One of the biggest successes on the PlayStation 4 was Horizon Zero Dawn. For an entirely original game, this level of critical and commercial acclaim is incredible. With the PlayStation 5 now on the way, Horizon Forbidden West will arrive as a launch title.
There’s always room for improvement in any game, even those that might seem perfect. Horizon Zero Dawn is no exception, as there are many faults that can be improved upon for the sequel. In order to appeal to a wider audience and impress returning fans, fixing these issues can only be a good thing. That said, here are 10 mistakes from Zero Dawn that Forbidden West needs to avoid and improve upon.
10 Delaying The Plot Twist Until The Climax
Zero Dawn certainly captivates the interest right up until the end. And yet, the grand reveal of Aloy’s parentage and Sylens’ actions only become apparent in the climax. This does take away from the journey the player goes through. It also risks the story resolution feeling rather unsatisfying.
Forbidden West can improve upon the storytelling by making it clear, at least halfway, as to what the stakes are. This way, players will have a clear vision of what they’re pursuing, and can fully invest themselves in the plot. Zero Dawn unloaded every twist right at the end, which didn’t give enough time to align the story outline with the events witnessed.
9 The Simplistic Parkour
Fans have a lot of opportunities to scale many places in Zero Dawn. However, it’s not an altogether seamless experience. Similar games like Assassin Creed do it much better by making parkour seem an intrinsic quality in the character.
Forbidden West needs to bring in more diverse parkour moments. This involves blending in sequences of swinging, jumping, and scaling. A fast run through the wilderness should have points where the player can interact with the environment without having to break their sequence. Zero Dawn doesn’t make parkour a part of combat, and this needs to change as well.
8 Padding Of The Map
For all the secret places to uncover, Zero Dawn sure does make one traipse across a whole lot of needless land. The practice of making one run around to unlock or reach one location to another is called Padding. This is something that’s very common in the first game.
In fact, even the actual locations require Aloy to aimlessly search around for a particular area, and this simply wastes time. The sequel, while retaining or expanding on the map size, must look into cutting down on needless locations. In its place, every pit stop can bring abundant side missions or interactive environments to avoid having the player running through barren areas.
7 Making The Storyline The Main Hook
For an open-world game, it’s surprising how fans take after the story rather than the gameplay. The reason for this is due to Zero Dawn downplaying on the importance of side missions and exploration. Instead, the main motivation for players to continue is the mystery behind the plot.
After finishing the story, certain players aren’t too keen on continuing on with the exploration. Forbidden West should focus on cutting down constant empty resolutions and story hooks. In its place, subplots can be expanded upon. This will incline players to see these storylines resolve even after the main plot is done with.
6 The Smaller Impact Of Supporting Characters
Unfortunately, the formula in Zero Dawn basically has a new character show up and usually insult Aloy for being an outcast. They are then either killed in an ambush or disappear after their arc is done.
In order to have players connect to characters other than Aloy, the supporting characters need to have fleshed out backgrounds in Forbidden West. This can easily be arranged by giving them a close personal relationship with Aloy. The second way is expanding on their histories to give players a reason to understand their motivations.
5 The Generic Dialogue
Zero Dawn’s story is awesome, but its dialogue is weak. Conversations don’t flow naturally, coming across awkward and sometimes inhumane. Considering the story’s theme is an existential one, this is a huge letdown.
The generic dialogue is another reason why characters don’t seem genuine or likable. This is why Forbidden West’s conversations need to be brimming with honest sentiment. Emotional dialogue has to be a major factor, something Zero Dawn only accomplished with Aloy and Rost.
4 Fixed Character Model Graphics
At first glance, Zero Dawn’s character models are a sight to behold. However, it’s when they’re emoting - or evidently not - when you see how bland their reactions are. Aloy’s look and acting are great, but the expressions on the other characters hardly tell the right story.
3 Weaker Melee Combat
There’s a reason why using archery is Aloy’s main forte. Melee weapons are very much second-rate in Zero Dawn. None of them have an impact. Even if they technically do, the damage to the machines isn’t convincing. There’s no oomph factor to these weapons. Instead, one has to resort to button-mashing.
Forbidden West needs to have special weapons for Aloy. Not just in title, but in execution, in that every melee combat feels different when selecting a particular item. This will bring in a value of using and collecting these weapons.
2 Lack Of Engaging Non-Playable Characters
An extension of the point about the lack of impact of supporting characters, even the minor ones aren’t strong in Zero Dawn. The people Aloy interacts with for side missions seem like soulless A.I.s.
In order to make the open-world come alive, and provide justification to complete heroic acts, Forbidden West needs to overcome this issue. More conversation options when engaging with NPCs can fix this. Along with that, a creative technique can be where Aloy marks certain people she helps as allies. These NPCs can be summoned to fight alongside her or grant her favors in the form of add-ons and supplies.
1 A More Definite Ending
No, DLCs don’t count in a fully delivered ending. The actual ending presented in Zero Dawn is good enough, although it does present a bunch of unanswered questions. This is probably done to justify a sequel, but it could have been done better by presenting a full conclusion over a relative cliffhanger.
There’s nothing wrong with leaving things open-ended, but those following the story should want to return for a sequel for new stories rather than closing out previous ones. Forbidden West has to avoid forwarding this over from Zero Dawn. It can tie up the loose ends for the plot for a complete ending, and leave out room for future adventures.
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