Horizon Forbidden West was too huge. I loved the sport general, however my important 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 wholly 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 recreation, Burning Shores is explicitly an epilogue to the principle 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 observe.
This placement after the marketing campaign makes it a particular deal with for followers who’ve seen their manner by, however anybody else can have their entry gated behind ending an already substantial recreation. As somebody who completed the principle recreation almost a yr in the past, I used to be desirous to have one other journey into this world I liked. If it had come as quickly as I completed the marketing campaign, I most likely would have felt too fatigued.
Guerrilla could not have predicted the dying of actor Lance Reddick, who supplied the voice and likeness of the crafty Sylens, so his look right here is bittersweet. Sylens bookends the experience–both pointing Aloy within the course of her new quest firstly, 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 improvement within the subsequent recreation. Nonetheless, listening to his inimitable line supply yet another time felt particular, understanding that we have misplaced him.
Sylens informs Aloy that after the climactic battle towards the Zeniths, certainly one of them remains to be unaccounted for–a playboy industrialist named Walter Londra, who fled to the realm previously referred to as Los Angeles, however now merely known as the Burning Shores, so Aloy goes to trace her new goal. Upon getting there, she discovers that he is basically locked down the realm 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 beautiful. That is post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, however regardless of the identify Burning Shores, it regularly appears to be like picturesque. Town has largely flooded, leaving pockets of islands and skyscrapers jutting out of the ocean. Increased 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 lots of Horizon’s settings, however particularly when utilized to acquainted territories like LA.
Except for Londra, the foremost new character addition in Burning Shores is Seyka, a Quen marine who’s considerably of an outcast from her personal navy. Aloy sees a few of herself in Seyka, as a decided lady who has been shunned by her tribe, and their creating 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 motive 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 principle marketing campaign, Guerrilla can depend on you to have all of Aloy’s instruments at her disposal. That is good, although I am going to 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 watching a wall, questioning what I am purported to do. There’s additionally one important new traversal tool–a machine that fires metallic posts right into a wall to create your personal handholds for climbing–but that is restricted to a single mission.
For probably the most half, Burning Shores is familiar–you battle machines, you traverse and climb, and then you definately do it once more. There are new weapons and armor out there from the Quen at their outlets, which require buying and selling a uncommon new useful resource. And as you progress by the marketing campaign, you do get a wholly new weapon kind, lastly borrowing tech from the Zeniths, which feels considerably totally different and extra highly effective than some other weapons throughout each video games. There are just a few new machines to hunt, together with the tiny swarming Stingspawn and the huge toad-like Bilegut. The one different normal machine, the Waterwing, is extraordinarily just like the prevailing Sunwing. Nonetheless, should you’re searching for extra alternative to seek out sources and decide aside robots, this may preserve you occupied.
![The overgrown wastes of the Hollywood hills.](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_super/1585/15855271/4129127-horizon-burning-shore-screenshot-hollywood-sign-01-23feb23.png)
Londra is not distinctive as a villain. All the Zeniths have basically 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 gives ample motivation to take him down. The battle towards 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, but it surely pays off believably and fantastically. That is largely as a result of performances, particularly Ashly Burch as Aloy, whose expressions present a stunning quantity of wordless feelings as she acknowledges and types by her emotions. That stated, it leaves on a candy however barely melancholy be aware.
That is as a result of, as all the time, Aloy is trying to the long run. Horizon: Burning Shores lays much more groundwork for the way forward for the franchise than Forbidden West, which had already signaled a transparent course for the subsequent entry. It does this in a good, 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.