Couldn't get into the story...

[saiyanbloodstyle]

First of all this is a fantastic game and really enjoyed playing it but the story is just really boring and uninteresting, actually this was the case for the first game too where i couldn't get into it.

 

What kept me playing though was the fantastic gameplay and graphics, beautiful world to explore but shame about the story, i wanted to get into it but i guess not for me.

[JAK-KRIEG]

For me it's aloy and the story, i find her extremely boring and annoying with her constant muttering to herself. The gameplay and graphics i can't complain about. I don't know why i bought forbidden west when i wasn't a fan of zero Dawn. Maybe I'm an optimist and I was hoping this would be better but it's just as disappointing.

[You]

That's funny because I've a few friends who have this game, keep recommending me to play it and even they said they hate the main character and the story was boring.

 

I guess actually that doesn't matter at all, the gameplay is just THAT good. Elden Ring on the other hand is even weirder because the "story" is very vague indeed and since the story is mostly told my NPCs just talking at you whilst you run around the room doing a roly poly into nearby bookcases (or whatever happens to be nearby) waiting for the conversation to end, you can theoretically be a Knight In Shining Armour or some Cheddar Cheese On Stilts since you're technically just an NPC witnessing all the action and not really part of the story.

 

As long as the gameplay is good in any game though right? I'm pretty sure nobody plays Double Dragon, Streets Of Rage or even Tetris for the "story".

[zizimonster]

1 hour ago, saiyanbloodstyle said:

First of all this is a fantastic game and really enjoyed playing it but the story is just really boring and uninteresting, actually this was the case for the first game too where i couldn't get into it.

 

What kept me playing though was the fantastic gameplay and graphics, beautiful world to explore but shame about the story, i wanted to get into it but i guess not for me.

 

Pretty much what I experienced in Zero Dawn. I wasn't engaged with the story at all.

[iBroke-Bad]

For me it felt like basically the same story as in part one. Even some missions were the same

[tonkie18]

I’m so glad other people have said this as I was really underwhelmed with the game and it was such a slog to get through it. I thought it was because I had not long completed Zero Dawn - which I had enjoyed, but maybe just too much Aloy in one year. 
 

I found the story boring, Aloy annoyed me a lot at times and it was just exhausting to get through it. Still have to complete the DLC ?

 

I had originally planned to complete it and sell it on while I could still get a bit of money for it - PS5 discs are expensive. But have to keep it until I do the DLC and just can’t face the boredom with it again just yet.

[sepheroithisgod]

You are not alone, it takes hours for the story to pick up, and by that time, it wasn't enough to save the game from the exposition dump NPCs. Aloy is probably the most boring protagonist to come from a 1st party game. They really nailed the gameplay and visuals, which just exacerbates the story problems because they stand out more.

 

Kinda wish I could play as Sylons instead, he is far more interesting than Aloy.

[Sikutai]

23 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

Aloy is probably the most boring protagonist to come from a 1st party game. 

That's right, she is kind of smooth, boring. It wasn't just her though, while HZD is one of my favorite games that I devoured in one sitting, in HFW I had to force myself to reach the ending. With lots of breaks.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Sikutai

[Helyx]

38 minutes ago, Sikutai said:

That's right, she is kind of smooth, boring. It wasn't just her though, while HZD is one of my favorite games that I devoured in one sitting, in HFW I had to force myself to reach the ending. With lots of breaks.

 

Agreed. Zero Dawn was a great game (even though it didn't do anything new), and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. Forbidden West was just a complete chore from the beginning and never came close to being as enjoyable as HZD or any other open-world adventure game I've played.

 

I found myself speaking to the TV telling Aloy to "shut up you dumb bitch and climb the mountain already". Which was kinda frustrating, since the climbing and traversal mechanics weren't polished and there were all these added animations that tried to add immersion but really did just the opposite. I was glad when the platinum was done, but now I need to find the strength to go back for the NG+ DLC.

[Conor]

Overall I liked this better than the first game in terms of both story and gameplay. The beginning could have been better but I loved how hard it leaned into the sci-fi elements that were only subtly present in the original, so I'm very perplexed by people saying that it feels like more of the same when the narrative paths are so radically different. Aside from the beginning my only real gripe with it was that it kind of felt it was setting up for a grand finale of a third title a little too much than fully commit to being its own thing. I certainly didn't find it boring at all so I'm surprised to hear folks saying that but hey there's nothing out there that suits absolutely everyone. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Stan Lee

[ArtMontef]

I completely agree with everyone here. 

 

I have few theories about why this games story is not too good. First- Aloy is too bland. She worked fine in Zero Dawn because her motivation as an outcast was okay, and also as not knowledgeable outcast she was a good vehicle for player to slowly understand the world. She learned stuff along the player. She is so uninteresting in Forbidden West, literally she cannot be described in more than few words "She is brave, redhead, athletic and determined", that's all, she has no more personality, quirks or deeper story than that  

Also in many games there are two layers of story, one layer being some big threat like saving the world, something with huge stakes and second layer being some personal growth and smaller more character driven story, that more personal story is really lacking here. I know they tried to make it work with Aloy/Beta but that plot was really undercooked. 

 

Last thing is that I think they shot themselves in the foot with art design in character department. Character designs are gorgeous, unique, and deserve all the praise from artistic standpoint, but goddamn all characters look exactly the same. I literally cannot remember any side characters from that game, they all blend together in my mind because of similar facepaints, colors etc. While there are NPCs in games I have played years ago that I still remember vividly ?

[The Alchemist]

The story was fine for the first two-thirds of the game, but that ending... yeesh. It went from sci-fi but still kinda plausible to just waaaaay out there, as if the writers were smoking crack or something. Thankfully the rest of the game is so good that the ending didn't ruin my overall experience, but it left me not looking forward to the direction of the story in the inevitable third installment. 

 

IMO the story in this was always going to be difficult to pull off after Zero Dawn. What I loved so much about Zero Dawn was the mystery. There was so much buildup to finally discovering what Zero Dawn was, I was completely engrossed in it from beginning to end in a way that few games have ever captured my attention. The collectibles which acted as additional bits of lore were so incredibly well done as well. They are by far one of the best examples of collectibles done well ever seen in a game. 

 

Forbidden West retained those collectibles and bits of lore, which was great, and in virtually every other way, especially gameplay, is better than Zero Dawn... except for the story. Apart from the ending, it wasn't terrible, but it just didn't capture me in the same way. I actually found Aloy to be a little boring this time, which didn't help matters. I think she sounded very monotone and disinterested throughout the game. I know Ashly Burch is a phenomenal voiceover actress, but I really didn't feel her performance in this. I think the story overall was a little boring, especially compared to Zero Dawn. Thankfully, the game absolutely excels in other areas which helps to cover up the weak story. 

[poetic_justice_]

On 7/20/2022 at 8:00 AM, The Alchemist said:

IMO the story in this was always going to be difficult to pull off after Zero Dawn. What I loved so much about Zero Dawn was the mystery. There was so much buildup to finally discovering what Zero Dawn was.

 

 The collectibles which acted as additional bits of lore were so incredibly well done as well. They are by far one of the best examples of collectibles done well ever seen in a game. 

 

Agreed. The slowly answered mystery of "What is Zero Dawn?" was so well done in Horizon Zero Dawn that when the definitive conversation between Elizabet Sobeck and Ted Faro occurred in the tower hologram, I was floored. I didn't know how Horizon Forbidden West could pull off another mysterious story as engaging as the first. Guerilla Games definitely tried, and they pulled out the stops with an amazing cast of voice actors, but the story couldn't stick the landing. There are too many plotholes, questions left unanswered, actions don't make any sense, and many of the characters devolved into two-dimensional representatives of their former selves. 

 

I have to say though, I love the Tenakth. Regalla and Kotallo were two of the best characters, and part of that was they had very clear motivations which remained consistent throughout the entire game. SPOILER: If you choose to spare Regalla at the end of Wings of the Ten and talk to her in the server room of your base before going on the final main mission Singularity, Aloy can ask Regalla why she did what she did. Regalla's explanation of her motivations clarifies exactly why she is so hellbent on destroying the Carja and any Tenakth who ally with them. Regalla has nothing left to lose; the Carja brutally forced her to become what she is.

 

I found Regalla's story far more interesting than Erik and Gerard, campy villains who are jerks just because they can be. If Regalla had killed the Zeniths and taken their weapons and tech to slaughter Hekarro and the Carja, that could have improved the story. If Aloy had been incapacitated or her fate after Gemini was unknown and we got to play as Varl or Erend for awhile, that could have helped the story. Tilda was interesting at first, but how things ended felt forced and cliche. In the end, the story felt like a lot of talking heads, and I don't think Aloy had an actual character arc. Zo had an arc, Kotallo had an arc, Varl was always Varl, Erend had a self-pity arc, and Sylens was his usual scheming self. Aloy didn't grow as a character; she stayed the same. Ashly Burch was amazing with the script she had, but the script wasn't that great. Okay, but not great.

[AvengedEvil]

I always thought I couldn't get into to story because I haven't played Zero Dawn. Guess I was wrong after reading all these comments.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like this game. Graphics are awesome and exploring the world is amazing. It's just the main story that is meh.

[saiyanbloodstyle]

Going by all the replies, i'm not the only one then that's good, mainly just thought it was me but seems a lot agree that it wasn't that good.

[Lord_Mgolivets]

It’s ok to don’t like a game, don’t be hard on yourself because of that. You are entitled to your opinion, your personal view of the world and no one can force you to like something, even if the whole world say otherwise 

[Janire1911]

I absolutely loved HZD and I still think Aloy is a great protagonist but I have to agree that the story in HFW was a bit of a disappointment. After HZD it just felt a bit mundane and there really weren't any 'wow!' moments like in the first game. Also the reveal at the end was too 'science-fictiony' for my liking but I'm still interested to see where they take the story in the next game. Overall I still liked the game, the combat is still very fun and satisfying. I actually liked NG+ on Ultra Hard more than my first playthrough on Normal as I found the combat to be a bit too easy. When I did my PS4 playthrough I started on Hard and that was much better.

[Boorish]

I feel Aloy's is written just fine, but a lot of people not liking her comes from the fact that she is not voiced well consistently. He has some great moments but it's not smooth throughout. I know the VA is great, and she did a great job with Beta, but Aloy just sounds more like a narrator than a character. Also it doesn't help when she is constantly spoiling puzzles for you which sounds condescending at times.

[YorkyPuds]

The story is weak compared to Zero Dawn. In Zero Dawn, I watched every cut scene intently, read every piece of law, and couldn't wait to pop all the trophies for the platinum.

Forbidden West has seen me skipping some scenes, skimming through the lore, and I don't know if I can be bothered mopping up the trophies I missed during my playthrough. I was actually relieved when it was over. It's still a good game, but it's not a patch on the original.

[craig_obviously]

I enjoy the combat... but some things just don't make sense.. the end of the world is coming but somehow she finds the time to race and play machine strike, overall the story was much weaker than the first, if not just right out there...

[Asimb0mb]

Idk I think the story of both games is pretty dope. The direction the story goes in Forbidden West is fascinating and totally unexpected after Zero Dawn.

 

However, the characters are so insanely boring and uninteresting. Especially Aloy. I couldn't care less about a certain big character's death in FW for that exact reason.

[lostforever77]

On 20.7.2022 at 0:03 PM, saiyanbloodstyle said:

First of all this is a fantastic game and really enjoyed playing it but the story is just really boring and uninteresting, actually this was the case for the first game too where i couldn't get into it.

 

What kept me playing though was the fantastic gameplay and graphics, beautiful world to explore but shame about the story, i wanted to get into it but i guess not for me.

Then why bother with the second game?

[saiyanbloodstyle]

On 15/08/2022 at 4:50 PM, lostforever77 said:

Then why bother with the second game?

Because i like to be fair and give games a proper chance instead of playing it for an hour and calling it trash, its a good game, just not story-wise.

Edited August 16, 2022 by saiyanbloodstyle

[lostforever77]

On 16.8.2022 at 2:18 PM, saiyanbloodstyle said:

Because i like to be fair and give games a proper chance instead of playing it for an hour and calling it trash, its a good game, just not story-wise.

It is though, you just couldn't get into it

[zXShermanXz]

My biggest problem with this game, I think, was a lack of diversity. I just felt like you had more to do in the first game. There were far less cauldrons, no corruption zones, and side quests, while plentiful, consisted of going to place for person, or thing, and killing the machines around said person or thing. Just dont think this one had much variety. 

 

As far as Aloy goes, I would say in the first one she at least had some growth. Shunned by the village, learning who she is, learning the tech, etc. In this one, there is nothing. Aloy the stoic hero from start to finish. Nothing to expand on, or be interested in. 

 

Best part about the entire game was the views youd get from jumping off the peak of a mountain and gliding down. I had some hope when you got the storm bird and could pick up the canisters thinking it would add dimension to combat...HA! If you've never tried it, its garbage. Stuns the enemies just like any weapon would do, but by the time you get to the ground they are already back up. Doesnt even take any of their health really.