My Favorite Level in Horizon Forbbiden West and In Need of a LOT of Luck

[Winter]

Soooo... I'm back, mainly because I think I've been cursed because soon after I signed off my house got flooded... twice... one of which happened on Valentines Day. My Sister lost most of the Transformer toys she had collected over the years, some of which were gifts from our granddad, some she won and others she made herself. We've gotten so much damage that we can't ask the insurance for any more money because it could seem like this is being done on purpose and, again, our house has flooded TWICE!!!

So, I need something, ANYTHING to take my mind of things and seeing that all this happened soon after I signed off, I'm going to sign back in and PRAY that this breaks the WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON Curse because seriously, WHAT THE FUCK!!! So, if anyone can wish us good luck and pray this stops that would be great.

So, let me announce my return by covering a bunch of characters who are trapped with a psycho, who turned into a horrible monster that was so repulsive the game couldn't show him or they would have gotten a M Rating and how the how level melts at the end. To many spoilers? Don't care, I need to take my mind off things.

So, Thebes. This level is unlocked about halfway into the main campaign as Aloy is in need of Ted Faro's omega clearance because it's the only clearance higher then Alpha Clearance in order to trap HEPHAESTUS, the AI that creates the Robot Dinosaurs in order to save the world. On the whole HFW has had several great dungeons, much better then the ones in Horizon Zero Dawn but there's something about Thebes that makes it stand out, in a good way.

The other levels have a lot of puzzle solving, platforming and combat but Thebes is mostly a breather level, with light platforming, puzzling and almost no combat. The mission starts by you meeting up with the leaders of an expedition from The Quen who are from China in Horizon's post-apologetic world and in order to win their trust you must take down a Apex Thunderjaw. Soon after that we enter Thebes, the bunker where Ted Faro, aka the man who destroyed the world, is located and once inside you and Aloy start to realize just how in over our heads we are and the Ceo (cousin of the Emperor of the Quen) shows just how insane he is and basically takes us and our new Quen ally Alva (a precious, beautiful child who must be protected at all cost) hostage.

From there things only get worse as we come to see just how far off the deep end Ted fell into madness. We learn that Ted was not alone in his bunker and had a number of people with him all of whom died either via Ted killing them or them committing suicide rather then spend anymore time with him. One thing I love about this level is the visuals. We start off in the bright sandy beaches of post-apologetic San Fransisco and while the huge statues of Ted is more then a little ABSOLUTELY Terrifying, Thebes at first is also rather nice looking. But as we descend deeper into Thebes it gets darker and the environment gets more unkempt and filthy and until we arrive at the final area were we learn the fate of Ted Faro.

Before I reveal that fate we need to take a step back and talk about Ted's final action in Zero Dawn. It was hotly debated why Ted Deleted Apollo as he states it's because he wants to prevent the next generation of humans from inheriting the "disease" of knowledge and history but most fans, myself included, felt that it was more likely that Ted just didn't want anyone to know that he was the one who destroyed the old world. This is reinforced by what happens in Forbidden West as Ted had gained immortality via technobabble. There was just one problem with said immortality, he's cells were regenerating to quickly and as a result he began to get cancers and because he was now immortal it meant he would deform over time and remain alive for a thousand years.

But Ted, the genius who mandated that no backdoor into the army of killer robots, had a brilliant plan! Go into to the bunkers nuclear reactor and use that to heal yourself... Yikes!

The end result was that Ted's outside now matched his inside and, as stated before, is hinted to be so hideous that if he was shown the game would have lost it's T rating and have to have gotten a M rating. Again, yikes.

The Ceo, seeing the monster Ted is orders him to burned to ash which is a bad idea because Ted has a Deadmans which so if he died then Thebes would go down in flames which is what happens and where the game goes from a breather level to a action/platforming mission where we have to fight our way out while trying to avoid falling into the magma that is engulfing Thebes. We even get a rather gruesome death for the Ceo who is crushed by the Big Giant Head of Ted. Ted and the Ceo may have deserved their fate but Yesh.

To sum up my reaction to this level after I was finished with it I must quote the great King Author


youtu.be/5Unxp5sCmM4

Thank you your Majesty.

Horizon Forbidden West is, IMO, vastly superior to Zero Dawn because while HZD has it's strengths HFW improves on it in a number of small and major ways. My only real complaint is with the villains and that Gaia's relationship with Aloy is basically a bunch of Exposition dumps instead of dealing with the fact that Gaia is basically one of Aloy's moms. But aside from that, this is a great game and Thebes, IMO, is the best level in the game.

So, again, I'm back and if things improve at home (knock on wood) I might be staying. I may not always comment but I remain signed in. Please wish me and my family luck and if anyone can donate to us that would be great. You don't have to if you don't want to and you don't even need to donate that much, if you do wish to please send all donations to this email address hunterrialla@gmail.com. Again, wish us luck because we're going to need it.

[Madner Kami]

Horizon Forbidden West is, IMO, vastly superior to Zero Dawn because while HZD has it's strengths HFW improves on it in a number of small and major ways.

The most meaningless sentence used in every review for €1000.

[Winter]

Horizon Forbidden West is, IMO, vastly superior to Zero Dawn because while HZD has it's strengths HFW improves on it in a number of small and major ways.

The most meaningless sentence used in every review for €1000.

I missed you too.

[Madner Kami]

You do not elaborate on these improvements. You should, however.

[Winter]

You do not elaborate on these improvements. You should, however.

Very well, small improvements.

Facial animations and better body language, this is more of a carryover from Frozen Wilds (Zero Dawns Expansion Pack) but it's improved from that in a number but notable ways such as more subtle expressions as well as more over the top ones which often fits which ever character is onscreen. The platforming is also improved which feels a bit more fluid and natural though climbing is still a pain due to lacking things like Uncharted and Tomb Raider's option to jump between handholds.

Another small change is how our mounts are controlled. Horse commands always feel a little off to me but here, aside from said "Horse" stopping in it's tracks when ever it runs into anything no matter how small, it feels a lot more natural and easy to control.

There's also a ton of other minor changes that made this feel like less of a time sink then the last game (hunting grounds are now just hit the interact button and get to the challenges and said challenges are more enjoyable and easy to get down while HZD's hunting trials were a pain (the worst of which being the Stealth Trials)). Missions are less repetitive (all the missions around learning about Elezabet, for example, are all mostly exposition dumps with no real platforming, puzzle solving or combat). Improved combat controls, improved enemy and ally AI Controls and so on. All these are small but they do add up.

Big Improvements.

Better Dungeons. Tying into the last point, the dungeons in HFW are so much more enjoyable with good use of combat, stealth, platforming and puzzle solving. No two dungeons are alike, in either how it's set up (Thebes is more of a breather level with a HEAVY Horror Element while Retrieving Poseidon is a lighthearted exploration level while everything around retrieving Aether is all action with very few stealth bits). The Side Quests are also a lot of fun with engaging stories that makes me WANT to play them on my way to the next main quest.

It also has improved boss encounters with a few unique enemies types that you can only encounter in the main story (such as the Rebel Tremortusk or Regalla (the latter being a combination of all minor enemies move sets and is the only boss with three phases and is kinda my favorite boss in the game (though I've always had a things for duel bosses))) and the enemies you fight in the open world feel more like a challenge whereas before it was just a matter of using your Overpowered weapons here even with the most powerful weapons (which can take a while to get to in the game) you have to think on your feet and figure out what you need.

I didn't go over these because I was focused on Thebes which I'd like to think was a well explained and thought out but I hope you enjoyed me going over the improvements I enjoyed the most in HFW.