Review of Horizon West: After dawn, the bright sun shines brightly

The birth of Horizon Westward Endless (hereinafter referred to as Westward Endless) is foreseeable. Not to mention the story foreshadowing left by the ending of the previous game "Zero Dawn on the Horizon" (hereinafter referred to as "Zero Dawn"), when it comes to the successful sales of the game with over 20 million copies, Guerrilla  Studios is unwilling to tell Eloy's story.

The direction of evolution in "The End of the West" can also be foreseen to a certain extent. Based on the system framework set up in "Dawn of Zero", we promote the advantages of the previous game that players have praised - inserting more mechanical beasts, showcasing more charming natural scenery, and providing players with more diverse long-range weapons At the same time, improvements have been made to the melee attack system, which is considered a chicken's rib, as well as the stiff and paralyzed stand up dialogue of characters (which has actually been improved in the previous DLC), and so on. The formula for a standard sequel seems to have been completed.

But when I think about it, what is the actual feeling of playing with my hands?

*The descriptions and viewpoints included in the review only represent the subjective opinions of the reviewer, and the actual gaming experience varies from person to person.

**The version used in this review is PS5 version.

The picturesque Western Forbidden Area

When Zero Dawn was released that year, it was praised by many players as one of the best open world games on the PS4. At the end of the game, "The End of the West" inherits this excellent tradition and can be regarded as an excellent work showcasing the performance of the PS5.

It has a vast map, spanning from the valleys in the extreme east to the oceans in the extreme west, traversing numerous landforms such as forests, deserts, snow capped mountains, plains, and deserts. With the alternation of sunrise and sunset, each landscape showcases a unique natural aesthetic scenery.

The newly added underwater scenes in this game are also quite eye-catching, especially the underwater Las Vegas in the main storyline. It has been dormant below sea level for thousands of years and has come back to life with the arrival of Eloy, like a modern version of Atlantis. However, due to the slow underwater movement, most of the related content outside the main storyline is collected items, without any combat activities. It can only be said that the scenery is good, but the gameplay is relatively average.

Although there has not been a strict comparison, I feel that the density of technological creations from the old human civilization in the map in "Endless Horizon of the West" is higher than in the previous game. Every few walks, you can see abandoned vehicles, broken walls, crashed planes, and even machinery damaged in the old Japanese war. Most of the time, they do not directly participate in the actual gaming experience, but only serve as a part of the environment, quietly creating an atmosphere together with the stunning natural scenery.

The scenery is beautiful and people are also beautiful. When Eloy entered the settlement and interacted with various tribal clans, he could clearly see the traces of time on the faces of different characters, as well as many details on the painted clothing.

The mechanical beasts are also exquisitely depicted, and when you approach them to control them, you can still vaguely see scratches and rust on their bodies due to lack of maintenance.

The only downside is that in this open world, there are occasional bugs with texture loading errors. Although this is not a particularly big problem, it can indeed affect the gaming experience. In theory, this situation should not occur with the performance of PS5 SSD, and we hope to make improvements in future patches; Another thing is that some scenes are really dark, and when I encounter such situations, I can only focus on scanning again and again to confirm my position. Fortunately, I haven't encountered them many times.

Adding content based on the previous work

It took me about 40 hours to complete "The End of the West", which included the main storyline, several important companion tasks, and side quests and collecting elements along the way. The built-in statistics of the game show that I only completed 44% of the game's content during clearance.

Although I didn't invest too much energy into other content in the middle and later stages due to rushing to advance the main storyline, the comparison of these two numbers can still intuitively reflect the large capacity of this open world.

It can be said that "West End" has made a lot of additions to the existing map elements in the previous game: "Zero Dawn" includes text/audio files, hunting grounds, rebel camps, and collection elements that can be found in the new game. It also adds content such as riding races, fighting grounds, arenas, relics, and even a small game called "Machine Go".

There are a total of 22 branches in "Dawn of Zero", but in my 44% completion rate of the clearance archives in "Endless West", there are already 17 completed branches.

This beautiful western region, whether in terms of content density or richness, surpasses its predecessor and is definitely enjoyable.

Thanks to the addition of new tools, exploration itself has become more free and smooth. In the story, Eloy will successively obtain items such as a puller and shield wings. The puller can either pull objects or act as a hook launcher to quickly move Eloy to a certain position. The grappling points are scattered throughout the game and are also a practical means of displacement in combat; Shield wings allow Eloy to glide in the air, making it convenient to return to the ground from high altitude. If there are enemies below, they can also launch aerial attacks directly.

Moreover, in "The End of the West", climbing mountains can also be more free. In the previous installment, Eloy was only able to climb along a given beam or rock protrusion. In this installment, although he wasn't able to climb everywhere yet, many rock surfaces had climbing judgment areas, and Focus's eyes were filled with yellow lines indicating that he could climb.

The new work has also humanized the addition of a warehouse system, and during the exploration process, the backpack will no longer be full like in the previous work, making it impossible to continue picking up things. Excess materials will be directly transported back to the warehouse.

The item management, which was criticized by players in the previous game, has also been improved in "The End of the West". Now, items can be directly sorted by type, rarity, and quantity, making it much more convenient to find and sell items.

However, the items in the item bar still use the directional keys used in the previous game to switch between left and right modes, making it inconvenient to find and restore items during battles or summon mounts during exploration.

When the game is about to complete the main storyline, flying mounts will be unlocked. When in the wilderness, you can ride the "Sunwing" and fly across the entire map anytime and anywhere, which is very enjoyable. However, it should be noted that using flying mounts may disrupt some of the exploration experience. For example, in a scene where a special underwater passage was carefully designed, it can now fly directly to the rooftop and enter along the gap.

So the next two questions are, how did these map events go? Will the player experience be fragmented due to the need to explore the map?

In my personal experience, the quality of the map events in "The End of the West" is quite good. The fighting arena, arena, and hunting ground test the player's level of combat against different types of enemies. The collection elements in the ruins are no longer just a matter of crawling or scanning, but require solving puzzles to ultimately obtain them.

Although the side quests are generally based on the previous set of task templates - Focus scanning, tracking and investigating, running to a certain place to fight mechanical beasts, climbing mountains and high-rise buildings, etc. - with a certain degree of repetition, players can go further and explore more freely with the help of new tools such as hook launchers and diving masks. The experience is better. The side quests mainly showcase the daily life of tribal people, perfect and supplement the main storyline, and most of the characters have their own interesting and unique personalities. Several companions also have exclusive long side quests.

One great thing is that the dialogue in the side storyline will also change according to the progress of the main storyline. For example, when I took on a side storyline task before a certain critical storyline, and completed the side storyline after that critical storyline, the NPC will also respond to my performance in that storyline.

I often encounter similar conversations while strolling around the town during my free time. For example, when I returned to the initial town after completing the customs, the merchant was discussing with the woman beside me what Eloy had done along the way. Such thoughtful little details make the world more authentic.

If you only want to advance the main storyline to achieve a coherent story experience, it should also be feasible. My situation is that during the journey, if there happens to be a map event nearby, I will do it without much detour. In this way, when playing and advancing the main storyline, I usually have a level three or four higher than the main storyline requirements, but with a few more skills and some health points, the difference is not very significant. More often than not, it still relies on weapon selection and enemy strategy to defeat the enemy.

Heroes heading west, companions walking together

Excluding settings such as the Apocalypse world and the archery hunting of mechanical beasts, Zero Dawn actually tells a story of "hero rise" - Eloy gradually grows from a little girl excluded by the tribe to a hero who saves the world. Her red hair, along with her bows and arrows, has become a legendary existence that has been passed down among tribes. Her brave, kind, and resilient personality is also remembered by us players.

So in the game "The End of the West", how can we continue to dig deeper into the charm of Eloy, a character with a full image, without making players feel bored? The answer given by Guerrilla Studio is to give Eloy a group of companions and make her a leader.

Please don't misunderstand for now, this is not to say that there will be team strategy development related gameplay in "The End of the West". The player still controls Eloy to move all the way west. However, on this journey, Eloy will encounter several trusted friends, some of whom are familiar faces from the previous installment, as well as new friends made in Western forbidden areas.

In his daily interactions with them, Eloy's attitude will change, from wanting to shoulder all the responsibilities alone to gradually becoming accustomed to fighting alongside his companions.

When the plot advances to a certain point, Eloy will have a base where everyone lives, chats, and holds battle meetings. Not only did Eloy interact with a few companions, but there were also interactions between other companions. Every time I return to the base in the game, the first thing I do is to chat with my companions. The rich dialogue texts undoubtedly make the images of these characters more prominent.

In terms of the gameplay process, one thing that left a deep impression on me in "The End of the West" is that many of the main and side lines were completed by Eloy and various different characters, and there was much more fighting with companions than in "Zero Dawn".

Although most of the time you can't count on their combat power, the West is indeed rich in chatterbox. Whether on the road or in battle, the mouths of your companions don't stop much, making adventure no longer lonely.

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The previous game "Zero Dawn" used a tantalizing approach to finally explain the meaning of "Zero Dawn" in the later stages of the game, explaining how the world has become a place where primitive tribes and advanced mechanical beasts coexist. It also leaves several key foreshadowings at the end.

Although after the mysterious veil of "how the Earth became like this" was lifted, my interest in the main storyline of "The End of the West" was not as curious as in the previous work, it was indeed a decent story:

This still involves the intricacies of old human civilization, as well as the love and hate between Western tribes. The foreshadowing of the previous work was clearly explained, with ups and downs in the story, which moved my concern for Eloy and his companions, and always had a goal. There were mysteries that drove me to understand the final truth.

And the game once again laid the groundwork, which means that the story of Eloy will continue.

Hunting machinery, enjoy the battle

Hunting mechanical beasts, especially giant ones, is undoubtedly the most exciting part of the gameplay process in Zero Dawn, and this is definitely one of the most anticipated contents for players in West End.

This work did not disappoint at this point. Guerrilla  Studio worked together to enhance the hunter's combat ability, enrich the variety of prey, and maintain the deterrent power of mechanical beasts.

Firstly, there are hunters. Eloy has six different skill trees this time, and the biggest difference from his predecessor is that the game equips each weapon with an active skill. For example, the Hunter Bow can now shoot two or three arrows at the same time, the Explosive Gun can transform into a machine gun and shoot the crossbow arrows in one go, and the Tripper Gun can complete the tripper deployment in one shot.

Weapons have become stronger and more numerous. The newly added weapons "Nail Shooter" and "Crusher Guard" are both very useful and reside in my weapon wheel.

Previously, the courage surge skills demonstrated by Zhonghua Li's appearance also matched its visual performance, with a total of 12 that meet various needs such as melee, ranged, survival, and stealth. After any point is full, using it is equivalent to opening an official cheat in a short period of time, which can greatly affect the battlefield situation.

In addition, there are also some small humanized changes, such as in the previous game, there were only four weapons that could be equipped at the same time, but in this game, it has been reduced to six; There are also skills on the equipment that can be stacked and strengthened with the skills on the skill tree.

These improvements to the combat system are quite good. Unfortunately, although the spear melee attack with chicken ribs in the previous installment was more effective in "The West: Endless Realm", it was still not a good choice in most cases.

Although Guerrilla Studio's improvement direction is commendable - designing multiple unique combos for spears, combining ranged and melee with the skill "Resonance Burst", and having many passive skills specifically for melee, ultimately, the risk of engaging in melee attacks near mechanical beasts still far outweighs the benefits. Spears are only useful when facing human enemies, but most of the time the game is fought against mechanical beasts.

Of course, spears are not a completely useless place for martial arts. In "The End of the West," several human boss battles are arranged, as well as a combat arena specifically designed for spears, which still has highlights.

If only hunters become stronger while mechanical beasts stand still, it will definitely not provide an exciting combat experience. There are over 40 types of mechanical beasts in "The End of the West", which is nearly twice as many as the previous work's more than 20. There are multiple variants of the same mechanical beast that cannot be addressed using the same method.

In the previous installment, the Thunder Tooth and Storm Bird were two impressive mechanical beasts. This installment also added multiple large mechanical beasts based on creatures such as the Sidewinder, Serpent Necked Dragon, and Mammoth. They have a strong attack desire, high damage, and high attack frequency, which can cause damage to the field. After experiencing a tough battle, eliminating any one of them can generate a great sense of achievement.

Many tasks involve multiple combinations of mechanical beasts, which further tests the player's hunting skills. If you feel that the main storyline battles are not exciting enough, Westward Adventure also provides a dedicated arena, which is different from the wild hunting ground in the previous game. It starts directly after entering, which is quite challenging.

PS5 version, making the experience more immersive

Because I am experiencing the PS5 version, which has added many new features compared to the PS4 version, I will bring it up and discuss it separately. And the PS5 version of this work is indeed worth mentioning.

Firstly, the loading of the game. Although there may be occasional bugs in texture loading, and the process of loading high-quality textures on the ground scene can be clearly seen while riding on a flying mount, the overall performance of this SSD is still commendable. The transfer time between maps is usually between 6-12 seconds, and the time for resurrection after death is generally around 10 seconds, which is basically the time to stop and take a sip of water.

There are two types of screen modes, namely 4K 30 frame and 60 frame modes, which are currently standard in PS5 games.

The adaptation trigger and tactile feedback of DualSense have been applied quite well in "The End of the West". Believe me, when you first pull the bowstring in the game, you will fall in love with this feeling. Not only does each weapon have different trigger resistance - longer range resistance is higher for archers like bows, while shorter range resistance is lower for war bows, but the handle also makes a simulated sound of pulling the bowstring.

Continuous bow pulling will also result in varying degrees of vibration feedback. Taking the new weapon "Crush Guard" as an example, "Crush Guard"& nbsp; The launch is a high-speed spinning frisbee, and as we continue to pull the bow, we can see Eloy's hand holding the "crushing guard" swaying and swaying as the frisbee rotates. At the same time, the handle also vibrates high-frequency under the drive of the motor, with just the right amount of force and without affecting the gaming experience.

When the bowstring is fully pulled and shot, the handle will also emit a crisp warning sound. If the ammunition in Eloy's hand is electric, even without a bow, the handle will emit a faint electric current sound.

Tactile feedback is not only reflected in archery. When the player opens their shield wings in the air, the controller will simulate the vibration felt by the wind, and the corresponding sound effects will be emitted at the moment of opening and closing the wings.

When players sneak into a haystack, suffer damage, are in an abnormal state, roll over, approach a fire, or even just jump and land in place, DualSense will provide vibration feedback of varying sizes, giving players a stronger sense of immersion. When Eloy swims in the water, the frequency of vibration is still consistent with the frequency of her kicking.

When the player swings the spear for melee, the controller will also emit corresponding sound effects, with different sound effects for flying and hitting.

It is truly a first party game.

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junction

If you like Horizon Zero Dawn, then you will definitely love Horizon West Endless. It stands on the shoulders of the previous game, comprehensively improving the combat system and exploration experience, filling in richer content, with a large volume and more refined polishing.

It will be a benchmark for PS5 game graphics for a long time to come, and also a textbook example of using DualSense controllers.

Although the plot is not as fresh as the previous one, the game portrays the image of Eloy more fully, shaping several impressive supporting role. The story of Eloy will continue, which also raises expectations for future stories in the series.