With Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition now officially confirmed to storm its way onto PC in enhanced form next month, it’s worth remembering the myriad of ways that Guerrilla Games’ superb open-world sequel improves upon its much-celebrated predecessor. So to break this all down, here are ten meaningful ways in which Horizon Forbidden West improves upon Horizon Zero Dawn.
A Much More Varied Game World
To say that the story of Horizon Forbidden West takes Aloy places would be something of an understatement indeed. Unfolding across the titular Forbidden West, Aloy’s second adventure has our flame-haired protagonist leaping, shooting and smashing her way through all manner of arid deserts, long-lost underwater kingdoms, sandy tropical beaches and of course the same sort of lush forests, jungles and snow-capped peaks that were such a staple of Horizon Zero Dawn. Add in the entirely new region of the Burning Shores that is automatically bundled in with Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition, which itself boasts an almost otherworldly beauty to add to the proceedings, and it’s clear that Guerrilla’s sequel greatly expands the scope of Aloy’s world and then some.
Soaring Through The Skies
As part of that much more varied game world, Horizon Forbidden West now allows players to not just tame machines that can be found stomping around on the ground as seen in Horizon Zero Dawn, but they can also soar through the skies on the back of a tamed Sunwing; a graceful airborne machine that Aloy can use to cover great distances very quickly. Along with the improved underwater traversal, this helps to make the exploration throughout the world of Horizon Forbidden West feel more free and expansive than its predecessor ever managed to achieve.
Greatly Improved Visuals
While there’s no doubt that Horizon Zero Dawn is a resoundingly handsome effort, it’s also clear that Horizon Forbidden West elevates the visual presentation side of things even further. Not only is the game world more densely detailed with sizable upticks in lighting, shadows and reflection work; but the character models have also seen a massive improvement, boasting much more detailed skin, facial animation and lip-syncing. Indeed, it’s really in the numerous real-time cutscenes that these much-improved character models are noticeable. Thanks to a more comprehensive suite of motion capture, characters move and react in a fashion that is much more lifelike compared to what was accomplished in Horizon Zero Dawn. Also, the Burning Shores expansion just so happens to have the best clouds of any video game in recent years to boot.
More Refined Climbing
Though climbing and leaping from place to place was already the done thing in Horizon Zero Dawn and very enjoyable, its sequel takes it all a bit further. Not only does the world design lend itself to more verticality in Horizon Forbidden West, but the UI has also been helpfully tweaked to make those crucial hand-holds and points of interaction in the scenery that much more noticeable when compared to the previous game.
Revamped Swimming
In Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy’s interactions with bodies of water were pretty much limited to just being able to swim across them, rather than permitting anything more sophisticated. For the sequel though, Aloy can now fully dive into bodies of water, which in turn greatly increases the game world that is available for exploration and also by proxy, the possibilities for exploration that are on offer. Not only can Aloy explore the briny depths of the Forbidden West, but her machine adversities can too, resulting in the sort of underwater scraps that just weren’t possible in the first game.
The Extremely Useful Shieldwing Glider
Speaking of traversal, another massive advantage that Horizon Forbidden West has over it’s predecessor is the addition of the Shieldwing Glider. An energy-powered glider that Aloy can trigger as soon as she leaps from a height, the Shieldwing Glider enables Aloy to avoid falling damage entirely and also cover a significant distance in the process. Beyond its basic traversal applications, the Shieldwing Glider also provides stealthy attackers with a unique opportunity, as it allows Aloy to quite literally drop in on her foes and take them by surprise.
How The Pullcaster Improves Traversal
If you thought that the Shieldwing Glider was the sole extent of new gadgets that would be aiding Aloy around the Forbidden West, you would be mistaken – she can also get her hands on the Pullcaster. Essentially a hook shot-style device, the Pullcaster isn’t just used to pull stubborn grates free or grab loot that would normally be just out of reach. It can also be used to propel Aloy at high speed toward certain areas of the map that would otherwise prove inaccessible. A veritable swiss-knife of usefulness you might say.
The Spear Resonator Blast System
One of the biggest additions that Horizon Forbidden West brings to the combat side of things is the new spear Resonator Blast system, which elevates Aloy’s trusty spear to one of the most useful weapons in her entire arsenal. Once the player has inflicted sufficient successive melee hits on an enemy the spear will become supercharged in a blue hue, at which point a well-timed heavy strike will place a resonance orb upon Aloy’s enemy. If this orb is shot with an arrow, this causes a Resonator Blast which in turn creates a devastating amount of explosive damage. Brilliantly, this Resonator Blast system is hugely satisfying not just because of the huge damage it kicks out, but also because it encourages the player to more freely mix-up their melee and ranged attacks in turn.
Additional Skill Trees
Horizon Zero Dawn has always been noted for the creative latitude that it affords to players, in particular when it comes to creating a specific functional build for Aloy that maps against their preferred playstyle. Horizon Forbidden West expands upon that notion by introducing an additional two skill trees which in turn provide a wealth of new abilities and specialisations for players to embrace in line with their chosen style of play.
The Valor Surge Mechanic
Another sizable addition to the core formula established in Horizon Zero Dawn is the new Valor Surge mechanic. Embedded into each of the skill trees that Aloy has access to, Valor Surges are cooldown-based powers that provide Aloy with a temporary boost to either defence, healing, attack power, melee power and more depending on the tree. Often capable of turning the tide of a challenging battle, Valor Surges aren’t just useful at getting Aloy out of a jam, but they also happen to look rather cool too thanks to a neat little animation that plays out each time one is activated.
Shop Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition PC
So, now you know just how far Horizon Forbidden West builds upon its predecessor, it’s time to take the plunge and pick up Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition over on our Green Man Gaming store. Feel like you need to start things from the beginning? We have you covered there too with Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edtion available.
