Discover post-apocalyptic Los Angeles in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores.
Unfolding over a series of unpredictable circumstances and releasing next to some of the most acclaimed video games of all time, the Horizon series has not had an easy time being a new IP. When Horizon: Zero Dawn was first released in 2017, it was mostly opaqued by the iconic green-garbed hero but thankfully garnered attention and praise over the years. Fast forward to 2023, and Guerrilla Games has achieved an undeniably technical marvel that is impossible to ignore with Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, picking up as a direct continuation of the narrative left behind by the base game, leaves our fiery protagonist Aloy scrambling for solutions after significant revelations in that conclusion. With the help of her rival-turned-ally Sylens, she discovers a new threat in what was many years ago Los Angeles, now ravaged by the passage of time and volcano eruptions that have left the place mostly unrecognizable.
As Horizon Forbidden West showed with its breathtaking world full of lush landscapes and deadly threats lurking around every corner, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores keeps the mantle of quality set by it. After an exhilarating cinematic introduction to the new area, Aloy gets to meet Seyka, one of the new key characters. Impressed at Aloy’s ability to fly with a Sunwing, one of the many robot dinosaurs roaming the land, she decides to tag along with her. Without giving away too much, they end up working together to defeat this new threat.
Aloy is established as an outcast and has been carrying the weight of the world upon her shoulders ever since she was born, is a refreshing new lead to see in a landscape filled with not too many protagonists looking like her. As she has grown throughout her earth-shattering experiences and travels in search of answers, so has her personality evolved into a slightly more carefree and open with the people around her.
This is evident by the fact when she meets the Quen tribe with Seyka, first met in the first game with new ideas and technological advances different from other tribes but adhering strictly to their laws and ways. They come across as pedantic, and Aloy would previously be angered by this. She brushes them off and marches onward on her journey to save everyone around her even though there’s no slight hint of gratefulness on their behalf.
Continuing the trend of the base game, facial animations look impressively natural in every interaction. As there are plenty of volcanoes spewing lava close to Aloy in the Burning Shores, you can see the sweat and discomfort on her face. NPCs react naturally in conversations in the open world as well, such as when you use a tactical advantage against an enemy.
Side quests enrich the lore and explore other characters’ lives, navigating complex moral issues that the main character needs to confront and develop a feeling towards. Several side activities show heart-wrenching stories from the “Old World” when our generation of humans existed before they went extinct. One such example is the Aerial Captures which share another glimpse of what happened in the past, and these are checkpoints that you fly around and are a nice pastime with the added value of an impactful story from the Horizon universe.
Although the map is not that sizeable, especially compared to the sprawling open world of the base game, it is dense enough to enjoy finding secrets every so often, occasionally having to use your tools to open new paths and new geysers that can propel you upwards with your glider. Paired with climbing platforms reminiscent of Uncharted in its best days, the more streamlined scope of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores works towards its benefit.
This tight scope aids in the impact of this DLC, as it is somewhat short ranging at 8-15 hours depending on how much you want to complete, but it is difficult not to feel that every quest and area is meaningful and encourages the player to explore the new space in its entirety.
One of the highlights is the addition of a new type of bird called the WaterWing which can dive underwater. This opens up the possibility of certain underwater sections becoming much more fluid. There is an action sequence that begs to be played that inventively uses this new machine to ramp up the adrenaline.
One of the pillars at which the Horizon series has always excelled at is its combat. The many ways to approach an interaction with the dozens of robot dinosaurs and weapons are almost mindboggling. You have your regular bow with many types of elemental arrows depending on the enemy you are fighting, traps that serve as distractions, explosive spears, and heavy machine guns that certain enemies drop, among many other tools at Aloy’s disposal.
There is an array of new weapons in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, but the most important one is certainly the “Specter Gauntlet” which serves as a sort of electric grenade launcher that does massive damage. That, along with the brand new drop shields that act as a shield in the middle of the battlefield, adds a new strategic element to battles.
New skills are also available that help you on your new adventure, such as using the Pullcaster to pull toward a downed enemy and plunge your spear into them to cause more damage. The verticality introduced with the glider and flying ability gets a push with a new skill that slows down time and lets you shoot in slow motion while in the air. Aloy surely is a force to be reckoned with.
Later on in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, there is a fascinating amusement park with holographs and statues of dinosaurs inspired by a Universal Studios sort of vibe. Taking advantage of the context that Aloy is exploring Los Angeles, the little nods to how people were and trying to understand a time where nobody had to scavenge for themselves leaves Aloy amused. To see the developers poking fun and flexing their creativity beyond the usual affair, we can expect from Horizon as a post-post-apocalyptic sci-fi experience leaves one to wonder what they have planned next.
After concluding the main story arc of the Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, there is a new Cauldron called THETA waiting to be explored. What is basically a full-fledged dungeon of its own with its own set of puzzles and rules, the reward is the spelunking itself. Historically some of the best level designs the game has had to offer have been these Cauldrons, and this downloadable content carries on with that trend.
An impressive range of accessibility features such as Thalassophobia Relief, which alleviates the fear of large masses of water, auto pickup, and navigation assist make sure the game is approachable to any who would like to give it a try.
A detail that should be addressed is how Guerilla Games explained the Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC was only going to be exclusive to PlayStation 5 for better processing not available for the previous generation. One of the elements mentioned where this focus on the current consoles would benefit is the creation of dense and dynamic cloud systems that look realistic. True to their word, the rendering mentioned for the clouds is fully appreciated when you’re flying right next to them and see the storms gather and react accordingly.
A few tedious puzzles harm the otherwise action-packed experience. One quest requires you to slowly and painfully analyze and search for asteroids on a holograph, and the other to listen to the pompous teachings of a false god, which is to say both of them are not particularly enjoyable or creative. A good puzzle should always make you feel like you worked it out cleverly on your own with the help of a few hints, not struggle to comprehend why the structure of it slows down the experience to a halt.
Pop-in issues in certain parts of the map are noticeable and could surely be fixed with updates over time. There have also been mentions of bugs that can be circumvented by reloading a previous save, and nothing game-breaking has been reported so far. Guerrilla Games has been very thorough with their continuous updates of Horizon Forbidden West, so the same should be expected of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores.
Just like the Frozen Wilds DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn explored new avenues and pushed the story forward with possible cliffhangers and ideas, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores up the ante with its characters, boss fights, and exploration. To finally see Aloy so sure of herself and commanding one last time before the eventual third act is inspiring to see.
It has been erroneously said that the Horizon series plays it too safe and is an open world with not much of an identity, but the truth is that this universe does everything too well. When firing on all cylinders, the gameplay, graphics, and combat leave a lasting impression.
