Horizon Forbidden West In Test: Mighty Good Gameplay, But the Story

Aloy just does not come to rest. Six months after the young hunter has preserved the post-postalypical world in Horizon Zero Dawn for the time being before the downfall, Horizon Forbidden West for PS4 and PS5 now threatens the renewed eradication. A dead-leading plague gradually spreads in the country, and that is not natural origin, but apparently has anything to do with Hades. Right, the destructive KI, which we did in the first part harmless.

• Greater than the first part, but also better?
• Strong machines and a powerful good combat system
• with tactics to victory
• With glider and enterhook to open World rule... well almost

The world must be rescued and the necessary support for this Aloy finds this time in the "forbidden West" of the former USA. On their journey, the heroine with old acquaintances such as Varl and ERD, new friendships are baptized and of course fights against aggressive machine monsters, which put their hunting arts with arrow, bow, throwing spears and Co. on the test.

On the PS5 we have the choice between two different graphics modes:

\ - Graphics Mode : 4K resolution and 30fps \ - Performance mode: 60fps

Although Forbidden West impresses with crisper resolution in graphics mode, but we recommend the performance mode. Especially in fast fighting, in which a lot happens, the butter soft and always liquid 60fps are a blessing.

All differences between PS4 and PS5 version can be found here. A PS4 version technology check will appear on Forbidden over the next few days. We first tested the game in detail on the PS5.

Greater than the first part, but also better?

But not only aloy is in front of a mum task, but also ourselves: The Open World of Forbidden West is once again a clear bit of greater than the game world of Zero Dawn and is fully stuffed with tasks that steadily Want to distract world string mission.

But we can calm you : Horizon Forbidden West grades, despite his skier size and fill out about the soulless activity shaft, but turns out to small start-up difficulties, especially thanks to the complex combat system and the impressive machines as a motivating Open World game.

And so much we can also say in advance: purely playfully, Forbidden West oversight his predecessor in many ways. Only just the story lets us disappoint this time.

Our impressions in video form - Here you can see our test video for Forbidden West:

Strong machines and a powerful good combat system

The Great Star of Horizon are, of course, the aggressive machine monsters that run our arcers and spear tips hot. In the first part, we chased 25 different types of beasts, we now rely against a total of 40 to the fight that populate the game world of the forbidden West.

• An overview of all new machines can be found here

In addition to old acquaintances such as the mighty thunder pine, which makes us creating us with his rocket launchers, we beat ourselves with all kinds of novel monsters. And they not only look impressive, but always challenge ourselves differently with their individual skills, characteristics and weak points.

In the course of our journey, for example, we meet on the beautiful graves that bump into the ground to attack us then behind. On the normal degree of difficulty, we do the beasts fix with a handful head goal. If we encounter more powerful specimens in the later gameplay, but the fighting will become clearly crispy and not only require reaction rate when dodging and aiming, but especially tactical sense and advance planning.

Like the predecessor, Forbidden West lives from the complex combat system , which offers us even more options thanks to new weapons, skills and elementary damage to our opponents. In the snowy north we get it to do with a bubble tooth.

This is a huge machine mammoth that we already know from the gameplay trailers. Before we oppose the giant at all, we analyze him with our focus and find it out of its weak points: "Sensitive to ice, aha! And both the devastating rocket launcher on the side upper body and the tusks can be separated, is noted! ".

So we paint the bubble tooth with ice lines until he finally freezes. This moves the previously tireless tramp trail significantly slower and we have all the time in the world to separate its dangerous rocket launcher and its pointed teeth with our explosive arrows. Now the beast is as good as defenseless and we give him the rest with our explosive throwing spears. The judges noticeably more damage than Aloy's bow. Our tactics have been risen and this ensures an incomparable success experience.

Of course, the bar tooth is just one of many new monsters that involve us in the forbidden West in spectacular friction. About the tidal tooth (a huge kobra) we have already raved in our European Exclusive Preview..

Especially in the later game, many more metallic surprises are waiting for us. The machines prove to be an absolute highlight of the game and many of them are still cooler than in its predecessors.

In this video you can see more new machines:

with tactics to victory

In particular, fighting against larger machines feel exciting and varied, especially because every metallic opponent has different weaknesses. And we have to exploit them inevitably because we have hardly a chance already on the normal degree of difficulty, if we were simply rampant with the hunter bend.

No Bange By the way: If you just want to experience the story, as in its predecessor, of course, can also alternatively select the simple level of difficulty or even more comfortable story mode.

But after a short time we have the hunter once on the box, then we quickly overcome the initial reverence that overcomes us if we want to intimidate a hugging like the hard-armed slaughtering ridge with a deafening scream. PAH! With a wide weapon arsenal and the power of the elements we defy any danger because we are motivated so incredibly to get us really deep into the complex combat system and to give us critical advantages with clever tactics.

, Especially since the battles in itself feel incredibly satisfactory *. If we add our enemies with elemental attacks, then every time an imposing effect graze that makes us feel really powerful. Schonmal shot the tank of a fire-roasting back with fire trays? Try it! This triggers a chain reaction and ensures a huge explosion whose fire storm even meets opponents nearby.

And apropos wide weapon arsenal: The throwing pier is just one of several new weapons, with whom we pull into the battle. In addition, we can now throw a kind of discus with the shredder glove, which slits enemies and becomes stronger with every successful hit. Or we shoot with the Zeilwerfer Elementar Canister on our opponents. If we meet these with an arrow of the same elementary type, we release a devastating explosion.

In addition, we can now apply different skills similar to Esassin's Creed Odyssey for every type of weapon. For example, an arrow rain, which gives area damage, or we shoot three arrows at once and set up more damage.

And as if that were not enough, we can now also learn so-called muts. These are special attacks that we activate if we filled the associated bar with successful attacks such as vulnerability matches. For example, with the Mutscht "Power shots" we fire explosive projectiles for a short time, which can empty the energy bar of our enemies ratzfatz.

Those who want, thanks to many new toys and skills can now let out steam here. And no afraid, if you feel overwhelmed in the face of all the innovations: Horizon Forbidden West is by no means overloaded. Weapon skills and mutures are not absolutely necessary in combat, but merely further means to make disputes even more varied and stylish.

Disagers with human enemies also has a little refined in comparison to its predecessor (people now have severely separable armor parts), but types of excursions, especially because of the missing lock-on function, often only in wild clopps. Even if we later unlock some effective comboaps for our spear. The machine hunt is still fun in Horizon Forbidden West.

By the way, it does not always have to approach Rabiat immediately. ** As in Horizon Zero Dawn, we also have the opportunity to handle machines or enemy people creepingly in the high grass or crush them behind back. In many quests Forbidden West lets us the free choice and plays so wonderfully varied.

With glider and enterhook to open World rule... well almost

When climbing and moving, there are now more options or gadgets, which we gradually find, and who largely simplify our lives, but sometimes more difficult.

With the shield glider we glide now as in Zelda: Breath of the game through the air and thus not only reduce case damage, but also come on distant platforms - practical and stylish! With the breathing mask we can immerse an unlimited, without the air goes out - a blessing! With the Enterhaken we are now approaching specific gripping points and can climb so much flotter platforms, also useful - at least in theory.

In practice, we can not use the Enterhaken completely free, but must wait each time a gripping symbol appears on the screen. And that does not always happen smoothly and reliably, so we sometimes have to be able to work solely at all times until we can finally swing emport. Here we would have wished a little more momentum.

Climbing to rock or ruin walls is also rather fiddly as liquid . Sometimes Aloy does not swish to the desired lead, even though we move the stick in the right direction, or we jump in persistently too far when we want to cross an abyss and fall off worst. In Kraxeln, the hunter is not quite as practiced as Nathan Drake from Uncharted or Kassandra from AC Odyssey.

On the next page, we explain why Forbidden West is a visual masterpiece, but disappointed in stuff.