Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition (PS5) – Aloy’s Epic, Evolved (with Burning Shores)

🎮 Introduction — Westward, Higher, Better

🏹 This review is part of the The Horizon Saga – play Aloy’s saga in order.

Sequels promise “more.” Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition delivers more that matters. The map stretches from rusted valleys to coral-lit shallows and wind-carved deserts, weaving new cultures and old-world mysteries into a journey that feels both intimate and monumental. Every system—movement, combat, questing—clicks with the confidence of a team perfecting a language they invented. And with Burning Shores bundled in, the crescendo is spectacular: volcanic islands, cloud-surfing vistas, and late-game set pieces that redefine “PlayStation showcase.”

For us, Horizon remains the perfect antidote to mashy action. It’s tactical, readable, and fair—a game where bows, traps, and positioning beat brute force; where planning and precision create the loudest fireworks. The west isn’t just bigger; it’s smarter.

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🌍 Worldbuilding & Biomes — A Living, Layered West

The Forbidden West is a geography lesson in wonder. Kelp forests sway above shipwrecks, dust devils rake canyons, fog beads on redwood needles, and dunes sing under moonlight. Each biome does triple duty: it enchants the eye, teaches mechanics (visibility, footing, elevation), and hosts machine behaviors that feel plausible. Tribes read as cultures, not factions—rituals, textiles, architecture, and politics stitched from believable needs.

Exploration upgrades—from the Shieldwing to Pullcaster, diving gear, and mount variety—transform the map into a vertical playground. Climb, glide, swim, burrow through ducts; routes become puzzles with multiple correct answers. PS5’s speed turns curiosity into action: see a tempting ridge or wreck? You’re there in seconds.

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🏹 Combat — The Art of Taking Machines Apart

Horizon combat is a conversation with anatomy. Fights aren’t about draining bars; they’re about removing problems. You scan, triage, and sequence: tear weapons, status the target, break armor, then punish exposed cores. Elements matter:

• Freeze multiplies subsequent damage—set the status, switch to high-impact.
• Shock opens crit windows and staggers flyers.
• Fire overpressurizes blaze and triggers chain reactions.
• Acid shreds armor over time, setting up tear and burst.
• Purgewater clears resistances; Plasma stores energy for big detonations.

The sequel expands bow families and ammo types, adds spikes and shredder gauntlets, and gives traps meaningful synergy. Machine AI is friskier—pack tactics, flanks, aerial pressure—yet tells are cleaner thanks to PS5 clarity. You’ll still fail on greeds and guesswork. But when a plan sings—canister blown mid-charge, cannon ripped and turned on its owner—you grin like a genius.

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🧭 Quests, Characters & Writing — Humanity Among Ruins

Forbidden West’s cast steps forward with sharper performances and warmer writing. Companions feel like colleagues, not quest dispensers, and the settlements they represent have convincing priorities. Side quests routinely pay off with character turns, mechanical rewards, or micro-lore that enriches the map. “Fetch” is rare; “care” is common.

Aloy herself evolves—still relentless, but more collaborative, wrestling with the cost of leadership. That shift ripples through quest structure: more group problem-solving, more moments where you feel the weight of being the one who understands the machines.

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🛠️ Movement Toys & Systems — Flow as a Feature

The sequel’s traversal suite deserves applause:

• Shieldwing: glider that turns cliffs into decisions, not dead ends.
• Pullcaster: grapple-lite that stitches vertical routes without fiddly alignment.
• Underwater gear: gentle currents, cave mazes, stealth among kelp and ruins.
• Climbing reads: cleaner surfaces and audio ticks make vertical puzzles trustworthy.
• Mounts & overrides: broader roster, better handling, and real routing value.

Together, they create session-friendly flow. In 20 minutes you can scout a Tallneck, scoop collectibles, raid a site, and glide to camp without a single loading hiccup.

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🦾 New & Evolved Machines — Ecology With Teeth

Machines here don’t merely look cooler; they change decisions. Flyers harry you from angles that demand shock setups or precise tear shots; amphibious threats force amphibious thinking; apex variants remix move sets you thought you’d solved. The combat loop remains readable—telegraphs are honest—but complexity rises in satisfying steps. Arena challenges and cauldrons cement mastery, teaching tool switching rather than tunnel vision.

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📈 Skills, Gear & Builds — Identity Without Lock-In

Skill trees and weapon perks let you declare playstyle without painting yourself into corners. Prefer long-range crit chains? Invest in Concentration, weapon handling, and bows with zoom perks. Like battlefield control? Stack trap mastery, valor surges that amplify element play, and gear that buffs status application. Hybrid builds thrive; the game rewards modular thinking more than meta chasing. You’ll swap weapons mid-fight because it’s fun, not forced.

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🖼️ Visuals, Audio & PS5 Features — A Showcase With Purpose

Forbidden West is gorgeous, yes—but its beauty serves legibility. Biome color keys, silhouette discipline, and animation tells help kids and veterans read danger fast. On PS5:

• Near-instant loads make fast travel and retries painless.
• DualSense haptics & triggers echo surfaces and bow draw, adding teachable feel (grit, metal, tension).
• 3D audio locates wingbeats and ricochets; machine calls convey mood states by ear.
• Performance modes keep motion clean for combat without dulling art direction.

Photo Mode will devour evenings. The west’s sunsets and storm fronts are irresistible.

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❄️🔥 Burning Shores — The Complete Edition’s Victory Lap

Bundled here, Burning Shores is a jaw-dropping epilogue: volcanic archipelagos, bioluminescent shallows, and cloud layers you can glide through, skim, and pierce. PS5-only tech flexes with volumetric clouds you traverse—not mere backdrops—and lava-lit encounters that glow with menace. Enemies hit harder, arenas stretch verticality, and late-game gear deepens the status → tear → burst dance.

Narratively, it’s more personal and more playful, with set pieces that rank among Horizon’s best. Mechanically, it’s a capstone exam that rewards everything you learned without cruel spikes. It’s the piece that makes “Complete” feel earned.

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👨‍👧 Family Notes — How We Play It

We treat Forbidden West as a shared evening show. Younger kids spectate exploration, Tallnecks, and calmer quests; teens can handle hunts with guidance. Session cadence for families:

1. Scout a region (campfire to Tallneck).
2. Plan a hunt (pick ammo sets, trap a lane, mark canisters).
3. Strike once, retreat if messy, adjust.
4. Screenshot the view; end on a win.

It respects time, invites conversation, and models planning over panic.

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🧠 Tips for Newcomers (Spoiler-Light)

• Scan first: learn parts and break the worst threat early.
• Status then spike: freeze or shock before committing burst ammo.
• Use the ground: choke points, elevation, waterlines are tools.
• Carry variety: swapping bows mid-fight is the Horizon superpower.
• Valor surges: save for control, not just damage—stability wins fights.
• Respect retreats: line of sight breaks reset chaos for smarter second rounds.

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🧱 Where It’s Not Perfect (But Close)

• Inventory busywork can creep back if you min-max mods obsessively.
• Camera jostle in tight foliage may hide small pickups during combat cleanup.
• Occasional side errands land below the main quest’s high bar—easy to skip.

These are pebbles on a mountain of wins.

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🎯 Horizon Zero Dawn vs. Forbidden West — Should You Play Both?

Honest answer: Zero Dawn is still excellent—the Remastered on PS5 is a genuinely great game—but it is not mandatory. Forbidden West opens with a solid recap that covers the key lore beats, and most of Aloy’s relationships read clearly enough even without the back story.

That said, playing Zero Dawn first pays dividends. The world’s history, the human factions, and the revelations in the final third of Forbidden West all hit significantly harder when you’ve lived through the original. Aloy’s character arc lands differently, too—her shift from lone outsider to reluctant leader makes more sense with the Zero Dawn backstory as context.

Practical recommendation by player type:

• You have time for both: start with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. It’s a 30–40h investment that makes Forbidden West feel like a payoff rather than just a sequel.
• You only have time for one: Forbidden West is the better game by most measures. Jump in, trust the recap, enjoy the ride.
• Price note: The Complete Edition is frequently the same price as—or cheaper than—Zero Dawn Remastered these days. If budget is the question, grab this first.

You won’t regret either path. But if there’s a choice, the full journey is worth it.

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⏱️ How Long Is It? Value & Time Investment for Busy Parents

Honest numbers, because busy dads deserve honest numbers:

• Main story: 30–40 hours
• Main story + side quests: 50–60 hours
• Burning Shores (post-game): 8–12 hours
• Full completion run: 60–80 hours

That sounds like a lot. But here’s the thing: Forbidden West is excellent in short windows. Fast travel is fast, auto-saves are frequent, and quest markers are clean enough that a 45-minute session is genuinely productive. You can complete a Cauldron, clear a machine site, and glide back to camp with time to spare. The game doesn’t punish you for stepping away mid-evening.

For value, the Complete Edition typically sits at €30–50 new (often less used), which works out to roughly €0.50–0.75 per hour of entertainment. Compare that to the rest of the PS5 open-world shelf:

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: shorter, tighter, cinematic — maybe 20–30h. Brilliant, different kind of game.
• God of War Ragnarök: similar total length, more story-driven, less sandbox-y.
• Horizon Forbidden West CE: widest, most systemic, greatest replay variability.

For a busy parent who grabs an hour here and there and wants a world to get genuinely lost in — this is hard to beat. Worth every euro.

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From the game to the shelf: Aloy and Varl headline Forbidden West — bring the machine hunt to the shelf with the LEGO Horizon Adventures Aloy and Varl (77037) review.

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📌 FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to finish Horizon Zero Dawn first?

It helps for character context (check out our review of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered), but Forbidden West recaps well. The Complete Edition stands on its own—and then soars with Burning Shores.

When should I play Burning Shores?

After the main story. It’s tuned for late-game builds and feels like a true epilogue—mechanically and narratively.

Is the combat friendly for non–twitch players?

Yes. It’s plan-first: scan, set status, tear parts, then burst. Adjust difficulty freely and let the systems do the heavy lifting.

How family-friendly is it?

We recommend 12+ to play due to intensity. Younger kids often enjoy watching exploration and Tallnecks; keep big hunts for older players.

Should I play Horizon Zero Dawn before Forbidden West?

Playing Zero Dawn first is recommended but not required. Forbidden West recaps the story competently, and you can enjoy it as a standalone adventure. That said, the lore revelations and Aloy’s character arc hit considerably harder with Zero Dawn’s backstory—if you have the time, the Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is the ideal starting point. If you’re choosing just one, Forbidden West is arguably the better game.

How long does Horizon Forbidden West take to complete?

The main story runs 30–40 hours; add side quests and you’re at 50–60 hours; Burning Shores tacks on another 8–12. A full completionist run lands around 60–80 hours. Crucially, it plays well in short sessions—fast travel, frequent auto-saves, and clear quest markers mean a 45-minute window is never wasted.