Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC Review – Journey To The Fiery West

Coming from the conclusion of Horizon Zero Dawn Forbidden West comes the follow-up story of Aloy’s journey to the Burning Shores of Los Angeles in pursuit of a threat in the form of an awakening Metal Devil.

The DLC includes several new additions to the base-game (similar to that of the Frozen Wilds DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn) which includes new Machines, a new Weapon Type, New Legendary Coils, Weapon and even Outfits.

The New Metal Monsters

In the Burning Shores Aloy will encounter a few new Machine types, two of them go hand in hand and are called the Bilegut and Stingspawn. Now, what I found most interesting about the Bilegut is that its design is based on an amphibian (Frog) whereas before this, all the Machines in Horizon Zero Dawn were modelled after Dinosaurs, large Mammals and large Lizards.

It is the most annoying amongst the new additions of Machines in the game as it will continuously spawn Stingspawn (small fly-like machines) that does not drop Metal Shards upon destruction. This results in you not recuperating back your arrows as you will need Metal Shards to craft most of the ammo in the game. Prolonging the fight against a Bilegut is definitely something that would take a toll on your resources if you do not take the Bilegut out earlier on.

These monsters will also be available to fight against in The Arena which was present in the base game and players may test their mettle by racing against the clock to earn rewards.

A Not So Great Weapon During A Civilized Age

In the Burning Shores DLC we actually get to use one of the weapons that the Zeniths used quite earlier on after clearing some early story missions. Naturally this would be pretty exciting as these weapons are far more advanced than what Aloy has been using all this time. Unfortunately that is not the case as the new weapon type called the Specter Gauntlet is somewhat lacking.

It has a high ammo count (100 after max pouch upgrade) but that is to compensate for its miniscule damage values which is not what I expected from a weapon from the future. The accuracy crosshairs are also too wide in some cases and worst still, the weapon cannot be fitted with any Coils. It does make sense from a lore standpoint but this also means that the weapon stays as is throughout the game unless you find the right components to upgrade it.

Luckily the weapon is not all that useless as you could spend stamina to mark a part on an enemy via the Designator. This will then result in all your ammo automatically home-in towards that marked point making the weapon an excellent counter to annoying flying Machines provided that you managed to mark the Machine in the first place.

New Legendary Coils, Weapons and Outfits

In the Burning Shores DLC, there are plenty of Legendary outfits, weapons and coils that are on sale at the merchants located in the new town. All these items are new and never before seen in the base game. This also means that your resources (Brimshine specifically) better be sufficient to even consider purchasing them as they are quite expensive.

Exploring The Burning Shores

Traversing a post apocalyptic Los Angeles with magma rivers running through it felt pretty wonderful. Horizon Zero Dawn has always been quite a looker in terms of visual presentation but with the Burning Shores DLC the scenes presented were insanely detailed and really great to look at.

Exploring the different isles and its shores was an enjoyable experience as I attempted to complete the many quests, trophies, collectibles and background lore within the area, and not even once did it felt like a chore to do. Going through the many collectibles roughly took me about 10+ hours to complete which did not feel that long thanks to how scenic the journey was and how traversal in the game is really easy and fluid.

The game also adds in one more Cauldron (a dungeon that when completed gives Aloy the ability to override the Machine that the Cauldron is responsible of creating). During her time in the Burning Shores, Aloy will have her skill tree expanded with a new Valor Surge and two other skills to learn. The skills are extremely fun to use. One skill has you grapple hook strike on knocked down foes and when prompted click the relevant button to energize the target for a Resonator Blast.

Travelling Builds Character

Even during the first game, Aloy has always been a stoic and driven character, always doing what is needed of her rather than acting for herself. In Forbidden West however Aloy starts to evolve more as a character. There are multiple times where Aloy loses her posture when dealing with Beta (her clone) but she still remains focused on the ultimate mission which was defeating the Zeniths and saving the world.

Here in the Burning Shores, the stakes are somewhat smaller (initially) which gives Aloy more room to think more inwards. This results in Aloy, for lack of better term, becoming a big softie. Her interactions with Seyka (a newly introduced character in the Burning Shores) are indications of this as Aloy gets emotionally affected at times whenever Seyka’s feelings are hurt.

There are also times when Aloy also projected a sense of nervousness when dealing with complicated emotions concerning her relationship with Seyka. It is a side to the character that I personally would never expect to see nor believe if I didn’t play through the Burning Shores DLC myself.

Final Thoughts

The Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC is definitely an easy pick-up for huge fans of the Horizon Zero Dawn series, it expands the story even further and hints that the events that occur within Burning Shores will play a bigger part in the overall narrative. I believe that the shift in Aloy’s character was an unexpected but welcomed surprise, personally it fits the situation quite well with all things considered.

The game’s visuals are still as gorgeous as ever, and you can get a sense of that even more just by flying around overlooking the Machines carrying on their respective tasks while taking photos with the included photo mode. Everything from the lighting and overall presentation of the game simply looks phenomenal on the PlayStation 5. The Machines are definitely the highlight of this game for me as they are truly a sight to behold.

The late Lance Reddick performance as Sylens, was amazing although very brief when compared to the new character Seyka. Of course, Seyka as a character was a great addition to the cast as well.

Not all is perfect however, as the number of new Machines added in are somewhat small and the new antagonist Londra (the final surviving Zenith) did not carry the personality of a person who has been alive for such a long time.

Personally, the positives far outweigh the negatives and ultimately my curiosity as to how Aloy will deal with a god level-threat like Nemesis (a Corrupted AI entity) that started the events of Horizon Zero Dawn were answered as the DLC gave me a small glimpse of that.

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC is out now, and is available on PlayStation 5. You may find further information at their official website.

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC was reviewed on PlayStation 5, review code was provided by Publisher.

Horizon Forbidden West

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Guerilla Games

Release Date: 2022-02-18

PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Join Aloy as she braves the Forbidden West – a majestic but dangerous frontier that conceals mysterious new threats. Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as you return to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon.

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