression of the main character on the way to the team. In Burning Shores, it's about the lack of sense in this add-on as a whole. It can even be described in a few lines: One Zenith survived and fled to Hollywood to fix his spaceship there and fly to another planet. The launch of the ship will cause pollution of these lands, so Aloy and Seyka (one of the Quen) try to stop him. Zenith activates Horus, but still loses.

    THAT'S ALL. I am not kidding. No clues to the future, no hint of the position of Hephaestus, no reasoning about the nature of Nemesis, no at least somewhat ambiguous antagonist (which was the same Faro), no clear trail that would help stop Nemesis, just a dull wandering around the islands back and forth. And it's poor written. The all situations feels like a bad rom-com. There is a siluation when our characters trying to sneak to enemy base and saying to the guards: "HEY WE MET YOUR FRIEND AND HE TOLD US WE CAN PASS!" Yeah that's bad. It is very noticeable that the screenwriter has changed and he absolutely does not know how to write at least some interesting story. In the main task of the add-on, the hand of the "brilliant" screenwriter is generally seen everywhere in the form of the thought "I live as I want, the team is not a decree for me." No depth and interestingness of the characters, just a direct hacking of the phrase from the screen: BOSSES ARE BAD, LET'S REBEL! This is very much out of the tone of the narrative of both games, and the decrease in the quality of the script is noticeable to the naked eye.

    Oh yes, there is also a love line that was forcibly inserted or what the authors allegedly tried to show us, which is perhaps the biggest pain for me. Why? Because Seyka is boring and uninteresting character but typical interaction between her and Aloy somehow born the "attraction". You know after literally the SAME situation in Ikrie or Talanah arc which you can describe the same words: brave woman warrior and almost match for Aloy lost part of the family and now trying to safe them or memory of them in battle + she doesn't accept any authority. But they decided like this was never happened and Seyka in this situation somehow love interest right now? That's why I don't believe in this story. It comes from literally NOTHING.I love this universe so much and don't mind gay characters whom i met in Horizon games. But if they wanted a romance line i prefer to choose between man, woman or no romantic interest at all for protagonist. But here they just forced one bad line. It is especially hard to believe when Aloy tells Seyka that she has become an example for her in everything. And I sit at this moment and think: why? No, seriously, when? The only thing that Seyka remembers is the incessant comments admiring every action of Aloy like "There you go! Or whining about how everyone around are bad. Or yelling and running away. Nothing more. Therefore, the scene when Aloy holds out her hand to Seyka and says that she cares about this fool feels strained, if not mocking. In Aloy's friendship with Erend or Kotallo, there is more dynamics and real care, not to mention the relationship with Beta.

    Previously, everyone could decide for himself with whom he wanted or did not want to see Aloy, and her disinterest in romantic relationships only gave a peculiar character to the character. Not to mention, during the creation of Zero Dawn, the developers said: "Aloy is a woman on a mission and she has no time to think about such things." Obviously, the producer's hand gave a sign to correct this situation at the time of the crisis and earn easy money on cheap hype. The players themselves want to choose, because there are quite a lot of attractive and charming men and women in the world of Horizon. But they just screwed all fans and made a only chose. A bad one. Only a bitter resentment that another character with a gradual development beloved by the fans of the game was sharply sacrificed to the social agenda. That's all I wanted to say.    … Full Review »
  2. StingerWolf
    Apr 21, 2023
    0
    Well another one bites the dust. The first game was rather nice, I have liked it very much. Not so the second game, which had almost the sameWell another one bites the dust. The first game was rather nice, I have liked it very much. Not so the second game, which had almost the same concept, but with horrible story and bland characters. The dlc tops this and brings in even politics and propaganda, trying to compensate for the quality and content with it is absolutely lacking. For anyone who doesn't understand: keeping the political agenda does not fill the void of a well done game. It would have been nice if the dlc learns from the mistakes of the main game, but sadly, it didn't.… Full Review »
  3. GSh773
    Apr 22, 2023
    2
    Visually look awesome, but what about storytelling? Aloy lesbian! What are you doing Sony & Guerilla really? Stop doing it with yourVisually look awesome, but what about storytelling? Aloy lesbian! What are you doing Sony & Guerilla really? Stop doing it with your characters. That’s awful plot, you create a wonderful world, and absolutely awful minor characters. Bad really bad. I love this franchise, and I don’t want to see how you’ll destroy it. and now I’m start thinking about 3 part, and it scares me.… Full Review »
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