Horizon Forbidden West

[glazball]

I've preordered the game, bought myself a new (black) controller and have requested the last week in February off work so I can relax and enjoy it.  Anyone else really looking forward to HFW?  It's been a few years since I played HZD and it will be great jumping back into that world again.

[zzip]

I had fun with the original, but for some reason this game hasn't really been on my radar...   even though my PS5 really needs some games to justify its existence as more than a glorified PS4.

 

Right now I'm more looking forward to Elden Ring.

[Albert]

I need to play the original game first. 

 

 ..Al

[Metal Jesus]

I replayed the original last summer and loved it just as much as the first time. The new game will be an instant day-1 purchase for me! Can't wait!

[+Cafeman]

I bought PS4 in fall 2018 along with the new Spider-Man game,  and HZD complete at only $20.      Horizon Zero Dawn very much appealed to me with its atmospheric mood, great weather and visuals as Aloy adventures, hunts, and battles dinosaur / creature-themed machines over fields, streams, mountains, forests.  Both the warmer forest climate and the frozen wilds reminded me of exploring rural PA.  (Similarly we even had cliffs to scale because of old strip mines that had vegetation grown-in over the decades).      I felt empathy for the character of Aloy, and the mystery and sci-fi story was interesting.  I keep wanting to replay it but haven't yet.  I still feel I never truly mastered Aloy's ability to slow time and pull off a shot, stuff like that.  I have a friend who played most of the game but never used the tripcaster - unthinkable!   I loved the Frozen Wilds DLC (comes free with the Complete version).  The bear creatures were terrifying. 

 

 I'll get the sequel on PS4, I hope the visuals are decent enough.  The original is at 30FPS, I've read it has perfect 'frame pacing' and thus it looks really smooth.   

 

The trailers and footage of the sequel are starting to appeal to me.    Aloy and other NPC's return and never looked better.  I'll have to go on a media blackout though, I don't want plot spoilers until I've played it myself.   

[+wongojack]

I just started playing the original HZD this weekend.  I opened a physical copy with the plastic still wrapped around it and everything!  Not sure when I bought it, but it is not the "complete" edition, so it has been a while.  I've played about 8 or 9 hours, and I am VERY impressed so far.  For whatever reason, I didn't expect it to be so story heavy (and I love it).

 

Anyway, the thread is about Forbidden West.  I'm excited about it, but it will probably be years before I actually play it.  Or who knows, maybe I'll finish HZD and NEED more Aloy right away.

[zzip]

31 minutes ago, Cafeman said:

 Horizon Zero Dawn very much appealed to me with its atmospheric mood, great weather and visuals as Aloy adventures, hunts, and battles dinosaur / creature-themed machines over fields, streams, mountains, forests.  Both the warmer forest climate and the frozen wilds reminded me of exploring rural PA.  (Similarly we even had cliffs to scale because of old strip mines that had vegetation grown-in over the decades).    

The game world is absolutely beautiful!   In fact, I hated when I had to explore any underground locations because it took me out of that environment

 

34 minutes ago, Cafeman said:

I have a friend who played most of the game but never used the tripcaster - unthinkable!   I loved the Frozen Wilds DLC (comes free with the Complete version).  The bear creatures were terrifying. 

I never mastered the tripcaster either.   I got through the game with some combination of pelting things with arrows, rolling, and hiding in tall brush.

[+Cafeman]

20 minutes ago, zzip said:

The game world is absolutely beautiful!   In fact, I hated when I had to explore any underground locations because it took me out of that environment

 

I never mastered the tripcaster either.   I got through the game with some combination of pelting things with arrows, rolling, and hiding in tall brush.

I don't know how to defeat the huge storm bird without the tripcaster. You set like 10 lines of explosive wires, and some  other bombs, then reveal yourself and lure the beast into those lines.  Takes out a lot of health.  

[zzip]

1 minute ago, Cafeman said:

I don't know how to defeat the huge storm bird without the tripcaster. You set like 10 lines of explosive wires, and some  other bombs, then reveal yourself and lure the beast into those lines.  Takes out a lot of health.  

It's been awhile since I played, so I don't remember the technique I used to take them down.   It might have been one of the other craftables.    But yeah, I hated fighting them!

[glazball]

The recent Ars review is headlined: Horizon Forbidden West is one of the greatest gaming sequels of all time.

 

A bold statement and very high praise!  I've been trying to avoid any spoilers, but what little I've seen looks just gorgeous.

[+Cafeman]

DF Retro and others have featured the game a lot recently.  Even the base PS4 version looks and runs great and that is the version I'll be playing. 

[Punisher5.0]

41 minutes ago, Cafeman said:

DF Retro and others have featured the game a lot recently.  Even the base PS4 version looks and runs great and that is the version I'll be playing. 

I saw that DF video this morning and came away impressed. I've never been interested in a Horizon game until this one. When it's on sale I'll probably get it.

[glazball]

When HZD was out, the guy my sister was dating at the time told me he thought it was probably the best game he has EVER played.  I was surprised by that - HZD is a great game, but his best ever? - but couldn't really argue with him either if he honestly felt that way.  It really resonated with some people.

 

So, I can't help but wonder if the Ars article is using hyperbole to get clicks ("one of the greatest sequels OF ALL TIME!!!1!"), but in any case it's a great sign that at least I won't be disappointed.

 

Funny side story regarding my sister: she decided HZD looked interesting and wanted to play it.  So late one night while her then-boyfriend was asleep, she started a New Game...   which wiped out all of the progress he had already made!  She had assumed that it would make a new save file for her.  Instead of getting upset, he was happy to have to restart from the beginning.  What a gentleman hehe!

[zzip]

3 minutes ago, glazball said:

When HZD was out, the guy my sister was dating at the time told me he thought it was probably the best game he has EVER played.  I was surprised by that - HZD is a great game, but his best ever? - but couldn't really argue with him either if he honestly felt that way.  It really resonated with some people.

 

So, I can't help but wonder if the Ars article is using hyperbole to get clicks ("one of the greatest sequels OF ALL TIME!!!1!"), but in any case it's a great sign that at least I won't be disappointed.

I enjoyed HZD, but it wasn't the best game ever.    I also don't trust mainstream reviews anymore, seen too many shenanigans.  I'll wait until the game gets into real people's hands and see what the reaction is.

[+wongojack]

Since my post in this thread a week ago, I've put almost 20 additional hours into the original HZD.  I don't know if I am just playing it at the right time, but it is really hitting a sweet spot for me in terms of story, action, exploration, graphics, sound etc.  I am not going to say it is my favorite game of all time because that list requires a little more time and distance to get a new entry, but HZD is definitely on the way to being one of my favorite games ever.  I don't know if I will get tired or be able to jump right to the sequel, but I am VERY excited about the amount of positive attention that Forbidden West is getting.  Nice to see a team get a chance to improve on their work and really nail a sequel . . . potentially.

[zzip]

Sounds like Horizon Forbidden Wests sales fell off a cliff once Elden Ring came out!   I have to wonder what Sony was thinking when they scheduled the release?  

 

https://www.thegamer.com/horizon-forbidden-west-elden-ring-sales-charts/

 

I also remember when the first Horizon came out it got completely overshadowed by Breath of the Wild which also came out the same week.   But at least those were on different platforms so they weren't actually directly competing.    But this time both games are on PS4/PS5 and sounds like there are a lot of people like me who decided to buy Elden Ring now and play Horizon at a later time.

[+wongojack]

I guess it's not "just another Souls game?"

[glazball]

I finished HFW on Sunday night and cleaned up my last 2 trophies needed for platinum last night.  My save file shows about 82 hours and I finished it in about 2 weeks overall.  I have a friend who bought both HFW and Elden Ring - he played HFW first and was able to finish/plat HFW in about 10 days.

 

So I think what we are seeing is that people are already done with HFW and the cost of used copies should be dropping pretty quickly.  My friend gave me an update today on ER and he is level 70 and has (only) beaten 2 main bosses, along with a few smaller bosses.  He mentioned the world is huge with lots of secret areas.  As far as getting your money's worth of a new game purchase, Elden Ring delivers.

 

Myself...  I've tried several Souls games and just don't have the patience for them.  I ordered Gran Turismo 7 today and also have Scarlet Nexus and Guardians of the Galaxy to dig into first.

[+wongojack]

I finished the original HZD last night and posted about it here:  https://atariage.com/forums/topic/329714-modern-games-beaten-in-2022/?do=findComment&comment=5040997

 

 

I give it a strong 5/5.  In terms of the blockbuster PS4 games, this one was better for me than both God of War and Uncharted 4, but probably not quite as good as Astrobot.  I still have yet to play Last of Us II and Spiderman, but I'll get there.  While I am excited for the sequel, I definitely need a break before starting it.  Knowing me, it will take another 5 years, but now I know I can't miss "The Forbidden West."

 

[glazball]

Right on, glad you enjoyed it @wongojack!  You'll love the sequel too and there's nothing wrong with waiting 5 years.  I think HZD is certainly one of the top 5 PS4 games and maybe top 3.  I haven't sat and made a mental ranking of Best PS4 Games, but it's up there.  (I'd also highly recommend Ghost of Tsushima also, if you haven't played it.  I think it's probably the overall best PS4 game.)

 

btw, what console did you play HZD on?

[+wongojack]

5 hours ago, glazball said:

Right on, glad you enjoyed it @wongojack!  You'll love the sequel too and there's nothing wrong with waiting 5 years.  I think HZD is certainly one of the top 5 PS4 games and maybe top 3.  I haven't sat and made a mental ranking of Best PS4 Games, but it's up there.  (I'd also highly recommend Ghost of Tsushima also, if you haven't played it.  I think it's probably the overall best PS4 game.)

 

btw, what console did you play HZD on?

I played on PS4 (slim).

 

I don't own a copy of Tsushima yet, but it's on the list to get.  I also just noticed that Moss got a sequel which I am interested in playing too.

[VW]

I'm midway through HFW, a little disappointed so far.  I played HZD and liked the story but my favorite part was

Spoiler

the side quest where you take out a bunch of rebel camps, working with a mysterious person you meet at the first camp. You take out several camps and it becomes apparent this guy likes killing a little too much, setting up a showdown after you take out the final camp.

This was really well done and one of my favorite side quests of all time since it was developed well and the side quests of HFW aren't measuring up so far. Story of HFW is good and I like the Relic Ruins Tomb Raider like puzzle rooms. HFW suffers the classic annoyance of open world Ubisoft games where the developers constantly shove "New activity over here" and "Try this other thing over here" and it is very distracting when I am just trying to complete a mission.

[+wongojack]

29 minutes ago, VW said:

I'm midway through HFW, a little disappointed so far.  I played HZD and liked the story but my favorite part was

  Reveal hidden contents

the side quest where you take out a bunch of rebel camps, working with a mysterious person you meet at the first camp. You take out several camps and it becomes apparent this guy likes killing a little too much, setting up a showdown after you take out the final camp.

This was really well done and one of my favorite side quests of all time since it was developed well and the side quests of HFW aren't measuring up so far. Story of HFW is good and I like the Relic Ruins Tomb Raider like puzzle rooms. HFW suffers the classic annoyance of open world Ubisoft games where the developers constantly shove "New activity over here" and "Try this other thing over here" and it is very distracting when I am just trying to complete a mission.

 

Huh - I actually didn't even finish that quest.  I was confused for a while because he would only show up at specific bandit camps.  Then I came across one, and it prompted some dialog like "Nil said to come to this place."  Um . . . no he didn't, or if he did it was like 20 hours of gametime ago, and I don't remember.  So that quest was one that felt kinda broken to me.  I had to read about the showdown on the internet after I stopped playing the game.  I sorta wish I'd had your experience with it instead.

 

[+neogeo1982]

8 hours ago, VW said:

New activity over here

I wish I would have completed all the main characters in your base side quests before going to the end. They do add a little bit. I did them after the ending. 

   The Rebel bases in this do have an extra story portion though. Certain ones have data and recordings of the leader your chasing after...

[+neogeo1982]

8 hours ago, wongojack said:

sorta wish I'd had your experience with it instead.

Same here. I had to go look that up to see what you guys were even talking about.