Horizon Forbidden West
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
Horizon Forbidden West is a visually stunning sequel that polarizes players with its massive scope and mechanical changes. While it is widely praised as a technical masterpiece with refined combat, many users find it bogged down by open-world bloat, a tedious gear-upgrading grind, and a narrative that some feel lacks the mystery and impact of the original game.
Pros
- Stunning technical showcase with highly detailed environments and character models.
- Refined combat system that excels during boss encounters and machine dismantling.
- Improved side quests and character writing compared to the first entry.
- Diverse and beautiful open world featuring multiple distinct climates.
Cons
- Significant grinding required for weapon and armor upgrades, described by some as a 'slog'.
- Overly cluttered open-world design filled with 'busywork' and repetitive tasks.
- Protagonist Aloy frequently spoils puzzle solutions with repetitive, unprompted voice lines.
- Slow and uninteresting underwater sections that can kill gameplay momentum.
- Divisive story and ending that some feel serves only as a 'middle chapter' setup for a sequel.
Caveats
- Combat balance has shifted; some players feel weapons lack impact compared to the first game, while traps and tripwires have been significantly nerfed.
- The sheer variety of weapon types and elemental effects can lead to awkwardness and inventory management fatigue in large fights.
- Climbing mechanics can occasionally feel glitchy or require 'wiggling' to navigate surfaces.
Best for
- Players who prioritize graphical fidelity and technical performance.
- Fans of the original game looking for more refined combat and expanded world-building.
- Completionists who enjoy clearing large maps with high volumes of side content.
Avoid if
- You are fatigued by 'Ubisoft-style' open-world design and map clutter.
- You dislike heavy grinding for gear progression.
- You prefer puzzles that allow for independent discovery without constant character hints.
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 122-month half-life. The evidence comes from a median source age of approximately 427 days, primarily sourced from the r/patientgamers community.
Sentiment
8 positive (24%) · 8 mixed (24%) · 18 negative (53%)
Trust + time weighted score: -27% · raw score -29%
What redditors said (10 of 34)
I think Forbidden West is probably the last game in this style that didn't review as "feels like Ubisoft open world drag".
I may have not loved the original game but the sequel did so much more for me. The combat remains almost identical and is still so much fun. The story, characters, and world finally clicked for me. I will admit I had more fun with the side content than the main story.
Forbidden West's story wasn't as engaging so that made it less exciting but also the core game bloated—especially the crafting, which required tedious farming despite plenty of weapons acquired easily already being effective.
Was completely disappointed by the story in Forbidden West, especially the ending. What a shame.
While that was good enough to play it twice (second time after the DLC came out), I found that I utterly lost interest after the big mystery of what happened in the past was fully revealed. The present-day writing just failed to interest me, the characters were cardboard cutouts and Aloy herself was a bland mary sue.
SCORE: ★★☆☆☆ **+A stunning technical showcase, with detailed characters and rich environments** **+Combat system focused on dismantling enemies shines on bosses and tough foes** **+No lack of cinematic moments and shining setpieces, many of which are high quality** **+Burning Shores expansion is much better-paced than the main game** **-Story is meandering and long-winded, exacerbated by dry writing** **-An excess of elemental types and weapons creates awkwardness in larger fights** **-Combat against large groups feels messy and visually cluttered** **-Multiple plot threads feel half-finished or abruptly dropped** **-Open world design is overly cluttered, minimally engaging, and filled with ill-designed busywork** **-An utterly deflating ending that does much to hamper excitement for Horizon 3**
Playing Horizon forbidden west on my laptop. Loved the first game. I’m a sucker for fun bow combat. It’s one of the best looking games I have ever played
Parent context: It was very beautiful but lukewarm. I had just played Horizon Forbidden West, and I know this one is criticized for the same reasons, but I loved the open world having different climates, and a lot of the sidequests were like mini movies.
Sony in particular is at fault for this, the writing and acting in their exclusives can be so bland, like Spider-Man and Horizon Forbidden West.
I enjoyed Forbidden West but it felt very much like a middle chapter. As in, it was all set up without really feeling like it's own story? At least Zero Dawn felt like a clear open closed case but with dangling threads for a sequel to pick up on. Forbidden West was just all set up for the finale.
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