The Beginning of Horizon Forbidden West is Stunning

After Aloy's incredible first adventure, Guerilla Games have outdone themselves with Horizon Forbidden West. Beautiful and enthralling, we delve deep into a post-apocalyptic America in this footage of the early part of the game.

[S2Killinit]

You guys in for a treat.

[Jin_Sakai]

A few hours in and this is already becoming one of my top favorite games ever.

The story is great so far and the world and visuals are something to behold. I also like the cinematic much better than Zero Dawn. Guerrilla Games have knocked it out of the park with Forbidden West!

[brewin]

How far in? I'm enjoying it overall but I've yet to be blown away. It's feeling a bit too Tomb Raidery with the box pushing puzzles so far. Definitely can't wait till it grabs me, but I just need to give it more time I guess.

[Jin_Sakai]

@brewin

I’m about 5 hours in. I can assure you there more to do than push boxes around. Although I like the puzzle quest even if they are simple as moving boxes and trying to find ways to get certain items. There’s lots of side quest to do and the main story is really good so far.

[Shadowsteal]

My favorite change are the characters and how Aloy interacts with them. The voice actors did such a great job and Guerilla for translating their energy in game. I love taking in every bit of dialogue, every single NPC has so much personality oozing out of them.

[Viljong]

This is the game we all waited for and sony delivers.

[SyntheticForm]

This is probably the best looking game I've ever played; the textures and materials are all top notch.

Playing on PS5 resolution mode.

The lighting is also insanely good, as per usual with Guerrilla.

[SullysCigar]

Even HZD is quite surprisingly stunning on PS5, so I can't wait to see how far they've come in the past 5 years - and then add in PS5 capabilities!

[Jin_Sakai]

“This is probably the best looking game I've ever played; the textures and materials are all top notch.”

Agreed. It’s best looking game I’ve ever played also and I’m playing in performance mode. 30fps looks awful on OLED TVs.

The world feels so alive with all the creatures and ambient sounds of nature. The water, moss, and mountains with clouds atop are a sight to behold.

[mkis007]

I couldn't play in the 60 fps mode with all that shimmer. Once my eyes got used to the 30 fps I was fine and the resolution really shows compared to the 60fps mode. Hopefully they will make upgrades to that mode.

[brewin]

I'll be honest, I'm only a few hours in but I'm feeling a little bit underwhelmed so far. In all fairness, I'm only just getting to the first real settlement and taking part in random quests from townies so I can level up a bit. I feel like the jumping is a bit janky and Ive already encountered a few "box moving puzzles". I wish they could come up with something new for these kind of puzzles. It's feeling a little too similar to other games. I obviously need to give it more time and I'm certainly not judging the game based on a few hours, but it just hasn't blown me away yet. O

[RickRoland]

It picks up after this

[brewin]

It definitely does! I'm starting to get out into the Forbidden West and things are starting to really open up. I just spent about 8 hours straight doing random quests and errands. Finally got the shield wing and a bunch of new weapons and upgrades that make a huge difference!

While I wasn't initially as blown away as I was expecting it to look a little more "next gen", it looks amazing and the details are more nuanced. The NPCs for example are all so different looking. The towns are much more lively now and I've yet to see any repeated npc models. The lighting is also incredible, especially at night. The way Aloy looks in the moonlight absolutely looks as "next gen" as I was hoping! I'm starting to notice the little touches and changes now and I am not going to be able to put this down for a long time. Gonna savor this one.

[ArmorOfGod]

First 8 hours aren’t good but it gets better

[mkis007]

I haven't left the daunt and every quest feels like it could be part of the main story.

[SyntheticForm]

The voice actors are all so good; I've yet to meet a single halfhearted effort for an NPC. Every NPC model is superbly detailed and voiced; this ain't no Assassin's Creed lol.

[victorMaje]

Playing in performance mode on PS5. Besides a few visual issues & artefacts that messed a bit with immersion, I’m having a blast.

So good to be back on Aloy’s next adventure. The world is beautiful, the sounds are great the characters well written. Walked into the tavern, perfect atmosphere. The combat & moved are evolved. Oh & I love me a good villain & this one looks like is going to be a pleasure to beat. I’m just after the daunt.