And the game is filled with that sense of dimensionality, giving Aloy’s story a backdrop that feels dense and weighty in ways that games rarely do. In this snowy village, people are going about their lives. This is rare, even in modern games, as most stories center the protagonist’s journey in a manner that makes the rest of the world feel like afterthoughts. In one of my favorite chapters, Aloy arrives at a snow-covered village in the mountains, and I was struck, as I often was, by the sense of life existing outside of my character’s POV. From snowy mountaintops to seaside villages to lush forests, “Forbidden West” is a visual marvel. It will also take her across one of the most impressively varied game landscapes ever. The journey to restore GAIA will lead Aloy into not only the history of the world but her own, and how they intersect. The planet is still dying from something called the Blight, while increasingly massive creatures (the creature design in this game is amazing) dot the landscape that’s also torn apart by warring human factions. The game opens directly after the events of “Zero Dawn,” as Aloy (beautifully voiced by Ashly Burch) follows Sylens ( Lance Reddick) in search of a backup of GAIA, the A.I. Tolkien are almost certain to find similarities to the rolling hills of their favorite fantasy universe. It’s reminiscent of masterful examples of gaming world-building like “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “The Witcher 3,” and fans of J.R.R. I’m dozens of hours in with a lot of story under my feet and zipping through some dialogue scenes as quickly as possible, and yet the world here still feels like there are massive corners left for me to explore and secrets left for me to find. In other words, to do everything in this world, could easily take 100 hours. My progression and game time meters have been running at about an hour for a percent. It’s also a game for people who are ready for a serious commitment. This is gaming for people who want to disappear into a game, mastering its action and becoming invested in its storytelling. And the cut scenes can feel as long as an episode of television.
I’ll admit, partially because I was playing so quickly to get this review up, to often getting lost in exactly what is happening in “Forbidden West.” It’s so dense with characters that you can spend an hour just talking to your allies and other NPCs. In fact, it can sometimes be overwhelming just trying to keep track of the varying plot threads, characters arcs, and narrative twists. “Forbidden West” doesn’t just build missions or action scenes, it builds a world with warring factions, different climates, and dense storytelling.
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