Horizon Forbidden West Review

When Horizon Zero Dawn launched on PS4, it was one of the generation’s biggest surprises. Guerrilla Games, best known for Killzone, had taken a massive creative risk, leaving behind gritty sci-fi shooters to build something entirely new. What they delivered was a world that felt ancient yet futuristic, filled with tribal societies surviving among mechanical beasts.

Zero Dawn was polished, fresh, and full of discovery. Watching Aloy face down a towering Thunderjaw for the first time felt like witnessing something completely original. It was the perfect foundation for a franchise, and Forbidden West capitalizes on that foundation in nearly every way.

 The West Opens Up

From the moment you step into Forbidden West, it’s clear Guerrilla wanted to push every boundary. The world is enormous, stretching across deserts, jungles, and coastlines, all rendered with near-photorealistic detail. The Decima engine continues to be a marvel; lighting, foliage, and environmental effects look almost too good to be real.

Gameplay has also evolved. The melee system has been completely rebuilt with new combos, charge attacks, and aerial finishers. Combat against both human and machine enemies feels more fluid and dynamic than ever before. Aloy can now leap over enemies, chain attacks together, and mix up her strike cadence to unlock new moves.

Ranged combat remains a series hallmark, with an expanded arsenal that includes classics like the Hunter Bow, Tripcaster, and Rope Caster, alongside newcomers such as the Shredder Gauntlet and a few futuristic heavy weapons. Enemies, both mechanical and human, now have larger movesets, distinct behaviors, and even full-blown boss fights that feel cinematic in scope.

Traversal has also received a huge upgrade. With the addition of the glider, grapple hook, and flying mounts, movement feels free and expressive. The map is denser, the side quests are richer, and the sheer number of ways to interact with the environment is staggering.

 A Story That Loses Its Way

Despite the incredible polish, the biggest weakness lies in the storytelling. Forbidden West’s lore remains fascinating—the world, its history, and its mysterious technology still captivate—but the narrative itself never finds a strong rhythm.

Where Zero Dawn balanced its mystery with Aloy’s personal growth, Forbidden West feels scattered. Its nonlinear design gives players more freedom but weakens emotional pacing. Conversations often feel stiff, as if they were built from a checklist of dialogue options. NPCs look stunning thanks to the Decima engine’s rendering, but they rarely feel alive.

The main story is serviceable and moves the overarching plot forward, but it lacks the intimacy found in other PlayStation titles like God of War or The Last of Us. Aloy’s interactions are consistent, but they rarely land with the emotional weight her journey deserves. Guerrilla’s world-building is extraordinary, but their narrative direction hasn’t caught up to it yet.

 When the Cutscenes Can’t Keep Up

What makes this all the more noticeable is how cinematic the gameplay itself feels compared to its cutscenes. The action is fluid and exciting—Aloy diving under machines, firing off elemental arrows, or triggering chain reactions looks incredible in motion.

Then a cutscene hits, and the energy dips. The framing and camera work feel oddly flat. It’s a strange contrast for a studio capable of such visual brilliance. If Guerrilla can align its storytelling presentation with the strength of its gameplay, Horizon 3 could easily reach masterpiece status.

 Exploration That Feels Fresh

One area where Forbidden West shines is its world design. Guerrilla clearly took feedback from Zero Dawn, adding variety to its puzzles and side content. Many objectives involve creative traversal—dragging crates, charging doors, and solving multi-step environmental challenges.

The Cauldrons, once criticized for their repetition, now feel unique and handcrafted. Every side mission, enemy encampment, and ruin has its own rhythm. This helps the open world feel alive and unpredictable, something few games of this scale pull off.

 Burning Shores Brings the Heat

If Forbidden West is a great sequel, The Burning Shores DLC is Guerrilla’s victory lap. Set along the Los Angeles coastline, it’s a focused ten-hour adventure that condenses the best ideas of the base game into one tight, confident experience.

Seika, your new companion, is hands-down one of the best-written characters in the series. Her chemistry with Aloy is natural and heartfelt, giving the story real emotional grounding. Every scene between them feels earned and alive.

The DLC introduces new machines, stunning environments, and a flying water mount that completely changes exploration. The boss encounters are jaw-dropping in scale, and the story ties beautifully into the lore of Project Zero Dawn and the next chapter of the franchise. It’s the most refined storytelling Guerrilla has ever done—and proof that they’re learning from their missteps.

Flawless Performance and Unmatched Visuals

On PS5’s performance mode, the game runs at a near-perfect 60 frames per second. The Decima engine continues to impress with some of the most breathtaking environments in gaming. From sunlit forests to crumbling ruins overtaken by nature, Forbidden West is a constant showcase of technical artistry.

Load times are minimal, crashes are nonexistent, and the sheer level of polish on display is astounding. The photo mode alone could keep players busy for hours, capturing the tiniest details of Aloy’s world.

Final Thoughts

Horizon Forbidden West is an outstanding sequel that builds on everything Zero Dawn accomplished. Its combat, exploration, and world-building are among the best in the business. The expanded systems, flying mounts, and enemy variety make it an absolute joy to play.

The story, however, still lags behind. It’s serviceable, sometimes even intriguing, but it rarely hits the emotional or cinematic heights it aims for. Thankfully, The Burning Shores shows exactly what Guerrilla is capable of when the writing and world design click together.

At its core, Forbidden West is a technical triumph and one of the most enjoyable open-world games of the generation. It may not be perfect, but it’s easy to see just how close Guerrilla is to achieving something truly extraordinary. The third chapter might just be the one that takes this series from great to legendary.