Horizon: Forbidden West is a tantalising sequel that I am already ridiculously excited about. Here’s the thing though, I never actually finished the first game. I did everything in the opening area, including all the side missions and collectibles. After that, I spent a bit of time plowing through the story, got very distracted in the larger cities, and then my interest petered out. I’m not sure why, because I love the ideas this game has floating around and want to explore them more. I think that I got into it too late and was investing in other games at the time. Now though, I’m changing that. I’m going to pick this game up again because I want to finish it before the sequel arrives.
Today is the best day to start the game, no matter when you’re reading this. If it’s before the sequel has released, then you’ve got a great excuse to play it before that. If the sequel is already out, you might want to play it first to fill in gaps in the story or do the same if you’ve enjoyed the second game and have questions. I think both of these are valid, but there’s also just playing it for the sheer enjoyment of it all.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is the first game to take a look at the apocalypse and put humans underneath machines that are in tune with nature. Usually, the machines are oppressive overlords that are hunting humans down in order to eradicate them. Not so in this series though. Machines are at one with nature, mainly because they’ve been built to help nature and not hinder it. Humans are the ones causing damage if anyone is. I think it’s such a wonderful concept and one that shows us just how good our world can be if we lean on this sort of machinery in the future.
Ultimately, there’s a good story to be told in Horizon: Zero Dawn. The gameplay is fantastic too, and I’ve always been disappointed in myself for not finishing it. For me, picking the game up again today is about finishing it before the next one comes out. That could be different for everyone reading this, but I think all reasons are valid at this point. When a game looks like this, it’s worthy of being played for any reason.
