Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores – Review
When Horizon: Forbidden West was released, few people thought it could top the original. What else could be added to this game when the universe was already established, fighting was thrilling, and exploring was fruitful? Wow, Guerrilla Games really pulled out an impressive sequel this time. Many people felt the same way when the DLC was introduced. Have you thought to yourself, “Will it be better than the base game?” It is, and it isn’t, depending on your perspective. The new DLC demonstrates that Guerrilla Games is building upon what has been successful in previous games, while also laying the groundwork for the next major release. In our review of Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores, we’ll fill you in.
If you are familiar with the game’s foundation, you may recognise the reference. Certainly, we won’t have our last encounter with Aloy here. For some players, the main game ended in a cliffhanger, leaving them worried about the world’s eventual fate. The growth begins with this urgent issue.
Sylens contacts you and tells you to meet him at the Burning Shores. You have been tasked with locating a second “ancestor” who vanished from Earth many years ago. Aloy quickly finds herself in a hopeless scenario after being dragged into another predicament. However, she, predictably, always finds a way out.
Seyka, a new character included in the DLC, becomes integral to the plot within the first few minutes or hours. She’s the type of person that can instantly bond with Aloy.
In addition, the Quen, who are linked to Londra, one of the best characters in the expansion and maybe the franchise as a whole, are given greater screen time. The post-apocalyptic depiction of Los Angeles was the best part of our playthrough, and these details help to flesh it out. Our review of Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores will go into greater detail on this topic.
While the plot is interesting, and you may find it even more so if you’ve recently completed the game, this DLC lays the groundwork for the next major release, which we hope won’t be too long in coming. There isn’t much to note, other than how it sets up the rest of the series. While we found the tale to be lacking a touch of depth, we expect aficionados of the genre to love it.
We hoped for a significant increase in combat with such a massive expansion. There are some new weapons and skills, but they don’t really stand out. If you’ve played the game from the beginning, you may already have a preferred playstyle down. The few combat-related additions made by the expansion could potentially undermine any changes made to the original. Even while we found the powers to be entertaining and helpful, we rarely used them.
However, the developers scored another home run with the game’s antagonists. The fundamental game features a wide variety of both impressive and frustrating mechanical foes. In the enlarged area, this also occurred. “We got a jumper!” Aloy exclaimed. That ought to give you some indication of the difficulties that may lie ahead. The uniqueness of the enemy machines is once again the best part. You’ll need to study their tactics to counter their new tricks. Scan them thoroughly before attempting to eliminate them, of course. Combat against machines becomes more difficult as the story progresses, so if you’ve just finished the main game, it’s best to complete each task at the recommended level.
It’s a shame that boss battles weren’t more enjoyable. Boss fight mechanics were dull, but the set pieces were still great. when’s why it came as such a shock when we preferred to battle machines in the overworld than bosses. Guerrilla Games should take note of this, as the expansion’s boss fights were tedious.
The exploration in Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores is its strongest feature. If you complete the main story, you will acquire the ability to fly, although by that point it will be rather late in the game. We wanted to be able to fly around here. Taking at this breathtaking view of Los Angeles from above made us reconsider selecting the fast transit option.
We anticipate that many players will achieve a 100% expansion completion rate because of how convenient and enjoyable travel is. No matter how far you travel by boat or plane, there will always be something new to see and do.
One of the most fascinating places we visited in the main game was the submerged portion of Las Vegas. Everything from the bright lights to the rocky landscape to the weathered buildings looks quite at home here. Guerrilla Games surprised us by improving upon our ideas.
The Burning Shores aren’t properly shown in the opening sequence or the trailers. To fully understand what we’re talking about, you’ll need to complete the main tale and regain your pilot skills. The interiors aren’t as impressive as the exteriors, yet everything works together beautifully. Flying low over the city, you can see its broad streets and the rubble of its once-mighty towers. The discovery of this oddly beautiful feature was a highlight of our time in the expanded region.
The game’s technological aspects continue to make it a top choice for the PS5. Still, a few things were apparent. Some textures took a bit to load when in the air, but this was also a problem at launch, and was addressed in subsequent patches. The longer it took to load, the deeper we went into the expansion, which was another thing we noticed. Previously, the game would take 15–20 seconds to boot, but now it only takes a few seconds. Probably not a huge change, but still worth mentioning.
The audio is still among the game’s strongest points. Use 3D audio if it’s available on your headphones; you’ll be glad you did. The sound design is a work of genius, and we appreciate it very much.
This downloadable material isn’t the best expansion, but it does provide sufficient value for the cost. The story may not be as good as the original game, but it lays the groundwork for future installments. The best part of this new DLC, and the thing we enjoyed the most during our Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores review, is the art style, which is still on spot. This is an absolute must-have for any gamer. Since it does not significantly improve combat or gameplay, you may want to hold off till it goes on sale.
