There's always room for improvement no matter how loved your game is, from smaller things that can revamp details of the world and characters to accessibility options that make the experience a more thrilling one. Horizon Forbidden West is no exception, as game areas would flourish with changes. Aloy sets off to the Forbidden west in this sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn to extinguish the threat of the Far Zenith and restore GAIA to her original capabilities.
As is the case with all open-world games, there's plenty to get stuck into aside from the story, which will undoubtedly get players sidetracked. The sprawling beauty of the wilds is enchanting, though that doesn't mean it's void of criticism.
6 Faster Rolling Times So Aloy Doesn't Get Stun Locked
Battling small machines and any rebels is a breeze, but with the gigantic size of the large machines, combat can become more frustrating than it needs to be. Fighting a Tremortusk or a Slitherfang isn't meant to be easy, but we can't help but wonder how much better the combat would be if machines wouldn't attack as much as they do to the point where it's near impossible to move Aloy out of the way. You can dodge, run, and jump to try to escape, but most times, this all fails.
With the larger machines, yes, they need to showcase intensity in their battles, but also where there's enough wiggle room to get an attack or two on those critical weak points. Thankfully this isn't the case with all machines, but in some scenarios, you'll be searching for an easy out as you can't even attempt to defend yourself.
5 Fewer Hints During Missions
The first few hints given during your time in the Forbidden West are excellent. They help you know the right place to go and the best way of approaching a situation, but there are times when it would be best if Aloy didn't continue to repeat the same three lines of dialogue. For example, say you've just completed a battle, there's a ton of salvage and resources to loot, so you make your way around, picking up every scrap you find, but in the background, the NPC you're in the middle of a side quest with keeps asking you to come to talk to them.
You will eventually head over to them if you do want to finalize the quest, but these NPCs don't seem to take the hint that you want to loot before doing so.
4 Improved Climbing Accessibility
The climbing of Forbidden West is much improved over that of Zero Dawn. Both games have pretty great climbing mechanics, with Aloy being able to traverse much of the rocky mountains with ease. Though there are a few places on these craggy rocks that Aloy should be able to climb, yet she can't. This feels like a mechanic implemented a lot of the time, so Aloy has to take the long route round, which can become annoying when you can climb up the side of one part of the mountain but not another part of the same mountain.
Climbing also heavily relies on camera angles, making it tricky to reach the top of specific landmarks without going for the jump and just hoping for the best.
3 Wider Dye Variety
Dye application is dependent on the tribe outfits you are applying them to; Carja colors can only be applied to Carja outfits, Tenakth colors to Tenakth outfits, etc. There isn't much in the way of variety with the limited options, and while adding the chance to dye your outfits is a huge leap forward for the customizability of Aloy, we spend enough time with the character that a couple of extra options would fair well.
Early Autumn, Forge Flare, and Grey Dawn are three standout colors, but are only usable on the tribe outfits they're associated with. There are also flashy colors like Eventide, which don't fit as well into the world as the other choices.
2 Better Salvage Contracts
Salvage contracts are mainly hunting objectives to earn rewards that eventually divulge into one long side quest. Your first foray into salvage contracts will be shortly after entering the Forbidden West when you meet a man named Keruf. Completing the four stages requires you complete contracts from characters Larend, Handa, Runda, and Danur, where you mainly head to different machine sites and retrieve the components these characters need.
The reward for completing all of these is pretty great, bestowing upon Aloy a legendary outfit known as the Oseram Artificer. The problem is a lot of these contracts aren't too fun to sit through, with the contracts that continue to pile up on you becoming more of an annoyance than anything. More variety and fewer objectives would go a long way in making the reward seem worth the trouble.
1 A Different Experience To Horizon Zero Dawn
Less is more, and in Horizon Forbidden West's case, the entire game would be more enthralling if it differed more from the original game. Now more of what made Zero Dawn so widely loved isn't a bad thing, but a few liberties would improve upon various aspects across the board. Aspects like altering the hunting grounds, salvage contracts, and story beats. Visual elements and the scope of the world are some of the most significant improvements from Forbidden West's predecessor, with facial animations looking more fluid and the writing seeing a major overhaul.
This side of the coin is great and what we did get isn't terrible. It's just that the game would be a bit more enjoyable with more changes to side activities and the like.