The author still remembers that Horizon Zero Dawn has become one of the best games of 2017 released by Guerilla Games with Sony Interactive Entertainment. Not only does it offer quality graphics that are pleasing to the eye, but the storyline and gameplay also give a new feel to the game industry. In particular, the storyline of Horizon Zero Dawn offers something very unique, which is to tell the story of a modern civilization that perished instantly and sank for hundreds of years.

Feeling dissatisfied with Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerilla Games released The Frozen Wilds DLC a few months later. However, the storyline of The Frozen Wilds has not answered the mystery that is the main problem that occurs on Earth. So after five years have passed, Guerilla Games released Horizon Forbidden West which is the answer to all of Aloy's questions and efforts to restore human life on Earth as it should be.

Incidentally, the author got the opportunity from Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore to review Horizon Forbidden West. Although it was released a few days ago, maybe this review can be your reason to buy the latest game developed by Guerilla Games. Let's see together.

Storyline

As the author explained earlier, Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel that continues the storyline of the first game and The Frozen Wilds DLC. So there will be many references to the story of the first game and DLC which might be confusing if you haven't played them. So the author recommends finishing the first game first or reading the summary of the previous storyline in order to get a clear picture of the context of the storyline.

Well, the Horizon Forbidden West storyline itself tells about Aloy's next adventure that puts her life on the line. As the name implies, here Aloy ventured into the West which was forbidden to other tribes. But there is a big secret waiting for Aloy. Even though she sacrificed her life, Aloy remained strong to face her fate.

The West is actually the territory of a dangerous tribe called the Tenakh, where this tribe is divided into several clans. Moreover, the Tenakh tribe is also in the midst of a civil dispute with the rebel group led by Regalla. Aloy, who arrived in this area, realized that the situation had become very critical because she had to act if she did not want a civil war to occur which endangered the peace of the entire region.

Here, Aloy's efforts to save humanity from extinction become very difficult, because like it or not she must also be involved in many conflicts, ranging from politics, betrayal, civil war, territorial struggles, and so on. But by going through these conflicts, Aloy's reputation throughout the region has also increased and is known as the true "Savior".

Actually, the main storyline of Horizon Forbidden West is Aloy's attempt to revive the shattered GAIA from the first series. However, this effort is not as easy as imagined, because in addition to conflicts with people from the Tenakh tribe, it turns out that Aloy also has to deal with humans who have more advanced technology. Of course, you can enjoy all of these storylines by playing Horizon Forbidden West, in addition to many surprises, you will also be faced with how to shape the personality of Aloy's character itself.

More Challenging Adventure

As previously announced by Guerilla Games, Horizon Forbidden West will be a sequel with a wider and more dangerous territory than the first game. Each region will have new, stronger monsters, so players will experience a more challenging battle than the previous game. Of course for veteran gamers, this is certainly very interesting.

The further away Aloy's adventures in the Forbidden West are, the level enemies Aloy faces will be higher. So this is also balanced with Aloy's level, skill, and weaponry. Because the monsters Aloy faces are increasingly stronger, Aloy also requires a combination of knowledge and elements of the weapons used. So the battles against monsters in Horizon Forbidden West are almost similar to the Monster Hunter franchise, but only to a small extent.

The main mission is indeed a target for players who want to know the Horizon Forbidden West storyline. You can also skip all the side quests and other missions to pursue the main mission, without worrying about missing out on Aloy's fighting abilities. But if you are a person who likes to explore, then the side quests in this game are very worthy for you to complete. Because the average side quest in this game will require you to explore locations that are quite far away and require high patience, especially finding items that can be used to upgrade Aloy's weapons which are very useful for facing the next level.

As far as the eye can see, the author is still spoiled with diverse areas, such as dense forests, deserts, snowy areas, mountains, to tropical beaches that highlight the strongest impression of the western region itself. When exploring, the R3 button will be a loyal friend that is very useful for finding hidden loot locations.

The classics from the first game are also still preserved in Horizon Forbidden West, such as the variations of Point of Interest that you can find all over the map and observing the surrounding area with the Tallneck machine override. This is a giant machine like Barosaurus which is spread over several areas. Tallneck is not a machine to fight, but a kind of tower to climb in order to open the map image around it.

New Gears!

In Horizon Forbidden West, there are also a number of new gear that you can get. These gears are very useful in exploring or dealing with monsters. Some new gear that you can use such as; Elite Canister Ropecaster, Cleaving Sharpshot Bow, Firestorm Warrior Bow, and Icestorm Boltblaster. However, one of the author's favorite gears is the Firestorm Warrior Bow, because this gear has a high fire rate which is very powerful when in dark battles.

Improved Combat

One of Horizon Zero Dawn's weaknesses is that the combat wasn’t giving players a choice. This makes it quite difficult for players to determine the skills that are suitable for use in the game. Now on Horizon Forbidden West, the combat system in this game has been perfected. Because players will now be equipped with an extensive Skill Tree which is divided into the categories of Warrior, Trapper, Hunter, Survivor, Infiltrator, and Machine Master.

The fun thing is, each of these categories and all the skills have been well summarized in handling various situations and which ones you need to prioritize. The author himself suggests the Hunter category as the skill you should focus on when playing Horizon Forbidden West. Because in addition to being effective in immobilizing enemies at a distance, this category also provides an advantage for avoiding close combat.

The control mechanism in Horizon Forbidden West still feels familiar to the first game. So that veteran players will not experience many difficult adaptations. Even so, there are several new variations added, such as the new gear revealed above.

For those of you who are still confused, the author recommends some weapons that you can use in Horizon Forbidden West:

• Best Warrior Bow: The Sun Scourge
• Best Snapshot Bow: Forgefall
• Best Spike Thrower: The Skykiller
• Best Shredder Gauntlet: Ancestor's Return
• Best Tripcaster: Tinkerer's Pride

Get these weapons and upgrade them to give them more attack power.

Side Quests and Other Activities

Actually, you can immediately catch up with the main storyline content in Horizon Forbidden West. But unexpectedly, this game turns out to have many things that are guaranteed to distract you when carrying out the main mission. Some of them are typical chess mini games such as Machine Strike, Melee Pit in various areas devoted to fighting humans and showing how far the melee-based combat overhaul, arena challenges against dangerous machines, and others.

Even when Aloy stops in an area, it also gives access to side quests which are also beneficial for Aloy. For example, getting material items to upgrade gear and weapons, you can even grind to level up and get skill points, even players can get access to new costumes!

Moreover, there is a Photo Mode feature that comes with a shooting mechanism like the first game. But it pays off with the quality of the graphics provided. So that players can take some cool photos that can be shared on social media.

Still Comfortable on PS4

The author himself still plays Horizon Forbidden West on the PS4 Slim console with a 1080p resolution monitor. Even so, the author can still enjoy the quality of the gameplay and graphics offered in this game. The author feels comfortable playing this game made by Guerilla Games on the console. Even the author very rarely comes across glitches and so on.

So for those of you who still have a PS4 console, don't worry about Horizon Forbidden West's performance. Moreover, Guerilla Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment also provide free upgrades, from the PS4 to PS5 version. So if you have purchased the PS4 version, you can also play on the PS5 version for free without spending extra money. Of course, the PS5 graphics quality is better and very pleasing to the eye.

Verdict

To see a clear picture of the Horizon Forbidden West does not take a short time. So the author, who has only played it for 30 hours, only got to enjoy a half of this game. So at least it takes a lot of time to fully explore this game. But in general, this game is very worthwhile for veteran players of Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds DLC. The main content in this game is the storyline which is indeed an interesting part. How the mystery of the extinction of modern humans a few hundred years ago was only revealed when Aloy appeared.

Moreover, there are many problems that could cause humanity on Earth to be threatened with extinction. So it becomes Aloy's tough task to find a way to stop it. But in between the rescue mission, Aloy is also faced with various conflicts. In fact, many surprises await Aloy on her adventure to the West. So it's not surprising that Aloy is risking her life on this journey.

In addition to the main content, Horizon Forbidden West also has excellent graphics, enhanced combat, a wider scope of exploration, and much more. This game managed to tick all the qualifications for premium exclusive titles from PlayStation.

With a price of Rp. 879,000 for the PS4 Standard Edition version, Horizon Forbidden West is certainly very worth buying. Moreover, this version also gets a digital upgrade to PS5 for free.

With everything that is offered, the author will give a score of 9/10 for Horizon Forbidden West. This game also deserves to be included as one of the best games of 2022.

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