Sony Horizon Forbidden West - Information Thread, update: Digital Foundry hands-on with PC version

[best3444]

8/10 Is accurate. 

[BloodyHell]

1 hour ago, best3444 said:

8/10 Is accurate. 

so on par with the full game? \

I think I'll skip this for now. 

[best3444]

44 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

so on par with the full game? \

I think I'll skip this for now. 

 

Yup. I just beat the entire game a few days ago and it's not that great. It's an 8/10 largely because of the beautiful open world and characters. 

[stepee]

That’s good to hear actually. I think I liked FW a lot more than you and 8/10 is of course fine but that’s good to hear because I need to wait a bit to play this since I can’t stop playing Dead Island 2.

[best3444]

1 minute ago, stepee said:

That’s good to hear actually. I think I liked FW a lot more than you and 8/10 is of course fine but that’s good to hear because I need to wait a bit to play this since I can’t stop playing Dead Island 2.

 

Yea, I just can't get into Aloy and the entire story. I'm not on board with it and I struggle to get through this stuff. I stopped playing the dlc because of TLOU2. 😄 

 

The dlc is worth it though and if you enjoy Horizon it's quality stuff.

[stepee]

4 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Yea, I just can't get into Aloy and the entire story. I'm not on board with it and I struggle to get through this stuff. I stopped playing the dlc because of TLOU2. 😄 

 

The dlc is worth it though and if you enjoy Horizon it's quality stuff.

 

Yeah I actually am interested in where the story is going but since it’s more of the same Dead Island 2 and then Star Wars are more exciting right now so It’ll have to wait a little. I do hope to get to it really soon though especially to avoid spoilers.

[best3444]

I'm making sure I have nothing to play for Star Wars this Friday. 

 

Is Dead Island really that good?

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

2 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

Yup. I just beat the entire game a few days ago and it's not that great. It's an 8/10 largely because of the beautiful open world and characters. 

in the first game I found myself more invested and driven by uncovering the secrets of the past and project zero Dawn. So my hope for the Forbidden West is there is more still in the way of old world and early new world building to explore and learn about. I’ve tried to avoid spoilers for Forbidden West until I can play it on PC. 

[best3444]

3 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

So my hope for the Forbidden West is there is more still in the way of old world and early new world building to explore and learn about. 

 

There's plenty of that in Forbidden West. If you enjoy the story then this is going to be epic for you. The game is massive with plenty to discover. 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

I think my biggest issues with the first game were the Ubisoft way of plopping markers all over the map vs making exploration and discover more organic. And Alloy’s little comments in the overworld were a bit too repetitive and too frequent. 
 

I hope there’s more HUD and map UI customization options in Forbidden West. 

[stepee]

12 minutes ago, best3444 said:

I'm making sure I have nothing to play for Star Wars this Friday. 

 

Is Dead Island really that good?

 

Probably not THAT good it’s definitely a 360era 7.5/10 type of action game. Though it is less linear than I imagined, each level seems to be its own mini hub, sort of like how Hitman is. It’s linear compared to the first but it’s not like Uncharted.

 

But if what you are in the mood for is just gruesomely beating shit to a literal pulp with crazy good graphics, both the gore tech and just the game itself (at least on pc, I read console runs really well but no idea how it looks) is stunning.

 

Actually more impressed with this than Horizon which surprised me, but part of that is I’m getting used to 4k/120 now but also Horizon’s lighting really stands out as behind now and this has maybe better baked lighting than even last of us (again, can only comment for pc), though that has way better reflections here where it’s the one thing that is kinda meh. 

[best3444]

14 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

And Alloy’s little comments in the overworld were a bit too repetitive and too frequent. 

 

I've got terrible news for you. Alloy will not shut the fuck up in Forbidden West. She will even solve puzzles for you. It's really bad. 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

56 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

I've got terrible news for you. Alloy will not shut the fuck up in Forbidden West. She will even solve puzzles for you. It's really bad. 

oh I hate when characters solve puzzles for the player. I had heard she’s a bit chatty in the game, so I was prepared for that, but solving puzzles for me sounds really disappointing. 
 

maybe on PC there will be a muzzle mod for Alloy outside of cutscenes. lol 

[TwinIon]

I'm a bit surprised how much people seem to dislike map markers. I complain about small things and UI decisions in games all the time, but for some reason that one has never really been an issue for me.

[TwinIon]

It seems that the user score for the DLC is being review bombed for a spoilery reason.

 

Gamers are terrible.

[nublood]

I've tried so many times to go back to this game and finish it. But I just can't. It's like a beautiful woman with zero personality. Fun for a moment but then the reality of tedious boredom sets in and I bail. Maybe that means I'm shallow but yea whatever, come at me bros.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

3 hours ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

oh I hate when characters solve puzzles for the player.

 

You're just gonna adore God of War: Ragnarok in that case.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I'm a bit surprised how much people seem to dislike map markers. I complain about small things and UI decisions in games all the time, but for some reason that one has never really been an issue for me.

I think it’s because of how lazy it’s become and how much they throw on a map. It almost looks exhausting at times to see all the markers of stuff the game just threw on the map. It feels like most games that do it don’t even let you discover it yourself. It’s just on your map. It doesn’t feel like they’re making the world more interesting to explore, just more cluttered. And the game starts to feel like all you’re doing is traveling from one marker to another for every little thing. 
 

and its not just limited to a single franchise. It’s become an epidemic. 

[best3444]

3 hours ago, nublood said:

I've tried so many times to go back to this game and finish it. But I just can't. It's like a beautiful woman with zero personality. Fun for a moment but then the reality of tedious boredom sets in and I bail. Maybe that means I'm shallow but yea whatever, come at me bros.

 

I COMPLETELY understand your thoughts. I made more progress in the dlc and its just...ok. I'm definitely not looking forward to Horizon 3. I just don't like this world and characters. Aloy blows. 

[nublood]

For me

3 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

I COMPLETELY understand your thoughts. I made more progress in the dlc and its just...ok. I'm definitely not looking forward to Horizon 3. I just don't like this world and characters. Aloy blows. 

Yea, for me the game just isn’t fun. I did care enough about the first one to finish it. But man, I really had to force myself to complete it. I thought maybe the sequel would keep me interested, but no. It’s basically just more of the same. 

[legend]

4 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

I COMPLETELY understand your thoughts. I made more progress in the dlc and its just...ok. I'm definitely not looking forward to Horizon 3. I just don't like this world and characters. Aloy blows. 

 

You say that now, but in 2 weeks you're going to be telling us you started over, from the beginning, again  

[best3444]

7 hours ago, legend said:

 

You say that now, but in 2 weeks you're going to be telling us you started over, from the beginning, again  

 

Lol. I beat it twice and my first time I was having an awful time in my life. So now that things are better I decided to play it again. 

 

Listen, it's definitely not a bad videogame but Aloy and the entire world they built just never clicks with me. 

[Spork3245]

In regards to the world, I think what’s missing is that there’s not much in the way of random encounters or events. It makes the world feel kind of lifeless. 

[Spork3245]

Why are so many people saying “FORBIDDEN WEST DLC HINTS AT A THIRD ENTRY IN THE SERIES!” … uhh… so did the main game, did they like, not play or beat it?

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

2 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

In regards to the world, I think what’s missing is that there’s not much in the way of random encounters or events. It makes the world feel kind of lifeless. 

Yeah, at least in the first game everything felt too curated and static. Some predictability is good, but too much can make a world feel unnatural. 
 

maybe upgrading protection for groups of enemies if you keep killing the same herd. Or adding “elite” patrols in areas where you’ve done a bit of hunting. Where larger, more dangerous robots are added to an area, hunting. A few more bands of human hunters to run into would be nice. Or caravans of people just trying to make it safely to another village or city. Maybe the two groups meet up and the hunters help the caravan arrive safely. Caravan could be merchants or families. 

[legend]

3 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

Lol. I beat it twice and my first time I was having an awful time in my life. So now that things are better I decided to play it again. 

 

Listen, it's definitely not a bad videogame but Aloy and the entire world they built just never clicks with me. 

 

I'm just giving you a hard time  It's okay if you don't like it.

 

That said, I often feel like the game doesn't do a good enough job encouraging people to play it in the most interesting ways. Some of the combat scenarios I've seen by good players is truly awesome and I have a feeling most players just shoot their bow indefinitely. There's a video on twitter I saw the other day that is insane. I can't post twitter links on this board, but if you want to find it, checkout the profile Much118x, and look at their tweet and video on April 22nd.

 

 

1 hour ago, Spork3245 said:

Why are so many people saying “FORBIDDEN WEST DLC HINTS AT A THIRD ENTRY IN THE SERIES!” … uhh… so did the main game, did they like, not play or beat it?

 

Yeah that's a bit much. It does give a bit more of an outline of what the missions will entail, but it's not some great revelation given that the main game basically tells you who the new big bad will be.

 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

12 minutes ago, legend said:

That said, I often feel like the game doesn't do a good enough job encouraging people to play it in the most interesting ways. Some of the combat scenarios I've seen by good players is truly awesome and I have a feeling most players just shoot their bow indefinitely

I think that’s what the training XP things were supposed handle, but they kind sucked. Many players may not have known you needed to activate them or that only one could be activated at a time. So it was like a hidden, pain in the ass mechanic, and many players never felt encouraged to try new combat techniques. I think the only weapon I didn’t really use was the rattler. But there were some ammo types I didn’t use as other weapons did a better job. 
 

the combat and the game got really fun when I was using a bunch of traps and different ammo types to handle situations. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

Ok, I haven't played the second game (only the first -- because the second isn't on PC yet).

 

There were people who didn't switch up their weapons/ammo/traps in the combat?  That is what made the game so much fun.  And, the game tried SO HARD to get you to do that.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

3 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Ok, I haven't played the second game (only the first -- because the second isn't on PC yet).

 

There were people who didn't switch up their weapons/ammo/traps in the combat?  That is what made the game so much fun.  And, the game tried SO HARD to get you to do that.

depends on where you looked and what you did. Some of the hunting grounds asked in dialog to use a specific weapon or ammo, but many times didn’t require it. And the training side quests were unintuitive enough I thought they were bugged and they were kind of hidden. 
 

it also wouldn’t surprise me if many players never purchased the legendary versions of any weapons or armor. Some may have only bought the armor they liked the look of with no concern for stats or perks. And some may not have got into applying mods. 
 

there are a lot of basic players out there. 

[Kal-El814]

6 hours ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

depends on where you looked and what you did. Some of the hunting grounds asked in dialog to use a specific weapon or ammo, but many times didn’t require it. And the training side quests were unintuitive enough I thought they were bugged and they were kind of hidden. 
 

it also wouldn’t surprise me if many players never purchased the legendary versions of any weapons or armor. Some may have only bought the armor they liked the look of with no concern for stats or perks. And some may not have got into applying mods. 
 

there are a lot of basic players out there. 

 

I feel like the second game does a better job of making the strengths and weaknesses of there weapons matter more. You could switch things up in the first, but I remember there being fairly clear min/max options regardless of preferred play style.

 

The second did a better job of mixing that up but I think they were either too stingy with the drops or too demanding with the upgrade amounts. I am pretty sure I did every major side quest line and most of the smaller ones before deciding to beat Forbidden West and I maxed out MAYBE one legendary piece of gear? I can't imagine how long it would have taken to get a full kit or god forbid every weapon / armor.

[eventide11]

23 hours ago, nublood said:

For me

Yea, for me the game just isn’t fun. I did care enough about the first one to finish it. But man, I really had to force myself to complete it. I thought maybe the sequel would keep me interested, but no. It’s basically just more of the same. 

Unfortunately this is the same for me. BEAUTIFUL game that I was sorta kinda digging but I've grown to dislike aloy, the world and the feeling of bleh that surrounds everything. Mechanical aberrations of animals and dinosaurs just gets old after a while. I blame Elden Ring

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

15 minutes ago, eventide11 said:

Unfortunately this is the same for me. BEAUTIFUL game that I was sorta kinda digging but I've grown to dislike aloy, the world and the feeling of bleh that surrounds everything. Mechanical aberrations of animals and dinosaurs just gets old after a while. I blame Elden Ring

 

That's pretty much what one of my work colleagues said when we were discussing God of War: Ragnarok.

 

He liked the game well enough to Platinum it, but for him Elden Ring provided such a sense of wondrous exploration and discovery that made Ragnarok's very beautiful world seem somewhat "hollow".

[Keyser_Soze]

On 4/24/2023 at 11:01 AM, TwinIon said:

It seems that the user score for the DLC is being review bombed for a spoilery reason.

 

Gamers are terrible.

 

Metacritic promises stricter moderation to tackle 'abusive and disrespectful' user reviews | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

---

Changes are expected in the coming months following a homophobic review-bombing campaign.

 

[best3444]

9 hours ago, eventide11 said:

Unfortunately this is the same for me. BEAUTIFUL game that I was sorta kinda digging but I've grown to dislike aloy, the world and the feeling of bleh that surrounds everything. Mechanical aberrations of animals and dinosaurs just gets old after a while. I blame Elden Ring

 

Spot on.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

10 hours ago, eventide11 said:

Unfortunately this is the same for me. BEAUTIFUL game that I was sorta kinda digging but I've grown to dislike aloy, the world and the feeling of bleh that surrounds everything. Mechanical aberrations of animals and dinosaurs just gets old after a while. I blame Elden Ring

 

10 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

That's pretty much what one of my work colleagues said when we were discussing God of War: Ragnarok.

 

He liked the game well enough to Platinum it, but for him Elden Ring provided such a sense of wondrous exploration and discovery that made Ragnarok's very beautiful world seem somewhat "hollow".

Yeah we pretty much have known this is going to be one of the major legacies of Elden Ring. We didn’t know how good open world design could be. Like the whole industry became complacent. They’re being designed without nearly as much thought in how a player will interact, navigate, or be guided in the world. 
 

places and objects, sight lines all feel much more deliberate in Elden Ring and even Breath of the Wild that from the opening moments that game is luring you to a place/thing. not with an obnoxious unavoidable trail, a map marker, or a HUD icon. But with something of the world drawing your eye so you think “I want to go there”. And because of that the game doesn’t narrow your vision. So you feel like you’re seeing and discovering so much more of the world yourself. The open worlds are also full of landmarks and clues to where you are that encourage exploring without getting lost because everything looks the same.