drahkon Posted February 18, 2022 Posted February 18, 2022 2 1/2 hours in. The game is drop dead gorgeous. Reveal hidden contents I can't believe how stunning it looks. Haven't done much, so far, aside from completing the lengthy tutorial (a little too long for my taste). Now I'm in the open world but not really? I think it's kind of an extension to the tutorial, but I'm not entirely sure. Done an introduction to the board game. Seems interesting. I'll dive deeper soon enough, but for now I'll rather take care of some side quests. So far so good. Very impressed with the technical side of the game. Can't say much about the gameplay. Will give more impressions on that once the world truly opens up.
Mandalore Posted February 18, 2022 Posted February 18, 2022 Played the beginning so far which is essentially the tutorial. It took some getting used to the controls again. It goes over a very brief summary of Zero Dawn, but I'm glad I read this story recap before playing. The game looks and runs great, looking forward to getting stuck into the story.
Ronnie Posted February 18, 2022 Posted February 18, 2022 Enjoying the slow tutorial so far but man, someone on the dev team needs to turn the sharpness slider down from 1 million to something a bit easier on the eye. I also genuinely can't decide whether to run on Performance or Graphics modes. I'll probably go with 60fps but the game is in desperate need for a middle ground (which will no doubt annoyingly release in a month or two after most people have finished it)
drahkon Posted February 18, 2022 Posted February 18, 2022 After 5 1/2 hours I've reached Forbidden West, i.e. the open world. Have only done one thing: overridden the first Tallneck. And yes, now the true Horizon journey begins Lots of stuff to discover. As always, I will wander around and explore the world on my own, mainly using the compass to get my bearings. And if I want to progress more efficiently, I'll use the map. Took three more screenshots: Reveal hidden contents Now the game has opened up. And that means: I will spend even more time in photo mode. Getting a little tired, though, so might actually take a break for tonight and get back to it tomorrow Can't say it enough: The game looks phenomenal. Facial animations are insane. Overall it feels similar like the step up from Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2. Improvements all around. Obviously it's still early days, but what I've played so far is incredible. 1
Jimbob Posted February 19, 2022 Posted February 19, 2022 Had planned to play this weekend, have to wait until Monday now as DPD had a request from someone to redeliver it then. No idea who requested a redelivery 2
drahkon Posted February 19, 2022 Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 1:52 PM, Choze said: IMO dont waste too much time in the first open area. Get to the Forbidden West! Expand Yeah, I did. Surprisingly, I've advanced the story a bit further. Usually I just explore and gear up more in games like this one. But the story is really good and just kept me going. I'm now able to venture further into the west and will do exactly that. 10 hours in now and I think it's time to do a lot more exploring. Love the side quests. They are one of the biggest improvements compared to the first game. They have their own story and interesting characters. 1
drahkon Posted February 20, 2022 Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 2:32 PM, drahkon said: I think it's time to do a lot more exploring. Expand That didn't work. Got sucked into the main quest again. The story is ramping up and I wanted to see where it goes. Very intriguing. After a few main quests I was able to unlock a certain side activity: Reveal hidden contents The Arena Some weapons and armors are available as rewards, so naturally I tried to get at least one of those. Took me a while, 'cause the challenges are quite tough. But I did get one awesome weapon Haven't tried it in the field, yet, but given its rarity it might be way too strong for where I'm at. Just the way I like it I wish picking up materials was as instant as it is in Ghost of Tsushima. The animations in H:FW can be a little annoying if you decide to gather lots of materials quickly. Have also encountered a few visual glitches, mostly while climbing stuff. But these are the only annoyances so far in 15 hours. It's a very polished game and a joy to play 1
Mandalore Posted February 20, 2022 Posted February 20, 2022 I think I'm at the point where I enter the Forbidden West now, been slowly going around the area trying to do all the optional quests. Noticed a few things which are inaccessible and presumably require an item/skill picked up later in the game. What skill trees is everyone levelling up so far? I've been putting all my points into machine master so far, hoping it pays off when I can override more machines. One think I can't help but do is compare the world design and stealth mechanics to the previous game I played, Pokémon Legends. Forbidden West is just leagues ahead in every regard. 1
drahkon Posted February 20, 2022 Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/20/2022 at 4:40 PM, Mandalore said: Noticed a few things which are inaccessible and presumably require an item/skill picked up later in the game. Expand Yup. It's why I've been doing some more main quests for two hours now. Want to unlock all of that so I can explore every nook and cranny On 2/20/2022 at 4:40 PM, Mandalore said: What skill trees is everyone levelling up so far? Expand Mostly Warrior and Survivor. I'm playing pretty aggressively and the increased damage and healing help a lot.
drahkon Posted February 20, 2022 Posted February 20, 2022 Almost 22 hours of playtime now. Think I've reached the final mission and...big gameplay spoilers coming up: Reveal hidden contents There it is. Flying a Sunwing It was such a cool moment when you first took to the skies. Now the real game begins Still...I'm a little disappointed that the flying mount was introduced this late into the story. If I had actually played the game as I usually play open world games, i.e. finish most if not all side activities whenever they appear, I'd be quite annoyed. Wouldn't have been able to get much use of it, then. (that is, if I'm actually right before the final mission - pretty sure I am ). Luckily, the story kept me going and I finished main mission after main mission so now I get to have all the fun with the Sunwing and side activities. Anyways. Have I mentioned that the game is gorgeous? Reveal hidden contents Bonus: Praise the sun!
Ronnie Posted February 22, 2022 Posted February 22, 2022 TWELVE hours in and I've finally reached the main openworld of the game Though tbf I was really taking my time and doing everything I could in the previous area. Really enjoying it. It's as cookie cutter as most Sony openworld games so far, but that doesn't mean it's not a ton of fun, the combat especially. Hopefully the collectibles and activities will be enjoyable (unlike the last 3rd person adventure game GOT, imo). Facial animation is a huge step up from the first game, some of the characters even this early on blow me away with how good they look. So yeah, more of the same as the first game, just better. Looking forward to diving in some more.
Mandalore Posted February 22, 2022 Posted February 22, 2022 Just finished Death's Door on the main quest, the stories definitely gone up a few gears. Reveal hidden contents I was not expecting another Elizabeth Sobeck clone, and people with really advanced gear. I wonder if they're somehow survivors from before the extinctions, which have been in stasis or something all that time. Noticed 1 purple icon when scanning that I never managed to get to, not sure if I missed something valuable?
Ronnie Posted February 23, 2022 Posted February 23, 2022 (edited) The amount of ways this game wastes your time is obnoxious. I feel like 80% of the things I discover are just blocked paths where you need a tool to proceed. Or climbing up the side of a cliff, getting to 75% of the way up and finding the yellow handrails just stop, not allowing you to go all the way. When you flood an openworld map full of checkbox busywork, at least make the majority of it stuff the player can actually do. I've never seen anything like this. So demoralising, and makes you hate the whole 'content for content sake' design of these AAA games all the more. Edited February 23, 2022 by Ronnie
Julius Posted February 23, 2022 Author Posted February 23, 2022 The game's soundtrack is being released in three waves on all streaming platforms, starting with Volume 1 on Friday: 1
Mandalore Posted February 23, 2022 Posted February 23, 2022 One thing that seems to be missing from the original is all the weird sound effects and little jingle when you shoot parts off machines and collect them after. I kinda miss that, made the game very unique.
Ronnie Posted March 4, 2022 Posted March 4, 2022 There's some terrible game design in this. At one point in the story it gives you three objectives to complete, "do them in any order you want but start with this one, because", so a very clear order to proceed through these main missions. Fine. Unfortunately the map is FULL of blocked paths that require a certain tool to get past. It genuinely feels like half of the ? marks on the map are this type of barrier. So half way through the first objective of the three, I stumble on a ruin, which are some of the more rare examples of authored level design in the game. But no, blocked path, as per usual. I look online to find out when you get the tool to get past all these dozens of barriers I've come across? ... at the end of the third, highest level, objective, on the far edge of the map. Ridiculous.
Mandalore Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 I got to what I think is probably the end game mission last week. Been doing side quests since, but I don't think I can be bothered doing some of the collection stuff. Reveal hidden contents I finished the salvage contract missions, it was a nice conclusion and the armour you get from it is pretty good. The cauldron with the tallneck was a nice surprise. The very Bioware-esque companions and missions were all great, definitely an improvement over the original game. Reveal hidden contents The races suck. It's got the worst rubber banding I've ever seen, it feels like random luck if you happen to be in 1st position at the end or not. Climbing has mostly been fine, but there have been a few places where I've fallen to oblivion trying to do what should be a really basic jump.
Ronnie Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 Just platinum'd this. Really enjoyed the storyline, far more than the first game. Visuals were stunning. Companions were great, good idea to give them loyalty type missions (without the actual loyalty part). I thought the openworld was as samey as most other Sony/Ubisoft games, was hoping for something a bit more RDR2/BOTW/Elden Ring but seems not. Really enjoyed the cauldrons and tallnecks though, I like how each one feels pretty unique. Climbing I thought was terrible. There was no gameplay to most of it really, just hold up, so it was pretty tedious and boring. Overall though had a great time, mostly because of the storyline, visuals and cauldrons.
Mandalore Posted March 24, 2022 Posted March 24, 2022 Encountered a frustrating glitch on one cauldron. I died at the boss and then got spawned out of bounds. I ended up having to go back to an old save at the start of the cauldron, thankfully the game at least makes fairly regular autosaves. It did make for an unusual view of the cauldron: 1
drahkon Posted June 2, 2022 Posted June 2, 2022 Awesome. Might replay this sooner rather than later with the NG+ goodness.
Hero-of-Time Posted December 9, 2022 Posted December 9, 2022 DLC announcement. It seems PS4 owners are getting shafted though as the DLC is announced for PS5 only.
drahkon Posted December 9, 2022 Posted December 9, 2022 On 12/9/2022 at 7:33 AM, Hero-of-Time said: It seems PS4 owners are getting shafted though as the DLC is announced for PS5 only. Expand Yeah, weird move to transition to current gen with DLC. Same happened with FFVII Remake Still, I'm exited. Gotta get hold of another copy, though, as I sold mine
Hero-of-Time Posted December 9, 2022 Posted December 9, 2022 On 12/9/2022 at 7:37 AM, drahkon said: Yeah, weird move to transition to current gen with DLC. Same happened with FFVII Remake Expand Completely forgot FF pulled that as well.
Julius Posted September 27, 2023 Author Posted September 27, 2023 Complete Edition of the game launches October 6th for PS5, and early 2024 on PC, bundling the main game and Burning Shores DLC together: The PC version of the game is being developed in partnership with Nixxes, and is coming to Steam and the Epic Games Store.
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