The Overlooked Success of Horizon Forbidden West | A Complete Analysis & Critique

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A Critical Analysis of Burning Shores
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As Always Podcast W/ Matty
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Four Pillars Horizon FW Spoiler-cast
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My Girlfriend's Twitch
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Odyssey Broke Me
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When I talked about 'The Ten' I said they served in Enduring Victory when it was actually the Hot Zone Crisis, because I'm an idiot.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
03:24 - Forbidden West As a Sequel
05:25 - The World
06:06 - Exploration
16:56 - Side Content
17:18 - Side Quests & Errands
20:53 - Bandit Camps & Outposts
22:11 - Tallnecks, Cauldrons, Relics & Supplementary Content
25:14 - Collectibles
27:39 - Machine Strike
28:20 - Combat
32:40 - Melee Combat
34:36 - Abilities
35:16 - Levelling & Progression
36:27 - Gear & Crafting
38:00 - End of Part 1
39:40 - Aloy As a Character & Her Arc (Spoilers)
1:09:21 - The Main Narrative & Hints of the Future (Spoilers)
1:21:53 - Conclusion
1:23:33 - Finale edit (Spoilers)
1:24:29 - Outro
#HorizonForbiddenWest #Critique #LazerzZ

[@midnightsp2762]

Amazing video! I actually didn’t mind the direction they went with Ted Faro’s fate. The data you can find in Thebes and a display that Aloy sees at one point seem to imply that the immortality treatments didn’t just turn Ted into a random monster, but into one giant cancerous tumor that may be sustaining itself on the energy created by the bunker’s geothermal reactor. I think it’s kind of poetic that the embodiment of corporate greed was transformed into a literal cancer feeding on the earth’s energy.

[@madcat1865]

Exactly like the Faro plague

[@hereticminiatures2555]

Totally agree… I just wish we got to see what he had become and his demise. Killing him offscreen is really my only major beef with H:FW.

[@webhead4414]

I just wish it had more impact. After all Ted Faro was such an integral person to the game's lore. Not just because of his involvement with the Faro Plague but his actions afterwards, this guy destroyed Apollo and with it ALL the knowledge that mankind has EVER learned. He singlehandedly not only destroyed civilisation but when there was just a chance to continue the human species he sent us back to primitive tribalism. So the big shock twist that he's actually still alive all this time (sort of) just ended as soon as you found him. Felt anticlimactic and ultimately had no impact.

[@crimsonking440]

I thought that was the implication they were intending. I made the same face as Aloy when she looked at the display. Honestly I didn't think there was any other way to take it.

[@thetruecrystalvixen]

I honestly hoped that Faro was conscious, the bastard robbed Humanity of itself, of its history, of its future, he deserved the time to lament or think about what he had done (more likely he would have been angry and self-centred). The only good thing that may have come from his mess against the world was Aloy. With how certain people in the second game were villains, Aloy was needed, so the loss of the world might have not had her if the Faro problem had been solved.

[@garyjorgensen992]

Okay, when Aloy first called Beta her sister I actually yelled. I admit, I fangirled really hard because I was getting frustrated at how Aloy couldn’t empathize with Beta’s circumstances. But that connection they got before Gemini and kept building was just 👨‍🍳💋

[@billyg9306]

Loved the character build

[@MetalGildarts]

S tier moment. I fanboyed so hard.

[@johnnyflannigan136]

Alloys reaction to beta was exactly how I would have reacted. Imagine youre a strong fearless person willing to do whatever it takes to save the world then you meet a clone of yourself who instead of sharing your determination is a whiny coward.. It would be very hard to deal with.

[@sammiehopkins9408]

When she first met Beta, I instantly called her Aloy's sister (it just made sense), but I stopped once she and Beta weren't getting along (honestly I didn't want to talk to her either). So when Aloy herself finally called Beta her sister I damn near broke into tears

[@princssnasty]

@@johnnyflannigan136yeah agreed it’s just that aloy came to understand that beta WASN’T a ‘whiny coward’, that was simply the inevitable effect of having experienced nothing but trauma isolation and powerlessness her entire life, as opposed to aloy who was supported and empowered to take control of her own destiny from a very early age.

[@TheSmeltork]

The Horizon franchise even with just two games, is already maybe my favorite game franchise. The story and lore are probably my favorite science fiction story in any medium. Great video. Subscribed.

[@vikaskumarpatel5017]

I have never played The Witcher and The Witcher 2 but The Witcher 3 is still my favorite game of all time. Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West are the only games where I expect something from them. Otherwise, I'm just enjoying the story in other games. No story engages me more than this. The world design and the past of this story intrigues me a lot. I want to see what happened. How the world actually finished in video form. I was really expecting people to be alive in the mountains in the first game. I'm in the first few missions of the Forbidden West. I hope this game delivers in story. I'll watch this video after I complete the game.he games

[@cinemapigeon4898]

I think Mass Effect is best science fiction in video games, but Horizon is right behind.

[@phil_5430]

@@vikaskumarpatel5017 You should definitely try Witcher 1 & 2 then. Each game has kinda a very unique approach. I love the third entry in the series but surprisingly Witcher 1 is my favorite game because of the very dark, gritty and depressing atmosphere. You can literally feel the dirt in this game. Also this game has the best alchemy part in the series. Sure its not the best when it comes to graphics and its very rough around the edge (especially character models) but it looks good enough. Witcher 2 was HEAVILY inspired by the Dark Souls hype. Its very punishing in the begining and it can be difficult to understand the combat. But it has very nice areas to explore and still looks very pretty. Unfortenately the last chapter is very disappointing. Still very good game!

[@Sparkball]

@@vikaskumarpatel5017 read the books, they’re great!

[@LH-iz1ul]

Guess you're easy to please

[@Mystic.Outlaw]

Bro, this game literally improves on everything in hzd, I MEAN EVERYTHING. Horizon Forbidden West is of my favorite games!!!

[@Bateluer]

Seconding. HFW is a model on how you do a sequel.

[@Mystic.Outlaw]

@@Bateluer exactly 💯

[@blususpect]

Facts

[@rolandngom5080]

Except the most important part the story, the main story is lackluster

[@Bateluer]

@@rolandngom5080 Main story was excellent.

[@nbonasoro]

It's so nice to see someone write this love letter to a game that means so much to me and I enjoyed so much. I love your point about Aloy being better than Elisabet. I realized the parallel the game is drawing. Elisabet gave up on her current time but when Aloy is put in a similar situation with a similar technological foe much worse than the faro plague and Aloy's far fewer resources, she decides to save her current civilization and win.

[@nbonasoro]

As a side note, AC Valhalla deserves so much more hate than odyssey. I still go back and play Odyssey because I love the combat.

[@darkmaster2887]

Horizon Forbidden West is overrated, mediocre garbage. Elden Ring is way better, cry more 🤡

[@nbonasoro]

@@darkmaster2887 How sad your life must be to get enjoyment out of telling people something they like is undeserving of their praise. I feel sorry for you.

[@haarisbutt2075]

@@darkmaster2887 I mean, I do like Elden Ring more than Forbbiden West, but its by no means overrated

[@banhbae]

@@darkmaster2887 you're just crawling through these replies, begging for attention, huh? behavior fitting of a little boy who thought "darkmaster28" was a good idea. touch grass lmao

[@loganponthier3119]

You’re right, I’m tired of seeing people say every game’s map should be like BOTW or Elden Ring. Not every game needs it because it doesn’t fit with every game. I think the Horizon system versus the Skyrim-style system versus the Elden Ring system is what keeps games interesting in terms of open-world design. They do not need to all be the same, the problem is when a game uses the wrong style of Map discovery for its game, i.e. the new style of AC games.

[@jhoanmolina1822]

You absolutely right bro. And lowkey horizon is better than both those games

[@nezarecdiscipleofthewitnes3823]

@@jhoanmolina1822 I understand that it's your opinion but... Your opinion is trash, horizon FW could never be better than BOTW or Elden Ring and even Skyrim

[@Orangecataura]

@@nezarecdiscipleofthewitnes3823 Good mentality there, How'd Kindergarten go today lil' one?

[@mogy7331]

@@nezarecdiscipleofthewitnes3823 aww what a cute little thought you have there

[@davidneraas750]

There should at least be an option to turn off map icons or question marks so that players can have the experince they want. My all time favourite game openworld game the witcher 3 has that option and its a day and night difference when you have the option to turn off question mark icons and being able to toggle the minimap on and off. Its so much more immersive to stumble upon an area or see something interesting in the distance like a castle ruin or tower or whatever in game than to see a question mark or even worse a icon symbol indicating what the location is. I totally understand that some players just want to rush through everything checking the boxes ubisoft assinscreed style and thats fine as long there is an option to play in a more immersive way for others who want to discover things organically ingame.

[@kikijewell2967]

Whoa wait, Tilda's whole shtick is that she can distinguish false art copies. Aloy is.....A COPY of Elizabet! (So is Beta.) In Tilda's room at the Base, she chose to hang the _fake_ copy of the dual paintings of the woman with the letter - perhaps indicating that she prefers Aloy to Elizabet???????

[@barbarar2216]

Not only that, it was HORRIBLE when the time came to reveal what she really wanted and she didn't even look at Beta, i guess she considered she was the fake and saw in Aloy the 'original'

[@ChucklesMcChuckleson]

She does prefer Aloy, she says as much. She says something like "you're Elisbet, with a splash of color. Her best self" Her way of saying Aloy is more attractive to her - younger, more beautiful, more skilled, while still maintaining all the intelligence that Elisbet had. Beta, to Tilda, was spoiled fruit because the other Zeniths had messed her up too much and she wasn't strong enough to save her. That same guilt pushes her to help Aloy. Tilda is a manipulator and a narcissist, but I also felt her pain a bit. After a thousand years, you return to earth and there's a younger clone of your true love who was raised in a harder enviorment, and who has more skills and maybe even more passion. I wouldn't want to give her up either. The Zeniths have all this technology, but they don't have any way to satisfy that need for human connection.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@ChucklesMcChuckleson One thing i loved about Tilda's twist was that the game didnt feel scared to make its final villian a Lesbian. There is nothing wrong with having LGBT Villians so long as they are presented realistically, and Tilda was. She really saw Earth as doomed and escaping with Aloy and the recoveredAncient Human Technology was the only way for Humanity to survive.

[@Weissman111]

@@jakespacepiratee3740 I'm struggling to see where that comes from. During Tilda's conversation with Aloy, when asked what Elisabet was like, Tilda replied that she "didn't really know" and descirbed it as a "friendship" - an odd way to describe a romantic relationship. Also, sexual preference is not genetic, so even though Aloy is a clone of Elisabet there's no reason to believe that she would be the same. Given Aloy's sheltered upbringing, I'd have expected her to be somewhat nieve - this can be seen when Avad and Erend make advances - Aloy doesn't twig what's happening. To me, that's what makes the end of Burning Shores a bit odd - especially the romance option. Aloy has only know Seyka for a short period of time, yet is suddenly open to a romantic relationship - it seems a bit forced. However, given that the choice at the end only affects the cut-scene that plays, the next episode will either have to ignore it completely or cement the relationship in place, which kind of makes the choice redundant - they may as well have just made the choice for the player and be done with it.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@Weissman111 Tilda and Elisabet never had a relationship, but i think its heavily impied by the end that she wanted to. Feelings might have grown over time. A friendship might have become an infatuation after realizing she had died, and Aloy reopened that old wound. We know that Aloy is a genetic copy of Elisabet, so maybe she had the capacity to be Lesbian but never considered it because of how busy she was?

[@retardedpoptart123]

I think something that supplements Aloy's 'its gotta be just me' stance at the beginning of the game is heavily reliant on at least two separate instances: the respoonse of the Nora tribe when she emerges from All-Mother Mountain and the treatment of CYAN in Frozen Wilds. In both cases, the tribes are heavily invested in the dogma they have created to explain the world around them, and are resistant to Aloy's attempts to tell them what is actually going on - they simply don't have the necessary background in exploring Metal World ruins or use of a Focus like Aloy does to be able to comprehend the difference between an AI and a god. She gives up on the idea of the people she knows being willing to appreciate her worldview rather than the one they already have, and so abandons them. She tried again to expand Varl's viewpoint by giving him a Focus and telling him about GAIA, but he decides that GAIA is simply the true name of the All-Mother, and so Aloy gives up and abandons him once more. She is also not a fan of the limelight, probably as a result of being outcast, and so hates being called both the Anointed and the Savior, which also feeds into her self-isolation.

[@XautnisLeonhart]

I was super late to the horizon hype, but when I finally started playing, oh my GOD!!! I became super invested in the series and absolutely LOVED them! Especially the Old Ones/past connections with Elizabet and faro *cough cough, the murderous, cowardly, and selfish bastard who destroyed the world TWICE*, and Aloy's adventures and emotions. When I finally dipped my toe in the water, I NEVER expected I'd be so blown away by the post post apocalyptic world of horizon or the stories of the newest chapter of horizon. I want to know how things will go in the third (final?) game SO bad!!

[@Szalamandra1]

@@darkmaster2887 Elden ring is more popular because it came out on PC and Xbox(?) as well. Horizon Forbidden West is a Playstation exclusive currently. And this game isn't a joke. You can keep your own opinion, but this game is a masterpiece.

[@JohnWickWitStix]

I really hope the third game isn’t the final game. Hfw turned into my favorite game ever

[@MetalGildarts]

Same!

[@shadowedskies9955]

Watching through this, I was like "yes, this" all throughout, you just put all my thoughts about this game in words. Many people say that HFW isn't as good as HZD because it didn't have all that mystery about discovering what happened to the old world and all that stuff, but honestly I kinda disagree with that, because what made HZD so good for me was Aloy's journey of self-discovery, not the other stuff mentioned. And as you said, that's what I liked about HFW, it didn't try to recreate all that because it simply wasn't the point, the point was continuing Aloy's story, that story being Aloy figuring out her identity and how to be her own person (besides saving the world and all that lol).

[@LazerzZ]

So glad it resonated with you! I love HFW more and more as time goes by

[@necrophage12]

It always seemed strange to me that so many complained about "too much pointless dialogue" I liked the dialogue here. Granted the one thing I would improve/change is have more of the NPCs go through some personal struggle and growth throughout the game it did feel like Aloy was really the only person that had a character arc... and Beta.

[@bohammondlee7472]

Gamers are going to fuck around and start getting every game with no icon no voice actors and they going to go ahead and complain about that too.

[@darknesswave100]

I've never really understood the concept of too much dialogue in a story driven game. People's attention spans are so pathetically short nowadays that they can't appreciate a world like what's in the horizon games. It's sad honestly

[@ziyingc]

Varl i think, he had a huge character development across hzd and hfw. And Erend arc is in hzd solely. in hfw he is just comedy relief. if you play burning shores. sylens

[@sir-dame-sander]

“pointless dialogue” is such a crazy thing to say as well when you quite literally get to choose the amount of dialogue that you want to hear

[@glassgutta9112]

I really think everyone should try out the higher difficulty’s in this game. It really elevates the combat. I tried both, and on the higher difficulty’s it forces you to think creative and makes every fight a boss fight.

[@maineman5757]

I played the whole game on hardest. It starts to feel like playing Monster Hunter at times things get so tanky. NGL i did drop it as low as possible for the trials and for grinding parts.

[@glassgutta9112]

@@maineman5757 True, i did lower it in the trails. It felt a little unbalanced when you had a timer.

[@lshe97]

Just finished my playthrough on Normal and while I do agree with your point as I wish I had played on Hard - considering I literally only ever used the Hunter and Sharpshot bows with minimal usage of elemental arrows and only really had problems with the final boss - I do wonder what exactly you mean by this. Obviously, you said the difficulty "forces you to think creative" but that many different factors could contribute to this. To clarify, there are many ways through which difficulty can elevate combat but my #1 favourite way is that instead of just upping enemy damage and HP (or something similar), the difficulty is centered around the enemy AI - i.e. its no longer "held back" like in the normal difficulties but continuously gets smarter the higher up the difficulty scale you go (e.g. The Last of Us Part 2) - which more-or-less forces you to use every tool at your disposal; again, this is not something you do because *THE NUMBERS* dictate it, but rather because your enemy actually adapts to your actions, dynamically changing tactics to ones more appropriate for dealing with... say, a conflicted yet unstoppable trap-maker of a lesbian hiding in the grass with a bow.

[@jo0rd73]

@@lshe97 It buffs the HP as well as make the enemy AI more intelligent and aggressive. Scorchers are absolute nightmares on the hardest difficulty!

[@darkmaster2887]

Horizon players are losers who play on easiest difficulty 🤡

[@Matt7R]

HFW is one of the greatest sequels ever made. So much love was poured into every inch of the game. It is utterly enthralling. Playing through this was like the first time I saw Avengers Endgame.

[@druid3040]

Finding the note on the island made me cry. Losing my grandmother in 2020 to cancer still hits hard. And I found that island after the big shock in the game, which made me appreciate it more. Condolences for those whom lost someone close to them🙏🏾

[@inyourgranmaass3605]

Thirsty for attention much

[@druid3040]

@@inyourgranmaass3605 troll much? Don’t have enough to do? Need a job? Mmk. Bye Felicia✌🏾

[@Snow-sx5ev]

Oh man hearing the audio of that made me tear up I wasn't expecting it to affect me as deeply as it did.

[@sahilp8727]

If anyone is still struggling with the pit fights i figured it out. When it chains attacks it means chain them. When you finish a combo, the last r1 becomes the first r1 of the next combo instead of repressing it

[@TheSirSpence]

I literally dropped to Explorer difficulty just to get through them.

[@samuraigaming5220]

Yup They are confusing

[@abnormalnox]

Halfmoon slash us your bread and butter for chaining and breaking out of combos. I feel like many people overlook that

[@bladelazoe]

I honestly just practiced every single move until I burned it into muscle memory.

[@JohnWickWitStix]

It was hard af. I too had to practice and practice and practice to get the moves down

[@hinikuish]

ted faro counterpoint: him being a nuclear blob monster that you confront while dressed in elisabet sobek cosplay is flat-out the funniest possible thing that could ever have happened. i have a little fanfic in my head where aloy returns to the base like "yep, got the omega clearance and nothing weird happened" "aloy, we saw you livestream the whole--" "and nothing weird happened!"; i was cackling the entire mission. also love all the shade towards avad. liked him in the first game but oof. big oof.

[@icatfishedyourdad2767]

Re. Avad- I love how he thinks he could join Aloy on her adventures one day like he wouldn’t be completely useless and a pain in the arse to look after. He’s the guy struggling way behind everyone on a hike wearing inappropriate shoes, huffing and puffing and sweating like “Yeah I’m fine, I’m not even tired yet!” Or the type to knock something over during a stealth mission. Don’t get me wrong, I like him. He’s kind, wise, courageous, compassionate, humble with a sense of justice but Erend and Varl he is not lol

[@kyleashley9294]

I love what this game has to say about our ecosystem, our economics, and our religions in a way that doesn't feel preachy or heavy handed

[@kingomar69]

What? The Forbidden games are like Cameron's Avatar in video game form. Far too preachy, very blunt in its themes.

[@DrumEagle]

@@kingomar69 Exactly. The anti-male/pro-feminist stance in Horizon is laughably over the top

[@unrule.]

@@DrumEagle Please explain what you mean by that, because I've never gotten those vibes from the Horizon games.

[@thetruecrystalvixen]

I honestly love the guy that thought coffee cups were ceremonial artefacts in Zero Dawn. I love the take of 'what is left behind', amidst what religions, ideals and thoughts evolved with the tribes and nations after the world was reborn after the Faro incident.

[@JoniaDL]

@@DrumEagle Where does it ever do that? There are plenty of strong male characters Aloy admires, and female characters that bring her down or are straight up villains. Did you even watch the damn video? Or play the damn games?

[@glycrixe]

This game is criminally underrated

[@evanpaluch6190]

It definitely seems that way. It also seems to be living in Elden Rings shadow...

[@cozzb1938]

​@@GamfluentThis has to be a troll.

[@IISG93II]

The Horizon games are so boring. They have maybe 6-8 hours of good stuff and 50+ hours of dull, boring, generic open world non-content.

[@cozzb1938]

@@IISG93II Were you playing on fucking story difficulty?

[@Jason-..-]

​@@IISG93IInah, your taste is just trash kid

[@xleaselife]

I put Elden Ring off for a whole month to play through this and 100% it. I absolutely LOVED this game. It saddens me to see people dogging on it and even hoping for it to fail. It's so bizarre.

[@slimboarder.o7]

The game is so easy played it on hardest difficulty and their wasn't any challenge the bosses's are super easy as well as every other creatures

[@a..27stephenson]

People are dodging it because this is a good game but Elden ring is just something else.

[@nicolaslabra2225]

@@a..27stephenson its different, elden ring gets out of your way and lets you play, but with Horizon i actually care and combat feels more free, acomodating to more play styles than dodge, hit and dodge again, the game.

[@a..27stephenson]

@@nicolaslabra2225 it’s fine if you like it more, I like horizon it’s just that I think and many other people think Elden ring is better, that’s why people are dodging it.

[@avdima5000]

@@a..27stephenson Yea specially when Forbidden west is a playstation exclusive many are just warded off because of platform, including my smiley face who has 500H in Elden Ring relatively speaking. I loved when the narrator of the video was talking about how Elden ring has different medium for open world and Horizon has another and they are just different and not every game should be Elden ring, which I also believe is a very good thing and a good fact to pinpoint * but wait for the twist: One second later he started to admire the time in Horizon Forbidden west when he found an awesome random encounter in the middle of the sea that was not located on the checklist map and said it would be even nicer if devs put more of those hidden random experiences into Horizon LMAO He had to of course reference Witcher 3 to support it and not Elden Ring or Breath of the wild which have been mostly made on that Exploration heavy foundation otherwise his words would basically be saying " Injecting more of somehow like the most important philosophy that makes Elden Ring/Breath of the wild great, into Horizon Forbidden West, which ironically hurts the pillars of the "Different Mediums" argument that I just said a little bit earlier."

[@LazerzZ]

INFO ON THE OUTFIT AND DYE I USED FOR A MAJORITY OF THIS VIDEO: What is the outfit and Dye I used for a lot of this video(The black and yellow one): It's the Carja Behemoth Trapper using the Dune Shadow dye. CORRECTIONS: The Ten were part of The Hot Zone Crisis not Operation Enduring Victory. Not sure how that mistake went over my head but sadly it did. Check out my video on the DLC here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ6mnI1ja7popJY

[@c.smidgeon2847]

Another small correction - the Tenakth don’t worship the Ten as gods, like you say. They know they were just people, but they still revere the Ten as sort of the pinnacle of what they believe is an honorable, heroic person. It’s a great bit of nuance to the Tenakth belief system that I really like.

[@ItsLazBoi]

@@c.smidgeon2847 yeah that’s what I meant, maybe phrased it in a bit of an exaggeratory way.

[@-Old-School-Gamer]

Firstly excellent video; It’s nice to see a review from someone, with actual intelligence, who didn’t just play the second game blindly, after completely forgetting the first game, like I believe many did. However; I have to disagree with you regarding Ragala. Her conflict was never with Alloy, it was always with the Tenakth and Alloy was simply perceived by Regarla, as a barrier between her and her target. Her story arc was completely necessary, in setting up the story arc of Sylens and his groth as a character; ie: how he was secretly just helping her, solely to create army, or more aptly a distraction, so he could take on Zenith; which Alloy proved was selfish and unnecessary, therefore creating the arc, of her having a better plan than him, and thus, surpassing him and proven yet again, that her way, is the right way, because his way, would’ve meant hundreds of unnecessary Tenakh casualties. Therefore; it didn’t feel forced and unnecessary IMHO.

[@CaptainPilipinas]

well they would be part of OP:EV after those Mistakes during before 2060s.... finally falling into the Rampant Swarm alongside most of Humanity of OP:EV. every MRB Fireteams, Civilian Fireteams, etc. I have a feeling those 'ten ack' people would mourn those from JTF-10 afterknowing more of their fate alongside the rest of the old one era Humanity, it seems.

[@darkmaster2887]

You Horizon fanboys are gonna cry because your mediocre joke of a game got destroyed by Elden Ring? 🤣🤣🤣

[@ecMonify]

just finished it after spending 120 hours doing EVERYTHING. the game looks stunningly beautiful on a regular PS4, and i can't wait til i get my hands on a PS5 and can play through it again!

[@bigmalakai5307]

After being a ps4 gamer for many years, can I suggest that you please please please put together a PC. I am enjoying myself so much more.

[@Boothekill]

@@bigmalakai5307 I bought a Alienware Aurora R13 a while back and have enjoyed it but it just doesn’t click like the PS4 and PS5 I have and yes I know the pc is more powerful but I haven’t enjoyed it as much as my PS4 and PS5

[@luhhtee2547]

Same, I got my ps5 not too long ago and when I played HFW it was a dramatic difference. Don’t get me wrong it’s still beautiful as hell on ps4 but you can’t even go back to it after playing on ps5 😭

[@jwlnsilver6354]

when reviews and opinions came out for this game I was blown away. I pre ordered, and played the game to completion in a week. I wanted the next step in aloys story, I didnt play for new magic inovative shit I played for aloys journey, new characters and beautiful new places and I was not disappointed. I cant possibly understand why this game made people upset, I thought it was incredible. Ng+ is my dream rn

[@Shinjo_Ms]

I'm 10 hours into this game and i still can't believe how beautiful everything is. The atmosphere, the foliage, and the density of this map. Words, screenshots, and videos can't even begin to express the level of quality and technical marvel in this game. Undermined, underappreciated, and botched by Elden Ring's launch, this thing over-delivers on so many promises. Barely scratched the surface and already stacked my storage with tons of screenshots. Photomode is also awesome and quality focused. Great options and features.

[@chrisharmon2437]

Everything about this game is amazing. Just the feeling of being in the world did something to me. Gave me peace in my stressful unhappy life. Thank you Guerilla

[@darkmaster2887]

Everything about this game is mediocre. The Quest design is garbage, the game holds your hand every 5 seconds and throws waypoint markers all over the screen, the combat is boring and repetitive, the narrative is bad and the game is completely broken. Imagine paying $70 for this mediocre joke of a game. Guerrila Games are a joke and should stop making games and embarassing themselves. There is a reason why Elden Ring is getting more attention than Horizon Forbidden West, It's because it's a way better made game than Horizon. You and all the Horizon fanboys are delusional clowns 🤡

[@slimboarder.o7]

Nah should have made a New Killzone game

[@chrisharmon2437]

@@slimboarder.o7 true. Maybe later

[@eden20111]

The VISTA POINTS were my absolute favorite little side quest of the game. Seeing images on how the world looked pre-war was so majestic in some way. My favorite vista point would have to be VEGAS under the dome. That was simply beautiful. Imagine being there in that moment, surrounded by holograms and lights. The whole Poseidon quest alone was the best part of the game. Exploring the ruins of Vegas and then bringing it back to life was truly a magical moment. I got goosebumps after Aloy captured Poseidon, when she walks back out into the underground concourse and seeing all the lights from the casinos fill my tv screen then lighting my room. It was overwhelmingly breathtaking. Also MORLUND talking how he wants to turn Vegas into an entertainment venue for all tribes to experience was amazing. Thanks to Aloy and Morlund, they literally brought Las Vegas back to life. VIVA LAS VEGAS.

[@darknesswave100]

The way they handled Vegas and that entire storyline was amazing. From the guy who legit resurrected it with pure luck and the money in his pocket to Morlund (I adore that dude to death) who wants to make it into an entertainment area for people to just relax and have fun to seeing the underwater area come alive because of poseidon. That part of the game is by far the best part of it

[@sansotandrea4063]

thank you so much! i still get recommendations of vids shitting on HFW just because "Elden Ring better". I adore this game, it's a message of hope, our world is being destroyed kinda in the same way as Horizon's world... These two games are my escape, they give me hope, they make me feel less stressed.

[@JessieGender1]

Excellent analysis, what a great game, I adored it so much.

[@captainbritain7379]

Thank you for making these Horizon videos. It’s one of my favourite stories of any medium and it’s lovely to hear someone else celebrate it with the same passion and investment I feel for it, especially since so few commentators outside of insulated fandom spheres seem to understand the emotional and thematic threads of the story.

[@pucirepu]

31:18 I agree with you on most things BUT you made me realized just how many players didn’t know that you can tag parts using triangle so they would stay tagged (glowing) during the entire fight

[@xxnarnarnarxx]

Just for the record for anyone watching who dislikes markers: you can turn them off. You can turn off your HUD, you can customize this game quite a lot, and I strongly recommend spending 5 minutes adjusting the settings to your preferences to get the absolute most out of the game. Taking that one step further, making all of that on by default, I don't know what to think there, cause if they had everything turned off by default they might lose some newer or more casual players, or maybe even players who need more accessibility. But on the other hand, how many people just never adjust any of these settings because they're a defaut-danny/diane. I'm super glad that Guerrilla opted for more accessible and more inclusive. Great vid, also. :)

[@kushalbhalerao1463]

True many people were crying on how many markers were there but no one bothered to check the settings

[@abnormalnox]

Agreed. Sooo many people complain about how "I want to find it myself." You can literally DO THAT. Just turn it off.

[@abnormalnox]

@@kushalbhalerao1463 ikr lol. Zero dawn hap that option as well.

[@LeeEverett1]

Don't forget about turning off the pickup animation, it's a Godsend.

[@TempestaDominus]

Eh, for me it's just Alloy talk a bit...much? Then again, Alloy not really my type of character.

[@theaugur1373]

That scene with Aloy and Beta is an example of why I like HFW better than Elden Ring. Elden Ring was loads of fun, but for me it didn’t evoke the range of emotions that HFW does. I got to go on on the Hero’s Journey with Aloy, dark night of the soul and all. Elden Ring was awesome, but it wasn’t like that.

[@zacrast16]

You can turn off map markers. Open the map, press options, and then turn off EVERY marker except for “Settlements and Trade”. It literally fixes everyone’s complaints. It’s how I play and it’s amazing.

[@jonbodhi]

They should really tell you that in the title screen.

[@manuelb8944]

Just discovered this now, and I gotta say, this was an amazing watch. It's been a long time since a video this well written and insightful has also managed to make me laugh this much. Your jokes were on point and very well integrated into the script. As for the serious parts, I especially liked your analysis on Aloy, you've brought up things I hadn't considered but made perfect sense. I also like that you pointed out we still don't know what the 'Glitch' actually is, and like you I hope we find out eventually in a way that'll tie back to the third game.

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you! This was such a nice comment, really appreciate it and I’m glad the video resonated with you. Truly a huge thanks! 💚

[@RedDrought]

12:11 This is exactly my thought and why people can’t compare Elden Ring with FW. I’m so glad someone said this. Horizon is story first, exploration second. While Elden Ring is exploration first, story second.

[@Lightsaglowllc]

Idk, I actually prefer the story telling in ER.

[@beccan1521]

@@Lightsaglowllc that’s fine. but not every single game needs to be a copy of that game. clearly not everyone loves elden ring so let game developers do what they want and not copy other games or that would be boring. common sense please

[@kytsunee6324]

@@beccan1521 …I really don’t know why you’re saying that when Horizon Forbidden West is yet another game that took virtually zero risks and just kept going with an incredibly overused open-world model that started all the way back with Ubisoft. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Horizon Franchise quite a lot. The narrative is unique, the visuals are very gorgeous due to a mix of great graphical achievements and fairly unique art design, the characters are fairly well fleshed out (outside of the villains, which are fairly meh outside of maybe Ted Faro), and the combat against big robo-dinosaurs is fairly fun, albeit sometimes a bit frustrating and unsatisfactory. However, it’s design is just based upon a ton of tried and tested stuff. The open world design based on: -Random enemy camps -Random puzzles that aren’t really fun a lot of the time -Annoying collectibles -High grounds used to reveal the map -An almost excessive amount of side-quests and errands that still follow a design that’s been the same for more than 10 years So on and so forth. Pair that up with barebones stealth, wonky climbing, a frustrating amount of grinding and farming, repetitive question mark chasing on the map, and much more. It’s just a very refined take on an open world model that’s been around for so long and hasn’t really changed much at all. It’s an incredibly risk-free game. And that’s fine, honestly, but don’t go around saying that not every game should be a copy of a certain one when basically 80% of open world games just feels like Assassin’s Creed.

[@wesleymclain9146]

I wholeheartedly agree, the unmarked remembrance is extremely subtle. You found it by accident. I found it because there was land with no question marks on it. My curiosity got the best of me so I flew over to it and listened. I had no idea it was a memorial to one of the developers.

[@omaralhassan3161]

Can someone appreciate how hard he actually worked for this video, very well done thank you so much

[@victorsullivan9107]

I agree with what you said at 1:47, I also prefer the Horizon games to Breath of the Wild. Elden Ring is a tossup because it's just such a different experience. I play Horizon for casual fun, but FromSoft games for rewarding challenge (although Elden Ring wasn't quite as rewarding as I would have liked). Both Forbidden West and Elden Ring kept me invested for 100+ hours on my journey to the platinum trophy. However, when I finished Forbidden West, I immediately wished there was more of it; but at the end of my Elden Ring journey, I was glad to finally be done with it.

[@here2there880]

Same here. I played HFW twice through, 100% with all weapons and outfits fully upgraded. I just wanted more. Over 300 hours. I platinum 4 DS games and with Elden ring im down to the last 3 bosses at 150 hours but im ready to be just done.

[@GhostWhatcher]

god, this was such a refreshing video to watch. it makes me so glad to see someone love and understand horizon for what it is, especially amongst all those stupid and tone-deaf criticisms - you've earned a new subscriber for sure. although, i have to disagree on what you wanted the fate of ted faro to be, but that's solely because my burning hate for him doesn't allow me to sympathize with him at all

[@rafaelgomez1200]

I dont think those critizisms are bad at least the ones i see are constructive critisism prasing what needs to be praised and crritisizing what needs to be my take i liked the first one better

[@GhostWhatcher]

@@rafaelgomez1200 oh don't get me wrong, HFW is flawed and there were even a few things i didn't personally like in it; constructive critsicism is fair - what i was talking about was mainly about people who would do things like constantly shit on aloy as a character or claim that the game was too 'woke'. that isn't feedback, that's just complaining

[@rafaelgomez1200]

@@GhostWhatcher oh yea got it

[@inciruegg9717]

what I always liked about Faro and Elisabet's relationship and especially their endings is that: Faro wanted to live in the world he so carelessly destroyed while Elisabet wanted to die in the world she carefully built.

[@opheliapurple]

I adore this franchise and Aloy with all my heart, but I was a bit hard on the initial character arc of Aloy becoming too isolated. I had a knee jerk defensive reaction to any criticism of a female character being 'too stoic' or 'too cold' because... you know. I was in the worst mindset for a lot of this game and even THEN- it won me over again. Every time the story challenged Aloy- and by an extension myself- with vulnerability, it only made every aspect of the game that much better. I really enjoyed your exploration of Aloy's journey for that reason- it's just so rewarding to witness and explore the writing talent at work.

[@jonbodhi]

They took some risks, because I found myself getting really angry with Aloy’s attitude to Beta. ‘How can she NOT SEE why they’re so different?’ But she finally came around. I hope the next game find Aloy teaching Beta EVERYTHING she knows, so Beta can begin to see het own worth. It’s amazing the difference just ONE loving person can make in your life. Aloy had Rost; now Beta has Aloy.

[@MetalGildarts]

I finally finished the game earlier today after a massive hiatus. I love this series. Aloy, her friends, the worldbuilding, lore, everything. Will most definitely do a second playthrough, someday.

[@sealswimswim354]

I purchased a PS5 just for Horizon Forbidden West! I’m proud of you for being inspired by this masterpiece to go the extra mile with the writing and editing for this video. The world building, art style, music, and combat choreography are perfect for me!

[@Myrddin_Nebelstein]

9:18 could agree more what john gonzales, ben mccaw, Annie kitain and the rest of the writing team did to the horizon lore was pure magic

[@J.B.333.]

This was one of the best sequels I have played. Can’t wait for ng+. Just about everything was improved. I also think it’s the best game that came out in February but man what a good month that was. Sifu, HFW, and Elden Ring. I beat the game before Elden Ring even came out and I have 80 hours in ER now. I just haven’t had nearly as much fun in ER. One thing I learned that month that will stick with me forever is Fromsoft has some of the most toxic fanboys I’ve ever seen. I’m glad there’s still sensible people who can enjoy more than 1 companies games lol. Edit: the one thing I was disappointed about was the reduction in dialogue response options. They cut that way down and only have that in FW a few times compared to ZD. There were many times where being a smartass would’ve been very enjoyable lol

[@shurik121]

"One thing I learned that month that will stick with me forever is Fromsoft has some of the most toxic fanboys I’ve ever seen." Frankly, I have never seen a more toxic videogame fandom than FromSoft fanboys. If you dare to say something even remotely negative or critical about any of these games - they descend on you like you insulted their mom or something. And yeah, I had a LOT more fun with Horizon Forbidden West than with Elden Ring (which I didn't finish because 100 hours of replaying the same bosses and running around in empty and confusing world was enough).

[@jo0rd73]

Agreed it was very frustrating it was like the PlayStation vs Xbox wars we see every time new consoles come out with a new one. Like holy shit they’re both amazing games and it’s okay to prefer HFW over ER!

[@darkmaster2887]

@@shurik121 Meanwhile Horizon fanboys were review bombing Elden Ring and crying about the game online because it was overshadowing Forbiden West. You guys are the ones that are toxic; can't even handle that Elden Ring is more popular. But keep crying clown 🤡

[@abbh8262]

it's a good game until you start to realize how hard they are trying to push the feminist's agenda in this game it's cringe as hell to the point i don't even want to continue playing ZD nor buying the sequel becuze i heard it's worse than the first game

[@kevinbarbeau]

@@abbh8262 I have played both games and it certainly didn't feel like they were pushing a "feminist agenda." Just because there is diversity in the game doesn't mean they are shoving an agenda down our throats

[@endertuber8300]

Amazing video, truely AMAZING. I just want to say that I personally really like Ted Faro's fate and how it was played: to me felt a lot like a lovecraftian tale, a fairly normal start in an ancient ruin looking for a specific thing, but the more it goes on they discover the gruesome secrets behind it, the horrors and all as indirect files and audios, and then an idea start crawling in your head, until it becomes a confirm, one that the game never fully explain nor show to you and then finish in a terrible, silent and invisible way, leaving you to imagine what happened to Faro and what was his fate... kinda like "The Thing on the Doorstep" tale...

[@SlamBossman]

The video goes by so fast. Its just so engaging and flows so well. Perfection.

[@evansinclair1999]

Also that whole sequence “the sea of sand” or whatever it was called genuinely had me in awe everything from the amazing look and danger of the underwater sequence under Las Vegas and OH MY GOD how the holographic look of ancient Vegas looked had me in in just bewilderment it looked so amazing

[@agraciotti]

It baffles me this game isn't receiving the same ammount of love and praise as similar epic-narrative games like God of War or The Last of us. IMO, Forbidden West surpasses those games in EVERY aspect. I was so impressed by how complex, rich, well designed and well told it is. For me it is easily one of the best games of the last decade and up there among the best of all time (and I'm aware it needs improvement in some aspects - the grinding and upgrading system, for instance - but that doesn't detract its incredible achievement). Great video, btw. Agree with almost everything.

[@CaptainPilipinas]

some sci-fi verses (especially Lore) are just that hard for Most of those Simplicities to sit down and appreciate. [sighed purposefully]

[@jonmakolli863]

@@CaptainPilipinas couldnt have said better myself

[@CaptainPilipinas]

@@jonmakolli863 no offense for some though that I might have added? including probably any of your favored verses/franchises.

[@CaptainPilipinas]

andre 'needs improvements'. don't forget about more mountable GAIA units. *guerrilla.* more machine mounted accessible offensive weaponry *(other than one's own ranged weapons already, mounted machine Physically tackling, kicking)* like able to probably do AC-130-like slow rotations up in the skies firing plasma energies from a mounted sunwing's, more aerial mounts too--make that All of the currently existing 5 aerial machines be darn ridable. and be on the offensive. multiplayer and/or coop. What the heck guerrilla. your previous IP's had That side, even if it wasn't as populous as COD's online player-with-player-etc modes for example, but at least the KZ franchise has That! meanwhile, still we are speculating right now whether the horizon franchise stays as just for the Campaign-experiences or....?

[@agraciotti]

@@CaptainPilipinas i dont care about multiplayer, but I sure would love to mount a T-Rex and spread my rage on everything around me 😁

[@vaultfox]

you put everything I loved about this game into the words I couldn't find ... Aloy's journey from pushing everyone away to finally embracing that she can't do everything alone was such a wonderful arc for her and one I deeply related to. I also greatly appreciated the callout out people thinking that this game has some agenda against men because like you mentioned multiple times, Aloy works with and admires MANY men in the series and those that think otherwise clearly haven't played the game. thank you for this beautiful commentary on a game I love so much and now I'm off to watch your Horizon Zero Dawn video :)

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you!! Really glad you enjoyed 🙌🏻

[@jonbodhi]

There are SO MANY strong male characters. The ‘anti-male’ crowd are idiots who see what they want to see (those who actually PLAYED the game!)

[@AnaPradosA]

This was a fantastic review. A think Aloy revered Elizabeth, as you mention. Sylen turn back because he saw himself reflected in Tilda and he didn't like what he saw. And I agree with the similarities with Mass Effect 2. My main fear with this is actually Mass Effect 3. When you use this structure, if you fuck up the 3 game, you have essentially fucked up the whole trilogy.

[@darkmaster2887]

Mass Effect games are lightyears away better than Horizon. Guerrila Games are so pathetic that they had to copy Mass Effect to try to make Horizon successful, and it still failed! 🤣🤣🤣

[@rjrinal2516]

@@darkmaster2887 You sad, sad man. You have my condolences.

[@Phanthief95]

@@darkmaster2887 The structure of the story is the same, but nothing else. Also, you say this like other games didn’t take influence from Mass Effect. Hell, a lot of Mass Effect itself was influenced by KOTOR!

[@PaulGuy]

@@darkmaster2887 LOL, obvious troll is obvious. Get back to the mines, that salt won't harvest itself.

[@mattschaning9697]

Absolutely loved this video, thank you for the deep dive and analysis. Like you I adore the Horizon franchise and its characters. So seeing content that so thoroughly explores what makes these games great and important makes my heart happy. To your point on pulling off a Ted Faro "redemption" I can't agree. I think it was important to see him as beyond redemption. A person whose egotism and psychopathy make him incapable of altruism or regret at any level. Relevant to some in power who exist in our own world. Thank you again for the thought provoking and entertaining essay.

[@Ptolemy336VV]

HFW was IN-CRE-DIBLE. Really. I had so much fun. I can't wait for a DLC to come. I can strongly recommend this game to everyone

[@Val_Emrys]

When I played HZD the story hit me like a thunderbolt and nothing before or after has matched what I felt during the unfolding and reveal of its overall plot. With that said, HFW is a worthy successor for a different reason. The beauty, the realistic faces, the animations, the scenery, and the voice acting are spectacular to behold.

[@CrazyAly246]

I absolutely loved this game. The graphics, the music, the world, the combat. Can't wait for the New Game + update and dlc they do for this.

[@robinbennett1686]

15:11 I've played so much Ghost of Tsushima that I instantly thought: "Oh she's about to write a haiku"

[@QuestionableLifeChoices]

i cannot tell you how relieved i was when i booted up the game for the first time and varl shows up and then we almost immediately went back to meridian to have talk with old friends. i was so scared they were all just going to disappear except for erend (and only because he showed up in that trailer.) i was especially nervous for characters like avad to disappear because 1) i love his character and he's VERY locationally locked, and 2) i spent the majority of HZD falling in love with the carja! to completely abandon them would've felt like shit for me. but even though any actual carja are few and far in-between, their presence is still felt in the world and in aloy's life in the casual mentions of "the savior of meridian" and as the nora who stopped dervahl, in fashav and hekkaro knowing about how she stopped the attack on meridian even from deep within tenakth territory. it felt less like a "goodbye" and more like a "until next time" because of those little details

[@h30ghost]

I cant even imagine the amount of time it took to write the script for this, let alone actually record it and edit it. Superb work and I'm excited to watch more of your videos.

[@LazerzZ]

Was definitely one of the longer projects, but I’m pretty darn proud of it. Really glad you enjoyed, thanks a bunch 🙏🏻

[@jonbodhi]

@@LazerzZyou SHOULD be proud. Good work!👍

[@KyleSteven]

EXCUSE meee, how dare you suggest that I wouldn't remember petra :P. Actually honestly, I really really hope that tallanah and petra get more of the spotlight in the next game. They are wonderfully deep characters and I seriously can't help but want to spend more time with them. Petra has what I consider to be the funniest line in the game with "If you don't stop that, I'll come over there and show you how that game ends!" I do have to wonder though, if the first game was about Aloy's origins and this game was about learning she didn't have to shoulder this burden alone, and trusting others and their competence.. then I wonder if the next game is going to be about her allowing herself to love. I don't think even for a second that this game series ends not in some shade of a happy ending. If aloy doesn't feel that she needs a romantic partner in her life then I am more than fine with that. But to me, it does feel like that is where we're headed on her personal journey. I don't know what answer she will find. Maybe she will find that she doesn't need romance, just a found family or maybe, she will find that she does. But regardless. I truly think that we will be answering and exploring that question throughout the next game. Whatever it is, I'll be there. Zero dawn was my return to Playstation and it completely broke me. I still cannot watch the ending cinematic of the first game with that audio log of Elizabet talking to GAIA without crying, I just. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I'm so excited to cling to this machine as Guriella takes us in for the landing. As much as I want to play the third one soon, I also don't. Because I don't want to say goodbye to these characters.

[@KyleSteven]

Finished the video and the only note I'll add is this: I agree that she's likely gay and I think talanah is uhhh the most likely partner for her (maybe petra but the age gap is pretty wide. But I wouldn't be upset if that pairing happened)

[@maxgrieve]

​@@KyleSteven This is the correct opinion, which it feels like more people are coming around to over time. Really hope Amadis gets quietly forgotten about. Hawk & Thrush forever.

[@jonbodhi]

That log entry with Elizabet talking about her ideal daughter as Aloy finds her body, remains one of my favorite endings to any game, ever! Beautifully done.

[@Someguy_97]

Very much appreciate this perspective! To be clear this is not my favorite game or franchise but these games have definitely captivated me. Zero Dawn was at times a dragging experience for me but I’m glad I pushed through because it’s story genuinely was interesting. But Forbidden West is such an improvement and awe inspiring experience that it’s crazy to me how overlooked these games seem to have been. Everything in Forbidden West was exactly what a sequel should do and as an experience I was always stopping to just appreciate the world, graphics, animations, and story!

[@skins4thewin]

YES! I fully agree that focus highlights need to STAY HIGHLIGHTED! I simply do not get why they don't. As long as you have the enemy highlighted then focus hightlights should always remain. I hated this too.

[@tyleroutland435]

I love the story's in horzion zero dawn, the frozen wilds, and forbidden west I love the gameplay writing side quests emotional parts, open world characters cutscenes new machines. I loved all and the amazing music I really want new game plus, and a story dlc and a forbidden west sequel.

[@LeeEverett1]

Burning Shores has been heavily rumored to be the expansion pack for this one, can't wait!

[@squidwardshouse830]

I feel like the Horizon lore is already set in stone before they created the game. That is why everything is so cohesive, and nothing feels like it was added last minute. Every character is unique that it makes you feel like they are actual people. I very much love how this game takes care of every single thing, from the people to its locations. Nothing is out of place at all.

[@eggychan7613]

Okay i dont know how you did it, but i stayed until the end of a 1h30m video. I dont think ive ever done that before, but it was so interesting and entertaining and all i can say is: i agree with basically everything you said in this video, and im very impressed with how well this video was put together and stuff and yeah cheers 👍

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you so much!

[@William-Sunderland]

This game is a masterpiece.

[@StianWindJonin]

I always appreciate your takes brother! Well thought through, well researched and always worth the wait!

[@Izawwlgood]

The Horizon games do the 'ammo class' better than any other game I've ever played. They really nailed the loop. My only issue with Aloy is I don't think we got enough showcases of her intellect and initiative. I appreciated your take on the sexism levied at her - gamers are... the worst. I think the Horizon games are basically gender and race blind, which worked well. God the scene with Beta, where Aloy shows her Rost, so well done as an arc and element. Aloy is able to mourn, Beta finds courage, we see what makes a person strong.

[@jonbodhi]

Just ONE loving person in your life can make ALL the difference. Aloy had Rost, now Beta had Aloy.

[@zarususrus1324]

A BIG THANK YOU for the video, man! I was waiting to see, when the people will start to make their essays and discuss this game. Zero Dawn was my favourite game, when it came out. I'm one of the biggest fans of this universe and my expiriense was really similar to yours. Forbidden West toped the original game in every aspect in my opinion. And even though it's bigger, I would like to see an improvement in the quality over quantity in the side content department. This game is great but some times feels to draged out in terms of grinding to unlock overrides or upgraiding your gear or finding another useless chest beyond an explosive wall with 3 healing berries inside etc. So I really wish the threequel will be more diverse and unique in terms of the activities and will have a REALLY strong focus on the story. I can't wait to see what they will come up with next and hope, that it will be the longest plot in the series with the same ammount of care put in, because Forbidden West kinda rushes in the third act and it would have been cool to have a few more missions with Tilda, Beta or Sylence for example. For now looking forward to the DLC, comics and Call of the Mountain...)

[@hewhomustnotbenamed9276]

HZD FW is an amazing game. I'm playing a NG+ game on ultra hard difficulty. I enjoyed it far more than Elden Ring in terms of setting, mechanics, and coherent storytelling.

[@jonbodhi]

I love ‘Elden Ring,’ but ‘coherent storytelling’ really nails it.

[@QuestionableLifeChoices]

you'll be happy to hear there's still a parallel between faro and the zeniths lol. the quest for immortality made ted into an unrecognizable, barely cognizant monster that was as far from human as you can get. as for the zeniths's: between their immortality and their dependence on VR, their methods may have let them maintain their human exteriors, but they still become inhuman monsters, completely cut off from all that made them human in the first place. in their independent quests to become gods, they all became lesser than humans, grotesque in mind, body, and soul

[@jonbodhi]

I think most of them were always like that; they just got worse over time.

[@chrisharris5497]

I enjoyed the game but nowhere near as much as the first game. My first experiences of the game from a playability stance saw me experience various glitches but that's not my real issues with the game. I thought the game was over quite quickly, the main story wasn't overly inspiring to me but they were always going to have to come up with something exceptional to eclipse (no pun intended) the storyline of the first game. The side missions felt like they had a lot more depth to them than the first but I didn't feel there was enough of them, I will admit I haven't counted them but it certainly felt they were over quickly and the same applies to the errands. Parts of the game really did appeal to me but some of it I thought was quite weak, especially the ending, I actually thought the boss fight in the end of Zero Dawn was more troubling than the ending in this. I will buy the DLC and I will no doubt buy the third game if the rumours are true but I hope they manage to crate a storyline with a little more mystery than Forbidden West, how that would look I don't know. As I said the first games mystery was a huge part of the success for me and once that mystery has all been unveiled it's then going to take an impressive story to rival the original. Had to come on and edit to comment on the part where Aloy found the memorial, that whole scene from finding the memorial to reading the note felt very Ghost Of Tsusima to me, it was a lovely tribute and I'll admit I didn't know the story behind it until you said so thank you for that. Great video mate, thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@jkkayy]

Amazing video - dude thank you for putting this together! I totally agree with you that I think this game is slept on by too many people. It's refreshing to see someone take the time and energy to put together a true love letter to Horizon.

[@Myrddin_Nebelstein]

8:48 that is a slight blunder "The 10" were a squadron of special operation soldiers (Codename:JT-10) that deserted at the beginning of the Hotzone-Conflict from the ranks of the US-Millitary as they saw the forced migration of the population of nevada, utah and colorado (i think) as unconstitutional and fought along side other rebels to fight this mass migration plan

[@allensnyder4641]

Came here to say this. And time-wise, this all took place several decades before Zero Dawn, presumably before or during the early stages of Ted Faro’s “good guy” phase of the Clawback. The Tenakth misinterpreting their actions as heroic-incorrectly imo as the area the government was trying to remove people from was literally unlivable-is analogous to the Quen misinterpreting the lore of the ancestors. (And the Nora misinterpreting…well, so much really, and….)

[@Myrddin_Nebelstein]

@@allensnyder4641 i understand what you are meaning but i also think when you read through the data logs that it was mainly done to remove the claims of the people already living there from rare earth-deposits that lay in these three states and you must also think about that at this Stage (the 2030s) the us goverment was literally a lobbycontrolled piece of sh*t that only cared about the company that funded the people in then current goverment

[@TheShicksinator]

Though their story got mixed with enduring victory by the tenakth.

[@Myrddin_Nebelstein]

@@TheShicksinator from what i remember thats not the case when i gave the black boxes to the tenakth woman she and Aloy chatted about this other war the people in the bb recordings fought in amd how thrilled the woman is to learn from a new war in "human history"

[@RandomSideQuest]

Hey there, so I can clear this up a bit 😅 The 10 are indeed Joint Task Force Ten, who fought against USRC's Gen- Syn combat drones during the Hotzone Crisis (2036-2037). The Forced migration was from Executive order 73-H, covering parts of Arizona, Nevada, and of California. Highly controversial at the time, with both sides of the conflict having morally merky motives. Dispite the lore specifics, I think James overarching point is well made here 👍

[@TheDisengaged]

I haven't played Elden Ring nor heard about this discussion on map markers, but I actually disabled most of mine from the map after playing maybe 50% of the game and enjoyed it so much more. It just meant that I was more surprised when encountering machines and places, and I also took more time to actually look and explore my surroundings.

[@PteryxZoroxys314]

People complaining about it having too many map markers, when you can literally control exactly what you want shown on the map by filtering to solve this issue.

[@MichaelOdendaal]

Damn the highlight of this channel are these in depth looks and critiques. Congratulations on this one man!

[@ladyphoenixgrey3923]

I loooooved this game. So much so I’m already 40 hours into my second 100% play through (this time Ultra Hard on NG+ ). The story was just enough to satisfy but leave me dying to know more, the evolution of the game play, mechanics, and fighting choices was perfectly organic, and all the new faces made me love the world even more. I have very few complaints. I have some, but they’re minimal and can’t come close to overshadowing the positives. Also, just a heads up cause I’m a nerd: the name, Forbidden West, actually (likely) comes from a relative of a Sun King, Iriv, that tried 3 times to press past the Daunt but was driven back. He finally made it through on the 4th attempt and was never seen or heard from again. One of the NG+ weapons is called “Iriv’s Downfall” and was “pried from a Sun King that fell long ago”. Just a lovely little nugget of a pay off from a random data blurb from H:ZD.

[@kahleeb624]

The craziest thing about the amazing facial animation is that even with mocap, it doesn't simply mean they import the footage and out comes animation. Mo-cap is simply a template for the animation artists to then use to copy over the actual character model. So no matter wether it's mo-cap or without its still animated by hand for the most part. Truly superb.

[@toddross8460]

my main issue with this game was that the main story needed like 3 more main scenarios to really flesh it out. It also needed more meaty side quests that tied back into the main story. It was such a great game with too little plot pasted onto it.

[@itisyerdad]

Yep and all three of those scenarios should have fleshed out the Zeniths so they actually seemed like a real threat/real people.

[@zirazee537]

I believe they will be doing more of that in the dlcs that are hopefully in development

[@ct-gv6yl]

@@itisyerdad Zeniths are the most realistic part of this game. Rich, slefish assholes.

[@isoutoforbit]

@@itisyerdad The Zeniths were a let down imo, they were very cliche villains, and even Tilda who was presented as the exception ended up becoming the final villain with a very cliche and silly motive.

[@terraconz]

@@zirazee537 and that should not happen! The game should be full at release and not chunks of the story be DLC.

[@jeriah4k218]

I literally felt bad for the reviewers and shit who just ran straight story missions. I feel like the side missions in the game are some of the best I’ve ever played

[@56ggb]

This was well worth the watch. Much more than I though anyone on KZbin, but a minuscule few, had the brains and depth of heart to accomplish. you are worth listening to. You are the first I've ever checked the notification bell to of over 30 years of watching KZbin. Well done, in 30+ years, very, very well done.

[@120382brian]

I know I left a few comments on this video but I have to leave one more. This is by far the best horizon video I've ever seen. Actually the best video game video I've ever seen period. Well done..

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you so much! Truly I appreciate it a lot 🙌🏻

[@drakenfist]

I think your view of what you wanted for Ted is still somewhat in the game. What fascinated me is that he was so concerned with his need for power, control that he not only drove everyone away. But in the end he was alone, and it was only in his end days that he realized that he needed others. He's still a bastard, but he is such a well written villain.

[@Myrddin_Nebelstein]

1:21:32 i personally really enjoyed this ted faro ending (although if media in general told me anything if an enemy gets killed ofscreen or you don`t get a good look on his corpse the is the possibility that the writing team is playing an uno reverse card) it perfectly frames that in his hybris to go above and beyond the mortal realm he experienced that the human body is not made for imortality and also i really like that he had 1000 years to suffer for his mistakes that makes it even more sweet

[@Lhogue46]

You brought out a lot of things about the story I didn’t see while playing. Now I’m looking forward to my second play-through.

[@serrasedai]

I was looking forward to your video and delighted to spend 90 minutes in this world again with your narration. Your sense of edit timing and imagery is excellent, and your vocal performance is smooth. It feels like you're inviting the viewer into your player perspective, without bombarding us with annoying gimmicks. I appreciate the commitment and seriousness with which you take a video like this. I think this dedicated and sentimental approach can speak to people who maybe didn't love game, because you're inviting them to see it through your eyes. Well done. My experience matched yours in a lot of ways: just incredible awe at the visual work, the characters stories, and the level of care. I depart from you a little bit on the setup of the final sequences... it didn't feel as established as I think it needed to to handle the big twists at the end. I also felt Sylens was under-utilized in the plot, although the arc of his relationship with Aloy was great. I think the person that stumbled for me the most was the execution of Tilda... I don't feel like we had enough of her in the story to substantiate where her arc goes. I would have enjoyed if we met her much earlier, maybe living in disguise among the Quen, for example, trying to find stuff for herself or the Zeniths. Rather than simply depositing her in the story, we could have discovered her identity as a revelation and see how that deception affects the trust Aloy might have started to build in her. The way the game chose, I never felt a true mystery to her motives because they seemed so transparent from the jump. If we met Tilda earlier, and she had a richer connection to Aloy, that would really have given power to the end of the game. Overall I like the loopiness of the science fiction, even if not all of it feels 100% to me. I hope your prediction that Nemesis ties back to the original glitch is true, as otherwise it feels too far away from the main plot line. If it's just something made by the Zeniths, off-camera and affecting people I don't know or care for, then why is it in the game? I hope we find out. I'm so excited for Horizon 3. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be special.

[@GreenTea4]

Can’t wait for people to disagree with you on the title without watching the video first :D

[@LazerzZ]

It's the best part of being a KZbinr!

[@j-rensun]

I don't think it should be the video that convinces them it's good. It should be the game. If the game can't. Then I mean, that's their opinion

[@j-rensun]

But of course knowing LazerzZ he found something he appreciates which is great. I'll definitely watch to see what he says lol

[@LazerzZ]

@Ja'quan Green That's what the commenter was saying. They were saying, people tend to not even watch the contents of the video and disagree (very aggressively) with what you may or may not have said. Nothing wrong with disliking a video game after playing it and not enjoying it, but that's not what they were saying by this comment. 👌

[@eradicatedpulse6896]

I mean I don't need to watch the video to disagree I played the game and thought it was above average at best with mediocre writing, boring dull characters, floaty clunky combat, an overwhelming amount of busy working and boring side quest and overly long patting just to extend the games run time. Nevertheless, ill still watch the video.

[@Taya27]

It really shows how much effort you put into this video and I enjoyed watching it a lot. Thank you for putting in the work and shining such a positive light on many things that many have criticised unreasonably harshly (or even just made up ridiculous criticism). I agree with you on almost every aspect when it comes to the technical side of things and the game mechanics. Most things work incredibly well, were nicely improved upon, well implemented. It was massive fun overall. At the same time I strongly disagree when it comes to Aloy's character development and arc. For me nothing about this did really land well and I don't see a big change from ZD to FW. The personal journey they set up for her in FW was very obvious and for all intents and purposes it would fit her. My problem is that she never showed herself to be that strongly against working with others in ZD. Yes, her upbringing sets her up to be more suspicious of others, more apprehensive, more of a "lone wolf" but then she never really is. She travels by herself and uncovers the mystery of ZD mostly by herself, which is kind of inevitable, but most of the time we see her connect well with others and show a weirdly high amount of social competency and intelligence. And when it comes to the side content in FW that doesn't really change, which makes sense, bc if she was a brooding loner with only her mission on her mind the open world concept with pretty free choice on what to do next and almost all quests involving helping someone with whatever wouldn't really work. So for me there was this strange disconnect between the extremely curious, compassionate, patient, enthusiastic Aloy, who involves herself quickly in other peoples business and, well, the constantly stressed, irritable, impatient woman on a mission, who suddenly pushes everyone away. The whole set up felt very constructed in order to give her an arc. Also, her treatment of Beta isn't really understandable. Yes, on the page it says that Aloy can't understand that the key difference between them is her upbringing with Rost and she expects too much of Beta... but there is nothing that I've learned so far about Aloy's character in ZW or FW that indicates she would get that extremely irrational, special circumstances or not. The key moment between Aloy and Beta is beautiful and all in all the right kind of moment to turn things around between them, but I don't understand where it's coming from. Aloy's problem with Beta solely hinges on her becoming the absolute irrational asshole version of her character, that exists in some other universe, and her sudden change of heart of talking about Rost though she was so strongly against it before isn't set up properly either. Once again; it makes sense on paper, but there is no proper build up to it. It just happens bc it needs to happen now bc we need to get this going. I was so desperately waiting for at least one key moment in which Aloy's poor personal choices end in very negative consequences (maybe even somebody else getting hurt) and she has to face this, has to doubt herself, maybe even needs someone to set her straight, and then she has to contemplate this, admit she was wrong and apologize. I was waiting for a proper moment in which she would get humbled, but it never happens. It's like the narrative just doesn't want her to personally fail. Weaknesses in her character are pointed out in FW (or at least 1 weakness), that's true, but she doesn't really show a struggle to overcome them and active learn. The change mostly gets forced onto her and she grudgingly goes along with it. They make a big beautiful moment out of the fact that, in the finale, she is with her allies and friends. who support her in the fight and stand with her in victory afterwards and I really liked it (Sylens turning around was actually one really great detail that I love). But the same already happened in ZD. There you even had more allies to fight with you depending on certain side missions you finished. From my perspective not much has changed when it comes to Aloy from the end of ZD to the end of FW. The only thing I can see is that they made her character worse for the main story line so that she can have a character arc which then wasn't properly worked out and presented either. The story line with the Zeniths might be wacky and was definitely not my favorite thing, and Regalla's Rebellion was also quite unnecessary over all, but I don't mind these parts as much. Aloy's, in my opinion, butchered character is the thing, that left me not only unsatisfied but also quite a bit angry. I had fun playing the game, but always when I continued the main quest I became so endlessly frustrated with it that it left a bitter taste for me over all. I'm still gonna play the 3rd installment, of course. Maybe now that they are done with Aloy's arc they might leave well enough alone and focus on the plot. I really do hope so. Of course, this is just my opinion and my feelings towards the matter. I did like seeing your perspective on it still, even if I disagree.

[@DiamondWoodStudios]

Watched all of your Ezio retrospective videos and man keep up the AMAZING work!!

[@Elialys]

This is a fantastic video that truly encompasses everything I love about this game and this franchise. You even got me to have a better understanding of some of the plot decisions they made. This game is incredible, and yes, definitely overlooked. Thank you for your labor of love, it's deeply appreciated ❤️

[@RemyMa88]

Thank you for this. I loved HZD and this was even better than that game. I’m so tired of seeing “video journalists” shitting on this game for literally stupid reasons.

[@bobpope3656]

As someone who didn’t pick this up and thinks about it a lot I am really excited for this.

[@jonbodhi]

PLAY IT!!!

[@kentslocum]

I completely agree that the map markers in the Horizon series serve an important purpose. Since Aloy has a Focus, it makes sense that she would be alerted to points of interest and activity in her vicinity.

[@orionthenewgod4106]

the comparison to Mass Effect 2 as the appropriate sequel feeling is spot on. can't explain it any other way. great description of the feel. full story in first game, enthralling and immersive, then second game feels like its built on a solid foundation with complex but fun and useful systems. great stuff.

[@triton5336]

Man this video is a Masterpiece, I enjoyed every second not too long and not too short. The jokes were great too, 😂, Horizon is game of the year for me, despite its flaws its somehow perfect I simply can't complain about anything except that I can't f-ing live in the World and that it will come to an end eventually just like all great things, and during this video I realized that's okay because the pursuit of immortality can ultimately cause the demise of anything prematurely. Again Bravo, excellent job 👏.

[@TrueLucinova]

I'll admit, of the relevant games in the video, I've not played Elden Ring, The Witcher III, nor Dark Souls - only BotW and the two Horizon games; it's rather refreshing to see you not only bring up those other games, but also speak positively on them Of the Discords I'm a part of, I feel like some people often get too hung up on what's better and try to bring everything they dislike down as a result. Basically, I'm glad to see someone speak so highly of HFW without tearing apart other games Also, I totally remember Petra, and I'm totally offended you imply I wouldn't [/s] Anyway, I have to agree with your stance on Rebel Outposts... even the Camps, while cool, feel a bit less interesting to me than the ones in ZD (though the one under a Horus unit is pretty metal)

[@quailchicken7517]

Excellent video!! Love the effort and care put into this. Thank you!

[@jaxon.hester]

I could tell this was a passion project, this was a great watch! Subbed!

[@SWOutlanderJE]

Excellent vid, liked and subscribed! Some great points were raised, and some stuff that I had overlooked or hadn't really thought aboiut during my 120+hr playthrough. Horizon is quickly establishing itself as one of my favorite gaming franchises along with Mass Effect (which given the similarities you mentioned shouldn't come as much of a surprise - guess I'm a sucker for that kind of formula). One thing is for certain though, the threequel needs a companion beard toggle.

[@SuperNemmesis]

This is one of the best game reviews I have ever watched.

[@nitrorustler333]

Loved the game. Came here from your first Horizon vid. This was amazing work sir, don't stop.

[@DanielRodriguez-gs2xj]

This video was very well made and very well detailed, going over ever aspect and bringing forth things I, personally, never saw or never put togther. I can't wait to watch your other retrospectives to see what else you have to say about other games. BUT on a side note I think that line that Travis Tate said is going to come back around in the third game, that Elizabet DIDN'T like the people on earth and found a way to stop the faro plague but purposefully allowed the clean slate to happen to give humanity a restart. Knowing that if saved they would just automatically go back to the infighting but hoped by resetting everything and teaching them about the horrors of the world from an early age they would be better and do better.