What 'Horizon Forbidden West' Is Improving On The Original

The video game-film war has been raging on ever since Metal Gear Solid shoot the first shot by showing that games can do cinematic action too, and perhaps even better. One advantage games have in this dumb war that has claimed the hours of so many people arguing online is how video game sequels tend not to suck ass. Unlike what happens with movies, you mostly just need to refine the least successful mechanics and squish some bugs. Unfortunately, the quality of an ever-growing number of games nowadays relies on the quality of their story, which is where most movie sequels fall on their faces. Luckily, you don't have to worry about any of that when it comes to Horizon Forbidden West because it looks like the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn pretty much outdoes its predecessor in every single respect.

YouTuber Skill Up poignantly states that the evolution brought by Forbidden West can be compared to what Mass Effect 2 did to its series. It not only polishes and expands upon every element from the first game, but it also fixes gameplay annoyances and, most importantly, brings new humanity to the game via fleshing out its cast of characters and their relationships. The game also improves on its open world via better side quests as well as new tools that make navigating it much more fun.

Forbidden West looks like it'll be such a huge win for the PS5 that a lot of the soldiers fighting in the console war, the other dumb made-up war, somehow need to try and make you believe it looks bad, actually. There are a few screenshots going around on Twitter that make it look like Forbidden West doesn't look too good underwater.

Too bad they're both unintentionally showcasing the game's ever-changing weather mechanics, and forgetting that taking screenshots nowadays isn't very hard.

If you want to take a deeper dive into how impossibly good this game looks, you can take a look at the screenshot work of Twitter user PainkillerQ8

The game's graphics are so impressive that they seem to be pulling off a “so good, it's bad thing” among its detractors.

Horizon Forbidden West is the rare title that's so good that even its occasional hiccups can be gold, as seen by this unintentional referencing of a classic meme.

Top Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment