In 2017, Horizon: Dawn of Zero, developed by Sony's Rangers Studios, received a huge response as soon as it was launched. As sony's first party of the original IP, unique world view settings, novel gameplay, even in 2017, when blockbusters are frequent, the performance is still eye-catching. As of today, the sales of Dawn of Zero have exceeded the 20 million mark, which is a rare achievement as the first work of an original IP.
As a sequel to the trilogy, the Western Forbidden Lands have a high degree of consistency with the previous game, both in terms of system and plot, and if you have played the previous game and are very satisfied with the previous game, this game must not be missed. But if you are the first time to contact this IP, because the plot of the Western Forbidden Domain undertakes the ending of the previous game, before playing, the author strongly recommends that new players play the previous game, at least understand the plot of the previous game.
Entering the game, I believe that many players, like the author, first experienced the shock. Yes, as a truly PS5 era AAA masterpiece, Ranger Studios has taken the PS5's skills to the extreme.
Las Vegas in the desert
There's been a popular view lately that game graphics have been hard to come by. However, this view was slapped in the face by ranger studios. With the powerful skills and new engine of Sony's next-generation consoles, the Western Forbidden Domain has raised the level of the picture to the extreme. The modeling of the heroine can be called a moving CG, the vegetation in the game is so rich that it is almost impossible to see the serrations, and even the pores of the characters are visible after zooming in. The author can only sigh: the next generation has really come.
Rich vegetation
Another point that needs to be mentioned is that this game uses the function of the PS5 controller DualSense to the extreme. Not only is the adjustment of the adaptive trigger excellent: every time you shoot an arrow with the Arrow, you feel like you're there. Not only that, even when collecting or using props in the game, the DualSense controller will emit corresponding sound effects, and even when collecting the black box of one of the collectibles in the game, the controller will emit a noise that simulates the walkie-talkie. It can be said that before playing this game, the author did not know that the PS5 controller had so many functions.
Built-in mini-game Fighting Beast Chess
When it comes to the open world, I believe that the first idea that pops up in many people's minds is formulaization. In recent years, the bad reviews of the open world have mainly come from copying and pasting that have no novelty. The Western Forbidden Domain perfectly avoids the minefield at this point - whether it is the main line or the side line, each mission has been carefully designed, and a unique gameplay and map design has been made against the mission, and even the decryption content is different. Many decryption hints are hidden in the corresponding collectible text, which requires the player to read carefully and use their brains to find clues. While adding to the fun of the game, it also greatly improves the sense of substitution.
The advanced mechanics clashed visually with the original costumes
I believe that many players deeply hate the standing-up dialogue of the previous game, and this point of the previous game is indeed widely criticized. The game has made a huge improvement in this regard: the number of cutscenes has increased significantly, the body movements of the characters during the dialogue, and the micro-expressions are super rich. Even the dialogue of the small branch line is done very carefully, so that the author who is accustomed to skipping the plot by reading quickly can also sink his heart and quietly taste it.
It's no longer a pile-up conversation
Having said that, let's talk about the combat system. The combat system of this game basically inherits the previous generation and has been optimized and improved on this basis. First of all, the skill tree has been increased from three in the previous game to six.
Each skill is very useful
In addition, a new Courage Surge mechanic has been added: Accumulate courage points in battle, and reach a certain value to activate. Different surges of courage have different effects, either spawning shields, or significantly increasing damage, or transforming into Superman – quickly regenerating health and gaining overlordship. How to choose the most adaptable surge in courage is a test for players.
Two new weapons added: the Smash handguard and the Nail Gun. Smashing the handguard throws a frisbee that will turn back, and the frisbee that turns back after hitting the enemy will get a layer of charge, and after accumulating three layers of charge, the next time it hits the enemy, it will cause an explosion. The Nail Gun is a javelin with a bomb attached, and after being stuck to the enemy's body, the armor can be easily peeled off by the explosion to facilitate the next output.
Analyze the enemy's weaknesses
However, there is one point that the author is not very satisfied, in order to improve the difficulty of the battle, most of the enemies in this game are in groups, and the battle is often chaotic, which greatly reduces the pleasure, and I hope that this situation can be improved in the next game.
Inflict damage on enemies by destroying scenes
Finally, let's talk about the plot, as mentioned earlier, this work is a work that inherits the upper and lower levels, and the plot of the Western Forbidden Territory also reflects the ambition of the Ranger Studio while being wonderful. It inherits the ending of the dawn of zero, but it is wrapped up at the end, leading to the next work.
The main plot is still a heroic script to save the world, uniting all the forces that can be united, relying on everyone's love, wisdom, and bravery, casting magic called miracles, striking hard, and saving the world. The ending, like "Heirs of the Stars" and "Gundam turn A", takes the stage and dimension to a higher position, which will be a better opportunity to write a romantic story of love wisdom and courage. As the plot of the previous science fiction story is wonderful enough, but this game is going to go to a higher level, expanding the worldview and providing players with a higher level of story and character building. The Forbidden West truly introduces the concept of companionship in RPG games and contributes a large number of memorable enemy and enemy characters. The two story lines of the surviving human beings of the old era and the civilization reborn in the new era are intertwined, and together they compose this hymn of mankind.
A villain whose painting style is out of place
Summary: As a sony's first real AAA masterpiece in this generation, the performance of the Western Forbidden Domain is undoubtedly very outstanding, compared with many works with frequent problems in recent years, the degree of completion and the fineness of the content seem to be completely unaffected by the epidemic in the past two years, and it can even be called a spectacle in the game industry.
As one of the top and bottom of the Horizon series trilogy, this work perfectly inherits the dawn of Zero, but also makes a perfect wedge for the next work, greatly improving the level of the series, and also raising my expectations for a sequel, hoping that Ranger Studios can continue to play and continue to launch a sequel as good as this work.
Bring the third part up!
Average rating: 95/100