Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 302 sampled Steam reviews (244 positive / 58 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing45% mention it
- Visuals & art24% mention it
- Combat21% mention it
- World & exploration11% mention it
- Bugs & crashes6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing43% mention it
- Combat28% mention it
- Bugs & crashes24% mention it
- Visuals & art21% mention it
- Progression & loot17% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
67%
15 reviews
5-15h
63%
43 reviews
15-40h
72%
54 reviews
40-100h
90%
107 reviews
100h+
87%
83 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 89 | 46 |
| Creator reviews (5 tracked) | – | 88 | 7 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 88% | 82 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 77 | 366 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 85% | 78 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jun 27, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 12290 total reviews in window · weighted 191.3 up / 49.4 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (215)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Horizon: Forbidden West is undoubtedly a beautiful game, with expanded lore and a pretty good story (minus a disappointing sequel-baiting third act.) The platforming is still terrible though, some of the design choices are questionable and Aloy’s constant chatter is borderline game-breaking. Having said that, there’s been a good deal of improvement and care put into fighting machines, which is still this game’s biggest draw. There’s nothing quite like the adrenaline-soaked fights with the larger behemoths in this world. Forbidden West is not perfect but this is a solid sequel to one of the better open worlds in recent times.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Horizon Forbidden West is one of the best open world games from the last couple of years. Whether you a fan of the original title or just love yourself a grand adventure - Forbidden West is something you would really enjoy.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Evolution of Zero Dawn is much more enjoyable to play, with the AI enemies on higher difficulties offering a challenge for skilled players for many hours. Horizon Forbidden West continues the excellent foundations of Zero Dawn. It expands on them with themes from well-known and new characters, explains the details of an incredibly intriguing sci-fi story, and offers a fantastic experience in a dying world that only you and Aloy can save.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Forbidden West exceeded all expectations. If the first game had some problems here and there, its sequel constantly amazes and will be remembered as one of the best PlayStation exclusives in history.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“There are dozens of stories across Horizon Forbidden West that are every bit as cool, engaging, and thoughtful as that one. That makes it somewhat disappointing that the main story doesn’t quite hit the same heights in the end, as there’s a sagging middle that takes a little of the wind out of the finale. But it’s not something that’s worth sweating over, as the company that Aloy keeps consistently makes the trek work taking every step of the way.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Horizon Forbidden West is a massive action-RPG adventure that is, in many ways, far superior to its predecessor and completely blows it out of the water. I can find almost nothing to fault the developers at Guerrilla Games for; this is a worthy sequel that is undoubtedly one of the best games for the PlayStation console. The world of Horizon is bursting with high-quality content; you can easily lose yourself in the game for dozens of hours without ever getting bored. I highly recommend this game, it’s a must-have for action RPG lovers, and I hope the developers have some DLC in store for us.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“When Horizon Forbidden West lets you enjoy its incredible open world in peace, Aloy's second outing is a marvel to play, even if its swollen map doesn't fully make up for a lack of true invention.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Just like Ubisoft's mega-hit franchise, Horizon Forbidden West has a lot of the right ingredients but it's let down by the pitfalls of AAA game design.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Horizon Forbidden West is a perfect example of a sequel done right.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is a fantastic PC port. The optimization is great, and it works well on a variety of PC configurations. With multiple graphical enhancements and AI upscaling, this game plays best on PC. DualSense is also fully integrated and will use all the features the PS5 has to offer, just a bit better. Oh, yeah, and the game is amazing as well!”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Horizon Forbidden West doesn't try to reinvent the genre, and it's barely an evolution either. The developers have simply mixed all the current ingredients in perfect proportions. What they did in the end was throttling the freedom, gradually revealing the full extent of the experience in Forbidden West. One of the finest adventures we've recently had for sure!”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Horizon Forbidden West embraces everything about its predecessor and makes strides in producing an even more compelling world to explore, with intense combat and story moments, and shiny new robo-dinosaurs to punch in the face.”
read full review ↗
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PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
RPGamer…and 203 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- AMD FSR 3.1 is now available in Horizon Forbidden West Complete EditionJun 27, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition 1.3.55.0 Release NotesApr 23, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition 1.2.48.0 Release NotesApr 11, 2024significant · resets scoring window