Horizon Forbidden West
Discussion
Old thread here
I completed it, but it didn't grip me in the same way the original did for reasons I can't really put my finger on. A lot of the skill trees just seemed totally superfluous, apart from other isses.
I might give it another go now that they've added NG+, but I'm in no hurry.
I completed it, but it didn't grip me in the same way the original did for reasons I can't really put my finger on. A lot of the skill trees just seemed totally superfluous, apart from other isses.
I might give it another go now that they've added NG+, but I'm in no hurry.
Finished it around 2 weeks ago after sinking around 130 hours into it. I will do a NG+ run. I found it a good sequel, it was never going to match the narrative "punch" of Zero Dawn but I still found it a compelling experience. Side quests were very good and the narrative arc through the rebel camps etc kept them from just being rinse and repeat filler material.
The proliferation/expansion of skills really only started to make sense late game in hard/very hard when it does allow you to tune your playstyle (valour surges and specials become more important/impactful).
I think they could prune the weapons and skills if/when there's a third entry in the series without doing any harm. Melee is still the poor cousin of ranged - it feels as if they over-rotated from the very simple light/heavy to a complicated set of abilities that still felt like they lacked weight. I'd just finished a replay of GoS prior to this and that does melee very well so perhaps my opinion is harsh.
New machines were excellent, the mechanic of peeling off bits for upgrades/damage is still as appealing as it was in HZD.
The proliferation/expansion of skills really only started to make sense late game in hard/very hard when it does allow you to tune your playstyle (valour surges and specials become more important/impactful).
I think they could prune the weapons and skills if/when there's a third entry in the series without doing any harm. Melee is still the poor cousin of ranged - it feels as if they over-rotated from the very simple light/heavy to a complicated set of abilities that still felt like they lacked weight. I'd just finished a replay of GoS prior to this and that does melee very well so perhaps my opinion is harsh.
New machines were excellent, the mechanic of peeling off bits for upgrades/damage is still as appealing as it was in HZD.
Just finished the main story. It was entertaining but not as gripping as HZD.
I too found that there were too many weapons/outfits etc. I normally used 1 precision bow, an ice boltblaster and a hunting bow.
It annoyed me a bit that they kept the sunwing away until so close to the end of the story.
Overall it was enjoyable and I've had my moneys worth out of it!
I too found that there were too many weapons/outfits etc. I normally used 1 precision bow, an ice boltblaster and a hunting bow.
It annoyed me a bit that they kept the sunwing away until so close to the end of the story.
Overall it was enjoyable and I've had my moneys worth out of it!
I really enjoyed the first one but haven't gotten into this, it's on my "really should start playing that again" pile at the moment. As others have said, it feels like they've gone a bit overboard with adding new mechanics and upgrades, to the point it's off putting to try and learn them all.
Still on my first play through after getting it day 1.
I'm just before the final mission but doing all the collectables and trophies before I finish it.
I'm doing the machine strike games now which are a bit of pain.
I've enjoyed it a lot apart from the side bits with the Arena and the Gauntlet runs which were very annoying.
I'll probably do NG+ once I've finished it and hopefully some DLC will be out by then.
I'm just before the final mission but doing all the collectables and trophies before I finish it.
I'm doing the machine strike games now which are a bit of pain.
I've enjoyed it a lot apart from the side bits with the Arena and the Gauntlet runs which were very annoying.
I'll probably do NG+ once I've finished it and hopefully some DLC will be out by then.
Almost finished the 'blue berry harvest simulator' as I like to call it.
I didn't play the first game and I think this one assumes you know a lot about the mechanics and lets you get on with it and I'm not sure I saw any point in anything do do with:
Food buffs. If I can beat a creature without it, I'm not going to fast travel somewhere to go buy some stew.
Traps
Stash
Harvesting ANYTHING that wasn't a blue berry.
Melee with a anything that wasn't human. So very little. In fact it seemed way too long to even charge up the spear, I think I managed it no more than 4 times.
Traipsing back and forth across the map to get hold of upgrade parts for weapons and gear.
Listening to the hours and hours of dialogue. Hit square. I know a lot of these games are like this but I just ended up looking doe the quest response and skipping it all. I do appreciate I miss out on the richness of plot but I got the gist of it. Sometimes I think developers need to appreciate not everyone ploughs hundreds of hours into games. I played God of War start to end just before playing this and that got the balance right.
Have I missed the point?
It is a very pretty game on PS5 though.
I didn't play the first game and I think this one assumes you know a lot about the mechanics and lets you get on with it and I'm not sure I saw any point in anything do do with:
Food buffs. If I can beat a creature without it, I'm not going to fast travel somewhere to go buy some stew.
Traps
Stash
Harvesting ANYTHING that wasn't a blue berry.
Melee with a anything that wasn't human. So very little. In fact it seemed way too long to even charge up the spear, I think I managed it no more than 4 times.
Traipsing back and forth across the map to get hold of upgrade parts for weapons and gear.
Listening to the hours and hours of dialogue. Hit square. I know a lot of these games are like this but I just ended up looking doe the quest response and skipping it all. I do appreciate I miss out on the richness of plot but I got the gist of it. Sometimes I think developers need to appreciate not everyone ploughs hundreds of hours into games. I played God of War start to end just before playing this and that got the balance right.
Have I missed the point?
It is a very pretty game on PS5 though.
Edited by TimmyMallett on Wednesday 10th August 13:18
Edited by TimmyMallett on Wednesday 10th August 13:22
TimmyMallett said:
Food buffs. If I can beat a creature without it, I'm not going to fast travel somewhere to go buy some stew.
Yup, pointless mechanic that doesn't provide a big enough or long lasting effect worth the effort.TimmyMallett said:
Traps
The balloon traps are generally more faff than they're worth. In the original, tripwires were a really useful tool in various combat and melee strategies, particularly on harder difficulty. In HFW I barely used them, though I haven't played through on the hardest difficulty.TimmyMallett said:
Stash
Generally useful because you need the resources to craft ammo in the field. The stash is a slightly strained mechanic though in HFW to overcome a criticism of HZD (which didn't have stash) that you could run out of ammo until you were able to craft the largest satchels.TimmyMallett said:
Harvesting ANYTHING that wasn't a blue berry.
Some things are useful to harvest until you've crafted the better equipment. After that, little point. I've never really bothered with the buff potions in either game apart from health ones.TimmyMallett said:
Melee with a anything that wasn't human. So very little. In fact it seemed way too long to even charge up the spear, I think I managed it no more than 4 times.
Agreed, the melee is a massive waste of time for all the effort they put into it and the skill trees. Even fully tooled up it's simply the most tedious way to take something out. Pointless IMO.TimmyMallett said:
Traipsing back and forth across the map to get hold of upgrade parts for weapons and gear.
Yup, there are too many not-different-enough-to-make-it-worthwhile weapons and upgrades in the game.TimmyMallett said:
Listening to the hours and hours of dialogue. Hit square. I know a lot of these games are like this but I just ended up looking doe the quest response and skipping it all. I do appreciate I miss out on the richness of plot but I got the gist of it. Sometimes I think developers need to appreciate not everyone ploughs hundreds of hours into games. I played God of War start to end just before playing this and that got the balance right.
I have to agree with this. I usually watch the cutscenes on my first playthrough of a game, but after a while in HFW I got bored of the same old crap and skipped on the side missions.TimmyMallett said:
Have I missed the point?
Generally not. Most of the things you've highlighted are new mechanics introduced in HFW. HZD was a much better balanced game in general IMO. Too many things got introduced in HFW that feel like they're there just to add content rather than because they improve the game.
king Shield Weaver armour??!I'm currently playing this and enjoying it, not as mind blowing as HZD was, but that's because we generally know the story now. But it's OK, as others have said loads of stuff that I just don't use;
Potions - I never use these or variations of in any game
Weapons - I have a few that I stick with and that's it.
And as mentioned, the dialogues can become too much, I appreciate it helps develop the plot and story, but there's just too much.
Potions - I never use these or variations of in any game
Weapons - I have a few that I stick with and that's it.
And as mentioned, the dialogues can become too much, I appreciate it helps develop the plot and story, but there's just too much.
I'm in the process of replaying Zero Dawn. I really liked Forbidden West with the caveat that there were, I thought, too many systems that had too little impact (huge increase in skills, weapons, ammo types, food buffs etc.).
I'm sure there'll be a third (given our Forbidden West ends there pretty much has to be) - if Guerilla can hit a sweetspot in game systems between Forbidden West and Zero Dawn it could be a very strong entry in the series. There's definitely a sense, on returning to Zero Dawn, of a more focused, simpler set of systems that still deliver player choice.
Zero Dawn is also a great way of showing, when contrasted with Forbidden West, the huge change in graphical performance between console generations.
I'm sure there'll be a third (given our Forbidden West ends there pretty much has to be) - if Guerilla can hit a sweetspot in game systems between Forbidden West and Zero Dawn it could be a very strong entry in the series. There's definitely a sense, on returning to Zero Dawn, of a more focused, simpler set of systems that still deliver player choice.
Zero Dawn is also a great way of showing, when contrasted with Forbidden West, the huge change in graphical performance between console generations.
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