When Horizon Forbidden West launched, it was hard to imagine how this game would top the first. The universe was already set, the combat was fantastic, the exploration was rewarding, and what else was there to add? Well, Guerilla Games managed to make an amazing sequel. When the DLC got announced, many thought the same. “Will it be better than the base game?” In some ways, it is, and in some isn’t. The new expansion proves Guerrilla Games is focusing on things that have worked, expanding on some, and setting up the stage for the next big installment. We’ll tell you about it in our Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores review.
Story: Setting Up the Stage
If you have played the base game already, you might know what we mean by that title. This isn’t the last we’ll see of Aloy, that’s for sure. The main game ended on a cliffhanger for some players as the world’s future is uncertain. With this pressing matter, the expansion kicks off.
You get a call from Sylens that asks you to go to the Burning Shores. Your job is to look for another “ancestor” who left the planet years ago. Things go south real quick for Aloy as she is pulled into yet another seemingly impossible situation. Yet, as you can expect, she always has a way out of it.
The story relies heavily on Seyka, a new character for the DLC who becomes lovable during the first hours or even minutes of the expansion. She is one of those characters that hit it off with Aloy at a moment’s notice.
Besides that, we learn more about the Quen, who are involved with Londra, one of the best characters in the expansion and probably the franchise. These things paint a better picture of the post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles, which was our playthrough’s highlight. We’ll discuss it further in our Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores review.
While the story is engaging, and you might enjoy it even more if you just finished the game, this expansion sets the stage for the next big title, which we hope doesn’t take too long to get here. Besides setting up the future of the series, there isn’t something else that stands out. We feel the story is a bit shallow, but it’ll be enjoyable to those who are fans of these games.
Gameplay: Same Old Stuff
With an expansion as big as this one, we were expecting a lot in terms of combat. While there are new weapons and abilities, there aren’t many things that stand out. You might’ve established your playstyle already if you played the base game. Changing it to add the few things the expansion brought for combat might be counter-productive. While the abilities are fun and useful, we didn’t use them that much during our playthrough.
In terms of enemies, though, the developers knocked it out of the park again. There are many fantastic and annoying machines in the base game; some love fighting them, and some despise doing it. This happened in the expansion too. Quoting Aloy: “We got a jumper!” That should give you an idea of what you might be facing. The enemy design is the best thing again, and facing new machines is fun. You need to learn their attack patterns and new gimmicks. Of course, scanning them is crucial if you want to take them down. If you just finished the base game, try to get to the recommended level of each quest because combat against machines gets challenging as you progress through the story.
It is sad to say that boss fights weren’t that fun. While the set pieces are still fantastic, the mechanics around boss fights were dull. That is why it is a surprise that we enjoyed fighting machines on the overworld instead of facing bosses. This is something that Guerrilla Games should take note of because boss fights were boring in this expansion.
The best thing about Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is the exploration. While you unlock flying in the base game, it is already a bit late during the main story, and if you finish it, you might not use the mechanic that much. Here, we wanted to fly everywhere. Watching this version of Los Angeles from above was breathtaking and made us avoid using fast travel entirely.
Given how easy and fun it is to travel, we believe many people will reach a 100% completion rate on the expansion. Whether sailing or flying, there’s something around every corner of this new area that is massive and full of things to discover.
Related:
How Long Is Burning Shores DLC in Horizon Forbidden West
Graphics & Audio: Hollywood Worthy
During our journey in the base game, one of the most amazing locations was the underwater section of Las Vegas. The neon lights, the rocky formations, and the worn-out structures all fit perfectly. We didn’t think Guerrilla Games could do something better, but they did.
The opening sequence and the trailers don’t do the Burning Shores justice. You must progress through the main story and unlock the ability to fly again to see what we mean. While the interiors are not as great as the exterior set pieces, it all ties in perfectly. Flying at ground level, you can observe the city’s wide streets surrounded by the remains of skyscrapers. This is something that has a strange beauty to it and is what made our journey in this expansion even better.
For the technical part, the game remains one of the best to play on the PS5. Yet, some things popped out. When flying, some textures took a while to load, but this was also an issue during the base game’s launch, which got fixed with some patches. Another thing that we noticed is that the further we got into the expansion, the longer it took to load. Usually, booting the game takes four or five seconds, but it used to take 15 to 20. Not a big difference but something you might notice.
The audio remains one of the best things in the game. If you have any headphones with access to 3D audio technology, use them, you’ll thank us after that. The audio design is a marvel that we are thankful for.
Conclusion
While not the best expansion, this DLC gives you the right content for the right price. Even if the story isn’t as great as the base game, it sets up what’s to come for the franchise. The art style is still on point, which is the best thing about this new content and the thing we enjoyed the most during our Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores review. If you’re a fan of the game, this is a must-buy. You could also wait for it to go on sale, as it doesn’t add too much in terms of combat or gameplay.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is available now on PS5.
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