west of both worlds

Horizon Forbidden West reviews round-up, all the scores

The next Horizon game is almost here, will you be jumping back in its post-post apocalypse?

News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor

Updated on Feb. 14, 2022

After some delay, Horizon Forbidden West officially arrives on PS4 and PS5 this Friday. The anticipated sequel expands on the original game in almost every sense, but is it enough to lure you back?

Horizon Forbidden West, as the name suggests, takes Aloy to the Western regions of the game's post-post apocalyptic United States. There, she'll meet new warring tribes, and take on plenty of new and intimidating monsters - all set in a lush world full of dense detail.

Not only has the game's verticality been improved, with more climbable surfaces and an easier way to identify them, Forbidden West digs deep underground and underwater, with many more areas Aloy can now explore beyond what's visible on the surface.

A major theme in Forbidden West is Aloy's realisation that she can't do what needs to be done alone, so you'll be putting together a team of allies old and new as you uncover more secrets left behind by the ancients, and deal with the machinations of Sylens and his mysterious motives.

On the gameplay end, melee combat has been entirely overhauled in Forbidden West, with longer, smoother combos and an array of new moves. Bow combat remains the highlight, however, and developer Guerrilla has made some effort to streamline some of those menus while introducing new tricks to Aloy that should make taking down those towering monsters more engaging.

If all that sounds interesting to you, it may be worth taking a look at the critical consensus for an idea of how successful the studio has been at what it promised. Our reviews round-up below will help with that.