Horizon Forbidden West breathes life into the trope of climbing that often plagues today’s action games, standing tall above the rest.
Like many modern games, Horizon Forbidden West involves lots of climbing. However, this game stands out bringing something new and exciting into a mechanic that, frankly, needs it. More choices while climbing, as well as the game's visuals, make climbing in Horizon Forbidden West fun as opposed to a chore as is in many other similar games.
Horizon Forbidden West is a visually stunning game, though its map contains environments that bear similarities to its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn. The biggest difference between the two games' maps is that Forbidden West is far more vertical – the landscapes are littered with mountains to explore and towers to scale. This is not a burden in Forbidden West like it would have been in Zero Dawn, or many other games. Forbidden West elevates climbing mechanics far beyond "find the yellow object to climb," which has been a trend seen time and time again.
When thinking of modern climbing and exploration, the first games that likely come to mind are Uncharted, the Tomb Raider reboots, and many more titles in the PS3 era of action-adventure games. While visually impressive even by today's standards, this type of climbing boils down to the player running to a brightly colored series of ledges and mashing the jump button until they reach the top. This type of gameplay almost feels scripted, as there is little player interaction here. Other games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have their own unique climbing mechanics, but Horizon Forbidden West serves as an evolution of the typical climbing formula.
Early on in Zero Dawn, Aloy gains access to a Focus; a device that gives her many abilities throughout the game, such as scanning enemy weak points and marking tracks. In Forbidden West, the focus also highlights which walls are climbable. Since Aloy can climb just about any wall in specific spots, using Forbidden West's Focus is encouraged. Doing so does turn the game into a series of familiar "follow the bright yellow lights to climb" sequences, but it is completely optional. This gives the player freedom in deciding how to play. On top of this, tying the mechanic to the Focus makes perfect sense within the context of the game's lore, as opposed to other games where it sticks out.
Even just a few hours in, it is clear that Horizon Forbidden West boasts more traversal options than its contemporaries, including a wall jump. While this is not a Mario-esque wall jump that allows players to bound over obstacles, it is a nice additional option to grab a ledge that would otherwise be out of reach. Aloy can also jump backward from a ledge instead of just going straight up or down. This allows for branching paths and, again, is one more option to play with. While both of these options are simple, they freshen up an otherwise monotonous game mechanic. There are also a few more complex movement options Aloy gets to play with.
The biggest addition to Aloy's arsenal is her new grappling hook. Its purpose is multifaceted: The hook can not only be used to break down walls and reveal entryways, it can also be used to pull and rotate platforms to climb on. Aloy can grapple up long vertical distances, choosing either to grab the ledge she's approaching or use it as a launching point to go even higher. Aloy also receives a Shieldwing Glider after a major event early in the game, which allows for safe falls from heights that would otherwise prove fatal. These options all encourage exploration, which, as a result, is fun and satisfying.
Horizon Forbidden West is an acclaimed game for its exploration, visuals, combat, enemy designs, and motion capture work. The exploration and climbing stand out as much as they do because they successfully manage to innovate where few other games seem willing to. All the movement options and items are only from the first chunk of the game as well, so fans are left to wonder what other surprises are in store. This goes to show that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" may not be the best motto for video games. Pushing beyond set conventions can result in greatness, and hopefully even more innovations are seen in the future.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
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