OLD WORLD BLUES

The beautiful HORIZON: FORBIDDEN WEST COMPLETE EDITION struggles to move on

- Oscar Taylor-Kent

Cor! Look at those swaying aquatic plants as you dive underwater, ready to hide from mechanical foes. Look at the neon lights that form the cyber-ghost of Las Vegas above the post-apocalyptic dunes! Horizon: Forbidden West is a technical tour de force for Guerrilla Games and its 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 good level of detail. 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.