Horizon Forbidden West reviewed on PlayStation 5 by Simon Cardy.
A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5.
#IGN #Gaming #HorizonForbiddenWest
Jesus, give this man a raise or something and keep adding more people passionate like him for video game reviews.
It’s like they hired someone who plays video games and doesn’t try to antagonize the audience. Need more people like him
Cardy has been at IGN for years, always smashes it. Has great opinions on the IGN UK pod.
Defo agreed, nice positive vibes from this guy =) Made me happy and excited to play this game even more for sure =)
Just stop watching ign
Agreed. Great review.
IGN please hire more reviewers like this. Well done.
If you liek this guy listen to the IGN UK Podcast - he's the host of it
Hoping that he is doing the ER review as well
Why? Is it because he gave the rating you wanted to see and said things about the game you wanted to hear?
@@thecoomchalice5441 you’re just mad he said the opposite of what you wanted to hear
@@hooimansen why? What would u offer to the table?
Look at this! A review where the score accurately reflects the high points and issues he reported on. Its high time we have a decent IGN reviewer who will mean what he says in terms of the overall score. Thank you Simon
@WoodenPCGamerBoi30 Why tho
@@anthonyespinoza443 He gave an 9/10 so not lot of issues reported... This game is a masterpiece so hes right with his 9/10
Many big developers like Ubi could still learn a bit from Guerilla Games regarding how to make body and face animation. Stunning.
Ubisoft can always do better but their creative juices have run dry
the thing is, when you see something a bit off, it was animated. when it’s this perfect, it was motion-captured.
@@nosus4091 they’re just lazy
As long as there's a fanbase that throws money at a company for literal garbage, they'll do the bare minimum. Check FromSoftware and the overhyped game of the year that has 2010 level of animations and texture quality and where the biggest innovation in the game is a button for jumping. It costs as much as Horizon Forbidden West btw!
They don't have five years a piece to make their games lol
The improvement in the character's performance animation is such a massive difference.
Came to say this, I've been playing the first one and while not game breaking, characters head movement can be either funny or weird.
Exactly. The animation sometimes threw me off a little, especially during emotional scenes
@@TheAccursedEntity had a lot of Fallout vibe to the animation during conversations of Zero Dawn.
did they not use mocap for the side char. in the last 1
one of my favourite improvements made to this sequel. zero dawn’s cutscenes often felt so lifeless, which bummed me out since the story itself was really captivating.
The emotion of their faces are a huge improvement
Right?! This should be become the norm. looking at dying light 2, the npc’s look so lifeless
only 9? eat that pony 🤣
Along with much better voice acting if you ask me!
@@pessiescobar4707 89% metacritic better than 87% of halo infinite. So you saying “pony” just proves you are a blind xbox fanboy lol
Nah Watch Dogs Legion facial expression is better
Utterly Fantastic review. That’s how it’s done. Genuinely made me beyond excited to play this Friday. Well done
you're so sad. There's nothing new and nothing original from this game, tell the new mechanic and what's different from the first one.
Ign must be on Guerrilla's payroll. This game is more of a tedious DLC than a next step.
@@feministcunt6838 you're the one who is actually so sad for being salty on a stranger opinions online.
@@Lo-sy9fz Why is every sequel that doesn't completely overhaul the gameplay of the first game is now a DLC, new enemies, new maps, new mechanics, new weapons, a new story, none of that is enough?
@Eric Leal not an issue of everything having to be new. The issue is the stuff they added more of wasn't done well. It's a monotonous, tedious bore of a game.
Simon Cardy, thank you for doing your best to not spoil while also giving a solid review. Props.
The old world, sci-fi stuff was actually my favorite aspect
yea it's one of the places where you could use your brain and imagination so obviously 90% of the people and IGN didn't like those ;)
Yup
Yeah the Chracters were not That intresting but what happend to the world was the main draw.
one of the best "what happend to this place" post apocalyps stories
Feels like a 10 to me. Great review
This guy knows his job.IGN give him a raise🙌🏾
Then after the raise, he wouldn't be reviewing games anymore.
He can't know his job to well, mentioning halo during an horizon review. He called the grapple in halo a game changer, that's not true. Please don't mention garbage when speaking about damn near perfection
@@kingofthahill dude so salty, the beach wants him
@@BUNE111able 🤣🤣🤣 what would u get bro horizon or the new dying light?
@@josephcxrlino I'll get both, if it weren't for PS5 shortage
By far, overall, my favorite gaming experience of 2022. There is nothing like finally getting the Sunwing for the first time. Eyes literally watering with awe. And riding it from one end of the map to the other, watching the sun set and rise, bookending your journey through the night skies. Actually what's more fun is jumping from the highest peak, sailing through the air down towards the valley below, then calling the Sunwing to scoop you up mid flight, climbing to glorious heights into the sky, and when you get near a beach, seaguls fly towards you and follow you around as if you're part of the same flock! My jaw dropped at least once during every play session.
The amount of improvements in this game, Well done Guerrilla 👏🏻
See naughty dog this is how you do sequel
This game is crap, the controls and physics are horrible. The lack of final polish is obvious and hard to ignore.
@@erik.hansen ok
@@erik.hansen someone’s mad they can’t get a ps5
@@luislovera2351 omg we should give guierella some credit for creating such an engrossing environment and game instead of bringing propaganda into their games.
This game seems ridiculously dense. The characters look amazing. The environment are incredible. Wow!
Thank you!
Then you finish it within 2 -5 days and realize it’s like all Sony exclusives just movies you can new game plus
@@maddix17 True dat
@@maddix17 yes.
@@maddix17 ...you can say this with any game
This dude's review is always a delight
@@gamemovieindonesia No.
Give the IGN UK podcast a go, Cardy is usually the host and it’s very fun
only 9? eat that pony 🤣
@@Etcetera_Etcetera_ ur savage
@@pessiescobar4707 how funy u are.......
There really is a skill to writing a great review and this is a perfect example of how to do it. Nice work Simon.
It's not a "gReAt" review. He didn't judge the game solely on it's own merits, he had to compare it to other games. Perfect reviews don't do that.
@@bseffrood kind of it makes semae u dum
The graphics in the game are okay, but this time too many dialogues and the story is really unpleasant. Zero Dawn is still the best,
@@k_k9063 you wrote this mf'er "semae u dum..." Sit down with the other touched individuals.
This is one of the best reviews I've ever watched. The passion he clearly has for video games is palpable. So excited to get my hands on this one.
Great review! Very respectful of the viewer and players yet to get their hands on the game! Not all reviewers have that decency.
Weird because ign are renowned for ruining anything they get there hands on.
only 9? eat that pony 🤣
@@pessiescobar4707 cry bout it
@@victoryvicky7438 the ones that will cry are some PS fans on Twitter saying that IGN didnt give this a 10/10, a probably will compare to Halo Infinite, which got the same score
@@pessiescobar4707 89% metacritic better than halo infinite score 87% so stop hating because you have been all over the comments embarrassing yourself lol
It'll be interesting to find out whether this reviewer's problems with the metal ruins is a HFW thing or his own preference. My favourite aspect of Zero Dawn was exploring the metal ruins, uncovering the horrific fate of the old world and the personal stories that it created.
Maybe he was referring to the cauldrons which feel kinda exhausting at times. Never liked them despite the impressive art design
@@phil_5430 He refers to the game "satiating it's fetish for rambling holograms" over a clip of a holographic log of a couple of the Alphas in a metal ruin. So it's most likely that he's referring to the logs you find in metal ruins. (which STRONGLY disagree with in the context of the first game at least. Unravelling the story of the alphas was one of the high points of Zero Dawn) You're right about the cauldrons being exhausting though.
@@doodadamlol yea thts actually kinda the best part gettin the whole story
The lore dumps via hologram were among my favorite things in HZD…Finding datapoints out in the world is another. Hopefully we get tons of both with HFW
Same here bro
The fact they improved the storytelling tells me that the game is now perfect 10/10
To answer your question it’s a 11/10 this game is amazing
I'm 20 hours in and confused how this is not getting 10s across the board. Goosebumps all the time.
@@bigal828 average at best.
@@simonbelmont548 still 10 for me. I'm still playing. Don't want to finish so I'm doing everything.
@@simonbelmont548 Average meanwhile it does things better than most 10s 😭
4:01 dude the mount riding is vastly improved and looks incredible!!
Kinda look like red dead 2, the camera is alot more to the left
Kinda Looks like Ghost of Tsushima or RD2.
@@Husky_Family1 nope
@@nextbigthingthebeastincarn7216 what do u mean!
@@Husky_Family1 it's not like rdr2
The scaleable but limited cliffs are still way better than not having scaleable cliffs at all from the old game. Since most other games implement climbing stamina in exchange for having freely scaleable cliffs or any type. I'd say this one is a worthy trade off.
butthey arent actually limited , in real life not everything is climbable is see it more as the scouter is pointing out where you can hold and those are the yellow markers , a matter of immersion
Have any examples of a game that implemented free climbing the way that’s supposedly more 2022?
Honestly, not being able to climb everywhere wasn't a problem for me in HZD.
Not only that. Free climbing wouldn't work with Horizon bc it has some puzzle-ish climbing to get to certain places or for Banuk figures in HZD so I'm assuming it'll have some of that too in the new game. Having free climbing would eliminate that.
Having set ledges you can grab on is a cheap and boring mechanic from 2010. Even ghost of tsushima did this. There is no defending this
After a very long time, I'm impressed with an IGN review, this guy is actually passionate about games. This is a great review.
Definitely we can say that from past reviews of some of the deserving games
Hope this will not be as boring as the first one.
@@skyhornet7842 won’t be as boring as halo infinite, don’t worry
This IS a reviewer. What a respectful individual. Loved his review!
Forbidden West is an example, of what happens when there are AAA devs who give a damn about developing a quality game.
The use of song titles purely from RATM's debut album as the section titles deserves this review/reviewer a 10/10.
Glad I’m not the only one noticing this.
Right? Too bad RATM rages on behalf of the machine now.
Haha yeah know your enemy and freedom are some of my fav ratm tracks
Thats was sick!as a guy buying the album when it came and melting it imagine my smile.cheers
@@RomeHam what?!
The review itself, gets an A+ from me due to all the RATM references
See my new channel
Whats that
RATM ?
Yeah this writer is clever
@@issa591 Rage against the machine
Thank you to everyone who helped make this game a reality. You guys poured your heart and soul into this one. They deserved all of the credit and praise.
Spectacular review. Thank you for your enthusiasm and even coverage of this game. Looking forward to diving into the forbidden west in a few hours.
This has to be one of the best improvements in a sequel I’ve ever seen.
"Happy Birthday Issac! Daddy sure does love his little big man!!"
😓 it’s extremely tragic
See my new channel
We’ve come a long way haven’t we gentlemen?…
"Happy Birthday Xbox! Microsoft sure does love his little big Xbox" 2022 is the year of new Xbox era , we dominated.
@@vickybengali Hey my dude is hard to drink the KoolAid with that much SALT in it??
Actually a IGN review with mechanics and points broken down elaborately and then the score actually relating to the review, not to mention the passion from this guy! Revolutionary! More from this guy pls
It's so stunning, one of the few games that actually delivered on its prequel, so many recent triple A are becoming and releasing so much more disappointing than their prequels
The nice little homage that every "chapter" of this review is named after RATM songs, makes it a lot better! Great review, great game, can't wait to play it!
one of the best studios around! looks incredible!
Ye and its from the Netherlands
Thought they were based in Germany?
@@matthewbaker1036 eh close enough. It’s in Europe
Lol okay
@@matthewbaker1036 Netherlands shares borders with Germany
I’m glad there is a lot of content here as well. Finishing up Zero Dawn for a rare third playthrough in prep for the sequel this week. Forbidden West is a big boy as well at nearly 100g and I’m really looking forward to diving into this one. Between this, Dying Light 2, and Elden Ring, this has been one of the best months in gaming in some time. With all the delays last year, we’re going to get a packed year for gaming in general.
Oof
Horizon Forbidden West & Elden Ring are both a incredible experience
But very very different
Two of the best games ever made!
Now this is how you review a game preview; objectively and unbiased. This dude is A-1 level; need more reviewers like him! The game is so sharp. Can’t wait.
No review is objective and unbiased, and that's completely fine! At the end of the day we all bring our own experiences to our interactions. A truly objective and unbiased review will just be a technical report. Anyways, the game does look pretty great! Hope you get to enjoy it.
An objective and unbiased review from IGN??? You're quite the comedian! Amazing how IGN's "objective and unbiased" reviews of games from developers with whom they have a special relationship always lead to such incredibly high scores! LOL
Anyone can bring their experiences to their interactions of a video game. But when our experiences and interactions of video game is based off bias, that makes it a non technical review (which wasn’t the case here).
Never get your impression of a game from reviews. Don't let others opinions alter your own.
@@dom4591 nonsense. It's better to find reviewers you have a similar taste to. Why wouldn't you want an idea of what you're getting into? Or should you just buy/try everything?
Who’s playing Friday 🔥
👋🏽
@PS5,seriesX,switchOLED owner how about elden ring after? You will need two weeks lol
Yeees midnight launch let's go
@@gamerforlife3946 Elden Ring is forced multiple playthroughs, so that'll take up everyone's time for the next few years
One of the best reviews I've ever heard, please continue to let this guy handle main showcases he shows passion and not only that his respect to game design is unmatched.
This is just a game that you can't really explain it's what most other games could only hope to stand in the shadows of and most likely the most impressive game for years to come
This comment didn't age well lol Signed, Elden Ring
the perfect open world for a casual
Elden Ring will be the masterpiece. Horizon is an awesome casual game
Elden Ring given a 10/10 makes me think they liked it better.
@Dox KZhead Employees Lol someone never got gud...hilarious
Got my PS5 this past week, I’m so ready
Congrats mate
Congrats on finding one!
Nice
Welcome to the fam
Well done and into the PS5 squad
Cmon this was indeed a Passionate review 🙌 The guy was amazing. iGN usually bombs games with their poor commentators who have no idea about the games they play , nitpicking on irrelevant things. But this time I m impressed
Horizon Zero Dawn to me was something revolutionary. The gaming graphics and storyline was so amazing. This one is taking it to a whole new level. Thanks for the review.
Just finished it and the last portion of the game after getting the sunwing was such an amazing experience. One of the very great IP’s for playstation.
@@Equint77 Can't wait to get it.
Amazing review team!!! Really in depth. Great coverage of this game. Can't wait to play it!!!
The only few things that held it from a perfect 10 are so minor that they're almost negligible. Horizon's great reputation lives on. Thank you Guerrilla games!
Idk about minor. For folks who played breath of the wild it will feel probably a bit weird not being able to scale anything especially in a game that has such perfect production values
It's a different goal and totally changes the way the game world is constructed. It doesn't seem like a standard that should be applied to all games because it might not fit well.
Eh. 89 metacritic puts it in the same range of Halo Infinite, Deathloop, etc. seems solid but nothing that stands out. Didn’t even get as high as Forza horizon 5 sadly
@@brickweathertop7907 no Deathloop is a garbage low profile game . Galo at 87 was over-rated and mega flopped in sales. HFW will outsell all Xbox exclusives combined based on just 1st day ww sales. Stanfield is vapourwire. MS gaming division is finished . In 5 years , psn would generate more revenue than all of MS
@@samwinchester1806 if HFW gets 20 million in a couple months then I’ll believe ya lmao
Aloy has got much more facial expressions
That was my biggest gripe from the first one was the cinematics, both in the robotic facial animations and the awkward cinematography/shots. It looks like they cleaned that up with this one.
Mouth slightly opens and move head side to side was my favorite Aloy expression tho :(
@@eddiecardwell True, sometimes her expressions fell short and kinda ruined some moods so I’m glad she learned how to move her face muscles a little more since the last game.
This is hands down IGN's best review. Give this man a raise. Finally someone who knows what he's doing.
What a great reviewer. IGN this is thr quality we viewers seek, please encourage reviewers like this!
Being able to freehand climb up sheer vertical surfaces with nothing to grab onto is always dumb-looking, and stamina for climbing is annoying, so Forbidden West avoiding both of those things means it has the best implementation for me. I'd much rather developers try to put in more natural looking handholds.
Yes, thank you! Not every game has to be BOTW, despite some reviewers still being stuck in 2017's HZD launch window. Witcher 3 and RDR2 are all-time great open world titles, neither of which needed climbing mechanics to speak of.
Yeah. IGN always be comparing everything to BOTW.
@@maxgrieve although be real, Witcher 3's controls could've used a bit of fine tuning. Geralt can be awkward to control at times
From a realism point yea. From a gameplay point it will 100% make you annoyed sometimes
absolutely this
Should have talked more about the improvements to combat, and especially traversal. They showed swimming like once
@@aryantzh2028 this aint COD kiddo
@@aryantzh2028 ak 47 whaaaaat 🙄😳
@@aryantzh2028 I canceled my preorder the moment they announced that forbidden west didn't have a shotgun with a grapple-hook.
@@letsBrn LMAO
@@aryantzh2028 hey loser u dropped ur brain cells
You missed the part where you get to fly around on the machines. That is the game changer. Exploring the huge map from the sky is a totally different experience in this game.
Yea Too bad it comes at nearly the end of the main story
it's understated how much variation and detail in fashion and npc clothing there is and how much in helps deepen their world building
The character models and animation...goodness, so crisp and amazing!
Never listened to a review from IGN in years but this guy should do all reviews moving forward. He knows his stuff and gives much detail on each the mechanics of the game, GIVE HIM A RAISE!
Your just happy because you agree with him but if he said anything different you would have bashed him which is dumb lol
@@Ccubed92 you’re just slaty cause you don’t agree with what he said lmaaooo
@@Ccubed92 that works both ways tho.
This reviewer is amazing. We need more Simon! ❤️
this man reviewed this game with such simplicity while im still struggling with sawtooths in zero dawn
Thank you for the review & not having story spoilers!
2020 sony: Forbidden West is gonna help us sell more PS5! 2022 sony: PS4 is gonna help us sell more Forbidden West!
Also 2020 Sony: The Ps5 is next gen compared to the Ps4 2022 Sony: The Ps5 is the Ps4 pro 2
Zero Dawn's sidequests were some of the best written optional content I'd ever played - weird that he said here they fell short and that these sidequests are better - can't wait to see for myself!
It was like the witcher 3 and breath of the wild had a baby
The critique in this review is wonderful, like storytelling. Excellent, Simon 💜!
great review. Horizon was my favorite game of all times,... but now? Forbidden west? Whoww that looks amazing. The creativity of this open world, design of machines, unique characters, amazing game play, the overall look and feel of this game is just amazing. Well done Gorilla. Just need some extra holiday to finish Dying Lights2 before this releases 😁
I’m excited. Just finished HZD on Tuesday. Perfect timing.
How did you like it?
@@jpcoqueran pretty much he can't to play next one
See my new channel
@@Nobodysurvivesevenonebit wait?
Ugh. I've got to finish the dlc before this!
The conversation animation is the most visible improvement. They don't look like robots anymore but feel like actually people talking to each other.
This is so mind blowing and no I’m not talking about the graphics and environment, and yes! I’m talking about the plot! The twist!
I'm so used to seeing crazy amounts of stutter when there's that much foliage... I'm impressed. It looks great. Congrats to their tech team
On my PS4 slim it micro stutters a tiny bit but not too bad and is pretty buggy but runs amazingly on PS5s.
Just downloading now, a 47 year old that only came back to gaming after a 20+ year break because of zero dawn, the story of primitive man, rising up out of the ashes of AI catastrophe. What is not to love. Ps and have the next 4 days off 😆
niceee🤣
You came back to gaming after 20 years for this game? You really could not find better game or did you even try?
@@jokutyyppi6847 not sure whether answer this, because I’m getting the vibe your coming in toxic
@@jokutyyppi6847 What a sad person.
@@TiddyMouf ?
Just finished the main story still got so much things to do in this game this game is easily a masterpiece 10/10
The fact that reviews are available this early on shows Sony's confidence in its IPs.
They have some great devs so I'm really not surprised, the people who chose the studios are very smart indeed and know what gamers want
Not to take away from Guerilla but a week-advance embargo is pretty standard for the industry, no?
The game comes out in less than a week. Nothing special
@@DaedalusMinion lately not really. most have been like a day before lately.
"sOnY oNlY hAs SpIDeRmAn"
What a review and what a reviewer!! Boy oh boy , IGN clone him please. This is the type of content we deserve, yes that high quality!! IGN take note
Incredible review. Perfectly articulated. Fantastic job, IGN.
You deserve more than likes man. This was deep and went into my soul!
These visuals gotta be the most beautiful and detailed open world ever made
Can't be detailed with all that fog sorrounding
Please, that title belongs to RDR2, this is also really nice though.
@@honestk9612 LMAO...... no
@@asianhavoc1872 grow up kiddo
Details? Hmm, that flashes me back to rdr2
He did a peerless job reviewing a game like this. Kudos to him, this was so pleasant to watch!
Lucky he liked it ey
Peerless? Is this your first HFW review? SkillUp is superior.
Amazing review, thank you!! Can you share insights about graphic options??4k @60fps with ray tracing available?
Man you are a great journalist, this video was a great review, almost covered everything in a great fashion, Thanks, And Horizon is one of the best games industry has ever saw
Probably one of the best ign reviews I've witnessed ! Congrats to you !
@@tetermc please don’t be that guy😅
@@tetermc Hahahaha, very poignant!
How can it be a great review when you haven't even played the game yet? You don't know if what he said is true. Dumbass
It isn’t saying much lol but it’s still a great review
WOW! This is one of the best reviews I’ve seen from IGN! The depth and passion is amazing to see…well done Simon🙌
This man needs a raise! Such a wonderful, detailed and engaging review!
This is the best review I've heard from IGN in a while. Bravo my dude 👏🏾 I'm excited for this game for sure.
Absolutely well written and gripping review! It actually built momentum as it got towards the “Final Verdict”. Brilliantly done. I’m super-hyped for this game!
Loved the first game, we'll love this one even more, most likely will be MY PERSONAL game of the year
NOoO, YOUR PERSONAL goty MusT bE ELd3n r!NG!!!1!
@@Ballerkack this looks far better imo
@@Ballerkack which game and which boss filtered you specifically?
You must say after ragnarok ragnarok first forbidden west second
Mine will be elden ring or this
So happy for Guerrilla games to do something so ambitious with HZD, and striking again with HFW!
the non-static camera for dialogue is what seems most exciting haha
10:53 is the pig in the back okay ?
Game looks really gorgeous, a shame that it's so hard to get a hold of a PS5 😔
You can get it on PS4 and upgrade it to PS5 for free once you have one.
@@mathsarslain Yeah ima be waiting to see how the performance is on ps4
@@bubblytortilla there are PS4 gameplays too
It's not hard to get a ps5. It's hard to get a ps5 at retail price. Got mines at launch tho.
@@nextbigthingthebeastincarn7216 ima check that out! Thank you!
Another great review! Great work Simon! Can’t wait to play!
This game is so much fun and absolutely stunning to look at.
Cardy is one the igns best reviewers.
Great review. Like this guys review technique. Always enjoy the reviews much more when they are NOT coming out of their San Francisco office. In fact IGN should STOP having their San Francisco office give reviews and let whichever office this guy is based out of to take over from now on.
So excited to play this later, it's nice to get games that don't completely let you down
Excellent review Cardy!!! It was so in depth!
If only more games had memorable side quests. Great review. Can't wait to play!
Excellent review, looks amazing, can't wait!
Even though Elden Ring is definitely GOTY, this is also one of the best games I've ever played. Both games are so we'll designed that it gives me so much imagination
This game deserves 10
Even more hyped for the game now!
Only losers gets hyped for this game
@@vickybengali Only losers dedicate their lives to writing hate coments on KZhead
@@vickybengali Only losers writing this kind of comment, lol
@@vickybengali Per your comment history, you're just mad this game isn't on "Master PC" LOL
Not my type of game but am excited to see what people think of it an people's hype! 💯
Got goosebumps from the review. When a reviewer makes such a passionate claim about a product, you are left with no choice but to experience it for yourself. Also, for every CDPR-like studios, there are studios like Guerrilla who keep raising the bar for themselves and for the industry in general. Can't wait to begin my adventures in the Forbidden West.
wanna see a movie based on this game
what stands out to me this time around are the vivid colours, facial animation and nice FPS.
Yes! Everyone you meet feels like an actual person. It's crazy!
Great review and thanks for not including any story spoilers!
Aloy gets killed in the middle, and you play an old black asian dude afterwards.
@@IIISentorIII Yeah no lmao
@@IIISentorIII also alloy kisses Roast and it suddenly becomes sweet home Alabama simulator