Previously on Logging the Backlog...

Logging The Backlog: January 2023

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Finishing Up 2022: Part 1 - Oops All Horizon

I had initially planned this past month to be my "catch up" month, where I would play the games on my backlog that came out in 2022 that I never got around to. I decided that I would start with Horizon: Forbidden West, not really putting any thought into how long that might take me. Unfortunately, it took me 90 hours which, when playing an average of about 3 hours a day, took up all my time last month. So, I guess this blog is going to be more or less just a review of Horizon: Forbidden West, one year late. Heads up: This will probably include more spoiler-y stuff on the Horizon series, since I'm focusing on a single game this time.

Games Left

470 469

What I Played

Horizon: Forbidden West - 4/5 - I guess I'll start with my thoughts on Horizon: Zero Dawn. To be honest, I don't have many. I've forgotten the vast majority of that game. I remember the main beats. Humans screwed up Earth. Aloy's a clone born to save it. Sylens a shifty dude. A vague recollection of Erand existing. But other than that, nothing. Completely forgot that Varl existed despite him probably being my favorite character in Forbidden West. I kind of remember Rost existed, but have no memory of what he did, and where Aloy's trauma comes from around him in the sequel. Things that were pretty key to the story apparently, and very little of it stuck with me. Suffice it to say, I didn't love the first game. I thought it was fine, but I wasn't blown away by any aspect of it.

So why did I enjoy the sequel? I think it just comes down to better vibes. A more interesting, diverse cast of characters. A story that could be built upon in more interesting ways than just it's typical sci-fi plot twist of "hero born to save the world" set up. More varied environments. I think the team behind the game improved just about every aspect of the game.

Combat remains largely the same. Melee combat gets a bit more of an upgrade than the ranged stuff. You get a variety of combo strings that all have different effects, such as area control, or building up your super attack faster. As for ranged, you get a few new weapon types and status effects, but the strategy remains largely the same of "scan the robot and shoot off its glowing bits".

I did however find some of the climbing bits to be kind of janky. I don't remember how it was in the previous game, but it didn't always seem as easy as just pointing the stick to where I wanted to go. Mostly when climbing the sides of mountains. Climbing points seemed to typically be made up of just a jumbled mess of hand holds, and even when one was in reach, I found Aloy just simply refused to move to some of them.

While I have seen people around the internet comparing the story to Mass Effect, I think I'm far more interested in where Forbidden West is now with its main plot than anything going on in Mass Effect's. Sure, Mass Effect's companion characters and alien lore are probably more fleshed out, but I was never really interested in its story of "The humans are here to unite the galaxy and save the universe from evil invaders". I just prefer the themes of Horizon, which I also think is just more accurate to what would really happen, in that humans continue to screw everything up. We screwed up Earth, ran away to space, and screwed that up too. Humans suck, and I am here for that.

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Logging The Backlog: March 2023

Ranking the Log

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