Aloy's journey continues, and it was well worth the wait.Horizon: Zero Dawn remains one of the best single-player games of the past decade. It combined a familiar gameplay loop with a new and exciting open world. As Aloy, an outcast from a primitive (yet not) tribe, you hunted robot dinosaurs in a gorgeous post-apocalypse.What made ZD stand out, aside from the robo-dinos, was the story. There were some truly jaw dropping moments in the original game, and the sequel holds nothing back.Picking up only a few months after the end of the first game, this story is deep, exciting, and filled with twists and turns. I honestly had no idea how things would turn out until the moment the credits rolled.The gameplay loop has also been improved, with new challenges and ... MoreAloy's journey continues, and it was well worth the wait.Horizon: Zero Dawn remains one of the best single-player games of the past decade. It combined a familiar gameplay loop with a new and exciting open world. As Aloy, an outcast from a primitive (yet not) tribe, you hunted robot dinosaurs in a gorgeous post-apocalypse.What made ZD stand out, aside from the robo-dinos, was the story. There were some truly jaw dropping moments in the original game, and the sequel holds nothing back.Picking up only a few months after the end of the first game, this story is deep, exciting, and filled with twists and turns. I honestly had no idea how things would turn out until the moment the credits rolled.The gameplay loop has also been improved, with new challenges and crafting abilities so you can make Aloy's journey more in line with your preferred play style.If you enjoyed the first, you need to get the sequel. If you enjoy games like Breath of the Wild, you'll also find a familiar and enchanting tale.

I very much enjoyed the original Horizon and while Forbidden West shows flashes of that greatness it is not anywhere near as polished with a lot of traversal glitches and quirks on display. Climbing has also become a chore, surfaces that look like they should be able to be climbed aren't and vice versa, the rope pulley mechanic is also poorly and awkwardly implemented. Aloy also moves somewhat awkwardly now with the mo cap animations with a strange input delay whenever you turn sort of like shes drunk. A lot of fights also feel rather unfair with no way to gradually gain the upper hand against multiple enemies if you get discovered, stick to stealth and if you get caught leg it or you'll get murked.Overall gameplay doesn't feel very balanced with a massive amount ... MoreI very much enjoyed the original Horizon and while Forbidden West shows flashes of that greatness it is not anywhere near as polished with a lot of traversal glitches and quirks on display. Climbing has also become a chore, surfaces that look like they should be able to be climbed aren't and vice versa, the rope pulley mechanic is also poorly and awkwardly implemented. Aloy also moves somewhat awkwardly now with the mo cap animations with a strange input delay whenever you turn sort of like shes drunk. A lot of fights also feel rather unfair with no way to gradually gain the upper hand against multiple enemies if you get discovered, stick to stealth and if you get caught leg it or you'll get murked.Overall gameplay doesn't feel very balanced with a massive amount of over steer to try and balance the original game mechanics when only a deft touch was necessary. Eg; Ropecaster in the original game was certainly OP, instead of hip fire always connecting just adding the need to wait for the shot to have maximum tension for it to latch to armour would have been enough of a nerfing the significantly slower firing rate of the early game versions at least makes the Ropecaster near useless against all but the slowest of enemies. Never in my 27 or so years gaming have I played a sequel that mechanically has taken almost exclusively steps backwards rather than forwards.

This is one of my all time favorites. It's a must play game.It has everything that Horizon Zero Dawn offered plus a lot more. Although I liked HZD story better.Graphics: The best till date. I ended up using photo mode a lot which I typically don't care on other games. I would wander in the gorgeous open world.Gameplay: Definitely much better than HZD with so many weapons to choose from and with far better skills tree. Also, customization option on several things is so great such as easy loot, sprint option, bypassing resource pick up animation etc.Dualsense: I loved some of the dualsense features in the game when you use a bow, pry door open, walk through tall grass etc.Machines: New machines are awesome, especially Slaughterspine, Clawstrider and of ... MoreThis is one of my all time favorites. It's a must play game.It has everything that Horizon Zero Dawn offered plus a lot more. Although I liked HZD story better.Graphics: The best till date. I ended up using photo mode a lot which I typically don't care on other games. I would wander in the gorgeous open world.Gameplay: Definitely much better than HZD with so many weapons to choose from and with far better skills tree. Also, customization option on several things is so great such as easy loot, sprint option, bypassing resource pick up animation etc.Dualsense: I loved some of the dualsense features in the game when you use a bow, pry door open, walk through tall grass etc.Machines: New machines are awesome, especially Slaughterspine, Clawstrider and of course Sunwing which makes exploring so much fun in NG+. I completed main story after exploring most of the map in my first playthrough.Music: Amazing music overall, especially when you fight certain machines.Characters: I like Aloy's character but the new companions are great as well. Better voiceovers than HZD.Weapons: A lot of new weapons. You can choose whichever fits your play style.Armors: A lot of new armors to choose from. I love transmog feature to use best armor but use look of any other good looking armors.Load times are almost negligible most of the times. Fast traveling is much better. I love how easy inventory management is, anything beyond carrying capacity goes to your stash.Looking forward to Burning Shores DLC!