Does it get better

[FFATMA]

I'm enjoying the story quite a bit.  I have no idea how someone can start a game known for a lot of cut-scenes and then complain that there are too many cut-scenes. I love listening to all the people talking around you, it adds so much!  I guess if you're strictly racing towards the platinum, you probably don't want all that stuff and I completely understand that, but there's so much to the world that if you stop and listen and read everything you can, it's worth it in my opinion.

[steel6burgh]

On 3/6/2022 at 9:38 AM, Kwotey said:

Im currently about 7 hours in and this game seems to be dragging a bit.. i swear its been like 70% cut scenes and the story isnt gripping me.. i loved the first game!

Im all for story driven games but this game seem to be overkill on the cut scenes. 

I really hope it gets better or should i cut my loses now?

 

I'm in the same boat i am bored by the game.  Aside from the story being dull i find the overall gameplay to be very unsatisfying.  It seems the only enemy move set is to violently buck around like a bull or bronco and then you gotta shoot the components and half the time you hit one its pure luck as they charge into you and stagger and knock you over repeadetely.   there is no challenge in it really as you can just fire 4 or five arrows and eventually you are bound to hit something you're suppose to.  It feels very clunky to me even as compared to the 1st game which I liked at the time.  

 

Beautiful open worlds don't impress me I can open the door and walk outside and see that.  

[Kal-El457]

I really liked the first game and enjoyed it all the way through. This sequel on the other hand only really improved visuals, kept almost everything else the same just with a tighter feel. The game didn't innovate. It just felt average to me. There was nothing special about the game other than visuals which looked awesome. I was so mind numbingly bored playing this game that about 5hrs in I started completely skipping everything in sight. I didn't care anymore. It is one of the most copy pasted games I've played. 

 

This truly felt like a call of duty game, the same game with that "fresh coat of paint". This could be due to the fact that Elden GOAT released and the euphoria of that hasn't worn off yet but HFW was just a letdown, I wish i enjoyed it more but the industry moves/improves, game standards are different and releasing the game in that current state for me was pointless. It's a forgettable game, I wondered if it was just me but I see so many people who are playing it and having the same types of feelings. Wish it was better, because its a game where you can see they put effort but just in the wrong places imo. Probably a 7/10 for me.

 

It would take a lot for me to ever boot this game up again. 

[Rando-Calrisian-]

1 hour ago, Kal-El457 said:

I really liked the first game and enjoyed it all the way through. This sequel on the other hand only really improved visuals, kept almost everything else the same just with a tighter feel. The game didn't innovate. It just felt average to me. There was nothing special about the game other than visuals which looked awesome. I was so mind numbingly bored playing this game that about 5hrs in I started completely skipping everything in sight. I didn't care anymore. It is one of the most copy pasted games I've played. 

 

This truly felt like a call of duty game, the same game with that "fresh coat of paint". This could be due to the fact that Elden GOAT released and the euphoria of that hasn't worn off yet but HFW was just a letdown, I wish i enjoyed it more but the industry moves/improves, game standards are different and releasing the game in that current state for me was pointless. It's a forgettable game, I wondered if it was just me but I see so many people who are playing it and having the same types of feelings. Wish it was better, because its a game where you can see they put effort but just in the wrong places imo. Probably a 7/10 for me.

 

It would take a lot for me to ever boot this game up again. 

 

This echoes my sentiments exactly. Graphics blew me away; gameplay was satisfying but nothing new. Story was forgettable. I was skipping all dialogue by mid game. I loved number one 5 years ago, story included, but this was underwhelming.

 

My thoughts:

- Elden Ring hangover: Elden Ring's gameplay and environments blew me away. Perhaps one of the best games I've played, ever. Anything I played after it (this) would pale in comparison.

- Developers are taking less risks these days: games are hugely complex and take years of development. If they know a gameplay formula is successful / makes money, they won't deviate from it or take risks. This means, for most big release, we have basically played that game many times before.

- Each year there are MANY action-adventure games that come out: If you are doing the same stuff many times each year over many games it starts to get stale.

[Alaquia]

On 11.4.2022 at 5:46 AM, Kal-El457 said:

I really liked the first game and enjoyed it all the way through. This sequel on the other hand only really improved visuals, kept almost everything else the same just with a tighter feel. The game didn't innovate. It just felt average to me. There was nothing special about the game other than visuals which looked awesome. I was so mind numbingly bored playing this game that about 5hrs in I started completely skipping everything in sight. I didn't care anymore. It is one of the most copy pasted games I've played. 

 

This truly felt like a call of duty game, the same game with that "fresh coat of paint". This could be due to the fact that Elden GOAT released and the euphoria of that hasn't worn off yet but HFW was just a letdown, I wish i enjoyed it more but the industry moves/improves, game standards are different and releasing the game in that current state for me was pointless. It's a forgettable game, I wondered if it was just me but I see so many people who are playing it and having the same types of feelings. Wish it was better, because its a game where you can see they put effort but just in the wrong places imo. Probably a 7/10 for me.

 

It would take a lot for me to ever boot this game up again. 

 

I feel what you are saying. Bought it on release day, so 1 week before Elden Ring. The first week was good, I had fun with the game but as soon as Elden Ring released and I was playing them both the cracks really started to show. I think it's the first time I was disappointed by a playstation exclusive.

 

Forgettable really is the perfect term to use for this game.

 

I was blown away by the first one and it's DLC later on but part 2 nearly did a Season 8 of GOT for me (tainting the whole franchise). I'll wait for deep sales on their future projects and I'm just glad it was massively overshadowed by Elden Ring.

[yoda_squad]

I played HZD for a fair old while and didn't enjoy it at all. So I moved on to another game.... Sone months later I returned to it and fully enjoyed it. So much so that I'd say it rates as one if my favourite games ?

 

HtFW didn't grab me at all. I couldn't get into the story or the NPC characters - though I did notice at one point Alloy looked worried, then later in the game, toward full completion, she had an air of authority and suredness about her, which I thought was a really nice touch from the Devs. 

 

Bored after 7 hours.... I'd step away from it and play something you enjoy, then give it another go sometime later,it may just suprise you.... 

 

But either way, another 50 or 60 hours till completion is a slog if you're not enjoying it.

 

Gaming should be about fun. I've stepped away from games I wasn't enjoying many times ?

[mrmivo]

On 01/12/2022 at 1:13 PM, yoda_squad said:

I've stepped away from games I wasn't enjoying many times

It’s certainly the right thing to do, though I’ve found that almost all longer games have boring or tedious stretches. Back on PC I rarely finished bigger games because I’d drop them when they entered one of those valleys of boredom. The trophy system has been beneficial for me insofar that it provides incentive to keep playing or come back. Steam achievements never had that effect on me, but trophies resonate with me.

 

I really enjoyed Zero Dawn, both the story and the gameplay. It was a relatively compact, streamlined game. The story had really intrigued me (in large part because of all the optional lore bits strewn around in the world). I platted it in two weeks and it was my first plat. Forbidden West took me a year. It’s a gorgeous game with a fantastic world, and high production values. I liked a lot about it, but I think the game was a bit “over-engineered”. The story only grabbed me toward the end, the side quests dragged out, there were more puzzle elements than I liked, and I felt the combat system was bloated. All those weapon, style, ammo options should have made it better, but in actual practice I just didn’t enjoy having to swap weapons, the numerous ammo types (and very small pouches), the spongey opponents, the stun/recovery times, destructible parts (unless I used easy loot, but that was too easy). Melee wasn’t really usable against most machines, and it never felt good (didn’t enjoy the melee pits). I much preferred combat in Zero Dawn.

 

Still, it was a memorable game and I’m glad I came back to it and finished it. I really like the setting, the art direction, the musical score, the animation work, the lore, the characters, the cultures, the world itself. Some of the side quests were great. Voice acting was often good, and I enjoyed all the optional dialogue that added interest to the story. There’s really much to like about the game. I think I might have enjoyed the combat more with a mouse and a keyboard since I’m still not fully used to controllers in games like this. But, yes, I did prefer the more simplified combat of Zero Dawn overall.

 

 

 

 

 

[Finch_III]

Interesting to see everyone's varying opinions on this game. Appreciate I'm late to the party, but I've been really enjoying it so far (about 40 hours in). 

 

I found the original okay. Nothing special really, but I felt they really improved the graphics, immersion and acting this time round.

 

Having recently platted Ghosts of Tsushima, I honestly didn't understand the hype around that game at all. I found the main plot uninspired, the main character and side characters were all dull and lacked personality, and many of the side missions were boring, forgettable fetch quests. Every question mark on the map was a fox den or a health pool. Yawn. 

 

So playing Horizon Forbidden West immediately after has felt like a breath of fresh air. The characters actually had ... well.. character. And I felt they really made an effort to make side quests somewhat original. That's not to say it's perfect, obviously. There's still a bunch of fetch quests and "follow the tracks" missions, and it does feel like the combat hasn't improved much from the original, although it's been a while since I played it. 

But I definitely thought it was better overall, having only somewhat enjoying the first game. I guess it was kinda overshadowed by Elden Ring, which really does push the genre in a new direction. Perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed this so much if I hadn't played it immediately after Ghosts of Tsushima, which I thought was massively overrated. 

Edited March 14, 2023 by Finch_III

[Vynzen]

Most of I feel annoyed by endless cutscenes and even more endless conversations  ...  ?

The game is ABSOfuckingLUTELY AMAZING though!  ?

Edited March 16, 2023 by Vynzen

[Sunny]

On 3/6/2022 at 2:46 PM, ArtMontef said:

I love story focused games, they are mainly what I play. I preordered Forbidden West, I was super excited for it, I took my time platinuming it, didn't rush a thing, and to be honest I don't mind the cutscenes, I quite like them, the voice acting is superb. But I really bounced off the story, it was really mediocre with few sudden unreasonable plot holes and baffling twists. I was talking with my boyfriend about Horizon today and surprisingly we had the same impressions: most of the side content is utterly forgetable, I cannot remember most of the sidequest NPCs, even some of the main characters are super shallow. The art direction is superb, the designs of tribes are mindblowing, definitely contender for the best art direction in 2022, but goddamn, when you talk with 20th Tenakth with the same face paint they all start to blend together, I couldn't tell who was who, the only quite prominent differences are in main characters. My comment is chaotic because I have such hard time putting in words how I feel about this game. I want to love it, it has everything I love in gaming, rich world, tons of side content, heavily story focused, rpg mechanics but somehow it lacks that x factor for me. But I understand how it can be 10/10 game for many others

I guess some games just don't click with us, like for me is the first Horizon, Nier Automata and Hollow Knight, they all have things I love it them but I just didn't like them one bit, Nier to me was the worst, they got so focused on 2B ass that the luke warm story didn't do much for me to have any interest, then there's how unpolished everything felt, everyone seems to love it but it's a game I wouldn't piss on if it was on fire.

[sponge0812]

I'm struggling to get into it, maybe 10 hours in but really not interested in the story and Aloy is annoying me, don't get me wrong the game looks amazing but like the 1st one the characters and story just don't click with me, will get the plat and 100% though but will be a grind

[Matrim_Drasgen]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:19 AM, Finch_III said:

Interesting to see everyone's varying opinions on this game. Appreciate I'm late to the party, but I've been really enjoying it so far (about 40 hours in). 

 

I found the original okay. Nothing special really, but I felt they really improved the graphics, immersion and acting this time round.

 

Having recently platted Ghosts of Tsushima, I honestly didn't understand the hype around that game at all. I found the main plot uninspired, the main character and side characters were all dull and lacked personality, and many of the side missions were boring, forgettable fetch quests. Every question mark on the map was a fox den or a health pool. Yawn. 

 

So playing Horizon Forbidden West immediately after has felt like a breath of fresh air. The characters actually had ... well.. character. And I felt they really made an effort to make side quests somewhat original. That's not to say it's perfect, obviously. There's still a bunch of fetch quests and "follow the tracks" missions, and it does feel like the combat hasn't improved much from the original, although it's been a while since I played it. 

But I definitely thought it was better overall, having only somewhat enjoying the first game. I guess it was kinda overshadowed by Elden Ring, which really does push the genre in a new direction. Perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed this so much if I hadn't played it immediately after Ghosts of Tsushima, which I thought was massively overrated. 

Absolutely right about how varying everyone's opinions are about games.

Ghost of Tsushima was absolutely amazing. Looked great, played great, and was incredibly enjoyable. Not my favorite game but fun to play and get the Platinum. HFW is crap. Aloy can't move around fluidly, her combat skills are atrocious, and she constantly yammers. Elden Ring IS absolutely hot garbage when compared to the hype and praise it has/does receive and I do not get what you mean by it "pushed the genre in a new direction." It provided all the same ideas and features other games in the genre did, and it did some of them worse, and nothing new. It looks good but that is easy with the technology out and the money the game had backing it. It has about to slightly above-average story. Its only real point is it is a challenging game. That is it. I am not knocking entirely, just when you compare it to the praise and reviews it received, it is not the genre-changing or defying creation mentioned. It is probably the most massively overrated game ever but definitely for this generation of games. It's the "Avatar" of video games: looks pretty and can be difficult. The rest? Not worth my time or money.

[PhyrxianLibrarin]

I mean, Horizon has had some terrible luck with launches. Zero Dawn came out the same month as Breath of the Wild, and Forbidden West came out the same week as Elden Ring. It's really hard to compete with that.

 

If I had to describe Forbidden West in a single word, I think it would be "safe." Zero Dawn was a new franchise from a relatively unknown developer, it leaned hard into a particular aesthetic and style of combat and direction, and it struck a chord with a lot of people. It wasn't perfect, but it was new and original at a time where there wasn't much originality to go around from AAA games.

 

Forbidden West, by comparison, is a much more standard "video gamey" version of Zero Dawn. It's bigger and more complex, with loads of additional mechanics and stuff to do, none of which actually serve the story or worldbuilding in any meaningful way. A game centered around hunting machines with bows and traps doesn't need a messy melee combo system, or a boardgame side project, or three different kinds of "blocked doors" that have nothing meaningful behind them. It gives you loads of new mechanics, but little to no reason to actually engage with any of them. Now that the mystery of Zero Dawn and what happened to the world is revealed, the new mystery is both much more complicated, and also much less interesting.

 

I'm enjoying it because this kind of game is exactly my jam, I love open world collectathons. But I totally understand why this kind of game isn't for everyone. If you play the intro/beginning and it doesn't click for you, it probably won't get "better" enough for you to suddenly start liking it.

[Vault-TecPhantom]

3 hours ago, PhyrxianLibrarin said:

I mean, Horizon has had some terrible luck with launches. Zero Dawn came out the same month as Breath of the Wild, and Forbidden West came out the same week as Elden Ring. It's really hard to compete with that.

 

If I had to describe Forbidden West in a single word, I think it would be "safe." Zero Dawn was a new franchise from a relatively unknown developer, it leaned hard into a particular aesthetic and style of combat and direction, and it struck a chord with a lot of people. It wasn't perfect, but it was new and original at a time where there wasn't much originality to go around from AAA games.

 

Forbidden West, by comparison, is a much more standard "video gamey" version of Zero Dawn. It's bigger and more complex, with loads of additional mechanics and stuff to do, none of which actually serve the story or worldbuilding in any meaningful way.

 

Have to agree here. I really enjoyed Forbidden West but Guerilla deserves the embarrassment they got by underestimating Elden Ring. Even when Zero Dawn got totally eclipsed by Zelda it was still deemed impressive how innovative and polished Zero Dawn was for a studio who had traditionally only done first person shooters. But the problem with Forbidden West is that while it improves on Zero Dawn in a variety of ways it doesn't learn anything from its competitors. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it wilfully ignores them and in doing so looks dated by comparison. It's a great game but a disappointing sequel.

 

[cobaltTangerine]

I'm probably 35 hours in, have finished the main story, and currently running around getting trophies. I have to say this is a very well-done-average game. If the story and characters don't attract me, I skip cut scenes in games, which I did in this one, so I can't comment on the story. The characters aren't well-written or have memorable personalities.

 

The combat with the machines is by far my favorite part of the game, but it is exactly the same as the first, with a few new machines. I only use the various hunter bows and find all the other weapons and traps in the game situational or useless. The hunter bows are versatile and work for every enemy type. Some upgrades in this game are very scarce and I'd recommend saving them all for the bows.

 

The climbing and platforming can be very frustrating. There will be a number of times when you are making the right jump but it simply won't land. Or you will be walking out onto a ledge or platform but not connecting right with the environment and falling off. Something just always feels off in the environment and how you interact with it. This isn't an elite platforming game, so if you are doing the right thing, the jump should land. Uncharted does this very well. There is an option to turn on visual indicators for climbing spots and this is essential IMO.

 

The glider is a great addition. Fall damage in open-world games, especially ones with a lot of verticality and traversal, is always frustrating. There is also an option to have it deployed if you are about to take fall damage, which I recommend.

 

The quests in the game are unfortunately repetitive. They remind me of missions from Ghost of Tsushima and Assassins Creed Valhalla, two games I recently played. You will constantly be using your detective vision to find either clues or paths. You follow the path and then there will be combat and although stealth is an option, it is much easier and more efficient to go in guns blazing. Then search around for the MacGuffin and finally return to the quest giver. After playing a few of these, you realize there is a checklist of about a dozen things and each quest will have 3 or 4 of these things on it. It ends up having a very synthetic quality and becomes rather predictable. I think this is the greatest weakness of the game. 

 

There is also a lot of frustrating game design mechanics in this one. Prime example: not only do you have to hold a button down a few seconds to loot an enemy, but the game then asks you if you want to loot everything. I can understand the hold-the-button-down thing as there might be other enemies around, so there is that window, but why would I not loot everything? There isn't an encumbrance or inventory limit. Just a lot of this little stuff that doesn't make sense.

 

The bottom line, I think the ranged combat with the machines is wonderful. I wish that was the foundation of the game. Everything else from the story to the climbing to the missions to the Ubisoft map is uninspired. I've put in 35 hours and grabbed it off PS Plus, so I've had fun, but it is definitely a 3 out of 5. Just a lot of stuff that is either uninspired in a sequel or frustrating in a contemporary game.

Edited March 23, 2023 by cobaltTangerine

[Crypto151]

I've just been mashing the skip button during the cutscenes constantly. When I was younger  I was all about story and cutscenes. Now I couldn't care less. I just want a game with a fun gameplay loop. In that regard, the sequel feels like a notch down. It feels like a bloated ubisoft game which is a real shame. Hopefully, the next one they'll knock it out of the park. 

[cobaltTangerine]

9 hours ago, Crypto151 said:

I've just been mashing the skip button during the cutscenes constantly. When I was younger  I was all about story and cutscenes. Now I couldn't care less. I just want a game with a fun gameplay loop. In that regard, the sequel feels like a notch down. It feels like a bloated ubisoft game which is a real shame. Hopefully, the next one they'll knock it out of the park. 

 

Couldn't agree more.

[Finch_III]

On 21/03/2023 at 0:32 AM, Matrim_Drasgen said:

Absolutely right about how varying everyone's opinions are about games.

Ghost of Tsushima was absolutely amazing. Looked great, played great, and was incredibly enjoyable. Not my favorite game but fun to play and get the Platinum. HFW is crap. Aloy can't move around fluidly, her combat skills are atrocious, and she constantly yammers. Elden Ring IS absolutely hot garbage when compared to the hype and praise it has/does receive and I do not get what you mean by it "pushed the genre in a new direction." It provided all the same ideas and features other games in the genre did, and it did some of them worse, and nothing new. It looks good but that is easy with the technology out and the money the game had backing it. It has about to slightly above-average story. Its only real point is it is a challenging game. That is it. I am not knocking entirely, just when you compare it to the praise and reviews it received, it is not the genre-changing or defying creation mentioned. It is probably the most massively overrated game ever but definitely for this generation of games. It's the "Avatar" of video games: looks pretty and can be difficult. The rest? Not worth my time or money.

 

Ah, I wrote a reply to this a couple of days ago but accidentally closed my browser and lost it all. 

 

It's entirely possible my view of HFW has been inflated by the fact that I've not been playing a ton of open-world games recently, so don't have much to compare it with from the last 5 years other than Ghosts of Tsushima, Elden Ring and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I stand by my opinion of Tsushima – I even played it in Japanese with English subtitles to immerse myself in it more, but I just found it really tedious after about 15 hours. 

 

It really comes down to what you want from an open-world game I guess. For me, a sense of exploration is probably one of the most important things. I mean, that's the whole point, right? Otherwise, why not play something linear and structured, with a tight, compact story. Ghosts of Tsushima was an open (but empty) world – within a few hours, I realised the whole map was basically just fox dens, shrines and Haikus. The Samurai duels were fun, but other than that, there was literally zero incentive to wander around and explore. A question mark was always going to be another fox den. 

 

HFW was better in that respect, albeit only because it has slightly more things to do. Hunting grounds, relic ruins, cauldrons, the Arena, races, board games. I didn't enjoy them all – but they were all pretty different and interactive. That's one of the reasons I rate Elden Ring so highly. It was the first game that I'd played in a long time where I felt exploring your environment was actually exciting. You could find a build-breaking weapon or spell anywhere. Or stumble across a unique boss or a massive hidden area of the world. 

 

I agree on the combat being janky in HFW though. And there was definitely too much going on with the weapons – realistically, after testing everything out, I only used two or three weapon variants. Mostly the bows and spears. Everything else felt a bit unnecessary. 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Finch_III

[cobaltTangerine]

21 hours ago, Finch_III said:

 

Ah, I wrote a reply to this a couple of days ago but accidentally closed my browser and lost it all. 

 

It's entirely possible my view of HFW has been inflated by the fact that I've not been playing a ton of open-world games recently, so don't have much to compare it with from the last 5 years other than Ghosts of Tsushima, Elden Ring and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I stand by my opinion of Tsushima – I even played it in Japanese with English subtitles to immerse myself in it more, but I just found it really tedious after about 15 hours. 

 

It really comes down to what you want from an open-world game I guess. For me, a sense of exploration is probably one of the most important things. I mean, that's the whole point, right? Otherwise, why not play something linear and structured, with a tight, compact story. Ghosts of Tsushima was an open (but empty) world – within a few hours, I realised the whole map was basically just fox dens, shrines and Haikus. The Samurai duels were fun, but other than that, there was literally zero incentive to wander around and explore. A question mark was always going to be another fox den. 

 

HFW was better in that respect, albeit only because it has slightly more things to do. Hunting grounds, relic ruins, cauldrons, the Arena, races, board games. I didn't enjoy them all – but they were all pretty different and interactive. That's one of the reasons I rate Elden Ring so highly. It was the first game that I'd played in a long time where I felt exploring your environment was actually exciting. You could find a build-breaking weapon or spell anywhere. Or stumble across a unique boss or a massive hidden area of the world. 

 

I agree on the combat being janky in HFW though. And there was definitely too much going on with the weapons – realistically, after testing everything out, I only used two or three weapon variants. Mostly the bows and spears. Everything else felt a bit unnecessary. 

 

I completely agree with you on Ghost of Tsushima. And I've yet to play Elden Ring. I'm still traumatized by Bloodborne. I think Days Gone is one of the most underrated open world games of recent memory. It does exploration very well. Mad Max is also very good, but it can get repetitive. And if you have a Switch, Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece. As for Assassins's Creed Odyssey, I find both Valhalla and especially Origins to be better experiences, so if you liked that one, those are also worth checking out.

[Vault-TecPhantom]

On 24/03/2023 at 4:05 PM, Finch_III said:

 

Ah, I wrote a reply to this a couple of days ago but accidentally closed my browser and lost it all. 

 

It's entirely possible my view of HFW has been inflated by the fact that I've not been playing a ton of open-world games recently, so don't have much to compare it with from the last 5 years other than Ghosts of Tsushima, Elden Ring and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I stand by my opinion of Tsushima – I even played it in Japanese with English subtitles to immerse myself in it more, but I just found it really tedious after about 15 hours. 

 

It really comes down to what you want from an open-world game I guess. For me, a sense of exploration is probably one of the most important things. I mean, that's the whole point, right? Otherwise, why not play something linear and structured, with a tight, compact story. Ghosts of Tsushima was an open (but empty) world – within a few hours, I realised the whole map was basically just fox dens, shrines and Haikus. The Samurai duels were fun, but other than that, there was literally zero incentive to wander around and explore. A question mark was always going to be another fox den. 

 

HFW was better in that respect, albeit only because it has slightly more things to do. Hunting grounds, relic ruins, cauldrons, the Arena, races, board games. I didn't enjoy them all – but they were all pretty different and interactive. That's one of the reasons I rate Elden Ring so highly. It was the first game that I'd played in a long time where I felt exploring your environment was actually exciting. You could find a build-breaking weapon or spell anywhere. Or stumble across a unique boss or a massive hidden area of the world. 

 

I agree on the combat being janky in HFW though. And there was definitely too much going on with the weapons – realistically, after testing everything out, I only used two or three weapon variants. Mostly the bows and spears. Everything else felt a bit unnecessary. 

 

I prefer Ghost of Tsushima to Horizon. I agree that it could probably take a page out of Horizon's book about restraint and reduce the repetition of activities, but from a mechanical standpoint Ghost of Tsushima is more enjoyable and its optional content rewards are superior in that they fundamentally change how you play the game. (The legendary duels, for instance, and their cool new abilities). 

 

Unlike Forbidden West, there's a lot of empty space in Tsushima which allows for me to just be in my thoughts from time to time. The activities, while repetitive,  are purposely simple and relaxing. Climbing some rocks just to give an offering to a shrine or doing a haiku poem were cathartic. This contrasted well against the chaos of war going on in the background. Personally, it was the perfect game to play during the height of the pandemic, especially after coming off the relentless bleakness of TLOU II. The Legends mode was also excellent - and I say that as someone who typically does not enjoy multiplayer modes/games. As for the story, it probably resonated with me more because it reminded me a lot of early Assassin’s Creed (you know, the good ones), but I’d agree that its characters are interchangeable due to a shared self-seriousness and lack of personality quirks. 

 

Oddly enough, what I liked about Horizon Forbidden West is the opposite. The map is very dense but all the activities are so engaging and, as you say, varied that it’s very difficult to make a beeline for the main quest without constantly getting distracted. But overall I still prefer GOT because it just “feels” better to play. For instance, you could take a climbing puzzle from GOT and put it in Forbidden West and it becomes infinitely worse because the climbing in Forbidden West is not intuitive. Movement in general doesn’t feel that good in Horizon due to all the environmental clutter which renders overridden mounts useless. For me, sometimes it’s not about what you do in the open world but how satisfying a game’s individual mechanics feel which is why I prefer, for instance, Ghost Recon Breakpoint to Ghost Recon Wildlands despite most people probably agreeing that the latter is far superior.

 

This is where Elden Ring comes in because not only is it mechanically solid but it’s one of the few open worlds since Skyrim that understands that the entire point of an open world is uncovering it. If everything is marked on the map from the start then the world loses its wonder and starts to feel more like a checklist of chores to complete. Its difficulty adds to that sense of exploration because each discovery has its own risk/reward factor that forces you to make choices as to how far down the rabbit hole you want to go for that reward. Then depending on how tough it is, this either pushes you to explore somewhere else or invites you to take the risk. And when that risk is paid off there’s no better feeling. Like you say, it really does come down to what each individual wants out of an open world but given how utterly eclipsed Horizon was by Elden Ring upon its release I think it’s clear where most fans of the open world genre are leaning currently.

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Vault-TecPhantom
missed word

[Finch_III]

7 hours ago, cobaltTangerine said:

 

I completely agree with you on Ghost of Tsushima. And I've yet to play Elden Ring. I'm still traumatized by Bloodborne. I think Days Gone is one of the most underrated open world games of recent memory. It does exploration very well. Mad Max is also very good, but it can get repetitive. And if you have a Switch, Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece. As for Assassins's Creed Odyssey, I find both Valhalla and especially Origins to be better experiences, so if you liked that one, those are also worth checking out.

 

Ah, it's interesting that you say that about Days Gone, because I really enjoyed it, but I actually thought the world was kinda empty in that too! I mean, it's an apocalypse scenario, so I sort of get it, but other than hordes and a few of those medi bunkers, there wasn't a tremendous amount to do out in the open world. What was it that you liked about the exploration in that? 

 

I'm not disputing it – it's been three years since I played it, so the details are hazy. But my memory was that it was a really fun game that could have done with a few more side quests and things to do in the environment. I remember the camps being especially empty/non-interactive. 

Honestly though, I forgive a lot in that game because I enjoyed the horde battles so much haha.  

3 hours ago, Vault-TecPhantom said:

 

I prefer Ghost of Tsushima to Horizon. I agree that it could probably take a page out of Horizon's book about restraint and reduce the repetition of activities, but from a mechanical Ghost of Tsushima is more enjoyable and its optional content rewards are superior in that they fundamentally change how you play the game. (The legendary duels, for instance, and their cool new abilities). 

 

Unlike Forbidden West, there's a lot of empty space in Tsushima which allows for me to just be in my thoughts from time to time. The activities, while repetitive,  are purposely simple and relaxing. Climbing some rocks just to give an offering to a shrine or doing a haiku poem were cathartic. This contrasted well against the chaos of war going on in the background. Personally, it was the perfect game to play during the height of the pandemic, especially after coming off the relentless bleakness of TLOU II. The Legends mode was also excellent - and I say that as someone who typically does not enjoy multiplayer modes/games. As for the story, it probably resonated with me more because it reminded me a lot of early Assassin’s Creed (you know, the good ones), but I’d agree that its characters are interchangeable due to a shared self-seriousness and lack of personality quirks. 

 

Oddly enough, what I liked about Horizon Forbidden West is the opposite. The map is very dense but all the activities are so engaging and, as you say, varied that it’s very difficult to make a beeline for the main quest without constantly getting distracted. But overall I still prefer GOT because it just “feels” better to play. For instance, you could take a climbing puzzle from GOT and put it in Forbidden West and it becomes infinitely worse because the climbing in Forbidden West is not intuitive. Movement in general doesn’t feel that good in Horizon due to all the environmental clutter which renders overridden mounts useless. For me, sometimes it’s not about what you do in the open world but how satisfying a game’s individual mechanics feel which is why I prefer, for instance, Ghost Recon Breakpoint to Ghost Recon Wildlands despite most people probably agreeing that the latter is far superior.

 

This is where Elden Ring comes in because not only is it mechanically solid but it’s one of the few open worlds since Skyrim that understands that the entire point of an open world is uncovering it. If everything is marked on the map from the start then the world loses its wonder and starts to feel more like a checklist of chores to complete. Its difficulty adds to that sense of exploration because each discovery has its own risk/reward factor that forces you to make choices as to how far down the rabbit hole you want to go for that reward. Then depending on how tough it is, this either pushes you to explore somewhere else or invites you to take the risk. And when that risk is paid off there’s no better feeling. Like you say, it really does come down to what each individual wants out of an open world but given how utterly eclipsed Horizon was by Elden Ring upon its release I think it’s clear where most fans of the open world genre are leaning currently.

 

 

Agree with a lot of this tbf, although I did prefer HFW over GoT. You've reminded me how annoying riding mounts was because they got stuck on everything. Ugh. I actually didn't use mounts until I could get the flying one, and that was super clunky too at points. 

I didn't play Legends in the end. In fact, I didn't get through any of the DLC because I was pretty tired of GoT after the platinum, so admittedly my opinions of the game are just from the base game (and thus a bit limited). 

 

[cobaltTangerine]

16 hours ago, Finch_III said:

Ah, it's interesting that you say that about Days Gone, because I really enjoyed it, but I actually thought the world was kinda empty in that too! I mean, it's an apocalypse scenario, so I sort of get it, but other than hordes and a few of those medi bunkers, there wasn't a tremendous amount to do out in the open world. What was it that you liked about the exploration in that? 

 

I'm not disputing it – it's been three years since I played it, so the details are hazy. But my memory was that it was a really fun game that could have done with a few more side quests and things to do in the environment. I remember the camps being especially empty/non-interactive. 

Honestly though, I forgive a lot in that game because I enjoyed the horde battles so much haha. 

 

I really like environmental storytelling and I thought Day's Gone did a good job with that. Being able to discover bits of events that took place in the past. Bethesda does a really good job with it, especially with the Fallout Games. So I really enjoyed exploring old houses where there are little bits of the family, such as kids toys there. Or a gas station where something terrible happened. Being from the US and it being more or less contemporary tech left behind, just very relatable and eerie.

 

As for the hordes, I think they should have given you a merchant end game that sold the components to craft weapons. I understand not doing it during normal play, but crafting some of the best weapons and devices for the horde battles was such a grind finding the rare components that I gave up on them, when they are one the best parts of the end game. Really sad they aren't making a new one.

[Vault-TecPhantom]

Hmm don’t know why but I’m finding Burning Shores to be such a chore.

Couldn’t get enough of the main game when I first played it but this DLC isn’t grabbing me and I feel really bored playing it. I find myself hitting the pause button and going on my phone frequently.

 

I had the same problem with Frozen Wilds but this DLC feels even more mediocre to me. Also, 20% of my time to start with was just re-learning the controls as I haven't played this sine launch, but even after learning them I’m no longer as immersed as I was. Something is missing and I can't put my finger on what it is.

[XXIIlII]

The gameplay is still boring ?

[Vault-TecPhantom]

15 hours ago, XXIIlII said:

The gameplay is still boring

 

It definitely doesn’t hold up as well on a repeat playthrough. I think that without the mystery of the story pulling you forward you realise that the gameplay is very baggy. I still enjoyed the ruins and cauldrons (even though Aloy spoiled most of it by shouting out the answers to puzzles) and I did find Ultra Hard playthrough fun as you actually had to engage your brain by planning ahead and thinking more carefully about the type of ammo you use. However, the side quest structure is terrible. They’re all near identical, full of padding and most of them don’t even involve that many machine encounters. 

 

Every side quest starts with Aloy pulling out her focus to actively scan for something. Usually it’s to highlight a track that will take you to a general area  where you have to search around with your focus again. I guess, the devs thinks it's being more engaging if you have to search for something in the area rather than just marking it on HUD. Kind of weird because the game is not  generally designed around player motivated discovery like, say Elden Ring. To only give the general area of something after already telling the player where to go on the map feels like a waste of time. You can’t even put on a podcast while doing the side quests because there are so many unnecessary character interactions that you have to actually pay attention. Other than the aforementioned  focus scanning  you often have to interact with audio logs then listen to them to completion so that Aloy can mutter something to herself for ages before the quest log will actually update. These are glorified cutscenes that should be skippable.

 

Even the quality-of-life patches around auto pick-up doesn’t mean much when 50% of resources are stored away in boxes that Aloy needs to bend over to loot constantly. Feels like a band-aid when the root of the problem is that the entire game is built around grinding and crafting which is a trap that I feel the first game manages to avoid.