Horizon Forbidden West's PS5 Burning Shores DLC No Longer Treats You Like an Idiot

Not that it really mattered to me either way, but I think I was one of the few people in the world that didn't mind the "excessive" talking. I guess I'm an idiot then.

I'm fine with it being like this as well though, as there's always YouTube if I get really stuck on something.

God damn game looks good.

And good. I think the dump of repetitive info and the holding hands in a lot of parts were the biggest cons.

They actually changed quite a few things that people complained about. There are no towers(tallnecks) in this one to climb to fill the map with icons, and in fact the map is way less cluttered with icons and there are a lot less repeated activities and random errands.

To fill out the map you need to explore and there is more value to exploring. I found a random unmarked area on the side of a cliff where I had to push a battery under a fence and then jump down a hole at the top of the cliff to behind the gate. Even the question marked activities require investigation and problem solving to some extent.

Another thing that gets blown out of proportion. Ragnaroks "hand holding" never bothered me and other games that have this mechanic dont bother me either. An easy solution would be to have the option to turn them off all together but then those spending more time picking faults rather than enjoying themselves would have nothing to complain about but i'm probably wrong about that too 🤣

Shame, cause I feel like an idiot playing it. They've spiked the difficulty and my feel for the combat is lost on me completely.

Guess it's time to get gut.

@Northern_munkey Sorry but that's very ignorant of you. Just because you aren't bothered by it doesn't mean others aren't. And it especially isn't because those people bothered by it are looking for something to complain, I for example was really bothered by it that much that I stopped playing it and believe me I was really looking forward to it. GOW 2018 is probably my favorite first party exclusive on PS4 therefore I really have no reason to look for something to complain about the sequel

"picking faults rather than enjoying themselves" The problem is that my enjoyment from video games comes from exploring by myself, solving problems by myself and playing it at the pace/way I want to play it. Therefore constantly getting told "That's not the right way" when I want to look around for a bit for loot and getting solutions to puzzles spoiled (sometimes before I even see the puzzle) ruins that enjoyment for me

Stopped playing forbidden west, it felt like they tweaked the combat and I wasn’t a fan of it.
And the story and characters were not grabbing me this time round like it did for ZD. (Well the characters never did but ZD had a better story to me)

Games having characters tell me how to solve puzzles has drastically pulled me off so many games recently. I understand wanting accessibility, but it should be an option.

I dread touching god of war Ragnarok. Saw some steams and I felt the urge to mute all audio.

@mariomaster96 good chat 👍

@Northern_munkey It's really not blown out of proportion. People don't like characters that don't shut up for 5 minutes. That's why I heavily enjoyed RE4RE because I didn't have Ashley telling me, "Hey you're going the wrong way!" "Hey that's not how you do the puzzle!"

@Nepp67 i really need to remember not to form my own opinions or share them either..

@Nepp67 Of course it’s blown out of proportion, but that’s how the internet works. The loudest angriest voices are the ones that are heard the clearest.

How many people were so bothered by this that they couldn’t enjoy the game? Way less than 1% most likely.

@Northern_munkey There's have an opinion and then there's dismissing others opinion and claim that they just love to complain. Yours is the later

If you just would have said "I personally wasn't bothered by it" no one would have complained but for some reason you felt the need to add "but then those spending more time picking faults rather than enjoying themselves would have nothing to complain about"

I only Watched a few minutes of the tower fight in the opening sequence/quest of the DLC and she was still absolutely directing the player how to attack the machine up there and where to go to do so.

So I assume the handholding is still there throughout the DLC, perhaps just less as egregious as the base game?

Ragnarok was horrible with this. It's an annoyance and disservice to the design if you just cop out and have someone in game telly you how to do every puzzle and where to go. Especially without the option to turn it off.

It reiterates the playing an on tails movie like design many of these narrative driven big budget messes Sony has narrowed to in terms of first party output.

Let the community figure it out and enjoy exploration and trial/error.

Isn't this dlc really short though? That's a shame.
I've only just started playing this, and I'm already deliberately taking my time exploring before I delve into any of the story, because there's only a few missions. 😐

I really, REALLY liked the fact that Aloy would talk out loud to guide the player through the puzzles. I found it to be both a big help and just something in general that was pleasant and I liked. I wish that more games featured things like this. As someone who talks to myself out loud to solve things, it was normal and comfortable.

Personally never bothered me it sounds like people found something to complain about for the sake of complaining as per usual people are whingers nowadays.

@mariomaster96 why does it bother you so much? You could have just ignored my comment but no you are trying to start something over nothing..try and have a good day and just dont read too much into it.

@Northern_munkey Because games constantly telling you what (I need) to do is something that really bothers therefore it annoys me to read stuff like "they just love to complain instead of enjoying the game" when in reality I really wanted to like GoWR just like I like GoW2018

I just generally dislike it when someone dismisses critisms of others as "they just love to complain"

It wasn't the fact that Aloy would start dropping big fat hints about puzzles, it was because she started doing it immediately after entering a puzzle area. It was absolutely ridiculous! And yes, it did ruin my enjoyment of the game somewhat because there were a lot of puzzles throughout the game and she never shut the f**k up about them.

Uncharted did it right with a hint button prompt after a certain amount of time.

@Powerplay94 I hear ya, but wouldn't you rather have the option to TRY and figure it out yourself before 90 seconds in having your character or a npc basically doing it for you?

At least in the 'figure it out or look it up online' model has an option. It at least allows those that like exploring, figuring out puzzles, or deciphering the solution to a good boss fight to have the option to do those things.

Our option now is what.... Mute all sound to avoid the constant self monologs/handholding?

Not to mention just as this article title mentions, it kind of suggests one of two thing, either they think gamers have grown dumber(which is debatable for sure lol), or they don't trust their own design or didn't want to include in that design the visual cues necessary to figure out what they intended. Not to mention the general annoyance of having your character or a side character constantly calmly talking regardless of the contextual incongruence of that with what is happening on screen.

Just my two cents on it.

@mariomaster96 bingo

I definitely noticed the improvement here. Much appreciated Guerilla! In the base game you would enter a puzzle room and right off the bat Aloy would literally just say what to do in great detail like "I need to climb that scaffolding, jump to that platform across the room, go through that that vent, and drop down on the moving platform at the right time."

She would even yell out "Now!" when something required specific timing. It was definitely egregious but in the DLC I actually had to think a little to complete the ruins since at most she just said stuff like "I need to move this, but how?" It's much improved so good job Guerilla!

This DLC has been a joy. I like Seyka a lot, she is an interesting character. Dare I say, I wouldn't have been sad if she took the lead in the series. Kill Aloy off, soap-opera-fashion?

I don't mind characters talking to themselves or amongst themselves. They usually make poignant or funny comments about themselves and the world around them and I very much enjoy that. What I don't enjoy is getting told the solution to even minor puzzles when I've barely started thinking about how to solve them.

Puzzle solving is to me a part of exploration and exploration is one of the most exciting parts of a game. Having it spoiled significantly detracts from the experience. I don't mind if we eventually get a hint. But it needs to come much later down the line.

@Northern_munkey just wanted to say that I completely agree with you. The best solution would be to have the option to keep them (for those that like them) or turn them off. It's really telling that you mentioned the perfect solution yet all people focused was on the negative. But, no. They're not negative. They just have legit criticism. According to them, anyway. Ask any Karen. They'll tell you the same.

(my point being, everyone who complains about something thinks it's a big deal -whether it is or isn't- and when anyone disagrees with them, they immediately attack the person who dared say the opposite).

@naruball thankyou but its no big concern to me what they think really 👍

@DrGonzo God I'm so tired...

A little bit of talking from the main character is a none issue for me. If the main character ran around maps and said absolutely nothing throughout the entire gameplay time, that would also be an issue and feel just as much unnatural as it does when the character is talking to much. The overall quality of any game is far more important

Well, back in my day there wasn't enough data capacity on compact discs to have constant chatting, ( except Metal Gear Solid, some kinda voodoo compression technology) so we either figured it out or hoped that gran wouldn't pick up the phone while we surfed the world wide web.

I’ve played the dlc for about 7-10 hours and hadn’t really noticed any puzzles. When Aloy spoke last night, flying to meet Seyka on the beach but I was taking a detour to a ? she did say “Can’t go that way b/c of the tower.” but I looked around and didn’t see a tower, only to get shot out of the sky.😝 Still don’t know where those shots came from as I still can’t see a tower on the map, but I’m taking the skiff next time, getting a new flying mount is a hassle.

There was a bunch of it in the main game and I could see how it could bother some people. I’m just happy to not be playing a silent protagonist who says nothing, I’m talking to you Link, that I just deal. Aloy grew up an outcast w/ no one to talk to so it makes sense she talks to herself. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I'll agree to disagree. I had a couple of instances where Aloy blurted out the hint when I had just walked into range of whatever it was. They need to bake in a simple delay of say 10 seconds before she starts giving up hints.

How do games keep regressing? We long since solved the problem, with accessibility options to turn on or off such assistance.

Then it's in the hands of gamers and their problem.

Don't worry though, they will treat you like an idiot again at the start of Horizon 3, when Aloy will conveniently "lose" all her weapons and gear, and forget all the skills she just learned!

@Northern_munkey Dont worry mate, the fact he cant let it go shows you had him pegged completely.
It didnt bother me much, but for those that hated it they weren't forced to play. Shame if it ruined the game for some, but as can be seen from several responses some liked it too. You cant please all of the people all the time, but if they genuinely knocked it back a bit due to feedback, good for them. I loved the game and im enjoying the dlc (though I took a while to get my skills back, got my butt kicked at first!)

@clvr i didnt take down his opinion..i just didnt care. He dosnt agree with me and i'm fine with that but he obviously has a bigger issue than me in that the tinternet is full of people who will make similar comments. Is he going to spend all his time scolding those as well? I've better things to do with my time.

@Titntin good to hear from you. Thanks bud i appreciate it as always and to be honest i'm not fussed in the slightest. Certainly not going to lose sleep over it.

@ChrisDeku

I agree.

I think GG used Burning Shores as a way to test ideas for Horizon 3. A reduction in map icons making the map more friendly to explore at your own pace. Removal of most of the hand holding.

Horizons dialogue always makes me feel like I am dropping IQ points just by listening to it. It's like it was written by a group of 12 year olds.