Swapna Krishna writes about space, tech, and pop culture at outlets such as Wired, Engadget, and Slate. Horizon Forbidden West will be released Feb. That may indeed be the case - but it doesn't mean she can't accept help, and even enjoy it, along the way. It's to the core of her 'mother's' legacy and to her belief that she's the only one who can save the world. The journey she embarks on isn't just to the Forbidden West. Combat is a hard trick to balance, but developer Guerrilla Games has excelled.Īnd that's the key to Horizon Forbidden West - every aspect is intriguing, from the stunning open world to the intricate combat to the unexpected story. I was surprised by how fun it was to play this way - I became adept at taking enemies down with just a few well-chosen hits. But even more than its predecessor, Horizon Forbidden West rewards players who have the patience to scan machines, identify weak spots, and choose elemental arrows to exploit their weaknesses. That thoughtfulness also extends to the combat and difficulty settings - you can make the game as hard as you want it to be (the 'Story' difficulty setting is excellent for my fellow gamers who need things to be as easy as possible). Even Lis had a team she relied on.Ī hostile machine can be overridden to become a flying mount. In particular, the Nora warrior Varl refuses to let Aloy stand apart, and eventually she surrenders to the idea that accepting help is not a weakness.

But over the course of Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy works through challenges to her conviction that she must go at it alone. Aloy spends the bulk of the first game solo, reluctant to accept any help, and she begins the second game the same way. Aloy is left wondering what Lis was really like, and whether she wants to make the same choices.įor a character who's already reasonably well-developed at the start of this sequel, it's a fantastic and thought-provoking path. She loved people in the abstract but didn't make time for individuals. Early in Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy learns that while Lis devoted herself to saving humanity and sacrificed herself to see her dream come to fruition, she spurned close friendships. That quest is a lonely one, but Aloy's isolation is largely self-imposed. Her driving motivation in exploring the mysteries of the world around her was very internal - sure, she wants to uncover the secrets of what happened to the Old Ones and their ancient technology, but this journey is much more personal for her.Īloy sees her genetic 'mother,' Elisabet Sobeck, in a recurring dream. I adored getting to know this outcast who grew up shunned by her tribe. After all, could this sequel measure up to the majesty of the first? I didn't have to worry Horizon Forbidden West surpassed my incredibly lofty expectations.Ģ017's Horizon Zero Dawn was a fantastic game for so many reasons, but for me the primary draw was its main character, Aloy. Yet, I had some trepidation when I finally got my hands on the game. It's topped my most-anticipated games list for years - and I know I'm not alone in saying that its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn, is one of my favorite games of all time.

Horizon Forbidden West returns to a post-apocalypse brimming with wondrous scenery, bestial robots, and scrappy civilizations that arose a thousand years after ecological catastrophe. Aloy surveys a vista from 'Horizon Forbidden West.'

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