Horizon Forbidden West

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10308 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7,816 out of 10308
  2. Mixed: 729 out of 10308
  3. Negative: 1,763 out of 10308
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  1. Jayhawk145
    Sep 8, 2023
    5
    I am convinced that these games are just Graphical showcases, because thats all the Horizon franchise seems to have going for it. Imagine, a game that is set in the distant Future, where we got knocked back to prehistoric times, and we have to fight giant robot dinosaurs, SOUNDS AWESOME. But this game does nothing really new.

    Aloy is still a MID protagonist, that is so very hard to    I am convinced that these games are just Graphical showcases, because thats all the Horizon franchise seems to have going for it. Imagine, a game that is set in the distant Future, where we got knocked back to prehistoric times, and we have to fight giant robot dinosaurs, SOUNDS AWESOME. But this game does nothing really new.

    Aloy is still a MID protagonist, that is so very hard to like, the writing and overall story is just lastluster and boring. The actual world exploration at first is fun and engaging but grows tiresome very fast.    … Expand
  2. Angelooo
    Sep 4, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es buen juego pero esperaba más, lo jugué con mi hermano en ps5 y el combate no me gustó y después de un tiempo es repetitivo. Apartado gráfico bastante bueno.… Expand
  3. Madmac05
    Sep 2, 2023
    5
    Most of the reviews are from PS haters that never even played the game. It is amazing!!
  4. Rexter345
    Sep 1, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Historia muito chata e combate lento e pouco estimulante, texturas boradas e com graficos de ps4.… Expand
  5. WalQ
    Sep 1, 2023
    7
    Beautiful game, interesting gameplay. As far as the story goes, I liked more the one from the first Horizon, where we are just discovering the whole secret of macha dinosaurs.
  6. MPK92
    Aug 29, 2023
    5
    I don't know how they did it but they somehow managed to make dinosaur robots kind of boring and uninteresting. This game checks a lot of the boxes for success on a technical level. Looks great. Plays well enough. Interesting premise. Open world with lots of stuff to do. But for me the end result is just... kind of boring and it didn't grab me at all. I didn't love the first game either,I don't know how they did it but they somehow managed to make dinosaur robots kind of boring and uninteresting. This game checks a lot of the boxes for success on a technical level. Looks great. Plays well enough. Interesting premise. Open world with lots of stuff to do. But for me the end result is just... kind of boring and it didn't grab me at all. I didn't love the first game either, but I at least felt compelled to finish it.… Expand
  7. liamalt
    Aug 29, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is strange to me. The developers chose to make a game centred around the forbidden lands and how we must work together to save the world, yet these forbidden lands are less hostile than the Nora are to Aloy. The storyline chooses to follow aliens wanting a new home rather then following the set up from the previous game of a world ending threat waking up the machines which originally destroyed this planet and were only stopped by intentionally destroying humanity. This combined with a story centred around the most generic characters I've seen in gaming alongside an unchanging world which is supposed to be dying, just left me underwhelmed. The game is mechanically fine and looks gorgeous, but just follows tropes and pre done lore rather than give me a reason to play this instead of Elden ring, Horizon Zero Dawn, or any one of the other games which have released in the last few years.… Expand
  8. Gekkehuiz
    Aug 17, 2023
    5
    Horizon Forbidden West is almost a copy of Horizon Zero Dawn. The graphics have been improved and the game features the most realistic was crashing on a beach with foam and subtranction back to the see I've ever seen in a game. However for me this game has a few downsides in regards to part 1 (which I think is a masterpiece). There is no compelling story, the map is too big, too manyHorizon Forbidden West is almost a copy of Horizon Zero Dawn. The graphics have been improved and the game features the most realistic was crashing on a beach with foam and subtranction back to the see I've ever seen in a game. However for me this game has a few downsides in regards to part 1 (which I think is a masterpiece). There is no compelling story, the map is too big, too many boring puzzles and too repetitive. I had a hard time getting through this one which is a tough cookie for me to swallow as I remind myself how amazing the first one was.… Expand
  9. jacobgoh101
    Aug 16, 2023
    5
    great visual. great feeling flying on a bird. average game play. below average story. teribble climbing mechanism. lots of bugs that I encounter. quite disappointing overall.
  10. Kostas_Spirou
    Jul 28, 2023
    7
    Alright, hear me out, I honestly enjoyed this game, it's a technical marvel, the gameplay is great just like in the first game, the cast of characters is bigger, the side content is more varied and the world looks absolutely phenomenal, but ultimately the game didn't meet my expectations.

    Exploring the world feels better than before, and the climbing is something the game definitely    Alright, hear me out, I honestly enjoyed this game, it's a technical marvel, the gameplay is great just like in the first game, the cast of characters is bigger, the side content is more varied and the world looks absolutely phenomenal, but ultimately the game didn't meet my expectations.

    Exploring the world feels better than before, and the climbing is something the game definitely needed. There's actually a lot of content and the game is pretty big, there are random minigames you can play, races with machines, an entire arena, and many more things to do.

    Unfortunately, despite the few improvements in the Open World, the game feels like a step-back from the first game in almost every other way, sure there are some quality of life improvements, melee combat is way better and the new skill tree is a nice addition, but the core gameplay still feels the exact same for the most part, and the story is such a mess, the pacing is terrible, and the ending is insultingly bad, I did like some of the new story beats but in the end it honestly feels as if the story didn't really progress.

    Also the physics and the collision detection are absolutely atrocious, getting hit mid-animation while rolling perfectly to dodge an attack or doing a critical strike and getting interrupted by an enemy is just incredibly annoying.

    It's a well made game, and my experience was mostly positive but I expected more after 5 whole years.
    At the end of the day I actually liked it, it was a fun experience and I really wanna see how the story is gonna continue from here.

    Final Rating: "Good" ~ 7/10.    … Expand
  11. Ilya123
    Jul 27, 2023
    7
    Good game with beatiful main character. Amazing game, beatiful to look at and an open world
  12. diLesnock
    Jul 19, 2023
    5
    Horizon Forbidden West delivers a visually stunning experience with its beautiful landscapes and showcases the capabilities of the new generation of gaming hardware. However, it falls short in terms of lackluster combat, slow-paced story development, an uninteresting protagonist, and the presence of a few graphical bugs. While it may not fully live up to its potential, fans of open-worldHorizon Forbidden West delivers a visually stunning experience with its beautiful landscapes and showcases the capabilities of the new generation of gaming hardware. However, it falls short in terms of lackluster combat, slow-paced story development, an uninteresting protagonist, and the presence of a few graphical bugs. While it may not fully live up to its potential, fans of open-world exploration may still find enjoyment in the game's visually captivating world and the opportunity to uncover its intriguing lore.… Expand
  13. SilarMaldon
    Jul 18, 2023
    5
    This is clearly a case of the developers grasping for ways to make Horizon better and just totally failing. Wtf was wrong in the first place? The new platforming is just awful. The water exploration allows Aloy to "water platform" in a new, but joyless way. I really don't know wtf they were thinking by expanding the worst parts of the game. There is no possible way that anyone could enjoyThis is clearly a case of the developers grasping for ways to make Horizon better and just totally failing. Wtf was wrong in the first place? The new platforming is just awful. The water exploration allows Aloy to "water platform" in a new, but joyless way. I really don't know wtf they were thinking by expanding the worst parts of the game. There is no possible way that anyone could enjoy this at the same level as the first one, which was an awesome game. It truly seems that the developers wanted to make this game less fun and more of a chore. All those characters you loved from the first one??? Now Aloy engages in tedious character drama nonsense and they hate each other. Drama and emotions don't make something good, you need to actually have a plot. What a disappointment.

    On the positive side, the soundtrack is WAY, WAY better and most of the excellent combat from the original entry is maintained or improved.    … Expand
  14. HyperDBA
    Jul 12, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Just finished the game yesterday on PS5 on normal difficulty. Many positives but a specific overwhelming negative.

    The Amazing: Visuals and Audio are among the best ever for any game created. There is literally a way to enjoy the game where it's just Aloy flying on her Sun Wing and enjoying the beauty of the rendered environment across different times of the day while listening to beautiful and touching soundtracks. For example 'In the Flood' main theme song should be in the running for some award of best video gaming song

    The Good: Fighting and Weapons. Such a big arsenal of weapons to choose from that allow many diverse fighting styles and weapon combos. I like the plasma mechanic a lot although it take a while to get used to. Some weapons like spears can feel a bit overpowered and some kinds of superflous like the short bow or the wierd elemental rope shooter but overall weapons are fun. Machines are also very intricate in all their animations, textures, and behaviors. A joy to engage with. Humans are o.k enemies but hardly a challenge.

    The Bad: Main gripe with weapons is the very tedious, boring upgrade requirements. I got all legendary weapons maxed out and one of the few times I needed to dial down the difficult is to gather resources for their upgrades. Its like each upgrade level requires killing and precision striping of parts from 5-6 big machines and it quickly became a massive chore instead of a fun activity. Strike was attempted as a Gwent (from Witcher series) like side activity but is just a bad conceptual game. Hard to remember all the machine and land requirements so I completely skipped it. Likewise, Vista point and Ancient Ruin quests we quite boring and their development resources better spent else where. Their rewards were also very pedestrian so are not in any way needed to get stronger in the game.

    The unforgivingly catastrophically terrible: Writing.. Its such a drop-off from the rest of the game to the degree that I think they hired top-world talent for the environment and graphics and got some interns to do the writing. In all my years of playing games, I have never seen such a gap in quality between gameplay and story. Even compared to the original game which was much more intriguing and suspenseful. I will give a few examples.

    SPOILERS BELOW:

    The whole premise of HFW falls flat on its face in the last 5 minutes when its uncovered that the Zeniths are not after trying to extinguish life on earth after all and just wanted to stop there, rest and, and get a GAIA copy while running away from nemisis. So that makes zero sense, a group of advanced alien humans, who conquered death, can't fix the simple problem of software backup (cause yes GAIA is just a super advanced ChatGPT not some digital deity, and was backed up before) Couldn't they have just cooperated with Aloy to get a copy ? Makes no sense and completely empties the meaning of the main story.

    Aloy sending her friends over to suicide missions over and over again. Most glaring is Varl. She just tells him to 'protect Alva' when Zeniths arrive in the couldren mission. Like how is he supposed to do that ? She knows how advanced they are and he only has a primitive spear and predictably lasts for a grand total of 10 seconds before getting run through by Eric and then no remorse whatsoever from Aloy as if this was always the plan ?

    The complete bungling of Tilda's character. As complex as they come as a former lover of Elisabet's, art enthusiast, and a 'good' Zenith. She is just converted to a town idiot in her last scene where thinks she could just kidnap Aloy. Earlier she had reviewed Aloy's focus and must know she is capable of bringing down Apex Thunderjaws as a stretching exercise. And how ? by jumping into a gundam like specter suit ? Which ended up being one of the easiest and most pathetic end boss battles ever devised.

    Feels like the narrative team just run out of ideas, changed personnel in the middle of development, or had some character death, plot 'twists', and cheesy scene quota they needed to fill and proceeded to do that without any sort of basic story QA.

    Any sci-fi or fantasy work requires a certain level of suspension of belief but HFW requires an activation of stupidity to overcome the poor story structure. To say the writing is amateur hour would be an insult to amateurs many of which could have done a dramatically better job. For a normal third person shoot-em up game, this would not matter, but the HZ franchise is not Serious Sam, its an advanced Sci-Fi movie being played as a game. Aloy and the rest of the Guerrilla technical team deserve much much better than what their narrative team is delivering at the moment and hopefully they get that for HZ3 or I will happily skip to preserve how I remember this great world and character.    … Expand
  15. Morfeu
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    Inegável que o jogo é lindo porém história totalmente mal feita parecendo que foi feita às pressas. Jogo diverte mas para o final se torna banal e a vontade de pular todas as cutscenes é alta.
  16. Solonik94
    Jul 3, 2023
    7
    The core game didn't change much and I couldn't rly get into the story at all. Despite that, gorgeous game and tight responsive gameplay. It's not my cup of tea and I also couldn't finish the first one because I got bored but overall most ppl will probably have fun with it. Side note: all these ppl rating 0 just because they don't like the story or part of the gameplay.... How about aThe core game didn't change much and I couldn't rly get into the story at all. Despite that, gorgeous game and tight responsive gameplay. It's not my cup of tea and I also couldn't finish the first one because I got bored but overall most ppl will probably have fun with it. Side note: all these ppl rating 0 just because they don't like the story or part of the gameplay.... How about a mature and fair rating. If you like your food in a restaurant but don't like the presentation or the service, would you rate it with 0 aswell? Doesn't sound fair right. If you like aspects of the game give it a fair review instead of these **** 0 point reviews… Expand
  17. RamenRoodles
    Jul 1, 2023
    7
    Pro's
    Great Soundtrack
    Jaw dropping boss fights Great UI Melee combat is refined now Beautiful world and atmosphere Nice strategy in ammo types Late game mount is a nice reward Late game you feel like a badass Good loot Con's I didn't care about most characters Aloy has no real depth or growth Story became predictable late game Stealth isn't refined, too simple Side missions are 50/50 in    Pro's
    Great Soundtrack
    Jaw dropping boss fights
    Great UI Melee combat is refined now
    Beautiful world and atmosphere Nice strategy in ammo types
    Late game mount is a nice reward
    Late game you feel like a badass
    Good loot

    Con's
    I didn't care about most characters
    Aloy has no real depth or growth
    Story became predictable late game
    Stealth isn't refined, too simple
    Side missions are 50/50 in quality

    Verdict: 7/10    … Expand
  18. woolywooly
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    Amazing graphics. But convoluted story. Way too much farming. Upgrading weapons and armour is a nightmare. Way too many weapon types, and you don’t know what to use.
  19. Soracifer88
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    It's a good game but A very by the standard sequel
    Pros:
    -really great graphic and visual -great improvement in the acting and dialogue .better sidequest -fight the machine still feel really fun con: -IA still pretty basic -interaction with the environment is still mediocre, same for the exploration -story fall flat, Aloy its too much a Mary sue protagonist. So a well done    It's a good game but A very by the standard sequel
    Pros:
    -really great graphic and visual
    -great improvement in the acting and dialogue
    .better sidequest
    -fight the machine still feel really fun

    con:
    -IA still pretty basic
    -interaction with the environment is still mediocre, same for the exploration
    -story fall flat, Aloy its too much a Mary sue protagonist.

    So a well done sequel but nothing groundbreaking or any improvement for the open world genre. Over all still a solid good game.    … Expand
  20. lukeak
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    I was in love with the Horizon Series, and after Forbidden West it was about to be my all-time favorite game, but that Burning Shores ending was so disappointing. It ruined the story for me. It was horribly written and obviously thrown in for American political reasons. It's such a shame this keeps happening.
    I'm part of the lgbtq community, and even I was starting to feel weird about    I was in love with the Horizon Series, and after Forbidden West it was about to be my all-time favorite game, but that Burning Shores ending was so disappointing. It ruined the story for me. It was horribly written and obviously thrown in for American political reasons. It's such a shame this keeps happening.
    I'm part of the lgbtq community, and even I was starting to feel weird about how there are very few honorable male characters, and how there are so many lesbian characters. So, many side quests had lesbian characters. It's not even representational of life.
    Then the ending seriously threw me off, cause it just felt so out of place. There was no real story development for that love scene in the end. It seriously felt like they just threw it in to make 'woke' quota deadlines. if the 'woke' crap was just better written it would be so much more accepted, but at this point, it's really becoming a problem in ruining the art of storytelling. I can't wait for this ridiculous fad to end. Unfortunately, so many of the stories we hold so dear will be ruined by the time that happens.    … Expand
  21. empress-m
    Jun 24, 2023
    5
    This is what I loved about the first Horizon game - challenging and varied combat, made more complex with various modes of damage and resistance and various enemies, super engaging storytelling. If you like action RPGs, this game is a must.
  22. Pupo
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    I got kinda bored, it's a beautiful game, graphics are amazing but I just can't enjoy it.
  23. pslovehate
    Jun 2, 2023
    7
    They did many things right but the new side games added to Zero Dawn are just annoying and frustrating.
  24. thethethe4
    May 31, 2023
    5
    This game disappointed me greatly. Though the graphics are stunning and the combat is unique, it simply isn't enough to make up for the lack laster story. Aloy is a really boring character, she is your cliché hero going around trying to save the world. It honestly is boring and I found myself struggling to keep playing the game because of how boring it was. The environment is ok andThis game disappointed me greatly. Though the graphics are stunning and the combat is unique, it simply isn't enough to make up for the lack laster story. Aloy is a really boring character, she is your cliché hero going around trying to save the world. It honestly is boring and I found myself struggling to keep playing the game because of how boring it was. The environment is ok and although it is visually stunning it can become repetitive. I really tried to like this game but its story just fell flat in so many ways, if you liked the first game then you will like this one but otherwise I would avoid this game.… Expand
  25. William_Trigos
    May 27, 2023
    7
    I really liked the story of the first game, but this one didn't quite engage with me and I'm not very attracted to the future of the main story
    In the graphic section, the detail of all the machines, textures, facial animations and everything is tremendous.
    But having liked the first game, I don't connect with the franchise, it's okay but I think PS5 has better games than this for my taste
  26. Gen0cider
    May 21, 2023
    6
    Beautiful world ruined by boring content. Awful awful writing and directing. And its a shame because the artists stepped up big time. The cutscenes look fantastic.
    Guerrilla realised that and decided to make every war chief and other major character a female warrior. To get praise from the soyboy journalists and to protect the game from criticism. I would not be mentioning this if any of    Beautiful world ruined by boring content. Awful awful writing and directing. And its a shame because the artists stepped up big time. The cutscenes look fantastic.
    Guerrilla realised that and decided to make every war chief and other major character a female warrior. To get praise from the soyboy journalists and to protect the game from criticism. I would not be mentioning this if any of the characters had any charisma...
    Aloy has got to be one of the most insufferable characters ive ever played. Shes acting so cocky the whole game. And her FOCUS does EVERYHING FOR HER. Without the focus she is nothing. GG really thought they created some epic character and this whole game they are just stroking their d***s to how cool she is.
    Her voice performance is mostly good but very often she sounds out of breath even in cutscenes where nothing is happening.

    And i hope you like the focus thingy because youll hear it 500000 times its so annoying.

    People tend to praise the combat. I think its **** Sure the robot designs are incredible. But they dont work in fights. Every machine is way too eratic. Id spend most of the time just jumping in the air to get the slow mo shot off. And they STILL move to fast to aim at specific components. I legit spent 50% of the combat in slow mo and it sucks. The art direction for machines is amazing. For the tribes however... some of the most uninspired designs ever. They all look the same except for their armour color. And they all live 5km from eachother so they dont have any unique culture. Just reskins.

    The cauldrons are good especially the tallneck one. And the map design is great.    … Expand
  27. Ghost1311
    May 15, 2023
    6
    Praticamente igual o primeiro, porém com infinitos lugares a mais para escalar. Eu não entendo jogos AAA onde colocam uma infinidade de obstáculos de escalada e acham que isso é uma evolução ou algo do tipo, isso se torna chato com o tempo.
    Os cenários apesar de bonitos, se tornam um pouco confusos e "truncados" para se deslocar.
    Porém é claro que está longe de ser um jogo ruim, mas não    Praticamente igual o primeiro, porém com infinitos lugares a mais para escalar. Eu não entendo jogos AAA onde colocam uma infinidade de obstáculos de escalada e acham que isso é uma evolução ou algo do tipo, isso se torna chato com o tempo.
    Os cenários apesar de bonitos, se tornam um pouco confusos e "truncados" para se deslocar.
    Porém é claro que está longe de ser um jogo ruim, mas não acho ser um jogo que seja excepcional.
    Os combates tbm são confusos, a esquiva não serve pra muita coisa, mesmo esquivando no tempo certo o inimigo vai te acertar.    … Expand
  28. Hazman
    May 9, 2023
    6
    Horizon forbidden west is mediocrity at its finest. Although the combat, World, and graphics are great, the characters lack depth, and the story is unconnected and boring. The game feels like it is not a full package, and while I believe there’s enjoyment in this game, I regretfully remember my 35 hours with the game.
  29. GLRaise
    May 5, 2023
    7
    В игре отличная графика, классные сражения с роботами, есть интересные персонажи и побочные задания. Главный минус — ужасный и невнятный сюжет, по сравнению с первой частью.
  30. Dark_Kozyr
    May 3, 2023
    5
    Кайфовый мир, шикарная визуализация. Но опять же совсем не то, особенно когда тебе навязывают феминистичный мир, Герой - женщина, Кузнец - женщина, Злодей - женщина, Программа - женщина, Сильнейший воин - женщина.
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2022
2
#2 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 127 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 119 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 127
  3. Negative: 0 out of 127
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 30, 2024
    100
    Horizon has enchanted me again. After a slow start, a graphically beautiful, sophisticated sequel comes, polished in every aspect, and underscored by a great soundtrack on top of that. The sequel was simply a success. Everything that worked before works even slightly better now. [Issue#317]
  2. T3
    Aug 11, 2022
    80
    Horizon Forbidden West is Guerrilla's best game to date, taking Aloy to new heights with a blockbuster release that meets the high standards set by PlayStation in recent years. While it's totally worth fans jumping in on day one, it's perhaps better to wait a few weeks until all the bugs are ironed out.
    Read full review
  3. MeuPlayStation
    May 11, 2022
    96
    Horizon Forbidden West is exactly what everyone thought it would be: an amazing game. It has an open world with plenty of things to do and places to explore, fights against some really well-developed machines and stunning visuals. The feeling is that the second game of the series improves on what was already great, and it feels rewarding and fun to play. It is another single-player masterpiece from Sony.
    Read full review
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