The much-awaited Horizon sequel is here and, right off the bat, we’re telling you that it’s all worth the wait. Guerilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West is the latest must-play AAA title for every current and last-gen PlayStation owner.

If you haven’t played Horizon Zero Dawn, you should start playing now. It’s a fantastic PlayStation exclusive and with Forbidden West already on the horizon (pun intended), you’re gonna need to catch up.

Warning: Slight spoilers ahead!

Horizon Forbidden West is set six months after the end of Horizon Zero Dawn. Aloy is again faced with a new threat to the planet and must head… west. This means we get to see more of Horizon’s dystopian future where tribes rule and animals are machines.

The game’s timeline is one of the most impressive things about it. As a suckers for anything tech with a twist, we got sucked into it. Open world games usually get boring after a while and you kinda get tired of exploring every corner, but not Horizon and definitely not in the forbidden west.

This game is meant to be played on the PS5

We played Forbidden West on the PS5 in Performance Mode which provides smooth 60fps gaming albeit not at its sharpest state. If you want to see Aloy’s world in absolute sharpness, there’s the Resolution Mode for native 4K rendering but it runs at 30fps only.

We tried both during the prologue and our eyes got spoiled with the game’s higher framerate option. Naturally, we went on and played in Performance Mode throughout. Good thing the drop in pixel clarity is minor and it’s only noticeable when you look for it.

Since we’re already talking about visuals, let’s get right into the graphics of the game. In one word: stunning. Zero Dawn is one of the best-looking games for the PS4 and Forbidden West is the most visually pleasing PS5 game to date!

Forbidden West runs on Decima — Guerilla Games’ proprietary game engine. The folks there truly know how to get the best quality out of it. The level of detail in Forbidden West is top-notch; it feels like a cinematic animated action movie rendered in real-time.

We don’t have the exact words to describe how visually stunning this game is, so we’ll let these screengrabs do the “talking”:

I know, you might be thinking that it looks similar to Zero Dawn, which we agree with to some extent. However, everything is 200% better!

The foliage, the facial and body features, the landscape, the machines, and the whole world of Horizon got the solid visual upgrade it deserves.

The most noticeable visual enhancement can be seen in the character models. The fine details of the outfits, the body hairs, and the sheen on the face — especially with the face paints.

Lore worthy of its own series

Horizon, if it’s a show, is definitely something that we would watch on the TV and even on the big screen should there be an adaptation. Although, to play and be the character in the game is probably the best way to experience the lore.

The unique setting in the future is a core strength of this game and we live for it. What we’re not living for is the premise of Forbidden West: Aloy, like any protagonist especially if a hero, is out to save the world again. That was also her main goal in the first installment and sadly, she didn’t exactly save the world.

During the prologue, there’s not much to get excited about but as you progress in the Forbidden West, there are twists and turns. And that’s where things get exciting.

Forbidden West

Aloy brings her friends to the forbidden west and along the way, she will also meet new characters. There are a lot of characters to talk to in the game, a few will stand out, and, like in the first installment, they will joim you in the final battle.

If there are friends, there are also enemies lurking around the map. Not just new machines, but also rebels that’ll fight you to death and they make exploration much more interesting.

As Aloy, you’re the key to almost everything that’s happening in the world and all the inaccessible places in the forbidden west. That’s why you have a lot to explore while you’re completing the main story or even after it.

The tribes of Forbidden West are more worthy of your time than Zero Dawn’s, which means you have a lot of exploring to do.

Riding the machines is always fun, particularly when you’re already able to override a flying machine. The new map is slightly bigger or just about the same, but the main storyline and the side quests complement each other resulting in a game that runs like a well-oiled machine.

What’s it like to be Aloy again?

It’s been nearly 5 years since we first played as Aloy, and if you’ve clocked in a number of hours in Zero Dawn, you’re going to be very familiar with how Aloy moves and fights in the wild.

Aside from Aloy’s updated character model, she also learned a few new tricks plus weapons to use. While the bow and arrow are still Aloy’s signature, don’t be afraid to use what’s in your arsenal.

Aloy’s spear can now do better melee attacks (with combos!). Plus, there are explosive spears and launchers to spice up combats. Don’t forget that tall grasses are your best friend throughout the map. There are a lot of ways to fight beastly machines and bloodthirsty rebels.

Aloy’s skills can be upgraded and you have the freedom to choose whichever type of Aloy you want to have. Be sure to plan your skill tree — which has been expanded from four to six — based on how you want to progress in the game. Your playstyle will be important as you get deeper into the forbidden west.

Is it perfect? Nearly.

Yes, obviously, we love Horizon Forbidden West. It’s a well-written, technically polished title that will most likely be another hit for PlayStation. With the game coming to both PS4 and PS5, both generations of consoles have the chance to enjoy Guerilla’s newest masterpiece.

The game might feel familiar to those who have played Zero Dawn. Some might even say it brings nothing new to the table, and that’s okay. I’m not expecting a brand new game; it doesn’t need a new approach in its series like God Of War (2018). We expected Forbidden West to continue Zero Dawn much like how we expect a second season from a beloved TV show — to give us more of what we loved about it.

Horizon Forbidden West is a PlayStation Exclusive and will officially be out on February 18.