Horizon Forbidden West - Burning Shores

I think Horizon Forbidden West is a great game, but it wasn't quite the leap forward yours truly and many others dreamed of. The game's ending definitely left me hyped for a third game, however, so filling the void with an expansion sounded fun. After spending around 10 hours doing and finding absolutely everything in the Los Angeles area, it's safe to say Burning Shores lives up to that promise - even if I fear Horizon still lacks that special something that stops it from disappearing in the shadows of highly-anticipated games coming around the corner.

Maybe not all that surprising when the main story basically has been put on ice (with some small, teasing exceptions), and the focus instead turns to Aloy herself. Sure, Burning Shores starts by taking us to Los Angeles in hope of finding something that could help handle the looming threat revealed at the end of the base game, but it's mostly an excuse for Aloy to see new places, meet new people and fight new machines. The most impactful one story-wise is the introduction of Seyka - another young insular woman with a passion for adventure. She has an interesting personality, and her sparing with Aloy feels far more natural than having our red-head continue to talk with herself all the time. Actors Ashly Burch and Kylie Liya Page can take quite a lot of the credit for this, as they work well together, and you can feel and see the chemistry - especially when the two nerd out about what the world used to be. Maybe their relationship feels a tad rushed towards the end - leading to a less impactful ending than what could have been - but it's still memorable. We all know it's all about the journey, not the destination though, and this expansion delivers in that regard.

And what a visual journey it is. Los Angeles is simply put Forbidden West's San Francisco with lava spewing volcanoes, which makes for a great contrast of clear blue water splashing on to the beautiful beaches that lead to lush, green wilderness with red, hot lava flowing through it. I can understand why Guerrilla ended up making this exclusive to PlayStation 5 when everything looks significantly better, and that's before mentioning the gameplay.

Because that's what surprised me the most. Burning Shores isn't just a prettier Forbidden West in Los Angeles with some more lore. A handful of new robotic enemies truly differentiate themselves from the ones we're used to, both in terms of design and behaviour. Great additions that I won't spoil here brings back memories to when I first fought these robot dinosaurs in Horizon: Zero Dawn. There's an excitement of seeing something completely new spice up the formula that was on the edge of becoming too familiar at the end of my time with Forbidden West. Having new tools, skills and environmental hazards to play around with also help.

Bringing the action to Los Angeles does in itself offer new opportunities to take out the machines in cool and satisfying new ways. Whether it's shooting explosive crystals that can do massive damage in and off themselves or obliterate enemies by making destructible structures fall on top of them. Mixing these with new combinations of enemies and better designed areas to fight in even increases the fun of using your old, favourite weapons.

New weapons and skills are the icing on the cake. Just like the new enemies, I don't want to ruin the best and most noteworthy surprises here (even if Sony decided to do so in trailers), but let's just say a couple of new weapons replaced some of my go-tos by being both powerful and different than what we're used to. Even the grapple hook has become far more handy by allowing you to quickly destroy hurt enemies with a rad critical strike. A handful of new Valor Surge abilities also take certain playstyles and tactics to another level. All of these possibilities combined truly makes Los Angeles feel like your playground.

That's true outside of combat as well. Sightseeing, looking for collectibles and Easter eggs or solving puzzles don't become tedious when a flying mount can swim under water, geysers give you a boost when gliding and there are a bunch of recognisable landmarks spread across LA. Nothing groundbreaking, but just enough to make it fresh and worthwhile.

Something that doesn't end up being worthwhile are the boss encounters Guerrilla has been hyping up. The last boss is definitely a visual spectacle, but brings nothing new in terms of gameplay. Maybe fun then and there, but also reflects the franchise's shortcoming of not taking full advantage of its potential.

Still, Horizon Forbidden West's Burning Shores is a must-play for fans of the game. Los Angeles is absolutely beautiful to run and fly around in, the new weapons and enemies are fun and bring a breath of fresh air, while the story introduces new characters and smaller details that will obviously play minor or more noteworthy roles in the all but announced third game. Just don't go in expecting Horizon Forbidden West 1.5 when this is more like a side-step similar to Horizon: Zero Dawn's The Frozen Wilds.