Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition review

What is it? A hardware-pushing sequel to PlayStation 4 hit Horizon Zero Dawn.
Release date March 21, 2024
Expect to pay $60/£50
Developer Guerilla, Nixxes Software
Publisher PlayStation PC
Reviewed on AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, RTX 2080 Super, 32Gb RAM DDR5
Steam Deck TBA
Link Official site

Cor! Look at those swaying aquatic plants as you dive underwater, ready to hide from mechanical foes in «stealth kelp» (yes, that’s actually what it’s called)! Look at the neon lights that form the cyber-ghost of Las Vegas above the post-apocalyptic dunes! Look at the lush grass as you stoop down to slowly pick up more sticks (okay, you can turn this off)! Horizon: Forbidden West is a technical tour de force for Guerilla Games and its proprietary Decima Engine. But, while the tech has certainly evolved, little else has, making for a disappointing sequel in a series that was once packed with promise.

The gorgeous visuals at least make this a game that feels right at home on PC, where its ambition can be pushed further. With a good enough rig, this port can meet and exceed what’s still one of PS5’s most resource hungry titles—able to match its speedy open world fast travel, and deliver higher framerates while retaining a high level of detail (it’s a trade-off between either on console). DualSense and Ultrawide support sweeten the deal. Even on less powerful machines, this is a game that runs well and feels responsive in action.

Even on my relatively mid-level rig, it was great to see how well the game ran at 1440p with a 144hz refresh, the DLSS making the graphics a treat on High, and definitely outperforming my PS5 experience on the same 1440p monitor. The settings are well implemented too, offering a clever overlay over the game rather than just a menu, so you can see the visuals update as you make your adjustments. I only experienced some slowdown in especially busy set-pieces, and occasionally for a moment when loading into a big area.

What is noticeable is how the performance tanks as