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

[SaysWho?]

2 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

 

Yeah it’s really good.

 

As someone who plays a lot of tabletop games, I have mixed feelings about something like Strike. It’s cute, but as a game I’d say it’s… not good.  I appreciate how hard it is to make a good board game, so it’s not surprising that a one inside a videogame can’t really hang.

 

I’d agree that there are probably too many side quests, though I do appreciate that none of them feel like they didn’t get TLC. The stuff for your companions tends to be the best fleshed out though, which isn’t surprising.

 

And I liked the underwater stuff. If they added some underwater combat to the next one I’d be pumped on that.

 

My only progression beef is what I mentioned before… the resources you get for upgrading feel woefully inadequate compared to what you need. If you max something blue or purple out, that’s almost certainly going to be your kit for the whole game. Gimmie more stuff or clip the upgrade requirements, or something. I had to force myself to use worse, non-upgraded weapons out of curiosity because despite popping the platinum when I finished the game, only one of my late game gear was upgraded at all, and I think it was to level 2. On hard mode, some of the big machines take an eternity to beat if you’re not using upgraded gear. So it was a downer to clear the arena, buy the loot, and realize I’d never be using it. Just lemme buy the components at that point, there’s even a compelling lore reason; if they can farm the toughest monsters for me to punch, surely they can sell me the 75 Slitherfang Earthgrinders I want.

 

All in all though, minor complaints for a game that I was expecting to be good and it exceeded those expectations. With some better pacing and a bit more variety I think the third could be an all timer.

Mostly agreed. It’s a really good game that I’m happy to own and put all this time into, and considering the great  improvements compared to the first (You can tell they really paid attention to critiques of the first), I can see the third being an “undisputed” goty. 

 

 

[Kal-El814]

18 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

Mostly agreed. It’s a really good game that I’m happy to own and put all this time into, and considering the great  improvements compared to the first (You can tell they really paid attention to critiques of the first), I can see the third being an “undisputed” goty. 

 

Yeah, I was thinking that as well; it’s really apparent that they’re very aware of what most people were vocally critical of when it came to the first one.

 

I’m happy to keep this game in my collection but hmm. My shelf is full. There’s room in my stash, though.

[best3444]

Played 2 hours on the PS4 Pro and it looks pretty nice. I can see this weird blur in image quality sometimes and it's because the game is meant to be played on the PS5 by far. I'm jelly of those that played it on PS5. 

 

I think the beginning was slow (still in the beginning from what I read on here) and the gameplay solid. BUT, wtf is up with the sound? The hit from your bow or spear barely make any noise? It's extremely muffled and really disappointing. All other sound effects are fine so it doesn't make any sense.

 

Also, a pet peeve of mine in bad fire effects. Well this games fire effect is 2D and trash. 

 

I'm a bit stoned right now so this post may be awful. I apologize in advance. 

[stepee]

33 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Played 2 hours on the PS4 Pro and it looks pretty nice. I can see this weird blur in image quality sometimes and it's because the game is meant to be played on the PS5 by far. I'm jelly of those that played it on PS5. 

 

I think the beginning was slow (still in the beginning from what I read on here) and the gameplay solid. BUT, wtf is up with the sound? The hit from your bow or spear barely make any noise? It's extremely muffled and really disappointing. All other sound effects are fine so it doesn't make any sense.

 

Also, a pet peeve of mine in bad fire effects. Well this games fire effect is 2D and trash. 

 

I'm a bit stoned right now so this post may be awful. I apologize in advance. 

 

It IS a slow start but after that it just gets better and better up until the end.

[best3444]

1 minute ago, stepee said:

 

It IS a slow start but after that it just gets better and better up until the end.

 

What's your thought on the sound? 

[stepee]

1 minute ago, best3444 said:

 

What's your thought on the sound? 

 

I think I know what you mean about hits sounding weak on impact, I don’t think there just you. I admit I don’t pay attention to sound design nearly as much as other parts of games.

[best3444]

Ok. I'll get over the sound and enjoy the game. I already enjoyed the authentic conversations in the beginning and flow even if slow. 

[stepee]

The mocap animation for npcs is insane.

[Kal-El814]

2 hours ago, best3444 said:

Played 2 hours on the PS4 Pro and it looks pretty nice. I can see this weird blur in image quality sometimes and it's because the game is meant to be played on the PS5 by far. I'm jelly of those that played it on PS5. 

 

I think the beginning was slow (still in the beginning from what I read on here) and the gameplay solid. BUT, wtf is up with the sound? The hit from your bow or spear barely make any noise? It's extremely muffled and really disappointing. All other sound effects are fine so it doesn't make any sense.

 

Also, a pet peeve of mine in bad fire effects. Well this games fire effect is 2D and trash. 

 

I'm a bit stoned right now so this post may be awful. I apologize in advance. 

I played on a PS5 but didn’t notice any audio issues like you’re describing. 

[johnny]

I still havent finished this game. and I've been playin too, it's just fucking huge and I'm doing a bunch of side stuff and the arena lol

[best3444]

17 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

I played on a PS5 but didn’t notice any audio issues like you’re describing. 

 

I seriously have to check options then. It's not an annoyance but rather a game breaking issue for me. But, I'm putting this game to the side until I beat Elden Ring. I bet this game looks so beautiful on ps5 damn.

[SaysWho?]

1 hour ago, johnny said:

I still havent finished this game. and I've been playin too, it's just fucking huge and I'm doing a bunch of side stuff and the arena lol

Same. I can plat the first, with the expansion, in less than 75 hours, but this seems really really big.

[stepee]

54 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

Same. I can plat the first, with the expansion, in less than 75 hours, but this seems really really big.

 

It was like 52 hours for me to beat it essentially following the main story path on easy. There’s so much I didn’t do in the game, only did some side quests when it involved what seemed to be a companion. Then I followed it up with ER. It was a bad month for time management. 

[BloodyHell]

On 3/29/2022 at 5:46 PM, best3444 said:

Ok. I'll get over the sound and enjoy the game. I already enjoyed the authentic conversations in the beginning and flow even if slow. 

Oh, there's definitely a problem with melee sounds and the melee combat just feeling... odd..

[johnny]

this game is super diverse with its characters and the hair on black characters looks really good. a lot of games need to take note. 

[Spork3245]

 

[TwinIon]

Finished the game the other day, after about 65 hours of total playtime. I completed basically everything there is to do. I really enjoyed it and think it's amazingly well done in nearly every area, but I feel like a lot of my complaints from Zero Dawn remain, especially as you get to the end game.

 

The traversal is still not great, even if it's improved. Climbing is inconsistent and it just seems arbitrary where you can and can't climb, so you end up relying on the UI to show you that you can climb that rock wall but not the other one. Mounts are still dumb, slow, and easy to get stuck or at least slow you down with trees or rocks or small ledges and what not. Given the prevalence of fast travel points in the game and the speed of PS5 loading, I would more often fast travel and run then use mounts at all.

 

I also still dislike the progression system for armor and weapons. I really wish that you could customize what kinds of ammo a given weapon shot, since that ended up mattering far more to me than if it was legendary or rare. The upgrade costs for weapons and armor was also a real pain. I'm happy that many components ended up being guaranteed drops, or guaranteed when you broke off a piece, but there was still too much RNG in finding stuff. I had to reload so many times to get Apex Splinterspines (I think thats what they're called). I also did so much freaking fishing and hunting of animals for their stupid parts. Fishing in particular sucked since you basically never caught fish during normal gameplay, the RNG on the right drops were terrible, and I kept having fish dissapear on me right before I'd catch them.

 

Item management is still just not well done. There are too many pieces that have some crafting value but not much. I never cleared out my inventory of anything that could be used for crafting and I only sold stuff for shards twice in my entire run. It should be one button to sell everything that I don't need for crafting, and there shouldn't be any crossover on what is and isn't needed. I should also have to worry less and less about stuff as the game goes on. Why is it a skill to lower ammo crafting costs only at crafting tables? Those skills should increase what I find and decrease what I need to use so that by the end of the game I shouldn't ever worry about it. At least, that's my ideal.

 

All that said, I didn't put in 65 hours out of boredom. I loved the game. The story was well told, the graphics are amazing, and after all the time spent I feel like there are so many gameplay avenues that I could still explore. I settled into a certain strategy, but I feel like the weapon varieties are such that I'm sure there are tons different approaches I never even tried.

[best3444]

I think to get out of my funk I will play and beat this. I was going to return to Elden Ring but I want to play something that doesn't frustrate me. I only played 2 or so hours of this and I understand it's a massive game. 

 

What still sticks out in my mind was how quiet/muffled the sound effects were. Did anyone else have any issues with this?

[stepee]

6 minutes ago, best3444 said:

I think to get out of my funk I will play and beat this. I was going to return to Elden Ring but I want to play something that doesn't frustrate me. I only played 2 or so hours of this and I understand it's a massive game. 

 

What still sticks out in my mind was how quiet/muffled the sound effects were. Did anyone else have any issues with this?

 

I would maybe check the sound settings and see if it’s set to surround if you aren’t around or stereo if you are in surround etc. 

 

And yeah it’s a much more chill game and a hell of a ride and a fun story. You’ll dig it.

 

It picks up after 6 hours or so and then never lets up.

[best3444]

I'm going to start this up Thursday afternoon. I have to get back into a gaming rhythm and also dig into the sound settings to find out why every thing in my game sounds muffled. 

[best3444]

Played 3 hours today. I went into the sound settings and turned audio to "tv" even though I wear headsets. For some reason that setting improved the sound but it's still not perfect.

 

The visuals are pretty damn good and probably the best the PS4 can produce. Combat is a bit loose and sloppy but still decently fun. I'm so fuckin early on but I see myself beating this. 

[SaysWho?]

I'm shocked someone can complete everything there is to do in 65 hours.

 

I've had to take two big breaks because I feel there's too much. And in the arena, I just get smacked around most of the time; I SUCK at it.

[johnny]

3 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

I'm shocked someone can complete everything there is to do in 65 hours.

 

I've had to take two big breaks because I feel there's too much. And in the arena, I just get smacked around most of the time; I SUCK at it.

the arena is fun but after the second group of trials i turned it to easy so i could get all the tokens to buy legendary armor lol

[best3444]

Boy, the visuals are impressive for the PS4 Pro. I'm enjoying it but it's not keeping my attention to the fullest. It's still early so we will see. 

[stepee]

8 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Boy, the visuals are impressive for the PS4 Pro. I'm enjoying it but it's not keeping my attention to the fullest. It's still early so we will see. 

 

where are you exactly?

[SaysWho?]

10 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

where are you exactly?

 

title screen

[best3444]

19 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

where are you exactly?

 

5 hours in and still on my way to the Forbidden West. The character models and animation are incredible. 

[stepee]

12 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

5 hours in and still on my way to the Forbidden West. The character models and animation are incredible. 

 

Ok yeah it’s once you get past that gate that the journey really kicks into gear.

[best3444]

1 minute ago, stepee said:

 

Ok yeah it’s once you get past that gate that the journey really kicks into gear.

 

Yea, I remember you said around 6 hours or so it takes off. That's why I'm being patient. I'm also just focusing on the main quest and won't touch side quests. This game is too big from what I read.

[best3444]

@stepee you were correct, at around 6 hours it's been taking off. I couldn't put the controller down today. Almost played 4 hours lol. 

[stepee]

58 minutes ago, best3444 said:

@stepee you were correct, at around 6 hours it's been taking off. I couldn't put the controller down today. Almost played 4 hours lol. 

 

lol yeah enjoy the ride man, right to the end it doesn’t let up imo, makes you super pumped for the next one as the scope grows

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

On 6/18/2020 at 10:33 AM, Keyser_Soze said:

I never platinumed HZD.

 

I went back to clean up my last few remaining trophies for the Platinum a few days ago!

 

In total, I played HZD for 132 hours.

[crispy4000]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Text article:

 

Horizon Forbidden West's upgraded performance mode is now the best way to play

WWW.EUROGAMER.NET

---

The Digital Foundry analysis of Horizon Forbidden West's recent Performance Mode fix, speaking to the developers to find out exactly what has changed in 1.16.