Horizon: Forbidden West

[regemond]

Random question that a basic Googling didn't give me the answer to. If I start this game on the PS4 upstairs, then choose the upgrade to PS5 version, can I transfer my save back and forth between the two? I started it upstairs last night, and I'd like to be able to switch from time to time, but don't want to basically play it twice.

 

I can transfer from PS4 to PS5 version, I know that much. I just wasn't sure if I could do it back the other way, too.

 

Weird one, I know.

[Nag]

Don't take this as gospel @regemond but I'm 90% certain you can only go PS4 to PS5... not vice versa.

 

@Maf the Arena is near to The Memorial Grove (you go there for a story mission... The Kulrut) there should be a quest marker at the location for the side quest "Opening the Arena"

[Maf]

Played some more today. Reached level 30.

 

The only Valor Surge I ever have equipped is the one that lets Aloy tear component pieces of machines easier. Anything to reduce the need to get shots on target is necessary in my book because I can’t do accuracy in this game at all. It will be nice if I ever get done with upgrading things because then I can try some of the other special moves. 
 

I’m also begging for better shock weapons please, game, give me something 🙏

[Nag]

Seriously, run through some of the Arena and earn 80 medals and bag yourself this bad boy...

 

[Maf]

I haven’t got an arena yet. 

[Nag]

Or a clue either....🤣

[Maf]

I’ve only seen one arena and it got blown up my a giant metal snake. Apart from that I dunno.

 

I’m not usually a graphics over gameplay kinda guy. I mean I always want games to look as good as they can but it’s not the driving enjoyment factor for me or the thing I look fo-

 

EXCEPT THIS TIME THIS GAME LOOKS FUCKING INCREDIBLE 

 

30 hours in I can’t get over it. Not only is it the best looking game I’ve seen I can’t even recall being so blown away just by what a game looks like.

 

Spoiler

Some of the darker pictures don’t get done justice on the computer but with HDR 4K *whistles*

 

I wish these graphics were in a game I like more 😆 there was a bit earlier where I was going through this forest area at night time. It had slight mist, small glowing lights being carried in the breeze. It was like something out of a fairy tale adventure and I kept thinking man I wish this was a Zelda game lol. 

[Nag]

1 hour ago, Maf said:

I’ve only seen one arena and it got blown up my a giant metal snake. Apart from that I dunno.

 

 

I've already told you where it is and how to open it... not a lot more I can do really.🤷‍♂️

[Nag]

48 hours in and level 36 and I've finally got all of the special equipment needed to access the entire map... so now I'm going to concentrate on ticking off those question marks and working on the side quests/open world stuff.

 

I'm pretty certain the main quest line is almost complete, fought my first Slaughterspine in one of my last missions which was amazing, the thing was basically Godzilla with its breath attacks. You could probably mainline the story in 20ish hours if you choose to, I'll probably get that out of what more I want to do.🥰

 

 

Late game pic:

Spoiler

 

[Maf]

Getting better? Although still struggling with the weapon wheel. It’s so fiddly

 

The underwater chase bit at the beginning was really cool as well. 
 

I can’t figure out how to get a Snapmaw part. I’ve looked at the description and it says I just need to knock the containers off it’s back and I should get what I’m looking for. But this part must be down to RNG because I’ve done it on 4 Snapmaws and not got shit. 
 

I had an excellent time with this game today. The best session I’ve had with it yet. I dunno what’s changed but it’s all starting to come together. My fights are getting better, my understanding of the rhythm to the fights is getting better. I got a thing that lets me swim underwater indefinitely and hard to imagine saying this about a video game I know, but I love the underwater. The mission where you get the rebreather was amazing. Now just getting to explore more and check off more missions and black boxes that I couldn’t do before is satisfying as well.

 

That’s another thing I’ll give the game huge credit for is a lot of the missions and side quests are really unique. The third tier of quest, errands and salvage quests are the more repetitive open world filler but both the main and side quests are really good. Even doing the Cauldrons. Even though each one has the same goal the fact they all play out differently is nice. I admire the effort they put in to it.

 

There are still some problems for me. Like I was in a town earlier and the screen is so full of stuff I could not figure out how to get to the quest giver. On some level I think this game could do with a Dead Space style here’s a line on the ground, follow it.
 

And even though I’m having better fights I’m still having some fights where it falls apart and it’s annoying. A new thing I’ve learned to hate is the climbing, actually. This is really bad. Animation heavy, slow and too many buttons. It’s not as bad as Assassin’s Creed 360/PS3 era of games when it comes to climbing but it’s got those same kinds of issues. Slow, clunky, character jumps off at weird directions sometimes for no understandable reason.

 

But overall having a much better time with the game than I was. The stuff I didn’t like is becoming less of a problem for me and the stuff I did like I’m starting to like even more 

 

@Nag how are you that level with that time on the clock and not been doing the open world stuff? You been watching all the cutscenes and dialogue choices?

[Nag]

Not sure if continues are counted on the clock but playing on hard might be part of it... also I'm just wondering around hitting things how I feel... today is the first time I've basically main lined story progress.

[Maf]

Oh, yeah I forgot you was playing on hard. Can’t imagine what that’s like it’s hard enough on normal.

 

The game kind of ruined this a bit because I was trying to fly over a story location and didn’t know. Still this gliding into the storm was a epic, unscripted moment. So close to the beaches! Lol

 

 

[Nag]

Jesus wept that 4th Gauntlet Run is some utter bollocks...🤬🤬🤬

[Maf]

I’ve found the arena but it’s too hard. The snake boss in the amateur section took me 5 goes. I can’t believe they throw you in with weapons I’ve never used before. There’s a gun you actually have to reload?! I was so mad.

 

On to the intermediate challenges and the first one is kill 2 Clawstriders in a minute. 
 

Sigh

 

I was just starting to enjoy the game and now this shit

 

And there’s an entrance fee? I have to pay to lose? It’s not even cheap it’s hyper expensive. 
 

So much if this game is built to waste the players time. When people talk about big AAA games being designed in ways to pad the hour count this is a fantastic example of that 

 

Oooooh I hate this so much. 

[Nag]

Whack it to "story" difficulty... shard cost + time limits = fuck no.

[Maf]

According to a guide I read there’s only one trophy related to the Arena. Which I got so I think I’ll just move on.

 

It did say it’s worth grinding medals to get the Death Bringer Bow or something. But…we’ll see if it comes to it. 

[Nag]

1 minute ago, Maf said:

Death Bringer Bow or something.

 

That's what I've been rocking for a fair few hours of game time... it's worth it.

[Maf]

Finished the story. This is one of the worst PlayStation games I can remember playing. 

 

It really comes down to the combat. There's a lot of bad in this game. Traversal is rubbish. The resource farming, RNG, hunting is rubbish. There's not a lot in the game I would describe as filler but everything is such a prolonged slog it feels like it was designed to waste your time. But the time wasting is baked in to the game instead of artificially lengthening check list shit (Though there's a bit of that but not in an offensive way like Assassin's Creed). 

 

I still stand by that there are some really visually dense areas. Some facilities, some of the open world, sometimes the action is so flashy. I can't see what's going on. It's just blinding and hard to visually separate what's happening on screen. I complained about that in the beginning. The area's 'free them selves up' so it becomes a lot more visible. They get wider, there's less things on screen, etc. But there were still parts where I had problems being able to see the game. This game would be better on PC I think just so I could turn some of the settings down. 

 

But none of that stuff is horrible. Right? You see what I'm saying. This stuff is not good, a bit jank, a bit bullshit, a bit of a mess, but it's not horrible. 

 

Then balance it out with the good the game does. This is the best looking video game I've ever seen. I've never seen a game in this league before. It is a - SPECTACULAR - thing to witness. For the duration of it's 40-50 hours or however long that took. Especially impressive considering it's an open world game. Every corner, vista and clearing is breath taking. Like holy fuck. Even now writing this on the PC I'm looking over at the TV and am gob smacked by this end credit sequence. It's just so beautiful. 

 

The game has many other positives too. The music is sweeping and glorious and evocative of adventure. The story is silly but the voice acting is solid, and sometimes the tone of the drama hits on something I wish I gave more of a fuck about. It'll have a nice moment or sequence before returning to dribble. 

 

The mission design is also excellent. Nice and varied, fun, well paced. I enjoy the collectible hunting. Some of the side quests like climbing Tall Necks and catching Drones. 

 

But it's all for nothing because the main part of the game, the combat, the core of the experience, is absolute fucking shit. This is some of the most unfun combat I can remember trying to play. I'm going through the mental rolodex of games I don't like and I'm thinking no, that plays better. No, I'd rather play that. No, I'd take that over this. 

 

The slow movement of Aloy vs the blinding acrobatics of the machines. A fucking shooter where even in slow motion the small targets constantly twitch around being impossible to hit. The terrible weapons with most proving to be exactly useless the entire game. I spent the whole game using basic arrows, sonic arrows and bombs and anytime I thought to try different stuff I immediately got folded and ran back to the basics I know work. Except for the fact that the further I get in to the game, the more health the enemies get, the longer it takes for these weapons to chip a giant T-Rex to death. it's so frustrating and slow. 

 

I don't want to go on forever because I want to move on from this game. But lets get this out one time. There's not an aspect of the combat I think is even close to good. From the huge obvious stuff like how obnoxious targets are to hit and how crap the weapons are, to the small stuff like how long it takes Aloy to draw her bow, drink potions, recover from being knocked down. To the indirect stuff to finding good weapons, constantly having to change loadouts, why certain ammo takes longer to craft than other types of ammo. But the difference is like 1 second. Just long enough to feel off where you go to craft something, release X too early, it didn't go through, craft it again. What is the design reason why that's necessary? 

 

If I was just balancing out the good vs the bad this game would be like a 7 for me. But factoring in the combat this is like, fuck. A 4/10. This is one of the worst PlayStation games I can remember playing. 

 

In fact the only backhanded compliment I can give the game is well, I finished it. Can't say that about FF7 Remake. So it's not quite as miserable as that.

 

And breathe 

[bellow]

2 hours ago, Maf said:

This is one of the worst PlayStation games I can remember playing. 

 

I'm sure you came to that conclusion about 50 hours ago. I'm (still) at a loss as to why you continue to punish yourself by doggedly ploughing on thru games you clearly dislike.

 

This is a hobby, not a court order.

[Maf]

I went back and forth on it. And at times found a groove and had a 7/10 time with it. But at the end of the day I came back to hating it. 
 

Every time I even started to like it more I would hit some super infuriating combat encounter and I would just be filled with hate all over again. 
 

I know people like the combat. I have no idea why. I can’t find the fun in it at all. 
 

Like when people use the saying that something ‘is more than the sum of it’s parts’ the combat is one part of the sum that tanks the whole thing for me. Even times when I thought I could deal with it. Later I would hit a more chaotic fight, or stupid fucking robot thing that overwhelms the screen, or be in another war of attrition because my weapons are either shit or don’t hold the right elemental type or both and I have to chip away at the thing to die and be like nope. Back to hating it.

 

You can’t say I didn’t give it a fair crack, though