Horizon Forbidden West was too massive. I loved the sport general, however my essential takeaway from the expertise was that it was fully an excessive amount of of factor. At a sure level the open world simply felt overwhelming, and consequently the sprawling story started to lose its punch. Burning Shores, the primary and solely introduced main growth to Forbidden West, takes place in a completely new space with a narrowed focus that hits the spot for Horizon followers, whereas introducing a handful of inventive new mechanics and weaving in intriguing plot threads to repay sooner or later.
Not like the Frozen Wilds, the foremost growth to the primary sport, Burning Shores is explicitly an epilogue to the primary marketing campaign, not a facet story. It picks up precisely the place the cliffhanger ending left off, and it closely references a mount you solely obtained close to the very finish of the marketing campaign.
Spoilers for Horizon Forbidden West comply with.
This placement after the marketing campaign makes it a particular deal with for followers who’ve seen their approach by way of, however anybody else can have their entry gated behind ending an already substantial sport. As somebody who completed the primary sport almost a yr in the past, I used to be desperate to have one other journey into this world I liked. If it had come as quickly as I completed the marketing campaign, I in all probability would have felt too fatigued.
Guerrilla could not have predicted the loss of life of actor Lance Reddick, who offered the voice and likeness of the crafty Sylens, so his look right here is bittersweet. Sylens bookends the experience–both pointing Aloy within the path of her new quest initially, and stage-setting their subsequent strikes on the finish. His character even will get an emotional payoff, albeit one which feels prefer it was written to arrange additional growth within the subsequent sport. Nonetheless, listening to his inimitable line supply yet another time felt particular, realizing that we have misplaced him.
Sylens informs Aloy that after the climactic battle in opposition to the Zeniths, considered one of them remains to be unaccounted for–a playboy industrialist named Walter Londra, who fled to the world previously referred to as Los Angeles, however now merely referred to as the Burning Shores, so Aloy goes to trace her new goal. Upon getting there, she discovers that he is primarily locked down the world with a lethal tower that stops her flying mount from approaching, and within the course of, stranded a set of Quen marines.
The setting in Burning Shores is attractive. That is post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, however regardless of the title Burning Shores, it steadily seems picturesque. Town has largely flooded, leaving pockets of islands and skyscrapers jutting out of the ocean. Larger floor just like the Hollywood hills present bigger landmasses, however all of them have an overgrown, nature-reclaimed look to them. It is distinctive and eerily lovely, which describes a lot of Horizon’s settings, however particularly when utilized to acquainted territories like LA.
Other than Londra, the foremost new character addition in Burning Shores is Seyka, a Quen marine who’s considerably of an outcast from her personal army. Aloy sees a few of herself in Seyka, as a decided lady who has been shunned by her tribe, and their growing friendship is a serious throughline of the story. That particularly comes into play as the 2 examine Londra, with the sharp-eyed Seyka realizing there should be some purpose he is so determined to get off-planet, and Aloy more and more straining to keep away from telling her about Nemesis. Since all of Aloy’s allies realized in regards to the impending risk alongside her, this dynamic of data asymmetry is new and provides a wrinkle to their relationship.
Since Burning Shores follows after the primary marketing campaign, Guerrilla can depend on you to have all of Aloy’s instruments at her disposal. That is good, although I will admit that after such an extended absence I had forgotten about a few of them. The sport helpfully prompted me to make use of some less-common instruments just like the Pullcaster when wanted, which I appreciated as a result of in any other case I might be observing a wall, questioning what I am alleged to do. There’s additionally one important new traversal tool–a machine that fires metallic posts right into a wall to create your individual handholds for climbing–but that is restricted to a single mission.
For essentially the most half, Burning Shores is familiar–you struggle machines, you traverse and climb, and then you definately do it once more. There are new weapons and armor accessible from the Quen at their retailers, which require buying and selling a uncommon new useful resource. And as you progress by way of the marketing campaign, you do get a completely new weapon sort, lastly borrowing tech from the Zeniths, which feels considerably totally different and extra highly effective than another weapons throughout each video games. There are just a few new machines to hunt, together with the tiny swarming Stingspawn and the large toad-like Bilegut. The one different customary machine, the Waterwing, is extraordinarily just like the prevailing Sunwing. Nonetheless, when you’re searching for extra alternative to search out assets and decide aside robots, this may preserve you occupied.
Londra is not distinctive as a villain. The entire Zeniths have primarily been narcissistic sociopaths who look down on the surviving tribal populations as lesser beings. Londra does take this mindset to uniquely horrible lengths, although, which supplies ample motivation to take him down. The battle in opposition to him culminates in a setpiece so grandiose that the ending of Forbidden West feels humble by comparability. It is tough and thrilling, and serves as a showpiece each graphically and mechanically.
With Londra resolved, Burning Shores turns to addressing the burgeoning relationship between Aloy and Seyka. At roughly 8-10 hours, I used to be skeptical {that a} new character launched within the DLC would have sufficient time to develop emotional resonance, however it pays off believably and superbly. That is principally as a result of performances, particularly Ashly Burch as Aloy, whose expressions present a surprising quantity of wordless feelings as she acknowledges and kinds by way of her emotions. That stated, it leaves on a candy however barely melancholy observe.
That is as a result of, as at all times, Aloy is seeking to the longer term. Horizon: Burning Shores lays much more groundwork for the way forward for the franchise than Forbidden West, which had already signaled a transparent path for the subsequent entry. It does this in a decent, participating little package deal that reignited my love for the world and its characters with out feeling burdened by it. Whereas a lot of Burning Shores feels acquainted, it is a candy, condensed expertise that captures what makes Horizon video games nice. After feeling extra exhausted than excited on the finish of Forbidden West, I am glad for the reminder.