Although I pre-ordered the game, I wasn't expecting the sequel.Horizon more than that, and for good reason... I still haven't finished the first episode. Not that it's bad, far from it, but I found that Guerilla took far too long to set up its story (and more generally its universe). In order to be ready, I read a lot of books on the universe, and I also watched many videos to understand the ins and outs of the story. I may have missed a few details here and there, but I didn't feel lost browsing through this sequel, which is overall much better than its elder, for my greatest pleasure!
Aloy is more expressive than ever! I hadn't seen this since TLOU Part 2.
For those who, like me, have not finished the first opus, the studio offers, as soon as we launch a new game, a summary of a few minutes which allows you to quickly pose the universe and the actions that Aloy carried out in Méridian. It is frankly welcome, even if it is mainly an overview, and that many details are - logically - omitted. The adventure begins with a rather long tutorial, since we find Aloy far from Meridian, desperately trying to get her hands on a copy of Gaia, the program allowing to make the planet habitable. Because despite the actions of our heroine, the planet is dying, and the Gaia program is incomplete, it will therefore be necessary to travel to the Prohibited West to recover the various elements allowing Gaia to be reconstituted in order to "repair" the planet.
Unlike the first game, this sequel puts us right in the thick of things and creates a sense of urgency. The latter, we may regret, is however illusory, since we are free to explore the world as we see fit. Suffice to say that we will regularly move away from the main quest, since there is a lot to do for Aloy! Ruins to explore, hunting areas and tribal camps to clean, large necks to hack or endless side quests, it's hard to get bored or just wander around Horizon. And I was amazed many times by the quality of writing of the title, and by its staging!
In stealth approach, most "standard" machines kill themselves in one shot.
Indeed, Horizon: Zero Dawn had a big flaw in my opinion, the writing was sometimes a little on this side, and above all, we were far too often entitled to simple shots/reverse shots during the cutscenes. Guerilla has done a marvelous job this time, the staging is often dynamic, the characters are much more expressive when they speak (while avoiding the theatrical side of a Assassin's Creed : Odyssey) and we enjoy listening to each of the stories, which are often fascinating. We find stories of tribes that cannot be framed, it's true, but we understand as we progress how each clan got there. In short, whether it's its main plot or its side effects, I took great pleasure in "losing myself" in this open world, despite a map always overloaded with points of interest. I would also have appreciated a little silence from Aloy. We understand, from her childhood, why she talks to herself... on the other hand, it has been pushed to the limit here, Aloy goes there with her little commentary indicating what to do, sometimes without leaving us the time to analyze the environment and find the solution by ourselves. Frustrating, very clearly.
In terms of game systems, we take the same and start over, improving/remodeling different aspects. For my part, I opted for a stealth approach, and often used and abused the skill to make myself "invisible" to machines and other humanoids in order to perform devastating stealth attacks. On the other hand, don't expect to do a one-shot on everything that moves, that would be much too simple! I concede that I didn't choose the most fun approach, since I spent my time hiding to hit better then... which is a mistake, with hindsight. I indeed chose to maximize the stealth branch in terms of skills (there are 6 distinct trees now, compared to 3 for the first episode) thinking I could get out of it without difficulty, but I was put off by many many times, since I had no power with my melee or bow attacks. Nothing insurmountable, after a few attempts and consuming beaucoup medicinal plants, it's ok, as long as you correctly target the weak points of the machine, and take the time to analyze each of them, to see their strengths and weaknesses. It will sometimes be necessary to privilege the arrows of acid, at other times the electric traps, the spears of fire and other joys. Horizon is a game that varies the pleasures and tolerates different approaches, while offering a rather high challenge as soon as you opt for the appropriate difficulty modes.
The photo mode makes us aware of the level of detail provided by Guerilla. Aloy sweats when she's hot!
You will have the possibility to choose between 5 difficulty modes. From the "Story" mode, which allows you to focus on the quests without worrying too much about the fights (automatic healing, simplified aiming...), to the "Very difficult" mode, which will put your nerves to the test, with damn tough machines, leaving almost no room for error. I, for my part, opted for the in-between, namely, the Normal mode, which offers a fairly satisfactory balance. Note that you can adjust certain accessibility gauges to your liking, to create a "tailor-made" experience. Always good to take!
Technically, the images scattered here and there in the article and the numerous videos published by the publisher speak for themselves. Horizon: Forbidden West is wonderful. Artistically, it's always flawless, this post-apocalyptic world impresses and we are captivated each time we discover a new area. The level of detail and vegetation leaves you speechless, and sometimes causes a little flickering. Concern raised by quite a few players and on which Guerilla is working. The tour de force is all the more impressive as the game is cross-gen (I haven't had time to try the PS4 version, but it seems to come out of it with honors according to the few feedbacks gleaned ). Really looking forward to seeing the studio at work on a PS5 exclusive game! As often on next-gen consoles, you can choose between 2 graphics modes. Here, a resolution mode, which provides 4K resolution by lowering the framerate to 30, and a Performance mode, which aims for 60 frames / second by trimming the resolution. Everyone has their own preference. For my part, even if we actually distinguish more details in "Resolution" mode, I preferred the comfort of Performance mode, ensuring more fluidity, and making the fights much more pleasant.
Each crucible is visually insane!
Like many open-world games, Horizon is not excluded from more or less annoying bugs. Other than an abrupt closure of the game during a fight, I was relatively spared on my end. Most of the worries I've encountered have been rather amusing. A character in the background who flies away, hair that suddenly comes alive, a bit late lighting, NPCs running in the void... there's enough to fill a whole paragraph to tell the truth, but as often, after a few patches (a first salvo of patches has already taken place at the time of writing these lines), everything should work fine. On the soundtrack side, I read the title in VF, and I found it convincing overall. Some characters sometimes lack a bit of energy when they speak, but we are still faced with a high-level location. The soundtrack as for it is always divine, and I listen to it besides while writing these lines. The main theme is still striking and, overall, no music disappoints!
You will understand, I love Horizon 2 : Forbidden West, and I will soon return there to collect the precious platinum trophy. The detractors will argue that we are facing a Horizon 1.5, and I can't totally agree with them. Guerilla has however managed to erase the faults of the first game and ensure that the overall experience is extremely pleasant. Probably not my GOTY, but definitely one of the titles to do this year!
