• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Game of the year tracker 2022

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
WTF is up with all the HFW haters? I loved HZD, is HFW really that bad?
It's pretty good actually.

The main storyline isn't as good as HZD, and that's the only downside. But that also has to do with HZD's freshness and sense of discovery, trying to find out what actually happened. Since that is no longer the case in HFW, that sense of wonder and amazement is lost a little bit.

Apart from that, everything is improved massively over HZD and is freakin' top-notch: visuals, animation, melee combat, machines, hunting mechanics for specific parts, weaponry, upgrades, traversal, destruction physics, open-world, different tribes & cultures & their storylines, NPCs, side-quests, accessibility options. Everything else is a big upgrade.

If you loved HZD, chances are that you'll also like HFW.
 
It's pretty good actually.

The main storyline isn't as good as HZD, and that's the only downside. But that also has to do with HZD's freshness and sense of discovery, trying to find out what actually happened. Since that is no longer the case in HFW, that sense of wonder and amazement is lost a little bit.

Apart from that, everything is improved massively over HZD and is freakin' top-notch: visuals, animation, melee combat, machines, hunting mechanics for specific parts, weaponry, upgrades, traversal, destruction physics, open-world, different tribes & cultures & their storylines, NPCs, side-quests, accessibility options. Everything else is a big upgrade.

If you loved HZD, chances are that you'll also like HFW.

Their loss at this point.

 

yurinka

Member
Oh ok.

I don't see any so i thought you were making a joke about it.
There's no remakes/remasters in the GoTY list so far.

And DLCs don't get nominated for GoTY anyway.
In this post I was talking about the Time GOTY list, but I forgot to include the quote to highlight I was talking about it. Just edited the post to add it.

I meant that I liked the Time list but I wouldn't have included there DLCs (the RE Village one) or remakes (TLOUP1). In the game awards where they have different categories, I'd make one for "best dlc/game update" and another for "best rerelease" (remasters, remakes, late ports, expanded editions, goty editions, etc). And I'd keep the main GOTY category to only new full games released that year, keeping away dlcs and rereleases from the main category.
 
Last edited:

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?


-

For comparison, Zero Dawn won 50+ GoTY awards and was the second highest GoTY winning game after Breath of the Wild in 2017.



SlimySnake SlimySnake

We can talk about this here (y)
 
Last edited:

Drizzlehell

Banned


-

For comparison, Zero Dawn won 50+ GoTY awards and was the second highest GoTY winning game after Breath of the Wild in 2017.

2017 was mostly bereft of any good competition so I see this as a fluke and one of the factors that helped this series get off the ground.

This year the competition was much more stiff and it only proved that Horizon is just a really mediocre series that most people will ditch in favor of better games in a heartbeat.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes


-

For comparison, Zero Dawn won 50+ GoTY awards and was the second highest GoTY winning game after Breath of the Wild in 2017.



SlimySnake SlimySnake

We can talk about this here (y)

you got my thread locked didnt you. lol

I didnt even get to take a victory lap. I got so much shit in the OT for pointing out that the game just wasnt as good as the original and had several issues that made it really unfun to play. As always, time proves me right.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
you got my thread locked didnt you. lol

I didnt even get to take a victory lap. I got so much shit in the OT for pointing out that the game just wasnt as good as the original and had several issues that made it really unfun to play. As always, time proves me right.

No, pinky promise lol.

Mods gave ok to talk about it here instead of other threads (the elden ring one)
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
2017 was mostly bereft of any good competition so I see this as a fluke and one of the factors that helped this series get off the ground.

This year the competition was much more stiff and it only proved that Horizon is just a really mediocre series that most people will ditch in favor of better games in a heartbeat.
lol what? BOTW, Mario Odyssey, Neir Automata, Persona 5, PubG, RE7 are not good competition? If anything 2022 is one of the worst years in AAA gaming with just God of War, Elden Ring as 90+ metacritic AAA titles.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 264
    • Media Outlets: 200 | Readers' Choice: 64
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn - 69
    • Media Outlets: 34 | Readers' Choice: 35
  • Super Mario Odyssey - 37
    • Media Outlets: 34 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • NieR: Automata - 17
    • Media Outlets: 13 | Readers' Choice: 4
  • Persona 5 - 15 (including 2 awards from 2016)
    • Media Outlets: 12 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - 12
    • Media Outlets: 8 | Readers' Choice: 4
  • Assassin's Creed Origins - 10
    • Media Outlets: 4 | Readers' Choice: 6
  • Divinity: Original Sin II - 10
    • Media Outlets: 7 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - 5
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - 5
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - 4 (including 1 award from 2018)
  • Prey - 4
  • Agents of Mayhem - 1
  • Cuphead - 1
  • Dragon Quest XI - 1
  • Hollow Knight - 1
  • Night in the Woods - 1
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII - 1
  • Thimbleweed Park - 1
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands - 1
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 1
  • What Remains of Edith Finch - 1
  • Yakuza 0 - 1
Horizon ZD might just be a fluke since it is now the only great game they have made in the last 10 years with KZSF being straight up bad and HFW being mostly mediocre with some flashes of brilliance. But as a game, HZD was amazing. It had great combat. It was original in both concept and execution. The world wasnt boring because there were enemies everywhere. Tons of amazing enemies to fight. Great ORIGINAL bow and arrow combat and while the story was mediocre, the actual backstory was very well fleshed out with some of the best lore ever told in full 3D holograms. It did a lot of things right and deserved every award. Just sucks that GG didnt realize why it worked.
 
lol what? BOTW, Mario Odyssey, Neir Automata, Persona 5, PubG, RE7 are not good competition? If anything 2022 is one of the worst years in AAA gaming with just God of War, Elden Ring as 90+ metacritic AAA titles.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- 264
    • Media Outlets: 200 | Readers' Choice: 64
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn- 69
    • Media Outlets: 34 | Readers' Choice: 35
  • Super Mario Odyssey- 37
    • Media Outlets: 34 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • NieR: Automata - 17
    • Media Outlets: 13 | Readers' Choice: 4
  • Persona 5 - 15 (including 2 awards from 2016)
    • Media Outlets: 12 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - 12
    • Media Outlets: 8 | Readers' Choice: 4
  • Assassin's Creed Origins - 10
    • Media Outlets: 4 | Readers' Choice: 6
  • Divinity: Original Sin II - 10
    • Media Outlets: 7 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - 5
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - 5
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - 4 (including 1 award from 2018)
  • Prey - 4
  • Agents of Mayhem - 1
  • Cuphead - 1
  • Dragon Quest XI - 1
  • Hollow Knight - 1
  • Night in the Woods - 1
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII - 1
  • Thimbleweed Park - 1
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands - 1
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 1
  • What Remains of Edith Finch - 1
  • Yakuza 0 - 1
Horizon ZD might just be a fluke since it is now the only great game they have made in the last 10 years with KZSF being straight up bad and HFW being mostly mediocre with some flashes of brilliance. But as a game, HZD was amazing. It had great combat. It was original in both concept and execution. The world wasnt boring because there were enemies everywhere. Tons of amazing enemies to fight. Great ORIGINAL bow and arrow combat and while the story was mediocre, the actual backstory was very well fleshed out with some of the best lore ever told in full 3D holograms. It did a lot of things right and deserved every award. Just sucks that GG didnt realize why it worked.

Forbidden West is superior to Zero Dawn in every single way. Anyone saying different is drunk off memba berry juice
 
Last edited:

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
Forbidden West is superior to Zero Dawn in every single way. Anyone saying different is drunk off memba berry juice
Facts they improved on everything. Imagine going back to not having a shield glider and not being able to fly or go underwater
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Remember when some were saying that sequels tend to not win GotY (when they didn't want GoWR to win any)? Wonder what changed for it to now be used as ammo?

Confirmation bias gonna confirm.
 
Last edited:
Yep. Thats why it won a grand total of ZERO awards.

remember_spinal: everyone is nuts except for me.

I honestly doubt you actually care about or play games outside of jerking off about graphixxx

I’ve played plenty of great games this year that aren’t winning a bunch of “goty” awards. Returnal wasn’t even nominated for GOTY last year
 
Last edited:

Drizzlehell

Banned
lol what? BOTW, Mario Odyssey, Neir Automata, Persona 5, PubG, RE7 are not good competition? If anything 2022 is one of the worst years in AAA gaming with just God of War, Elden Ring as 90+ metacritic AAA titles.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- 264
    • Media Outlets: 200 | Readers' Choice: 64
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn- 69
    • Media Outlets: 34 | Readers' Choice: 35
  • Super Mario Odyssey- 37
    • Media Outlets: 34 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • NieR: Automata - 17
    • Media Outlets: 13 | Readers' Choice: 4
  • Persona 5 - 15 (including 2 awards from 2016)
    • Media Outlets: 12 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - 12
    • Media Outlets: 8 | Readers' Choice: 4
  • Assassin's Creed Origins - 10
    • Media Outlets: 4 | Readers' Choice: 6
  • Divinity: Original Sin II - 10
    • Media Outlets: 7 | Readers' Choice: 3
  • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - 5
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - 5
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - 4 (including 1 award from 2018)
  • Prey - 4
  • Agents of Mayhem - 1
  • Cuphead - 1
  • Dragon Quest XI - 1
  • Hollow Knight - 1
  • Night in the Woods - 1
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII - 1
  • Thimbleweed Park - 1
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands - 1
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 1
  • What Remains of Edith Finch - 1
  • Yakuza 0 - 1
Horizon ZD might just be a fluke since it is now the only great game they have made in the last 10 years with KZSF being straight up bad and HFW being mostly mediocre with some flashes of brilliance. But as a game, HZD was amazing. It had great combat. It was original in both concept and execution. The world wasnt boring because there were enemies everywhere. Tons of amazing enemies to fight. Great ORIGINAL bow and arrow combat and while the story was mediocre, the actual backstory was very well fleshed out with some of the best lore ever told in full 3D holograms. It did a lot of things right and deserved every award. Just sucks that GG didnt realize why it worked.
It's a very static open world with a formulaic design philosophy where the game either overwhelms the player with a laundry list of meaningless tasks that feel completely hollow, or sends him off on a series of stricly linear quests. It's not a good open world game. It's just a game with a big map that's filled with relentless amount of inconsequential errands to keep you busy for hundreds of hours. You don't really get to discover anything here unless it's some sort of plot revelation in a cutscene.

Whether you like the story or characters is a matter of subjective opinion but personally, I just find the writing in those games really dry and devoid of any spark or emotion that makes games such as God of War such an enjoyable ride.

They're not bad games but they're also very unexceptional.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I honestly doubt you actually care about or play games outside of jerking off about graphixxx
And yet out of the two of us, only I have listed actual reasons and broken down exactly whats wrong with the sequel thread after thread, post after post for almost a year... while you accuse everyone else of being crazy, communicating via gifs since you apparently lack the ability to write more than two sentences at once and resort to just straight up saying nonsense about people you dont know.
 
And yet out of the two of us, only I have listed actual reasons and broken down exactly whats wrong with the sequel thread after thread, post after post for almost a year... while you accuse everyone else of being crazy, communicating via gifs since you apparently lack the ability to write more than two sentences at once and resort to just straight up saying nonsense about people you dont know.

No one cares about your incessant rambling as proved thread after thread with people pretty much hyper scrolling past everything you say. It’s all pseudo game intellectual bs that no one but you seems to understand.

The day I take anyhting you say about gaming with more than a grain of salt is the day i stop gaming altogether because I’d have to be a miserable ass person to hold the same opinions you do about literally anything related to the hobby
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
It's a very static open world with a formulaic design philosophy where the game either overwhelms the player with a laundry list of meaningless tasks that feel completely hollow, or sends him off on a series of stricly linear quests. It's not a good open world game. It's just a game with a big map that's filled with relentless amount of inconsequential errands to keep you busy for hundreds of hours. You don't really get to discover anything here unless it's some sort of plot revelation in a cutscene.

Whether you like the story or characters is a matter of subjective opinion but personally, I just find the writing in those games really dry and devoid of any spark or emotion that makes games such as God of War such an enjoyable ride.

They're not bad games but they're also very unexceptional.
The open world is formualic, static and yet engaging and interesting because of some very simple changes that made it stand out in a sea of open world games all copying the ubisoft formula... the world is littered with enemies and the combat was sublime. 99% of the open world games were vast empty lands with combat relegated to Far Cry style outposts. Horizon changed all that by making every single area dangerous. In GTA, Red Dead, Ass Creed, you just walk, ride or drive to the next marker. Here you had to fight your way to meridian orgranically encountering trex, stormbird and some of the most terrifying enemies in the game. If that is not good exploration I dont know what is.

If anything, the sequel added a bunch of random side quests you stumble upon as you explore. Basically, the witcher 3 model. And guess what? No one cares. Because exploration for the sake of discovery isnt what makes a game fun. The game needs to be FUN to play which HZD was whether you were out in the open world or in a linear story campaign.

And like I said, I didnt think the main campaign story featuring Aloy and her crew was that great. But the whole backstory is excellent and one of the best written stories in gaming. It's a shame that they chose not to focus on that and left them to the holograms because the way the entire world went down, and how Elizabeth saved the remaining humans and then was betrayed by Ted Faro all the way to how Gaia revived the first humans and sent them out in extremely well written and memorable. Which is partly why i remember all of it almost 6 years later.
 

gow3isben

Member
Damn I guess I should be happy with the 30 GOTYs Ragnarok got so far with how HFW got massacred lol

I bet Guerilla is super down on that and I feel for them great game deserved more love
 
Last edited:

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
No one cares about your incessant rambling as proved thread after thread with people pretty much hyper scrolling past everything you say. It’s all pseudo game intellectual bs that no one but you seems to understand.

The day I take anyhting you say about gaming with more than a grain of salt is the day i stop gaming altogether because I’d have to be a miserable ass person to hold the same opinions you do about literally anything related to the hobby
Nah, thats just how people talk on forums. I get that you are new since you joined in 2021 but I have been on forums since 2000 and we choose our words instead of gifs. We give our reasoning for our opinons instead of making meta commentary about users. If we dont like someone's opinion, we typically put them on ignore or scroll past them as you say you do but judging from how often you reply to me saying you dont care about my opinion while leaving LOL reactions, it's obvious that you dont actually do that.

You should try twitter. It's good for posting memes and jerking off to your favorite games in 140 characters. I will continue to post here because there are still people here who are capable of discussing games in more than just superficial flagging you seem to engage in.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Remember when some were saying that sequels tend to not win GotY (when they didn't want GoWR to win any)? Wonder what changed for it to now be used as ammo?

Confirmation bias gonna confirm.


I don't know who said sequels don't win GoTY. Almost all the recent most-GoTY winning games are sequels with It Takes Two being the only notable exception.

The nearest time before that when a new IP won the most GoTY awards was 2013 with Last of Us, almost a decade ago.

Damn I guess I should be happy with the 30 GOTYs Ragnarok got so far with how HFW got massacred lol

I bet Guerilla is super down on that and I feel for them great game deserved more love


Herman got out when the getting was good :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
Last edited:

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I don't know who said sequels don't win GoTY. Almost all the recent most-GoTY winning games are sequels with It Takes Two being the only notable exception.

The nearest time before that when a new IP won the most GoTY awards was 2013 with Last of Us, almost a decade ago.




Herman got out when the getting was good :messenger_grinning_sweat:
People were saying that in the Elden Ring vs GoWR thread prior to the awards. Many people in fact.
 
Why are people so autistic over awards and sales. Go play your games instead.
It's not enough to enjoy content but many people also need to feel validated by others, be it through sales, review scores, and other hive minded nonsense. Sure, it's nice to see good games and their devs rewarded with good sales and awards, but too many people put far too much stock into those things.
 
Last edited:

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
People were saying that in the Elden Ring vs GoWR thread prior to the awards. Many people in fact.

EOqZrTtWkAAD-I-.jpg
 

tommib

Member
I honestly doubt you actually care about or play games outside of jerking off about graphixxx

I’ve played plenty of great games this year that aren’t winning a bunch of “goty” awards. Returnal wasn’t even nominated for GOTY last year
Returnal won the BAFTA for game of the year. Arguably the most prestigious videogame award.

 
Last edited:
Preach bro! I almost forgot about those stiff animated faces

The characters in zero dawn looked like chuck e cheese robots

I feel like people always do with sequels though where they swear the gameplay, story, and world are better in the first game, then yo go back and play the first game and it looks and plays like shit compared to the sequel

I remember people saying that a lot when The Last of Us 2 came out and after Part 1 released and peopel realized it didn’t have the gameplay of part 2 everyone considered it a failure and not worth the expense.

I don’t even need to go back and play part 1 to know the gameplay of Zero Dawn doesn’t hold a candle to part 2.
 
Last edited:

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I remember people saying that a lot when The Last of Us 2 came out and after Part 1 released and peopel realized it didn’t have the gameplay of part 2 everyone considered it a failure and not worth the expense.

Considering neither FW nor Part 1 are really in the GoTY contention at all, doesn't seem like it's unwarranted tho.

But Ragnarok, which many people called a DLC, is the second most awarded game this year. Being a sequel alone isn't the problem. I guess many critics and readers didn't feel strongly about either FW or Part 1.
 
Last edited:

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Considering neither FW nor Part 1 are really in the GoTY contention at all, doesn't seem like it's unwarranted tho.

But Ragnarok, which many people called a DLC, is the second most awarded game this year. Being a sequel alone isn't the problem. I guess many critics and readers didn't feel strongly about either FW or Part 1.
You know what else's lineup isn't in any GotY contention this year?
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
The open world is formualic, static and yet engaging and interesting because of some very simple changes that made it stand out in a sea of open world games all copying the ubisoft formula... the world is littered with enemies and the combat was sublime. 99% of the open world games were vast empty lands with combat relegated to Far Cry style outposts. Horizon changed all that by making every single area dangerous. In GTA, Red Dead, Ass Creed, you just walk, ride or drive to the next marker. Here you had to fight your way to meridian orgranically encountering trex, stormbird and some of the most terrifying enemies in the game. If that is not good exploration I dont know what is.
Not sure what kind of OW games did you play before Horizon but I'm guessing that not many, otherwise you'd have a far more accurate view on how many of those games play exactly how you described, and how many of them preceded any of the Horizon games.

Basically, the witcher 3 model. And guess what? No one cares.
That's because The Witcher 3 had far better writing and it made even the sidiest of side characters more memorable than some of the main characters in HFW.

Because exploration for the sake of discovery isnt what makes a game fun.
Elden Ring would disagree. So would Red Dead for that matter. And that's because yes, indeed, exploration for the sake of discovery is what drives a good open world game. The thrill of discovering a new area, secret, hidden boss fight, or treasure all by yourself without any hand holding is exactly why those are such good open world games, while games such as Horizon or any given Ass Creed is so boring.

Games these days are too reliant on objective markers and map screens that are cluttered with junk because the developers are too afraid that you're gonna miss something. But none of them are willing to give the player a benefit of the doubt and let you discover something on your own. I invite you to perform a little experiment - the next time you're gonna play Horizon or any other open world game like it, turn off the HUD completely and only use the map screen to get the sense of general direction where you need to go. I guarantee that it'll be a much more fun and immersive experience than playing it with half the screen littered with icons.

Now, as a little thought experiment, imagine that while exploring the game without a HUD, you'd start to discover random caves that would hold a unique enemy that's not available anywhere else. And that killing it would yield some unique and powerful weapon. Or maybe he was guarding some mysterious mechanism that seems to be a part of a bigger system but you don't know what it does at first? And only upon discovering more of those caves you begin to understand that unlocking all of those mechanisms would trigger an ancient terraforming system that would completely change the flora and fauna around the desert area of the game.

Now doesn't that sound more exciting than just traversing the map just for the sake of fighting robots, even if fighting robots is fun by itself?
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Not sure what kind of OW games did you play before Horizon but I'm guessing that not many, otherwise you'd have a far more accurate view on how many of those games play exactly how you described, and how many of them preceded any of the Horizon games.


That's because The Witcher 3 had far better writing and it made even the sidiest of side characters more memorable than some of the main characters in HFW.


Elden Ring would disagree. So would Red Dead for that matter. And that's because yes, indeed, exploration for the sake of discovery is what drives a good open world game. The thrill of discovering a new area, secret, hidden boss fight, or treasure all by yourself without any hand holding is exactly why those are such good open world games, while games such as Horizon or any given Ass Creed is so boring.

Games these days are too reliant on objective markers and map screens that are cluttered with junk because the developers are too afraid that you're gonna miss something. But none of them are willing to give the player a benefit of the doubt and let you discover something on your own. I invite you to perform a little experiment - the next time you're gonna play Horizon or any other open world game like it, turn off the HUD completely and only use the map screen to get the sense of general direction where you need to go. I guarantee that it'll be a much more fun and immersive experience than playing it with half the screen littered with icons.

Now, as a little thought experiment, imagine that while exploring the game without a HUD, you'd start to discover random caves that would hold a unique enemy that's not available anywhere else. And that killing it would yield some unique and powerful weapon. Or maybe he was guarding some mysterious mechanism that seems to be a part of a bigger system but you don't know what it does at first? And only upon discovering more of those caves you begin to understand that unlocking all of those mechanisms would trigger an ancient terraforming system that would completely change the flora and fauna around the desert area of the game.

Now doesn't that sound more exciting than just traversing the map just for the sake of fighting robots, even if fighting robots is fun by itself?
I listed the kind of open world games I play. Far Cry, Ass Creed, Red Dead, GTA, nearly every other open world game besides Elden Ring And Zelda BOTW follow the same formula of simply going through vast stretches of nothing until you get to an outpost where you kill a bunch of enemies and move on. HZD changed that by making everything hunt you simply while you are traveling from point A to B. While I agree that it is not as perfect as stumbling upon a new cave with a hidden quest to get a powerful weapon, HZD did things that were at the time different from many other open world games. Just look at that list of GOTY winners in 2017, plenty of open world games, none received as well as HZD.

And yeah, I play Horizon games with the HUD off. I go off and do my own thing. I still remember the trek to meridian. I went through jungles to plains to desert areas and finally the swamps just to get to the main city. That was the only objective. The ubisoft style map with junk markers werent even an option because the map is greyed out until you light a new bonfire. I fought around six different NEW enemy types. Ran into several villages who gave me quests. Spent 2 hours trying to kill my first trex on the way there. something most people missed because it was optional.

I think Witcher 3 is a better game overall with a better story and side quests, but that doesnt mean Horizon wasnt worthy or better than 99% of the other open world games. And btw, Horizon's main narrative lead is the guy who wrote Witcher 3's best quest the Bloody Baron quest.

Lastly, RDR2 is my favorite game of the last gen. Literally my GOTG but it has its own limitations and no I did not like the exploration in that game. A lot of times you find something and its more of a oh cool. It is almost never rewarding in terms of XP, gear or weapons. The most rewarding quests like the legendary animal quests are literally marked on your maps. Even witcher 3 abuses the ubsioft style junk markers. Aside from maybe Skyrim and Batman Arkham City, there simply arent that many games like Elden Ring that dont do the whole map thing and reward you for exploring.
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
nearly every other open world game besides Elden Ring And Zelda BOTW follow the same formula of simply going through vast stretches of nothing until you get to an outpost where you kill a bunch of enemies and move on
Well, no. I'm sorry but that is simply not true and as much as I'm tired of Ubisoft games, even those mostly stopped doing that after Far Cry 2, with some of the most recent Ass Creed or Far Cry games actively even sending hunting parties or bounty hunters after you if you cause too much trouble. I've also recently beaten Far Cry Primal and you literally can't swing a spear around without bumping into some sort of danger, be it a hungry predator or an enemy patrol just wandering the map. And what about zombie games like Days Gone or Dying Light? Open areas in those games are always filled with enemies or bandits. Just Cause? Saints Row? Shoot a weapon in those games and you'll find yourself either in a high speed police chase or just blowing shit up left and right. In Mad Max or Rage 2 you'll constantly bump into enemy patrols or be on a hunt for mobile targets.

I could go on but you get the point. Horizon didn't invent this stuff, dude.

And btw, Horizon's main narrative lead is the guy who wrote Witcher 3's best quest the Bloody Baron quest.
Then they kinda wasted his talent, lol.
 

sncvsrtoip

Member
It's pretty good actually.

The main storyline isn't as good as HZD, and that's the only downside. But that also has to do with HZD's freshness and sense of discovery, trying to find out what actually happened. Since that is no longer the case in HFW, that sense of wonder and amazement is lost a little bit.

Apart from that, everything is improved massively over HZD and is freakin' top-notch: visuals, animation, melee combat, machines, hunting mechanics for specific parts, weaponry, upgrades, traversal, destruction physics, open-world, different tribes & cultures & their storylines, NPCs, side-quests, accessibility options. Everything else is a big upgrade.

If you loved HZD, chances are that you'll also like HFW.
HZD has better story but terrible narration and npc interaction, Forbiden West has worse story but defenitly better narration and npc (tough still not gow or witcher 3 level) and thats more important. There are also chances that you thought HZD was mediocre game but you will like very much Forbiden West (my situation)
 
Last edited:

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
HZD has better story but terrible narration and npc interaction, Forbiden West has worste story but defenitly better narration and npc (tough still not gow or witcher 3 level) and thats more important. There are also chances that you thought HZD was mediocre game but you will like very much Forbiden West (my situation)
Both are top-notch gaming experiences in my eyes. I love both of them! ❤️
 

Fredrik

Member
HFW is my GOTY, I voted Ragnarok because i'd played it more recently, but looking back HFW was better than it and anything else i played in 2022.
Gah I need to play through HFW! I think I’m maybe 20-30 hours in, liked it a ton but I thought Elden Ring was better and stopped and hasn’t returned yet. Only 15 days until GAF GOTY voting ends! 😓
 

Little Chicken

Gold Member
Despite Pentiment being the only first party MS release this year, which has been receiving GOTY awards in place of huge AAA titles that haven't yet featuring obese red headed women, it seems MS hit the nail on the head with their Game Pass XBOX/PC exclusive additions in 2022. So many have not only made numerous top 10 lists, but have been given GOTY.
 

ChorizoPicozo

Gold Member
Despite Pentiment being the only first party MS release this year, which has been receiving GOTY awards in place of huge AAA titles that haven't yet featuring obese red headed women, it seems MS hit the nail on the head with their Game Pass XBOX/PC exclusive additions in 2022. So many have not only made numerous top 10 lists, but have been given GOTY.
Nah
 
Top Bottom