Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores review — No burning desire to play

HOLLYWOOD’S sign is covered by the tendrils of a dormant machine, surrounded by pools of lava.

Los Angeles has never looked like this before, and Burning Shores is more beautiful than Horizon games have ever been.

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Downtown is flooded, and you can dive down and explore the city filled with shoals of fish and concrete husks and buildings.

Burning Shores’ world design makes it worth playing, and the smashing robot gameplay is back in droves.

However, it still includes all the usual problems with the series.

The platforming is still poor, there is strange mission design, and Aloy never stops talking at you.

It does introduce a new mode of travel in sailing, but it seems a bit redundant with the other ways you can move around.

Some of the boss battles can drag on beyond enjoyable, and it’s a shame when the ordinary enemies are so intricately designed.

This is turned upside down at the spectacular final boss fight, which is only marred by a mid-fight platforming section.

The ending is also a disappointment, which shines a light on something missing from the whole DLC.

Horizon Zero Dawn is an RPG full of choices, dialogue trees and branching paths. 

However, Burning Shores has just one choice and it’s crammed right at the end. 

You are given the option to either start a romance or not, and it clearly steers you in what feels like the wrong decision.

Burning Shores doesn’t add a lot in terms of story and character development, but it might be worth a buy if you like Horizon’s gameplay.

There are more monsters to take down and more options to take them out, all set in a gorgeous new setting.

Written by Kirk McKeand and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.

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