Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Horizon Forbidden West?

Hard 10 from me. I love the new machines, I love the new traversal, I love new progression, it all just hits tge sweet spot for me. My only real complaint right now is that there's no new game plus, but I'm sure that's coming later.

Bravo Guerilla. You knocked out of the park yet again.

So far a solid 9 in my books! Everything from the first game in terms of story and gameplay has improved drastically. Well done, Guerrilla Games.

For me it was like an epic “film premier” start and I’m absolutely enjoying every second of it. It’s like every side quest is a adventure in on its self and I’m loving the character interactions.
So it’s: Gameplay:10 Story so far :10, AI:10 Graphics:10, Basically a 10 out of 10 game and the best game I’ve ever played 😉👍

I’d probably say a 7. Lots of things better than the first game, great side quests and combat but the technical issues, traversal being a bit rubbish and janky and the plot not being my thing in the slightest bumps it down a bit.

9 for me. I think it's better than the first in pretty much every way.

9/10 from me. It’s an open world game that makes me want to check out every bit of the map and do every little thing, and not just for the trophies - that doesn’t happen too often.

Havent played enough of it yet to give it a score.

Easily achieves a 9/10 for me. The improvements between Zero Dawn and this are big enough to feel the difference. Some things still aren’t perfect but no game ever is and I’d rather take this as it is than have someone tinker too much and break the things that do work. The plot is also pulling me along so far and, as was mentioned in the review, it’s just told so much better.

10/10 from me.

It's a much better game than the first, there's more to do and explore, more weapons and armor and now added skills and special moves, new traversal mechanics and better skill trees.

Best game I've played this year so far and will be pretty hard to be topped

9/10 for me. Definitely better than zero dawn and that one was already good. I encountered a few bugs like monsters getting stuck in rocks resources under ground and the game crashed on me once.

It boggles my mind Elden Ring is scoring higher than Horizon Forbidden West. Hype is definitely a factor. There are so many technical issues with Elden Ring, but it's getting so many 10/10 ratings despite that. HFW gets points knocked off for technical issues, though. Unfortunate. Guerilla has plenty to celebrate still, but it is a shame both Horizon games have been eclipsed by other releases that have been hyped to astronomical heights and are arguably not better games.

A 9 my only real complaints are a bit of jank here and there and my favourite character being palmed off to optional side content and not getting to be part of the main party. Other than that it's been pretty much everything a sequel should be

I’m only 8 hours in so far so my view could change by the end.

So far the story has been very lacking. I felt that it had fake urgency to it from the very start. Aloy feels very annoying at times when she talks.

The platforming is super painful. There was one story mission, “Deaths Door” that made me want to throw my controller.

Beyond the story and platforming, it feels like the first one did to me. I’d probably give this a 7.5 for what I’ve played so far.

10/10 from me, although there were few minor hickups on release. It was fixed week one, so I'll let it slide. Understandably it won't be for everyone, but it is as stated by others "open world game for people who generally hate open world games".

Avoiding other comments for spoilers. But I'm 30 hours in and am fascinated by the game. Both the story-telling and depth of gameplay. BUT, there are some bugs. I just encountered one this morning where my weapon type got locked and it wouldn't switch. I ended up having to die and restart. Another one last night where a required enemy kill somehow got stuck inside a rock!
The bugs are totally immersion breaking. If they didn't keep popping up, this is an EASY 10/10. As it is, it's a solid 9.

The exploration of the game is so amazing. I've spent hours just going with a 'hey what's over there'?

9/10 all day long. Clean up the jank and its a 10.

EPIC MASTERPIECE!!! Only game that can knock it from game of the year is God of War Ragnorok. No way Elden Ring ( too many souls/Bourne game already) going open world don’t help. And I own all including Elden Ring digital and collectors edition. And NO WAY Zelda BotW sequel. Put over 20 hours into the original and was board to tears and I wanted to love that game. It was a big empty boring tedious world!!! And Starfield hell noooo skyrim/fallout in space… no thanks trying to play a game of that length with the GIMP Xbox control just can’t!!!

@TheCollector316 its obviously certain sad fanboys trying everything make sure horizon forbidden west doesn't get high scores it deserves by helping other games get scores when they have more issues 🙄 bet those same fanboys give other games higher ratings

Just got my platinum last night, solid 9+.
Edit// Been seeing a lot of comments around about bugs, I can't relate. 65+ hours on PS5 and the only bug I experienced was a wonky shadow on Aloy during a cutscene, other than that not a single hiccup.

I rated it 9.5/10 on my instagram, I think there are some things they can improve a ton but honestly loved the game! Can't wait for the sequel

Only just out of the Daunt so maybe scoring alittle early but so far I'd give it a 9. It improves on the original and the new robots are great to fight. However there are some negatives: the platforming can be finicky, some far texture pop in, glitchy movement when using heavy weapons. Minor things that can be fixed tho, not enough to stop the good times

It is a better game than Zero Dawn in almost every way, but it doesn't feel like a game that has been in development for 5 years. Not sure if the PC Port took them too much time or resources or if, the fact that, it is a PS4 game after all. Maybe a bit of both. I really can't tell. I give it an SUPERB which translates to an 8 so far. I haven't finished it yet. I've been roughly 30 hours in it.

Every once in a while a game just hits different. This is one of them. Gameplay loop, graphics, music, lore...everything is just spot on.

10/10. Graphics and gameplay is superb, the fact that they went further with the former is unbelievable. Horizon doesn't get much credit for having these beautiful unique robotic enemies and setting. It's just ignorant for some reviewers to say it doesn't do anything new.

Easily a 9 (I’m only 20 hours in, so could end up being worthy of a 10), but in todays numbered reviewing, 13.

Unrelated, but how is 6 "not bad" and 5 "average".
I think 7 should be average/good enough. If someone told me a game is a 6 I would run far from it.

HFW score:
9.2

• Aloy talks too much
• • Dialogue options (Recycling of saying the same thing over and over)
• Visual bugs (thank god they're only visual ones)
• AI could be better when it comes to finding you
• Some characters not being as good
• Some side quests were not that interesting
• Story not not being as good as the first one.

Music, Traversal, World, Sound, Gameplay, Graphics, Content, Side Quests are better than the first one.

Now I gave HZD a 9.6, HFW is better in every way except for bug control and dialogue/story stuff, but since this is a new gen and personally I expect better games, it's why it's worse in comparison. Like I wouldn't give TLOU 10/10 today.

@Falkirk4life It's not hard to believe people have opinions that aren't the same as yours.

The gameplay is better than the first, but I haven’t gotten far enough into the story to have a solid opinion on that yet.

@Ichiban That shouldn't bother you and you shouldn't call out people like that.

@JAMes-BroWWWn Totally agree with you there. The sequel borrowed a lot from prequel and added lesser.

9 out of 10 for me amazing game one of the best looking open worlds.I did think the story was a bit better in the first game but improves on everything else.

I give it a 7 they did improve on the first but it seems like they didn't add many new things to the game and just felt a bit like a massive expansion to me, the story was okay but very forgettable, the graphics though are amazing just think they could of made it feel like a new game instead of an expansion my personal anyway

@RevGaming before IGN ruined the out of 10 scoring system years ago 5 used to be average but ok, 4 below average but still ok and 6 above average ok. 7 being average makes no sense as average means middle ground and 5 is the middle of 0 and 10. Website’s have recently been going back to the classic 0-3 being bad, 4 to 6 being ok, 7 to 9 being great and 10 being as close to perfect as possible.

"Score?"... kept me up till 3:30AM playing - had to force myself to bed 😅

No idea what "number" that is but this is the feeling I love about gaming - and hope to get when I start a game.

The world is also just Stunning! This team should do a Digital Art class or something. The talent on display here is mind blowing.

I do understand that one simpleton review bomber who said it's another soft inoffensive Sony game.

Quite frankly, it is. That was so annoying about HZD. Post apocalypse story and everyone talks like an utter moron plucked from Twitter. I get that it doesn't have to be like GTA's script, but at least have it have a pulsing heart. Show some sharp edges. Make jokes, have fun, curse at something, at someone, show some humanity

Other than that, definitely a 10/10.

@Ichiban Well we aren't scared to give 10, same as critics who like to dish out 10s. Why? Because if you wanna keep hoarding a simple number 10, waiting to give it to a PERFECT game, that day will never come.

@Falkirk4life So Xbox fanboys downvoted HFW and upvoted Elden Ring... common now. Why Halo ain't 97 then?

Love the gameplay but the story and characters are all super cringy.

@darkswabber well games overall score better than series and movies so I think 7 is average in my POV.

Excellent game. Finished it yesterday.

Waiting for them to add a New Game Plus.

I must admit it took me AGES to get familiar with the grappling hook (sorry, the uh… pull-caster). Doing one mission, I kept on falling in the water again and again. You know the one.

Had to basically start the game over again, but once I did it all just fell into place.

I didn’t play Machine Strike, or do much of the hunting grounds, but covered everything else I could find.

The bit I probably enjoyed the most was actually seeing Talanah again. And Plainsong is just gorgeous. And being able to fly the Sunwing.

I liked how the story seems to “tie up loose ends” was great.

Will definitely play it again soon.

Having an absolute blast! Everything has been improved, very well done. North or South for the 3rd game!?

No no no... let's keep equality. 8/10 as other outstanding games (yes, still in mind that R&C Rift Apart injustice)

A 9 for me. The traversal mechanics are a bit clunky and annoying at times, and I find the number of weapons and outfits a bit overwhelming but that aside I am having an absolute blast. The world and graphics are just spectacularly gorgeous and the detail in the side quests rival that of The Witcher 3. Am well and truly loving it.

If this were the only game I played all year, I'd be fine with that.

9.5/10.

So, the bad… the prologue was a bit clumsy, the climbing is infuriating at times, the npc’s are far more intelligent than they were in the first game (which is kinda jarring at first), you can’t whistle to lure machines. Too many weapons and outfits.

The good… everything else! Aloy is such a likeable protagonist. The writing is intelligent without being confusing. The side quests are interesting and varied (and finite!) - nothing worse than endless side quests that mean nothing (AC Valhalla… 👀). Side characters actually have depth and behave and talk like real people would. The map is also varied and is the perfect size, not to feel overwhelming. New machine types are brilliant.

It puts most other open-world games to shame honestly. Thank god we have Sony’s first party studio’s raising the bar and showing everyone else how it should be done.

A 9 from me. Love the combat, the open world is a joy and the story and presentation are also at a high standard.

Best Game i ever played.
Very Amazing

The more I play, the better it gets.

Definite 9. Improves on the original in every way and is a superbly colourful experience!

Some minor gripes with janky mechanics like the climbing and ability lock-on at points but it's serviceable at worst, not bad. Some small graphical quirks on release too + slightly too rough Performance mode.

I'm listing these things as really it's just easier to point out the few things it gets wrong rather than tons it does great 😁 beautiful game and likely a big future ahead for the franchise cough film cough

The person who voted ‘1/10 - Abysmal’ 🤣🤣🤣

It's far and away a better game than the original to be sure.

Looks beautiful, but honestly platforming is poor at times, riding on a mount and getting stuck on the slightest slope or terrain. Getting attacked and having to spend dodge, jump anything at I can't see for to scenery blocking everything.

Seriously not a 10 for me by a big margin. Missions etc are good and like the scope of side quests and collectables. But some gameplay improvements needed to basic functions.

I gave it a low score because I heard there might be DLC. Just release a finished game and never come back to it to improve it, geez.

HZD was one of my favorite games of the past decade. Although it's not everyone cup of tea, the story just really hit on a lot of interests that I have and I saw a lot of myself in Aloy. I'm about 30 hours into HFW and it's even better than the first one.

Having put in about 20 hours so far, I can go on about the amazing stuff, instead I shall critique.
The only thing I have I guess is open world fatigue
When I do a Tall neck say at the end of a play session and see all the land open up and items on the map show up, I think OMG look at that lot and then need to chill from it for a while, say a day or two.
I guess it’s the same with all open world games and is part of that process. Even though I love exploring and discovering lands etc.
The story side has not really dragged me in at the moment but may do later on.
So far I would say I enjoyed the HZD more at this stage same time, but that was five years ago and it felt more unique, new, different and I have played more open world games since then.
Until I have played more and finished the game
I have not scored the game at all.

I'm obviously biased, but a 10/10 is in order. When I pre-ordered the game, I was replaying HZD for the 3rd time in a row. I've played HZD countless times since its release and I've enjoyed every second of every playthrough.

I expected to get the same game with improved graphics and gameplay. But Forbidden West is so much more. The writing is unbelievable! I haven't heard dialog this good in a long while. (and considering the setting, it's a tough thing to pull off). The side content quality is some of the best in the industry and the new characters are so real I just wish I could spend time with them IRL.

I couldn't have asked for anything else. Nothing but love and respect for people at Guerrilla Games. They're giants and I'm glad they're growing. (maybe they'll let me mop the floor there one day as a janitor?!)

A 9 definitely.everything is on point.word up son

8/10.
Quality of life improvements made a difference and the new machines were great in combat but the main quest while not bad at all felt underwhelming and lacked the pacing and satisfaction of the first game. Plus the plot, while being less predictable than I expected never reaching the first games highs.

I liked the first game but didn't love it. I finished it, thought it was good, but three things marred it for me.
1) The bad facial animations when characters talked.
2) Poor parkour
3) The story, while decent, was pretty obvious in terms of where it was going

The first game was probably a 7 out of 10 for me. Could easily have been an 8 or a 9 but those rough edges spoiled the experience for me.

Forbidden West however has fixed most of those issues.

Character interactions are much more animated and interesting. The story, while again fairly obvious in terms of where it was going, did have a few surprises for me and I enjoyed it overall.

The main issue I had with the seuqle was the parkour and world navigation. It's MUCH better than the original game but still not quite perfect. Sometimes you'd follow a marker to get to your objective but suddenly it'd shift and you'd have to backtrack. And climbing, while better, still had a few instances where Aloy would not go where I wanted her to without a fight or sometimes she'd go in the complete opposite direction of where I told her to go.

The other small gripe was the graphical glitches such as pop in. This happened infrequently enough to not be an issue, but when it did happen it was noticeable and jarring.

But on the plus sides, the combat feels smoother and more varied. And my word - the visuals are just amazing. Many times in this game I would just have to stop and look around and admire the virtual world GG had created.

When I finished it (yesterday), I felt the urge to keep playing to mop up the side quests and errands. I may even try to platinum the game. I rarely try to do that with open world games so it's a sign I enjoyed it.

So overall the sequel is a solid 9 in my books. Could have been a 10 but just a few small rough edges took the shine off, in my view.

I read through my previous comment, and realised I didn’t actually leave a score.

It has to be a 10/10 from me.

Having just finished it, and I immediately want to start all over again. The world is so vivid and fully-realised that I don’t want to leave.

For reference I would give Zero Dawn an 8.

It’s absolutely magnificent! Guerilla have created a narrative that makes me watch every single cutscene instead of skipping them. It’s truly astounding, a work of art, there aren’t enough superlatives for this game. 10/10 easy

9/10

Performance Mode leaves a lot to be desired. No 120hz options.

Those are my only complaints!

Just completed Forbidden West- throughly enjoyed the game. The 1st game, I liked but for me it was a 8 out of 10. Forbidden West has improved on the original so much. So it’s a 10 out of 10.Gorgeous world, stunning graphics, great gameplay, awesome robots, better characters then the original, interesting story all this with no sign of micro transactions. I’m really looking forward to a part 3. Also would like to add that the side quests are so good aswell. So much more to do after completing the game. Well done Guerrilla, phenomenal game.

9 out of 10 for me. I’m 2/3 through I think. I’ve been doing a ton of side quests so that’s sucked time away from the story.

The only thing I dislike is the climbing mechanics. I’m at the point now where I think I every open world game should adopt Breath of the Wild’s climb anything system, balanced out by a stamina gauge.

Other than that, though, I absolutely adore it and it has met my lofty expectations. Horizon Forbidden West is the reason I bought a PS5 at launch. My hype for this game has been insane. And outside of the traversal, it has lived up to my expectations in every category.

9. Improved in every facet from the first. Favorite PS game since God of War, an absolute masterpiece!

Horizon forbidden west shows exactly what ps5 is capable of. It is the best looking grapics i have ever seen on any game and its not even close. The performace mode is a ooth 60 fps exsperience. I absolutely love horizon forbidden west and am so greatful to gurilla games for makeing this master piece. If i have one complaint which is why i rated it a 9 instead of a ten it is there is NO NEW GAME PLUS.... Im sure they will add one but come on guerilla games give us a new game plus how hard could it be. Please add it asap. I do not want to have to start over from scratch i want to replay it with an upgraded alloy. With the new game plus issue asside i dont have any other complaints. I give it a solid 9/10 and once the new game plus gets added it will be a solid 10/10...thanks again to guerilla games and ps5 for such a fantastic fatastic game. Ps. Alot of people are complaining about glitches here or there which most of if not all have been fixed with the most recent patch. Ill just say this witcher 3 has farrrr more glitches right now after a million patches in it then horizon forbidden west did day one release. It had very very few bugs all open world games of this scope will have a glitch here or there but horizon barely had any atall and like i said the ones i did see were completely fixed by there first patch 4 days after release. Fantastic job guerlilla games. Now please please please add new game plus asap
...

7 for me. better combat, yes, more machines, okay. but story is meh, some weird game mechanics (picking staff is focking time consuming for no reason).

side quest are same as in the first game - go and kill, go and bring me something I need. MEH. weird shadow pop-ing and other visual bugs. traversal is buggy as hell.

it's just more of the first game, slightly better. also Aloy as a main character really is boring and bland. bit dissapointed

It's a 9 and it's Superior to Zero Dawn. It's time to change up the game for part three...or just leave it here.

Forbidden has taken the open world genre as far as possible. Gameplay wise there is not much more that can be done within the confines of the design.Dropping PS4 is a potential way to do that though...

@kejsi-sensei superior to the first game in all aspects but you are right also. It's familiar but to be fair that can't be helped...having PS4 in its roots hurts it with regards to gameplay. Open world games are unfortunately getting stale ,no matter what they are. This is one of the very best. No doubt . Hopefully if there is a third game it drops the PS4 and allows fresh choices in gameplay?.

Alot I agree is a character that I am not invested in at all...but that's okay. It's a video game , I can live with that as other characters are good and this is one area where the game really jumps up over Zero Dawn.

@Mezzer
agree, maybe it's too soon for me to play just another SONY's first party open-world single-player adventure, it has been just over a year after I sunk 50 hours into Ghost. I don't want to be too harsh, maybe I just need a little break from gaming

I give it a 9/10, still working towards the platinum but it is improves on the first game in almost every way. Brilliant game that looks gorgeous too. I'm playing on PS5 and have had almost no technical issues that others mention (just a bit of clippage on Aloy's foot in a cutscene).

Easily a 10 and the those few ridiculous 6 reviews are even more suspect to me now that I’ve played the game. It’s the best open world game imo since Witcher 3 and RDR 2 with sidequests just as good as Witcher 3, a world that’s beautiful and just as awesome to explore as RDR 2,a main story as good as RDR 2 and combat that smokes both of those games.

@somnambulance trying to compare this AC Valhalla is comical. I really liked that game and I’m a huge AC fan played every game numerous times,watched the movies and read the books but this game craps on it from a great height. The sidequests,main story,characters,the world and exploring it,graphics,soundtrack,controls and combat are all significantly better than AC Valhalla like it’s not even close.

@Ichiban +1. I’d say it’s an 8 from me. Enjoyable but as you say it is essentially the first game with added RPG elements. The story, in my opinion, is weaker than Zero Dawn but on the flip side I found the side-quests more worthwhile than in the first game.

Haven't finished the campaign so I won't put a score on it yet. I did think Zero Dawn was a 10/10 and so far I'm enjoying this one just as much.

@Medic_Alert "is just a non-interactive back drop. It is a little too rote 'open world' for me." I don't care about you contradicting yourself in the rest of your dumb paragraph but this is where I draw the stupidity line. if it's interactive...IT'S NOT A BACK DROP. lol unbelievable. people will just write anything on the internet these days.

I’m always hesitant to hit something new with a straight 10 and claim it’s a masterpiece as some people are won’t to do so I score it a 9 having today grabbed the Platinum and clocked up over 80 hours. Granted it was clearly created from a lot of the DNA of the original but I was consistently surprised by how impressive the whole thing was. I played it on PS5 so it looked utterly sublime with such a richly crafted world that at least 5 of the aforementioned hours has been in photo mode! To play a game that not only looked this lush but was also an open world was never less than a delight. Even the side quests and various collectibles never felt like a chore as it all fed into, embellished and fleshed out both the main narrative and, more importantly, the world building, characters and different tribes. Where I was expecting a typical checklist of tall necks and cauldrons I was impressed by how each one had enough variety to avoid them becoming stale and repetitive. Whether it was an underwater cauldron or a hunt for a power cell, a sunken, inactive tall neck or a frantic battle to bring one to its knees the developers deserve much praise in how to avoid staleness setting in and keeping the discovery and traversal of the huge world full of awe, mystery and some great environmental puzzles and exploration.

As for the story it did kinda end on an anticlimax and it had rather too much hokey sci-fi exposition but I generally liked where the narrative led and it clearly sets up a third game which I’ll be sure to play and continue Aliy’s journey.

So in summary it’s a stunning game both visually and structurally full of top tier combat, an immersive world and hours of entertainment. My only wish thus far is the option to play Machine Strike online with friends and others …

Ps4 , buggy , have to reboot atleast every 20-30 minutes to get decent fps again. Fps may drop from 30fps to 10fpminute. Another pain in the proverbial is the occasional buttonpush hoarding , hit X no reaction hit X again nothing then after a few seconds both commands are done , great in the parkouring (too much of) parts of the game.
Reset the PS4 to factory , having HFW as only install etc makes no difference.
Pretty pictures no complaints there.

@somnambulance pokemon arceus literally has nothing special about it.

Haven't finish the game yet but i would say right now: it's better than the first one.