Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores PS5 review. Given that Horizon Forbidden West can take well over a hundred hours to complete for those looking to squeeze every little bit of content from its mammoth offering, the notion of yet more Horizon just over a year since its release might be one that proves exhausting for some. For me, I was largely delighted to hop back into the opulent, post apocalyptic realm that those wizards at Guerrilla Games has crafted and certainly Burning Shores earns its keep by providing a bridge to the third title in the series all the while providing more of everything that fans have enjoyed about the series; though Horizon’s second campaign expansion is far from perfect.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores PS5 Review
An Impressive, Though Unambitious Continuation Of Aloy’s Saga
First the good stuff. Taking place directly after the end of Horizon Forbidden West (you’ll need to have a save file that has completed the final mission titled ‘Singularity’ to gain access to the new Burning Shores content), Burning Shores provides an appropriate coda to the main campaign of that game, whisking Aloy off to the titular Burning Shores in search of a rogue Zenith who threatens the very life of the entire region itself.
In terms of the fresh faces, newcomer Seyka is a strong and interesting character that not only ably acts as a great companion for Aloy but also someone that could potentially anchor their own game too. On a desperate quest to find her lost sister and help her tribe discover what remains of their people, Seyka’s fate intertwines with Aloy’s and the two have a palpably enduring chemistry that really helps to keep the narrative of Burning Shores compelling. Beyond Seyka, the most notable new addition to the cast is the new big bad Zenith, who without giving too many spoilers away here, is played by the superb Sam Witwer (Days Gone fans will remember him as Deacon St. John) and provides a suitable foil to Aloy and company.
Beyond the setup of the story, Burning Shores is simply more Horizon Forbidden West from a design perspective. That same, free-flowing combat that rewards hybrid tactical approaches to its ranged, melee and trap based aspects still feels as satisfying as ever, while the new Waterwing, Bilegut and Sting Swarm enemies all provide an effective test of your skills. In particular, the new Bilegut machine proves to be a real challenge. Essentially a gargantuan leaping toad that sprays corrosive acid all around the place and fires off eggs that hatch into a series of hornet like machines known as the Sting Swarm, it isn’t uncommon to be battling one of these monstrosities only to bump into another Bilegut and then have the entire battlefield swarming with Sting Swarm enemies. It’s an impressive/horrific sight for sure that doesn’t get old.
Traversal in Burning Shores feels much the same as it always did, which is to say that while mostly satisfying, this expansion still suffers from the occasionally inaccurate platforming that plagued both Forbidden West and Zero Dawn before it, sometimes resulting in missed leaps that frustrate far more often than they should.
Speaking of traversal, while Aloy can happily walk, run, leap, climb, fly and swim her away around most of Burning Shores surprisingly broad expanse, a handy skiff courtesy of her new bestie Seyka allows our heroine to chart the waters surrounding post apocalyptic Los Angeles in style. Representing a nice change of pace, not only does the skiff allow Aloy to reach the various islands and farther reaches of the ocean fairly quickly, but it also provides an eye-opening way to soak in all of the gorgeous and often unparalleled vistas that Burning Shores has to offer.
And make no mistake, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores presents some of the best visuals of the entire series with islands lit red by molten waterfalls, tropical paradise style clear blue waters, towering structures and a penchant for spectacle driven environments that really underscore just how beautiful Guerrilla Games franchise truly is. That said, I’m not entirely convinced that given how well optimised the PS4 version of Horizon Forbidden West was that Burning Shores couldn’t have also made it onto that platform, since it doesn’t appear to offer much that is massively improved from a visual perspective to necessarily warrant its PS5 exclusivity – at least to my old, tired eyes anyway.
Though Burning Shores is undeniably a gorgeous title with production budget to spare, it’s also clear that it isn’t maybe quite as polished as one would expect in its current state. Often times when taking to the skies, there is a notable level of draw-in on a fine detail when it comes to the abundance of flora that abounds throughout the Burning Shores. Furthermore, while the performance is solid and the level of detail is appropriately impressive (as it was in Horizon Forbidden West before it), it’s also possible to very occasionally find yourself stuck in the scenery whereupon if a series of frantic rolls can’t free you, a save file reload is sadly required.
Further Reading – Upcoming PS5 Games – The Most Anticipated PS5 Games Coming Soon In 2023
Unfortunately Burning Shores also reveals itself to be somewhat unreliable in how Seyka functions as an AI companion. Though Seyka will happily fight by your side and move around the place for much of Burning Shores without issue, I noted several occasions where she simply didn’t want to follow Aloy, effectively stopping preventing me from continuing on with the game and forcing a save file load in the process to remedy it. Not great.
Another issue with Burning Shores is that there is far too much dialogue – and in one instance, it turns out to be eye-rollingly banal, mandatory stuff that you have to listen to in order to proceed. Folks buy the Horizon games to smash up anthropomorphic machines with arrows, spears, traps and to venture across swathes of beautifully rendered post apocalyptic countryside. They don’t buy it to stand around reading through reams of largely pointless dialogue in order to progress a quest, or at least I certainly don’t anyway.
Speaking of quests, there aren’t a whole lot of them outside of the main quest which is what you would expect from a relatively bite-sized morsel of DLC that is dwarfed by the scope of the base game. Nonetheless, there’s still plenty to do even if like the previous expansion, The Frozen Wilds, Burning Shores is a much more linear affair which sadly lacks much of the player choice (and thus some of the narrative punch) that defined the base Horizon games.
Despite all of that, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is still a lot of fun. The combat remains as satisfying as ever and so too does the traversal similarly satisfy those looking for more of the same bedrock mechanics that has made the series so compelling. Seyka meanwhile is a worthy addition to the series ever expanding cast of characters and the ending though somewhat flat, provides a clear sign where the series will go in its inevitable third entry.
For better or worse, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is simply more Horizon Forbidden West and for fans of the game and also its detractors, that will be to their joy and chagrin respectively. As it is, Burning Shores is an impressively spectacle stuffed, though routinely unambitious expansion that does little to address the weaknesses of the core franchise but still manages to provide an effective bridge to the third game in the Horizon trilogy.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is out now on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by PR.