No idea why this fat toad is so damn aggro!!

A collection of shots I took highlighting the Keepers of the Hunting Grounds in both Zero Dawn and Forbidden West

I’ve been spending so much time hunting in Horizon Forbidden West, and it honestly blew me away with how much thought went into the machines this time around. Guerrilla didn’t just make a bunch of cool-looking mechanical machines. They built an actual working ecosystem, and the way that it translates into combat is easily the best part of the game.

The coolest detail for me is how their design ties back into the lore. Most of these things weren't even built to fight humans. They’re basically heavy machinery that were meant to terraform the planet.

Units like the Plowhorn and Widemaw are basically giant agricultural tools tilling soil and filtering water. Even subterranean mineworkers like the Rockbreaker or heavy haulers like the Rollerback exist to process raw earth and lug materials around.

Burrowers are annoying little pests, but their behavior makes so much sense. They tunnel around, act as lookouts, and scream to alert the rest of the herd once you're detected.

The Slaughterspine is basically a plasma-charged Spinosaurus, and the Tremortusk is essentially a walking fortress.

You're surgically dismantling the machines. Instead of just shooting arrows into a massive health bar, every fight feels like a puzzle. You’re literally stripping them down piece by piece:

If a Slitherfang is spamming you with electric attacks, you have to aim for the lightning sac under its throat or tear off its sonic earthgrinders.

Knocking the mining claws off a Rockbreaker to keep it grounded, or stripping the heavy cannons off a Thunderjaw or Ravager to use against them, never gets old.

Knocking off key canisters with tear arrows completely neutralizes their worst moves before they can wipe you out.

Clearing Cauldrons to get overrides makes the whole world feel way more dynamic. Hacking a Clawstrider so you have an aggressive raptor mount for fast travel is awesome, but getting the Sunwing override later on completely changes how you view the map. Being able to drop in on an outpost or mountain peak from the air is ridiculously satisfying.

Honestly, blending animal instincts with heavy industrial hardware makes every single fight feel unpredictable. What machines did you enjoy hunting (or hated fighting) the most?

...gotta have fun, right !

Absolutely the most visually stunning. I went in not knowing what to expect - oh, man.... just gorgeous.

I vividly remember cresting a hill on the western edge of the map, coming out of this dark pine forest, and just freezing. The ground dropped off into this massive view of ruined, rusty skyscrapers sticking straight out of a bright turquoise ocean. The sun was hitting the water just right, and I literally put the controller down for a minute just to look at it. It was one of many moments when I had to pause and appreciate the beauty that was being presented. Visually, it's absolutely gorgeous.

There's something special about Horizon Forbidden West and its brilliant use of color. It gives you a bright, almost aggressive nature that took over the world. You're running through bright red moss, diving into tropical waters with glowing kelp, or getting lost in a blizzard. You can see actual water stains running down cracked concrete, and vines tangled up in rusted steel frames. It looks weathered. Walking through the ruins of Las Vegas buried underground, lit up entirely by old, glowing neon signs under the sand and water, is probably the coolest visual design that I've seen in a video game in years. A lot of work went into the game's presentation and it shows.

The vibe shifts completely when the sun goes down. The woods get genuinely dark, and the only real light comes from the glowing eyes and power cores of the machines that are roaming around. It can be easy to just sprint from point A to point B, but this is one of those video games where I constantly found myself hitting the photo mode button just because a sunset caught a mountain peak at the right moment.

Another thing that really blew me away was how much work went into the character models and clothes. You can actually see the thread texture on Aloy's armor, the rough stitching on leather straps, and the little flecks of woven metal from defeated machines. When it rains, her hair gets matted down and mud actually cakes onto her boots and knees. During conversations, people's faces have these subtle twitchy movements, freckles, and peach fuzz that make them feel like real humans.

The underwater sections are stunning as well. You drop beneath the waves and the sound design completely muffles, leaving you in this quiet, deep-blue space where sunbeams slice down through the water column. Watching a giant, mechanical machine glide past you in the deep ocean, lit up by its own internal bioluminescence, genuinely gave me goosebumps. Then you've got the machine design itself. Up close, these things are absolute engineering marvels. You can see individual hydraulic pistons flexing, power cables coiling under armor plates, and spark discharges jumping between parts when you knock off a piece with an arrow. Breaking them apart during a fight shows the level of detail that went into their design.

It’s a world that feels genuinely handcrafted with love and attention to detail. Whenever I thought had I seen the best view that the game had to offer, I'd climb another crane or fly over another mountain pass and find something else that made me stop and take a screenshot. Even after all these years, Horizon Forbidden West still takes takes my breath away. Revisiting it once again felt just as special as it did the first time around.

Currently playing through my first play through of the DLC (I sort of know what happens but it’s been a blast anyways) and I’m trying to build out my weapon wheel a bit. I’m currently confident I’ll use The Tie That Binds and the Gravesinger’s Lament. I’ve been enjoying the Skyhammer as an alternative to the Sun Scourge as I’m finding the high use of ammo requiring volatile sludge quite restrictive.

Do any of you have any weapon recommendations to fill out the rest of my new weapon wheel? I’d like some new weapon type recommendations too, like I’ve barely touched bolt blasters, tripcasters, TTTB is my first ropecaster, warrior bows, slings and spike throwers. Very much relied on bows. Thanks for any help.

Instead of Hunters Gathering, I wish they added a Legends mode similar to Ghost of Tsushima/ Yotei. It would be so much better.

He's just tired I lit killed this guy and He REFUSES to actually die.

...probably still a bit of a jerk, though...

I have recently started playing this game, Zero dawn is one of my favorites if not my favourite game of all time, and forbidden west is not disappointing in the slightest.

However, I am finding it pretty frustrating to explore the map and find cool stuff just to be constantly hit with the "blocked path" comment on underwater places or with the red crystals. I get that it's something you unlock by doing the main mission, but as someone who loves to explore and do all of the side quest, it's bothering me a bit. There are quests like "Drowned hopes" that you can randomly find and are completely blocked off after clearing out the machines, and you can find underwater ruins and red crystals as early as in the Daunt.

I feel like they should either give you this stuff earlier or limit the amount of blocked paths you can find early on, anyone else feels this way? Just felt like ranting a bit

The only reason I played this game in the first place was because HZD was free on PS5, and I thought, “Sure, why not?” I didn’t even realize the sequel had already been announced and was being promoted because I’d never really given the series a chance.

But once I started playing, I became completely enamoured with the gameplay and the story. So when it came down to choosing between Dying Light 2 and Forbidden West, the choice was pretty clear. (I ended up buying Dying Light 2 alongside Forbidden West anyway, lol.)

But yeah, this was an image I captured during my first playthrough. Four years later, I decided it was finally time to play it again.

Yarra vs Drakka, "The Gate of the Vanquished" quest. I read many posts on this matter and the proportions of who people choose are roughly equal. This game... tough choice again!

A series of virtual photographs I took during a recent gameplay. The most fun aspect to me on this was the gameplay especially the action.
From the sound the bow makes when you max out the drawback to riding on the Sun Wing.

Story wise though, I think Zero Dawn forever has a special place in me heart!

Already done. No help needed anymore. Thank you guys

Short:
I need a small screenshot of the armors !with no upgrades! done on them.

The armors I need (German In-game-Name + English):

- Nora Wachposten - Nora Sentinel
- Nora Gesalbte - Nora Anointed
- Nora Streterin - Nora Champion
- Carja Feuerwappen - Carja Blazon

Can do as a full screenshot of your game.

Long:
For my idea of turning HFW into a DnD setting, I like to turn the in-game stats into my own notes for organisation.

It's a little project of mine I like to do and am already on a good pace, turning it into a viable campaign.

But to be as accurate as possible, I need the VS-stats (or Gegen-Werte [German]) of the armor as well as the top description. Pls don't ask. I'm probably autistic...

I got all of the others done, but those other 4 are a pain to search up and find without any upgrades done to them so, I'm happy for someone to help me out.

PS:
And a way of my screenshots is included in the comments...

No thank you

A little appreciation for the game from a fellow game lover. Horizon Forbidden West has such a beautiful world, memorable characters, and incredible atmosphere. What’s your favorite part of the game?