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Horizon: Forbidden West |OT| Red Head Redemption - II -

Aaron Olive

Member
HGIG users try these settings, will make game pop!
GD0bDEA.png
 
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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I agree. And this applies to multiple games across different ecosystems. I like it so far but 89 seems … a bit high to me right now.

i don’t want to derail the thread with lists, but I completely agree with you. This is not exclusive to this game. I mean multiple games, even franchises of that I personally love across multiple platforms/eco systems.

I feel like the review scale needs to be completely re evaluated and these hype merchant influencers who survive on hype clicks need to sort their shit out.
 
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If you’ve played the first game, this is a huge case of “been there, done that.”

It’s the exact same open-world design we’ve had since TW3. But games like GoT improved on that formula with its focus on making things seem disgetic/natural, while this one just kind of copies it exactly.

Except the combat in HFW blows those games away. Kinda silly to neglect the biggest draw in HZ
 
I read some of these takes and I know they will be hyperbolic to an extent but I just can’t help but think. This is why reviews are ultimately bullshit. People were ready to go to war over this not hitting 90 on metacritic and a 6.5 but then I see some of the opinions and think, it’s totally valid that this game has issues and probably doesn’t deserve the cumtastic jizz takes you see from these reviewers.

the term masterpiece gets thrown around far too much and just seems easy to come out if these “influencer” supposedly journalists mouths.

im not saying this game can’t be a masterpiece to some people, but when I see common complaints that there are aspects that are worst than the first game I can’t help but scratch my head.

Or it actually is a masterpiece to most. Make up your own mind and move on. The flaws in this game are minor relative to the triumphs
 

Mossybrew

Gold Member
At about 10 hrs played finally crossed the border into the West, and all the shit that went down, I have to say I havent felt this invested in a games story in a long time. I think I got all my nitpicks about certain things out of the way and can go forward and just enjoy the game, sure its not perfect but no game is.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Or it actually is a masterpiece to most. Make up your own mind and move on. The flaws in this game are minor relative to the triumphs
I’m glad you are enjoying it but I question anyone who can call a game a masterpiece within 48 hours of it launching when there are seriously genuine comments from multiple people that there are issues with climbing, the story, gameplay, jankyness and bugs.

like the game could be absolutely brilliant to you and have the ingredients to make the game a masterpiece for you but surely if you are playing this game in the future with multiple play throughs and you genuinely think about the game months and years later…it would then be a masterpiece?
 
I read some of these takes and I know they will be hyperbolic to an extent but I just can’t help but think. This is why reviews are ultimately bullshit. People were ready to go to war over this not hitting 90 on metacritic and a 6.5 but then I see some of the opinions and think, it’s totally valid that this game has issues and probably doesn’t deserve the cumtastic jizz takes you see from these reviewers.

the term masterpiece gets thrown around far too much and just seems easy to come out if these “influencer” supposedly journalists mouths.

im not saying this game can’t be a masterpiece to some people, but when I see common complaints that there are aspects that are worst than the first game I can’t help but scratch my head.
Absolutely this. Reviews of first party in particular have become ridiculously over the top - too many sites included in metacritic to take it seriously, they should either vet them much more vigorously or just really cut back the number of sites they aggregate the score from. Too many fanboy sites shaping the scores IMO.
 
I’m glad you are enjoying it but I question anyone who can call a game a masterpiece within 48 hours of it launching when there are seriously genuine comments from multiple people that there are issues with climbing, the story, gameplay, jankyness and bugs.

like the game could be absolutely brilliant to you and have the ingredients to make the game a masterpiece for you but surely if you are playing this game in the future with multiple play throughs and you genuinely think about the game months and years later…it would then be a masterpiece?

I’ve played a good chunk of the game. The story and sci fi lore is great, the companions are great, the climbing is fine (what games don’t have minor jank?)

Whatever complaints there are, they are minuscule compared to the gameplay loop and combat

There’s a reason the game was universally praised and the 6.5 was an outlier. Has nothing to do with “influencers”… this is simply one of the best produced AAA games made
 
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Fredrik

Member
I read some of these takes and I know they will be hyperbolic to an extent but I just can’t help but think. This is why reviews are ultimately bullshit. People were ready to go to war over this not hitting 90 on metacritic and a 6.5 but then I see some of the opinions and think, it’s totally valid that this game has issues and probably doesn’t deserve the cumtastic jizz takes you see from these reviewers.

the term masterpiece gets thrown around far too much and just seems easy to come out if these “influencer” supposedly journalists mouths.

im not saying this game can’t be a masterpiece to some people, but when I see common complaints that there are aspects that are worst than the first game I can’t help but scratch my head.
I’m still early on but so far I think it’s awesome and while it has some minor issues they don’t sink the game, like at all.
But then again I’m one of those who had Cyberpunk 2077 as the GOTY in 2020 and I’m loving it even more after the 1.5 patch. Maybe I’m too forgiving I don’t know, I guess I can handle a little bit of jank if the rest is great. BOTW wasn’t perfect either, or Skyrim, or The Witcher 3, still ended up as GOTY. And from what I’ve experienced so far a 6.5 for HFW is trolling.
 
I mean the witcher 3 is one of the best games of last gen but you could easily say has more glaring issues than this game. Not only did the game launch on consoles far more broken than this (which this isn’t even bad outside of pop in and some performance bugs) but the overall movement of geralt and roach, the bloated main quest that has you searching for hours upon hours for dandelion and other dumb shit, the bad combat system, the original clunky UI, the almost static dialogue scenes…etc

The things people are complaining about in this game are so minor its hard to see how its drastically effecting reviews.
 
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We need to take back the full scale of the review percentage. It used to be if you were a fan of the genre a 70% game was a great choice for you. Now this only applies to AA games. It seems there is so much pressure for the Metacritic in the huge AAA games to be at least high 80s and I don't doubt that some of this pressure makes its way to reviewers so they feel obliged to add a few points based on what they get in return from publishers. Some reviewers do the opposite I guess and score big games absurdly low scores

I know I will enjoy a 7/10 Far Cry 6 for example as I like the genre and I think that is a fair score.

I see this game getting 9.5s and 10s and expect something far better than the typical Ubisoft stuff - is it actually better? Yes, I would say so. Is is a 10/10 gaming masterpiece? I would say definitely not.
 
We need to take back the full scale of the review percentage. It used to be if you were a fan of the genre a 70% game was a great choice for you. Now this only applies to AA games. It seems there is so much pressure for the Metacritic in the huge AAA games to be at least high 80s and I don't doubt that some of this pressure makes its way to reviewers so they feel obliged to add a few points based on what they get in return from publishers. Some reviewers do the opposite I guess and score big games absurdly low scores

I know I will enjoy a 7/10 Far Cry 6 for example as I like the genre and I think that is a fair score.

I see this game getting 9.5s and 10s and expect something far better than the typical Ubisoft stuff - is it actually better? Yes, I would say so. Is is a 10/10 gaming masterpiece? I would say definitely not.

It’s easily a 9/10

And if we’re nitpicking to such an extent now, its kind of hard to see what game actually does deserve to be a 10/10-90+ MC. Since almost everything coming out these days is iterative even the games that do score that high.
 
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BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
I don't know if it was a glitch or this is how the physics of the game works, but I silent killed a large dude to get his plasma bomb launcher. A guy saw me, and in slow motion aiming I got him right in the nuts with a plasma bomb. He went flying backwards, legs akimbo, into another dude, and they both died.

I was still fighting, but also laughing my ass off so I could barely control Aloy, and didn't think to capture a video. Fuck. But that shit was funny.

Q: I am pretty far into the game and still don't know how to craft fire arrows. Did I miss a quest?
 
We need to take back the full scale of the review percentage. It used to be if you were a fan of the genre a 70% game was a great choice for you. Now this only applies to AA games. It seems there is so much pressure for the Metacritic in the huge AAA games to be at least high 80s and I don't doubt that some of this pressure makes its way to reviewers so they feel obliged to add a few points based on what they get in return from publishers. Some reviewers do the opposite I guess and score big games absurdly low scores

I know I will enjoy a 7/10 Far Cry 6 for example as I like the genre and I think that is a fair score.

I see this game getting 9.5s and 10s and expect something far better than the typical Ubisoft stuff - is it actually better? Yes, I would say so. Is is a 10/10 gaming masterpiece? I would say definitely not.

To each their own. This game is just as good as any of the 10/10 “masterpieces” over the previous gen, if not far better than some
 
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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I’ve played a good chunk of the game. The story and sci fi lore is great, the companions are great, the climbing is fine (what games don’t have minor jank?)

Whatever complaints there are, they are minuscule compared to the gameplay loop and combat

There’s a reason the game was universally praised and the 6.5 was an outlier. Has nothing to do with “influencers”… this is simply one of the best produced AAA games made
Oh, to be clear I’m not saying the 6.5 is correct to what I would think at all. I enjoyed the first game and got the plat, really enjoyed the frozen wilds dlc. I’m just trying to say that I feel the term masterpiece is thrown around too much and that there’s nothing wrong if the issues are highlighted more and say reviewers were like “I think this is great and it’s an 8 out of ten“ I just mean that reviews are too high but maybe that’s my personal take on this franchise.

I think it’s good but very much an assassins creed open world style game with a tacked on lite rpg convo system lifted from mass effect/dragon age which doesn’t give you any real choices. Basically, while I enjoyed the first it felt like another poster put it. A jack of all trades, master of none. But that’s just my opinion, I’m really glad you are loving it.

i Think I was just surprised to wake up, check in on feedback and to see negatives on climbing, story (which reviewers mentioned) and overall quality with bugs and neither graphical mode being the best really. I think the technical stuff will be fixed at some point though. I just didn’t expect some points to be seen as worse than the first game.

carry on enjoying the game and ignore me :D
 
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Oh, to be clear I’m not saying the 6.5 is correct to what I would think at all. I enjoyed the first game and got the plat, really enjoyed the frozen wilds dlc. I’m just trying to say that I feel the term masterpiece is thrown around too much and that there’s nothing wrong if the issues are highlighted more and say reviewers were like “I think this is great and it’s an 8 out of ten“ I just mean that reviews are too high but maybe that’s my personal take on this franchise.

I think it’s good but very much an assassins creed open world style game with a tacked on lite rpg convo system lifted from mass effect/dragon age which doesn’t give you any real choices. Basically, while I enjoyed the first it felt like another poster put it. A jack of all trades, master of none. But that’s just my opinion, I’m really glad you are loving it.

i Think I was just surprised to wake up, check in on feedback and to see negatives on climbing, story (which reviewers mentioned) and overall quality with bugs and neither graphical mode being the best really. I think the technical stuff will be fixed at some point though. I just didn’t expect some points to be seen as worse than the first game.

carry on enjoying the game and ignore me :D

There’s no open world game that comes close to the combat on offer here

Calling it an AC clone is doing it a huge disservice to how much stronger the gameplay, story, and overall production values are

There’s really nothing worse than the first game here so that may just be selective reading on your part
 
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But that's the problem. What is 10/10 in your eyes? I don't think one exists or perhaps ever will.
Yeah that's the fundamental flaw in scores. Things would be much better if all reviews were more like Karak who just tells you what is good and what is bad about the game and gives you a good idea as to if it is worth buying or not but no-one would click the IGN review if they had to actually read the text so scores are here to stay for now.

The Witcher 3 was a good example. For me that is a 10/10 game despite how clunky the actual game is - for my friend is is a 6/10 game as he can't get over how it actually plays and I think that is a very fair viewpoint. I think for the average person W3 is probably quite overrated on Metacritic as it has some huge flaws that some people won't be able to get past but for me it was probably the best experience I've ever had in gaming.

Fundamentally scoring a game is pretty stupid as everyone likes and hates different stuff but all I'm saying is if AC: Valhalla or Far Cry 6 are 7/10 games this isn't a 10/10 game to me but like my Witcher 3 example if it is to you then fair enough.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Personally, the only flaws I've found with the game so far are very minor. Even though I am not yet halfway through, I can totally see someone rating this a 9.5 or 10 just from what I have experienced so far.
 

Fredrik

Member
We need to take back the full scale of the review percentage. It used to be if you were a fan of the genre a 70% game was a great choice for you. Now this only applies to AA games. It seems there is so much pressure for the Metacritic in the huge AAA games to be at least high 80s and I don't doubt that some of this pressure makes its way to reviewers so they feel obliged to add a few points based on what they get in return from publishers. Some reviewers do the opposite I guess and score big games absurdly low scores

I know I will enjoy a 7/10 Far Cry 6 for example as I like the genre and I think that is a fair score.

I see this game getting 9.5s and 10s and expect something far better than the typical Ubisoft stuff - is it actually better? Yes, I would say so. Is is a 10/10 gaming masterpiece? I would say definitely not.
The biggest problem with reviews today is that they only tell how a game is before launch. Which in many cases is… Not quite finished.
Critics played a much buggier game than we play today, got a big patch late but never the patch we got on launch day and I’m sure it’ll get more patches.

How can you rate that in a fair way?
Do you score the game higher and assume the bugs will be gone by launch and by that risking to score a broken game too high?
Do you score it as is and risk rating it too low because you’re playing a version regular consumers might never touch?

It’s tricky.
The idea to have every critic rushing through a game weeks before launch to score it days before launch is just bad. It worked before when devs couldn’t patch a game, the quality needed to be perfect on the cartridge. But today the norm is unfortunately to fix things later.
I think reviews needs to be updated after launch. Looking at a score from a pre-launch version is not even relevant on launch day in some cases where big important patches come day 1. Some outlets go with a pending score but most don’t.

And your taste in games matters a lot too. You don’t put a metal head to review a new pop album but we can definitely see game critics reviewing games in genres or IPs they’re just not a fan of.
Multiple opinions is needed. Have a fan and a non-fan of the genre and IP review the game. That way both fans and non-fans will know what they’re getting.
 
It’s tricky.
The idea to have every critic rushing through a game weeks before launch to score it days before launch is just bad. It worked before when devs couldn’t patch a game, the quality needed to be perfect on the cartridge. But today the norm is unfortunately to fix things later.
I think reviews needs to be updated after launch. Looking at a score from a pre-launch version is not even relevant on launch day in some cases where big important patches come day 1. Some outlets go with a pending score but most don’t.

And your taste in games matters a lot too. You don’t put a metal head to review a new pop album but we can definitely see game critics reviewing games in genres or IPs they’re just not a fan of.
Multiple opinions is needed. Have a fan and a non-fan of the genre and IP review the game. That way both fans and non-fans will know what they’re getting.
Yeah both great points. Some games are broken at launch and never fixed while some are almost different games after patching.

I guess the argument is that Metacritic does give you that multiple opinion but I find I only really trust a few YouTube reviewers to be honest about games and even then tastes can wildly vary.

I know games are huge these days so this is not feasible anymore but I remember buying magazines as a kid and multiple people did review them. The magazine I bought tended to put the genre fan on the main review and let the other reviewers have a mini review that was embedded within. It worked really well as you would have these 98% rated games where the non-fan would actually tell you what sucked about the game so you could make a more informed decision.

Anyway I guess I can't really argue that review scores are stupid then try and argue about the score this game got so imma peace out.
 

Airbus Jr

Banned
It's been out a few days mate, come back down off your PS high horse and stop with the nonsense. It's a good game nothing more, it's certainly not a masterpiece. If you want to play a masterpiece you need look no further than my Avatar.
Haha why are you bringing game from 2018 into this conversation?

Red Dead Redemption2 is old news now

This is Horizon Forbiden West thread

Get lost buddy
 
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Fredrik

Member
Yeah both great points. Some games are broken at launch and never fixed while some are almost different games after patching.

I guess the argument is that Metacritic does give you that multiple opinion but I find I only really trust a few YouTube reviewers to be honest about games and even then tastes can wildly vary.

I know games are huge these days so this is not feasible anymore but I remember buying magazines as a kid and multiple people did review them. The magazine I bought tended to put the genre fan on the main review and let the other reviewers have a mini review that was embedded within. It worked really well as you would have these 98% rated games where the non-fan would actually tell you what sucked about the game so you could make a more informed decision.

Anyway I guess I can't really argue that review scores are stupid then try and argue about the score this game got so imma peace out.
Yeah Gamereactor in Sweden sometimes have a secondary opinion, I like that a lot. But I absolutely understand that it’ll be problematic to pay multiple critics on the same outlet to go through the same 50+ hour game. And to wait and do it with a day 1 patch included… Well, it’s a tricky equation to solve.

Personally I find that Steam user reviews works quite well. It’s constantly updated and evolves as the game gets fixed and you can filter for playtime and not include those who’re there to troll but have barely played it.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
The surround sound is great in this game. The bar at chainscape feels like you’re in an actually crowded tavern.

When approaching that town in the middle of the solar installation, the sound carries as it realistically would in that flat plain, bouncing off the various solar panels. Great stuff.
 

Megatron

Member
The biggest problem with reviews today is that they only tell how a game is before launch. Which in many cases is… Not quite finished.
Critics played a much buggier game than we play today, got a big patch late but never the patch we got on launch day and I’m sure it’ll get more patches.

How can you rate that in a fair way?
Do you score the game higher and assume the bugs will be gone by launch and by that risking to score a broken game too high?
Do you score it as is and risk rating it too low because you’re playing a version regular consumers might never touch?

It’s tricky.
The idea to have every critic rushing through a game weeks before launch to score it days before launch is just bad. It worked before when devs couldn’t patch a game, the quality needed to be perfect on the cartridge. But today the norm is unfortunately to fix things later.
I think reviews needs to be updated after launch. Looking at a score from a pre-launch version is not even relevant on launch day in some cases where big important patches come day 1. Some outlets go with a pending score but most don’t.

And your taste in games matters a lot too. You don’t put a metal head to review a new pop album but we can definitely see game critics reviewing games in genres or IPs they’re just not a fan of.
Multiple opinions is needed. Have a fan and a non-fan of the genre and IP review the game. That way both fans and non-fans will know what they’re getting.
The publishers send out reviewable copies knowing the patches won’t be there. So that’s on them. They have literally said that it’s ok to review the game without the patches. Updating old reviews is not worthwhile. All the traffic the review drives occurs in the first week. After that it’s not worth it To pay someone to play the game again and review it outside of maybe some very select few titles. Also sites like Metacritic only factor in the first score.

having to review a game again you didn’t love the first time because they patched it or added more content to it reminds me of the people who thought I should watch the Snider cut of JLA. That movie sucked the first time. I’m not watching it again PLUS another hour and a half just because you supposedly fixed it.
 
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BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
I decided to mark a random spot on the map in the far west and just go. Ended up following the coast, through the different biomes. My favorite so far are the mangrove swamps just off the coast. So amazingly colorful with HDR, and the surround sound of the coast reminds me of home. This game is a visual and audio master piece.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I’m glad you are enjoying it but I question anyone who can call a game a masterpiece within 48 hours of it launching when there are seriously genuine comments from multiple people that there are issues with climbing, the story, gameplay, jankyness and bugs.

like the game could be absolutely brilliant to you and have the ingredients to make the game a masterpiece for you but surely if you are playing this game in the future with multiple play throughs and you genuinely think about the game months and years later…it would then be a masterpiece?

You can say the same thing about those dumping on the game so early as well. If you are saying wait to call it a masterpiece then why not just wait about coming to broad conclusions at all until you've finished it completely?

How far into the game are you?
 

SSfox

Member
Always 60fps. Tried 30fps again but I don’t know how you all can accept all that stutter and loss in motion clarity. Personally I see no visual gain either in resolution mode so for me it’s a nobrainer to play in performance mode. Looks awesome 👍

Interesting, what tv you play on? I'm also considering performance mode but a lot here seem to prefer the quality mode.

PS: haven't started the game yet so idk, i don't plan to play it until after Elden Ring.
 

Fredrik

Member
The publishers send out reviewable copies knowing the patches won’t be there. So that’s on them. They have literally said that it’s ok to review the game without the patches. Updating old reviews is not worthwhile. All the traffic the review drives occurs in the first week. After that it’s not worth it To pay someone to play the game again and review it outside of maybe some very select few titles. Also sites like Metacritic only factor in the first score.

having to review a game again you didn’t love the first time because they patched it or added more content to it reminds me of the people who thought I should watch the Snider cut of JLA. That movie sucked the first time. I’m not watching it again PLUS another hour and a half just because you supposedly fixed it.
If it’s not worth it to update a score if a game has been improved after the first week then why are the reviews up after the first week? And why are we looking at Metacritic scores on games after the first week? The scores doesn’t reflect the current state of the game anyway.

What you’re saying is that reviews aren’t there to show the consumers how they should spend their money. They’re just there as an instrument for the publishers to help the game selling the first week. After that, who cares?
 

assurdum

Banned
I would never buy a game I didn't enjoy playing just because it looked good. If you didn't like the first one then you won't like this one and there is nothing wrong with that. I am not a fan of souls like games or Fromsoft games but I don't expect Elden Ring to cater to me. If they changed it too much fans of the first might not be happy.
Oh goosh. I want to buy it just for the graphic but after read this post ... yeah I found the first game incredibly boring and the game mechanics tedious. I thought the sequel fixed it but hear it's practically the same game is a no no thanks.
 
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Fredrik

Member
Interesting, what tv you play on? I'm also considering performance mode but a lot here seem to prefer the quality mode.

PS: haven't started the game yet so idk, i don't plan to play it until after Elden Ring.
A Sony 65XE9305/XE93 light cannon. It’s not a problem with the TV, either people are using some motion interpolation or motion blur or they just haven’t tried comparing the modes, or they’re among the ”lucky” few who can’t see more than 30fps or whatever. For me it’s a night and day difference in smoothness and motion clarity in performance mode. And after years of performance modes and PC gaming I simply can’t adjust to the 30fps stutter, would’ve played in performance mode if it looked like a PS3 game too, plays like a dream.
 
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