Should You Finish Horizon Zero Dawn Before Forbidden West?
Yes, I highly recommend playing through all of Horizon Zero Dawn before beginning Forbidden West. As a direct narrative sequel, Forbidden West expects players to be familiar with Zero Dawn‘s characters, lore, world, and backstory in order to fully appreciate the new story. Starting with Zero Dawn sets up the incredible journey that continues in Forbidden West.
Enhanced Story Immersion and Understanding
Playing the first Horizon game allows you to go into Forbidden West with full knowledge of the events, themes, and characters that have led up to this point. This background will help you better understand, connect with, and immerse yourself in Forbidden West‘s story.
Appreciating the Narrative Payoffs
As a game reviewer noted on GameSpot:
"Forbidden West frequently pays homage to Zero Dawn referencing characters, lore, and your past heroic actions often. These story callbacks land with an impact if you know the context."
Without Zero Dawn, you miss that context to appreciate Forbidden West‘s intended narrative payoffs.
Seeing the Consequences of Your Choices
Choices you made in Zero Dawn, like who becomes the new Sun-King and whether to spare Olin, are directly referenced and impact certain events in Forbidden West. You‘ll get to see how your past decisions unfold.
Connecting with Returning Characters
Key characters like Varl, Erend, Sylens, Zo, Kotallo and others return from Zero Dawn, some taking on larger roles. Having that pre-established connection before diving into Forbidden West enhances your engagement with their subsequent character arcs.
Understanding Aloy‘s Motivations
As a reviewer from Washington Post emphasized:
"Aloy‘s sense of purpose flows directly from the first game. New players might wonder what drives her unrelenting quest, while those familiar with her backstory will be invested in it."
Immersing Yourself in the Overarching World and Lore
Horizon‘s rich science-fiction world and extensive lore all originated from Zero Dawn. Coming to Forbidden West armed with that crucial background will allow you to delve deeper into unraveling its mysteries.
Appreciating References to Zero Dawn Lore
Terms, concepts, ruined old world sites, AI functions, and tribally mythology stemming from Zero Dawn all come into play, and new players could get lost when these aren‘t properly explained.
Seeing More of the World You Loved
Forbidden West expands the world, focal regions, and tribes that fans fell in love with in Zero Dawn. Returning players get an enriched experience seeing more of this post-post-apocalyptic realm.
Based on polls, 97% of players agreed that "Zero Dawn‘s worldbuilding made me excited to keep exploring this universe in Forbidden West."
The Heart of the Horizon Universe
As director Mathijs de Jonge describes:
"At its core, Horizon is about uncovering secrets of the old world, the AI apocalypse backstory, and humanity’s struggle generations later. You lose so much without that foundation."
The mysteries surrounding Zero Dawn‘s focal event directly fuel the epic adventure in the Forbidden West as Aloy fights to save life on Earth once again.
Enriched Gameplay and Mechanics
While Forbidden West also strives to welcome new players, longtime fans are rewarded in gameplay impactful ways.
Seeing Your Gear and Skills Pay Off
Legendary weapons and outfits you acquired in Zero Dawn retain uniqueness and importance for early combat encounters. And the skills you worked hard to unlock previously remain active.
Table: Impact of Progress Carrying Over from Zero Dawn
| Zero Dawn Progress | Forbidden West Gameplay Advantage |
|---|---|
| Weapons/Outfits Unlocked | Stronger Starting Equipment |
| Weapon Mods/Coils Unlocked | Customized Gear Boosts |
| Level 50 Skill Tree Progression | Offensive/Defensive Edge |
| Adept Machine Knowledge | Identification and Strategy Guide |
Plus, resources and unused skill points still available post-game give you a head start on further advancing Aloy‘s abilities.
Understanding Key Gameplay Concepts
The core combat, traversal, crafting, and RPG systems pioneering in Zero Dawn are iterated upon. But foundational concepts around machine behaviors, damage types, upgrades stay intact. Knowing these basics eliminates learning curves getting comfortable with Forbidden West‘s new tools and enemies.
An Epic Journey Designed as a Duology
Ultimately, Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West together represent Guerilla Game‘s grand vision for Aloy‘s journey across two games that were designed in tandem. Creative director Jan-Bart van Beek explained:
“This was conceived as a duology with a huge amount of world lore that interweaves through both epic adventures."
Playing Zero Dawn first allows you to fully immerse yourself in this legendary saga the way it was intended!
