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

[stepee]

At least fighting dino’s is always fun and the game is still so gorgeous and has my favorite water in any game

[best3444]

2 minutes ago, stepee said:

At least fighting dino’s is always fun and the game is still so gorgeous and has my favorite water in any game

 

Yea the combat is an utter joy and playing this with AW2 is great. I should have Wake beaten in 2 days but having an exilerating action adventure game to coincide with a psychological horror story based game is perfect. 

[best3444]

I loaded up a save 10 hours in and I'm playing on balanced mode visually to get 40fps. It still is so impressive that I can't imagine what it looks like on a high end machine. 

[best3444]

@stepee Now that I'm absolutely in love with Horizon, how does Zero Dawn compare to Forbidden West? I played a few hours on my deck but that's not the same as playing on my PS5. 

 

Are the visuals comparable? I basically forget everything about the game except for the opening sections. I am thinking I'll jump right into Zero Dawn if it's worth my time. I only beat it once in 2017. It litteraly came out when my brother died so it's a complete blackout for me. 

[stepee]

3 minutes ago, best3444 said:

@stepee Now that I'm absolutely in love with Horizon, how does Zero Dawn compare to Forbidden West? I played a few hours on my deck but that's not the same as playing on my PS5. 

 

Are the visuals comparable? I basically forget everything about the game except for the opening sections. I am thinking I'll jump right into Zero Dawn if it's worth my time. I only beat it once in 2017. It litteraly came out when my brother died so it's a complete blackout for me. 

 

Zero Dawn graphically isn’t really comparable. I do think it got a patch to run at 4k checkerboard at 60fps at least. But mostly it’ll look like it does on the deck but at 60fps.

[best3444]

6 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

Zero Dawn graphically isn’t really comparable. I do think it got a patch to run at 4k checkerboard at 60fps at least. But mostly it’ll look like it does on the deck but at 60fps.

 

Wow, I was just looking to see if it runs at 60. I'm watching reviews right now and I'm shocked in how Forbidden West is much more advanced in character models. I think I'm still going to give it a shot then because it looked freakin nice on the deck. 

[best3444]

Played 4 hours straight of this today. I then tried out Zero Dawn and it still looks fantastic and yes, it now runs at 60fps. 

 

I'm leaning towards a 10/10 for Forbidden West if it ends as well as I remember. 

 

Horizon 3 on PS6 is going to be absolutely ridiculous looking. 

[best3444]

Now that I'm getting close to the end my score isn't a 10. It drops to a 9 because it's not as enthralling as the middle section is. It's still really good though and San Francisco looks ridiculously good. 

 

Even on easy I struggled with a thunderjaw just today. 

[best3444]

@stepee I found out today that hidden in this game are GOW trinkets throughout the world. You can also discover a replica of Kratos's home in the world.

 

They also give a nod to Ghost of Tsushima with a meditation section like you do in the game. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

I'm really enjoying Horizon: FW.  I would guess I am somewhere around 35-40% of the way through.

They are really doing a good job of introducing new tribes, and giving them a unique cultural identity through colorful side missions.  Plus, giving each a unique set of face paint/armour is a cool touch.

Almost all of the side content is really well put together, even if some of it feels a little hokey/preachy.

 

I don't understand the people who say that the combat is boring.  It is definetly hard if you don't take advantage of most of the games systems, and target a machine's weak points and their weaknesses.  I've tried to target a large machine with the wrong outfit/weapons and died before doing much damage, only to switch up my gear and take it down in 30 seconds.

 

That said, IMHO there are too many systems in this game (and I have this complaint about a lot of recent RPGs).  Upgrading weapons requires specific animal parts, plus there is a skill tree, plus there is a valor "super mode", plus there is a variety of "special attacks" that you can choose for each weapon, plus there is food that gives you bonuses, plus there are traps...

 

It's all a bit much.

 

That said, it's an awesome game, and I am thoroughly enjoying every minute.

[best3444]

52 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I'm really enjoying Horizon: FW.  I would guess I am somewhere around 35-40% of the way through.

They are really doing a good job of introducing new tribes, and giving them a unique cultural identity through colorful side missions.  Plus, giving each a unique set of face paint/armour is a cool touch.

Almost all of the side content is really well put together, even if some of it feels a little hokey/preachy.

 

I don't understand the people who say that the combat is boring.  It is definetly hard if you don't take advantage of most of the games systems, and target a machine's weak points and their weaknesses.  I've tried to target a large machine with the wrong outfit/weapons and died before doing much damage, only to switch up my gear and take it down in 30 seconds.

 

That said, IMHO there are too many systems in this game (and I have this complaint about a lot of recent RPGs).  Upgrading weapons requires specific animal parts, plus there is a skill tree, plus there is a valor "super mode", plus there is a variety of "special attacks" that you can choose for each weapon, plus there is food that gives you bonuses, plus there are traps...

 

It's all a bit much.

 

That said, it's an awesome game, and I am thoroughly enjoying every minute.

 

Yea, I just beat this two days ago. I didn't do any side quests but I had an utter blast. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

2 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Yea, I just beat this two days ago. I didn't do any side quests but I had an utter blast. 

Half the fun in this game for me is the Cauldrons and the Hunting Grounds.

[Mr.Vic20]

I opted to give this one a few weeks after launch to iron out any day 1 issues and so fell to Playing Fallout 4 instead. Looks like I can hop in this weekend as it apparently launched in pretty good shape. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

7 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I opted to give this one a few weeks after launch to iron out any day 1 issues and so fell to Playing Fallout 4 instead. Looks like I can hop in this weekend as it apparently launched in pretty good shape. 

I've had no technical challenges whatsoever.

[Mr.Vic20]

7 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I've had no technical challenges whatsoever.

NIXXES for the win! 

[legend]

1 hour ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

That said, IMHO there are too many systems in this game (and I have this complaint about a lot of recent RPGs).  Upgrading weapons requires specific animal parts, plus there is a skill tree, plus there is a valor "super mode", plus there is a variety of "special attacks" that you can choose for each weapon, plus there is food that gives you bonuses, plus there are traps...

 

Yeah I think my biggest issue is the weapon grind is a bit much. Games need to strike a balance between not handing you the best weapons without work and making sure you can get some of them in a normal playthrough. Getting the best fully upgraded gear swung too hard into a slog.

 

Otherwise, the game is great.

[best3444]

Yea, I never ever had the parts to upgrade to any significantly better weapons which was really annoying. I killed a bunch of robots too and salvaged the parts. 

 

The main quest was enough for me to make sure I didn't get burned out.

 

I'm currently in the middle of Burning Shores and I started up Zero Dawn which I only beat once in 2017. 

 

Boy, comparing Burning Shores to Zero Dawn is definitely a console generational leap technically. 

[legend]

11 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Yea, I never ever had the parts to upgrade to any significantly better weapons which was really annoying. I killed a bunch of robots too and salvaged the parts. 

 

FWIW, it's not enough to just kill enemies and harvest their parts. Some parts can only be retrieved from enemies in specific ways and you need to look at the bestiary to learn what those ways are. The really high-level gear often required components that needed those special conditions to retrieve.

 

11 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Boy, comparing Burning Shores to Zero Dawn is definitely a console generational leap technically. 

 

Yeah Burning Shores is gorgeous. There are few games that stand with it graphically. Maybe just Cyberpunk and Alan Wake on PC?

[best3444]

8 minutes ago, legend said:

 

FWIW, it's not enough to just kill enemies and harvest their parts. Some parts can only be retrieved from enemies in specific ways and you need to look at the bestiary to learn what those ways are. The really high-level gear often required components that needed those special conditions to retrieve.

 

 

Yeah Burning Shores is gorgeous. There are few games that stand with it graphically. Maybe just Cyberpunk and Alan Wake on PC?

 

I think on easy difficulty you don't have to harvest parts in any particular fashion. For instance, in the main quest I was supposed to kill a machine for parts but was told I needed to knock off a specific part before killing the machine to get it. BUT, you get a message that on easy and story difficulty you didn't have to worry about that. Just killing the machine was enough to harvest even he most specific parts. 

 

I can't comment on pc visuals but Burning Shores on PS5 is the best graphics to date. 

[legend]

13 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

I think on easy difficulty you don't have to harvest parts in any particular fashion. For instance, in the main quest I was supposed to kill a machine for parts but was told I needed to knock off a specific part before killing the machine to get it. BUT, you get a message that on easy and story difficulty you didn't have to worry about that. Just killing the machine was enough to harvest even he most specific parts. 

 

I can't comment on pc visuals but Burning Shores on PS5 is the best graphics to date. 

 

Ah okay. That does indeed make it easier!

[AbsolutSurgen]

48 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

I think on easy difficulty you don't have to harvest parts in any particular fashion. For instance, in the main quest I was supposed to kill a machine for parts but was told I needed to knock off a specific part before killing the machine to get it. BUT, you get a message that on easy and story difficulty you didn't have to worry about that. Just killing the machine was enough to harvest even he most specific parts. 

 

I can't comment on pc visuals but Burning Shores on PS5 is the best graphics to date. 

Without RT, Burning Shores would need to be a huge step over Horizon: FW to beat something like AW2.

[best3444]

1 minute ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Without RT, Burning Shores would need to be a huge step over Horizon: FW to beat something like AW2.

 

I'm speaking about console only. Burning Shores looks better than AW2 but they are different styles too. I'm just more impressed with Horizon. 

[Ghost_MH]

Hey, finally got around to beating this. This game was a ton of fun. I also liked Burning Shores more than Frozen Wilds. Also totally forgot this game had a level cap and wound up starting Burning Shores at level 60. End result, only the final boss gave me trouble and only because what I was supposed to do wasn't immediately clicking. Still a ton of fun. I'm very much looking forward to the closing of this trilogy.

[AbsolutSurgen]

There is so much to do in this game.  It really is a time suck.  I would guess I'm 1/2 to 2/3 the way through the main story.  A couple of thoughts:

1)  I wish I had mainlined the story a little more early on.  Unlocking all 4 "metroidvania" tools early on is, IMHO, probably better than doing side content

2)  I have mostly ignored the food and valour upgrades.  You only seem to need them against the toughest bosses.

3)  I think this game would be a lot better with less side content and systems.  I'm not always sure whether doing something is actually that useful for progression

 

That said, I am having a blast while playing it.

[Ghost_MH]

5 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

There is so much to do in this game.  It really is a time suck.  I would guess I'm 1/2 to 2/3 the way through the main story.  A couple of thoughts:

1)  I wish I had mainlined the story a little more early on.  Unlocking all 4 "metroidvania" tools early on is, IMHO, probably better than doing side content

2)  I have mostly ignored the food and valour upgrades.  You only seem to need them against the toughest bosses.

3)  I think this game would be a lot better with less side content and systems.  I'm not always sure whether doing something is actually that useful for progression

 

That said, I am having a blast while playing it.

 

After the first mainline story, I actually started the other ones to get those tools and then went back to complete the main quests. This was mostly because I know my memory is terrible and there's no way I was going to remember to come back when I had the appropriate equipment. 

 

Glad I'm not the only one that pretty much skipped food and valor. I played on normal difficulty, but it's probably more important at higher difficulties. I think I ate all of one meal and activated valor the one time the tutorial asks you to.

[AbsolutSurgen]

3 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

After the first mainline story, I actually started the other ones to get those tools and then went back to complete the main quests. This was mostly because I know my memory is terrible and there's no way I was going to remember to come back when I had the appropriate equipment. 

 

Glad I'm not the only one that pretty much skipped food and valor. I played on normal difficulty, but it's probably more important at higher difficulties. I think I ate all of one meal and activated valor the one time the tutorial asks you to.

I think the way you did it is probably the right way.

 

You're probably right on the higher difficulties requiring those systems.  They probably also require a ridiculous amount of time farming machines/wildlife to upgrade weapons as well.