I can't believe it is more than a year since I penned my review of Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 5. It had stiff competition around its release date, with Elden Ring being available on three platforms; while Forbidden West was only on the PS4 and PS5.
In case you don't know what Horizon is all about, in my prior review I described it as
... an open world action game where you fight mechanical monsters in a post-apocalyptic world where the balance of nature is a struggle for survival.It is a world where you can sneak, trap, melee or explode your foes to smithereens. You can do what you want, when you want, and how you want to do it.
One year later, an expansion pack and DLC is now available for Forbidden West, and it is called The Burning Shores. It builds upon the story of Forbidden West, and is entirely comprised of end-game content and an all new area.
It introduces a few new fearsome machine monsters, and a couple of truly epic (and challenging) boss fights that are amazing set pieces. Beyond this; the expansion pack adds a lot of everything that was to love about the original title: more "bandit" camps to invade, clear, and loot; more weapons to collect, and a few new abilities at the end of the skill tree to master.
At the same time, the level cap is increased to allow for you to learn some of these new abilities; and finally, you get to do some augmentation to your melee weapon, allowing you to imbue it with elements.
While this doesn't solve the complaint of stealth against monsters and high level humanoid enemies; it certainly gives you additional strategies if you're a melee master in the way in which you play Aloy.
There's new collectibles, puzzles, side quests, and all of it is completely top notch; just like the content in the original game. This doesn't feel like a rushed expansion pack and a money grab, owing to the amount of time "between drinks", and the quality of this as an all-in "only end game" content expansion module.
As a result, the difficulty curve as you begin is quite harsh, as you try to remember how to play at the apex of your ability after having not played the game for over a year. This difficulty fades away fairly rapidly, and once you've become re-acquainted with your abilities; you're able to make short work of most scenarios that The Burning Shores throws at you.
There's one thing that The Burning Shores throws at you in absolutely absurd quantities, and that's eye candy. There's flowing lava, craggy rocks, beaches, overgrown ancient facilities, and some extensive underwater sections that are all beyond gorgeous. It is one thing to marvel at screenshots of this game, it is completely another thing to see it outside of a trailer, and watch the landscape, lighting, creatures, animation, and character models all coalesce into a stunning, HDR, high resolution image with a smooth framerate.
Seriously, trailers do not do this game justice. They're compressed. They're lossy. They don't translate the true dynamic range on offer in the game's visuals. Sunsets hurt to look at. Shadows are hard to see in. Water bounces light around. Materials become damp in the rain or the water, and sand even sticks to characters as they are thrown about in combat. It is exceptional attention to detail, and the closer you look, the more you're rewarded with fine artistic direction and an almost fetishistic pursuit of "what else can we do to make this world look lived in and simultaneously abandoned?"
For the sticker price of admission ($30AUD) - The Burning Shores adds about 10 hours of gameplay if you rush through the main story line. Much more if you don't, and focus on the other details. All up, by time I'd finished the mainline quest for the expansion, my save file clocked in at 150 hours, which is exceptional value for the game + expansion, and even the console.
Value proposition for my play through (including the original title)
- Console - $750
- Base Game - $89
- DLC - $30
Hours Played:
- 150
Cost per hour:
$5.8 / AUD.
The PS5 has been an exceptional deal from a value for money stand point, not withstanding the 80 or so hours I've also pumped into Gran Turismo 7.
I cannot wait to see what comes next from Guerrilla Games, and I hope there's at least one more (non-VR) Horizon game in the works. I love the world building and art direction so much.
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