Topic: Horizon Forbidden West

@ApostateMage @RogerRoger

Regarding the story, I did think it was a little weak in some areas but I did appreciate how they kinda explored how people become who they are through the 3 different Elisabet/Aloy/Beta outcomes. You could argue Elisabet and Aloy were very similar but definitely different. I get the feeling Elisabet was probably a pacifist while Aloy, though compassionate, definitely isn't. Then you have Beta who is just a nervous ball of insecurity who crumbles in the face of the slightest bit of adversity (the most relatable for me lol). Same exact humans genetically but still very different people because their circumstances were so different. So yeah, definitely taking the side of nurture over nature in this game. Not sure I agree but it's always been an interesting topic to explore so I thought that was kinda cool.

Can't think of any other games that have broached that subject before anyway.

@RogerRoger I didn't quite make it inside the cauldron. I did however get some shots fighting a fireclaw, battle some tenakth by a campfire and leg it past a herd of angry widemaws. Maybe I'll get to that cauldron tomorrow haha.

@zupertramp it's good that you have mellowed with age then. The game definitely benefits from taking your time with it, I'm noticing some crazy detail in the game not using fast travel and loitering around in villages!

@RogerRoger yeah it was subtle which was nice. Felt like it was organically sprinkled throughout the game over different conversations.

@MightyDemon82 especially while still uncovering the main parts of the map I just ran everywhere. No mount, just on-foot exploring. Definitely plenty to take in.

I love this game to death. It's probably my GOTY as of today. That said the climbing/platforming isn't on par with the rest of the game.

@Splat Yeah, traversal is sometimes quite frustrating, especially when the game lets you climb up so far and then it says "no, you can't go higher even though there's no reason why you couldn't continue to grab onto parts of the hill/mountain above you." Nope, you can only grab onto Guerrilla Games approved spots.

With that said, like you, I'm still loving the game regardless. I just finished up The Sea of Sands quest this morning, but I still have a ton of side stuff and obviously more story stuff as well, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

@Splat @KilloWertz definitely my GOTY as well, for the time being anyway. Did a cauldron tonight and a bandit camp. @RogerRoger was right that particular Cauldron was a doozy, only 2 hours away from hitting triple digits and still got about 40% of the game to go 😃.

@KilloWertz @Splat @MightyDemon82 When you compare the climbing to the first game it's like night and day. I remember having to bounce up hills like a gazelle in Zero Dawn hoping that you could hit the right bits of a slope to get a bounce onto the next bit. This mechanic is loads better as it feels like it gives you enough freedom with minimal frustration and opens the game up a lot more.

Hope you guys all carry on enjoying it 😀

@render My memory could just be crap nowadays as I should remember since I replayed Zero Dawn a few months before Forbidden West came out, but I don't remember being as frustrated with climbing like I sometimes get with it in the sequel. Like I said, I guess it's just crappy memory right now, as obviously you're not making that up.

Maybe it doesn't help when you can see where you're allowed to climb in this one and knowing you sometimes get cut off for no apparent reason like I described in my post yesterday. Still, it's obvious they tried to make it better and hopefully they can find ways to make it even better in #3.

@RogerRoger I think that I've done four of them. The next one is tied to the Gemini quest which I will do once I make the 4000km journey back to the base, so long as I don't get distracted.

Once I sort through all my photos, I'll be sure to post them in the proper thread along with many more!

@KilloWertz @render
The first game's climbing was less frustrating because it was streamlined. So while easier it was a tad limiting. Still, I'd take that over the climbing system in the second. Like mentioned there's places you can't climb for no real reason, there were times I'd gotten myself virtually to the top of a cliff but couldn't pull myself up until I shimmied around to the perfect spot, and in other times she'd literally jump or reach in the opposite direction I'm pointing the stick. And I don't know how many times I'd be in a heated battle, run around a rock formation for cover only to have her latch on to a hand hold. Very frustrating at times. It was fun when it worked but that wasn't often enough for me.

@zupertramp I see your point, I did get stuck on a few rocks while circling round during a fight. For the first one though the climbing was just too restrictive for me and was built more like Uncharted. There were also places that if you wanted to traverse you'd have to just use the jump button as there were no climbing anchors at all and that was just painful. With FW I found I used the climbing quite a bit and found it enjoyable for the most part. Appreciate if others didn't though as it was probably an acquired taste.

@render I found the climbing to be alright. It was a little weird that there were parts of terrain that weren't climbable that looked exactly like other parts that were, but that's a minor issue in my book.

@RogerRoger I'll only use fast travel if it is tied to a trophy at the moment. But until I've 100% the game i'll go without it, after that though I'll fast travel to photoshoot locations.

@zupertramp True, and honestly I'd take the streamlined way as well. I'm so used to the Uncharted way after playing 5 of them, and playing the third one only a few months before I replayed Zero Dawn, it was all second nature to me. So, in the end I'm obviously the opposite of @render.

Sometimes it is indeed easier you are climbing something that is Guerrilla approved from the bottom all the way to the top as you just have to use the analog sticks once you latch on. In the grand scheme of things, it's one of those it is what it is situations, and it only really bugs me enough to actually matter when you get blocked from finishing your climb for no reason.

I guess it's also a product of how good the game is, so an imperfection like that in my opinion can end up getting magnified while playing since it can feel out of place with everything you're loving about the game.

@RogerRoger Well worth it playing without fast travel definitely.

I finished The Gemini quest last night. Won't say anything about it other than I was shouting at the t.v., can't wait to continue the story but I'll do a few more side things first.

Argh! Today's patch seems to have fixed firegleam markers on the map, but it's broken the new-thing status indicators in the inventory. I assume it's not just me?

(I should say, I'm loving the game - it's stunning, and I've had a mostly problem-free time apart from these minor gripes!)

@JigsawPieces Not criticizing you as I'm not sure why it got mentioned as things they are still looking into, but the Firegleam markers got fixed in the last patch. I've had no problem with them disappearing after patch 1.08.

I'm still surprised they haven't been able to fix the Performance Mode, especially since the shimmering wasn't an issue in Horizon Zero Dawn. I'll just continue to play it in Fidelity Mode, which I'm perfectly fine with at this point anyways. The framerate only being 30 FPS doesn't even come to mind whenever I'm playing.

@KilloWertz I remember them saying it was fixed in a previous patch, but I'm 99% sure the firegleam markers weren't fixed for me until today (I could be misremembering, but I don't think I am). I still had some displayed on the map that I'd cleared a long time ago.

Glad you're enjoying it in fidelity mode I am too, though I've avoided performance mode so I don't make comparisons.

Only 4 trophies left to go for platinum. Not sure whether to finish the main quest and then do the final bits for 100%. Over a 120 hours played!

@RogerRoger I might Just go for it tonight, as I'm eager to see how it all pans out. I only have a handful of things to do, so to keep the game lasting that little bit longer I can play something small and still jump in and out till it's done.