Horizon's Burning Shores Are Vast, Roughly a Third of the Size of Forbidden West

That's nuts if it's equally dense. Ifaik the base was already bigger than hzd. I can't imagine the expansion is almost hzd size!

Today is release day for Burning Shores. Pre-load has not worked, It says "bought" but it doesn't download, in-game it says "wait to play until Burning Shores is downloaded before you play.
Can't download it manually... Ffs I hope Sony get their act together and stop focusing 100% on PC crowd and actually priotirize their hardcore console crowd for a change. PSVR2 controllers that didn't work for over a week after release and now this. They really don't want me as a customer do they?
Sorry for rant, had to vent!

@Shepherd_Tallon
Thanks my friend!! That worked!
I was on phone with swedish customer service, they wanted me to read the small small printed serialnumber on my PS5 to be sure I was who I said I was to even help me. I'm 54 and I can't see numbers that are like 1 millimeter small lol. And they said I should do a factory reset. Like WTF!!?? Wipeing out about 3TB's of games on my two SSDs just to start a DLC? They are tripping for sure!!
Now your suggestion worked so I just hang up on them, I'm too old for this ***** tbh! F**k Sony and their crappy customer "service"!

And now that I downloaded it, the "download" button under the DLC start to work, LOOOOOL! This is so badly programmed it's almost funny.

@Zeke68 glad it worked out for you. you've been around for a few generations of consoles so what do you think about games these days i'm wondering?

@middyone I love playing games, but I was really hooked on gaming back in the early 80s when I saved up to and bought my very own Commodore 64. Before that I had only played Pong on a relatives Atari so the C64 was a brand new world opening for me.
I can miss the old days when you had no clue what you had to do in some games, you just had fun. But now when I'm older I'm a sucker for Sony's 1st party "storygames" like Uncharted, GoW and ofc Horizon. But there Uncharted and latest GoW games venture into new adventures and break new ground in a way, Horizon is more AC/Ubi formula, and while I like that too, I don't really love it if you know what I mean. Like Dark Souls evolved into Elden Ring were it's like more of the same but still prettier.
I prefer Bloodborne, still the same game, but a truly unique experience imho.
The older I get the more I like "non-reaction" games and more adventure and exploring is probably the best answer I can give you. But I hate the copy/paste formula most games do these days. I miss oldschool Sony that dared mix things up with quirky but fun new experiences.
Returnal and Death Stranding was pleasent surprises for me for example.
PSVR 1/2 are great these days too, just wish Sony made more 1st party (adventure-ish) games for it.
And I love Ghost Of Tsushima. But I still like to play Arkanoid, Lemmings and Outrun from time to time on my old Amiga500 I have in the storageroom

Actually I would pay full (mid-)price for a PSVR2 version of Original Arkanoid and Lemmings in a PSVR environment!

The main game map is huge. Probably 3 times bigger than HZD.
I'm about 30 hours into the game and I like the game very much. It's got more RPG DNA than the first game and I like the story much more than I expected after reading reviews.
HZD story only got good at the end and after reading many of the scattered lore pieces.

Think this may well be my next PS purchase, after I start and finish god of war ragnarok. I enjoyed Forbidden West, my only real complaints were the human v human combat, the climbing, and the truly terrible story, but I enjoyed it enough to get the platinum and look forward to the dlc

I'm in two minds if I should get this now as I'm quite hyped for it or wait a while as I've not only just started the Ghost of tsushima DLC, I recieved God of war Ragnarok yesterday and I've still got a lot of Atelier Ryza 3 to do, then on switch I've got the fire emblem engage DLC to finish, Xenoblade chronicles 3 DLC nect week and the new Zelda game comes out in 3 weeks time.

Time to turn on hermit mode.

I know your review was delayed by lack of codes but I haven’t seen any reviews anywhere for this. I’d pre-ordered it so I guess it doesn’t really matter, but was curious to see how well it was reviewing.

@Zeke68

very interesting take. love sony's story driven games as well. i'm curious to what you mean that god of war broke new ground in terms of world. it's semi open world and horizon is full open world which is the only difference in world terms. hell I love uncharted but it's not open world at all. also have you played a ubisoft/Ac game? every sequel is more of the same but refined and better...no need to reinvent the wheel. what did you find unique about bloodborne? wdym by non reaction? agreed one of the things I love about horizon is the adventure and exploring. I love ghost of tsushima as well and still don't get why people say that's like ubisoft as well as horizon. I get what you're saying as something drastic as returnal and death stranding but those tend to be less popular but they still have variety for sure.

@Sakai first person i've ever seen say horizon has a terrible story...congrats lol

@Sil_Am facts i'm in the same boat...these critics have lost touch with what fans love. the story is great from the beginning and still engaged many hours later in it. really interesting stuff for real...can't wait to continue.

@Zeke68 I was able to download it about 2h before release (it might've been sooner but I wasn't home between 6 and 10 pm). Not sure why it worked much earlier for some and not me (and many others) but in the end I was able to start it at midnight.

@middyone I liked Zero Dawns story, Forbiden Wests story was really bad. I have seen quite a few mention it, im sure it was even mentioned in some reviews

@Sakai considering it's only one point behind zero dawn on metacritic you're objectively wrong lol. it should be higher...somebody else already mentioned it here but zero dawn had it's moments but definitely didn't get good until a certain point. haven't seen anybody mention it in reviews.

@middyone I wouldn't say it's terrible, but it's also nothing memorable either. I've had a few people tell me they've struggle to get into the Horizon games because the story hasn't really pulled them in.

@middyone I cant be wrong, its my opinion. I still liked the game and got the platinum, like I already said. It is entirely possible to enjoy a game and still dislike certain aspects or elements, and hope they are better for the next game. You obviously didn't read enough reviews, heres a snippet from Eurogamer, the very first review i checked:

"A lot of what hasn't improved - or has, in places, become markedly worse - is connected to the story. Aloy travels west because she's trying to find a working copy of the sentient computer that's been running earth. Let's just sit with this sentence for a moment. Enjoying Horizon always meant accepting the inherent video game-y ridiculousness of its premise, but given how much work Guerrilla put into Horizon's world-building, I felt there was almost something akin to a balance there. It was fun to discover where things came from along with your protagonist, and the answers she found were silly but just believable enough.

But that thrill of discovery is now mostly gone, and what we're left with is the story of a world that's dying because someone didn't debug it regularly. Much of Forbidden West's narrative issues are frustratingly embargoed, but know that at times it will go fully off the rails into wild, nonsensical sci-fi. Its ending is tedious and anticlimactic. Before you get there, you'll encounter some oddly pro-military cringe, oodles of "don't ask" logical leaps, and antagonists almost entirely devoid of personality and, strangely, screen time. In other words, Forbidden West successfully manages to undermine most of what was interesting and fun about Zero Dawn's story, because the deeper you look into things, the more you get confronted with pseudo, sci-fi fantasy stuff that even in a video game is difficult to take seriously - and oh, does it want to be taken seriously."

How big is the DLC compared to the Frozen Wilds DLC for the first game, @Khay? And roughly how long do you think it would take to fully explore on the hardest difficulty? Thank you...

@middyone Gow (2018) used the one-shot cam in a way I never seen in a game, or felt in game for that matter. Not so much the world only. I'm more about all moving part coming together in best possible ways. I felt the intimacy (spelling?) while I played the game in a way that was totally new to me at least. Love the father/kid aspect too as a parent.
Yes I played AC 1 & 2, Origins (my favourite), Valhalla and as of now I'm actually playing Odessey from my backlog.
I love the H R. Gigeresque vibe to Bloodborne. Hard to explain really, just a different feel to all the other "Souls"-games. Actually my 2nd soulslike isn't even a Dark Souls Game, I loved both Surge games more than DS1-3, I know, you ain't allowed to think that but I do And the Nioh games together with Wo Long is more fun to play than those too imho. Not that Dark Souls are bad games in anyway, just a little too much of the same after a while and the combat isn't as fluid as the other games.
At last, "non-reaction" was bad worded. Sorry for bad english at times lol. I mean games that requires ADD.level reactions entire game. I know Nioh is probably such a game, but the fluid combat make me overcome that (more or less) but the older I get the less I want to get stuck on some random mob/boss because I don't have reflexes as I had 15-20 years ago...
But it's my own fault, I always strive for Platinum in the games I like and most have "beat this on ultragodmodehardcore"-crap trophies and I tend to get them all in the end. Too stubborn for my own good I guess.
But I still hate it, just as I dislike most onlinestuff. I miss the good old Starcraft 1&2 days when you could invite one friend only and play the crap out of a game without trophies linked to it..
Ghost Of Tsushima is just like Bloodborne for me, love the vibe, just like playing a gorgeous movie!!

@Voltan That's why I was upset and dissapointed. Burning Shores was released here in Sweden at midnight, I managed to download it a few hours ago, like 8-9 hours after the release and with no help from Sony or their support..

The DLC map of the 1st one was huge too. Gonna dive int othe Burning Shores today, everything is ready!!

I think they priced this right, too. All too often, companies charge way too much for stuff because they know there are people who would pay it - $20 for skins, etc. $20 is the sweet spot for this DLC, so I am glad it launches at that price rather than me waiting a year for a sale. I don't like getting gouged.

@Sakai eurogamer is a pro-microsoft website dude so relax..it's very rare to read something positive about sony's exclusives.

Just started Burning Shores this morning and I’d say it’s more like a sixth of the size of the FW map. Unless new areas are opened up as the story progresses?

I love both games, but I do see why it's hard for some people to get into the games.
HZD story picks up hard and fast towards the end. If you don't reach that point, I get why you'd say it's not very good.
Also the combat, it's not mindless hack & slash like AC, so I get why more casual people will not get well with it. You gotta learn how to kill each machine individualy. Also, the HFW human combat is miles better than HZD now. It's almost impossible to get through a rebel camp without melee combos.

@middyone Sorry (everyone) for walls of text but what I meant with AC/Ubi formula in regard to Horizon games are: you go to a hub, you do main/side missions, you go to next hub and rinse and repeat.
That doesn't make it bad per se, but I prefer games with "levels" like Uncharted games, Returnal, Sniper Elite games and so on.
I love big openworld games too, but the way to Platinum is too often fillerstuff in the end. Mainstory and sidestories is fine, fetchquests is boring after fetch #14325...
That's why I REALLY love Ghost OF Tsushima, the sidequests are just as good, if not better, than the main campaign!! (imho)

I played burning shores a bit last night.

Boy it’s a big map for a DLC.

Wooooow. Amazing. Cannot wait!

@Sakai I enjoyed the story, for the most part, but the ending was disappointing. Without getting into spoilers, it felt like they sacrificed any sense of closure for the sake of set up. They should have let it breathe a little. I’m curious if you have a similar take.

That being said, I found the wacky sci-fi stuff and all the different tribes really enjoyable. They also did a great job with the supporting cast, with several going from grating to endearing over the course of a few side quests. In a medium overpopulated with one note, throw away characters, it was nice to get a little depth, even if they missed the mark a few times.

I liked HZD a great deal, but I mostly remember the big moments. I find with HFW, it’s the smaller moments that have stayed with me.

Oh, and quoting Eurogamer regarding anything Horizon related is definitely shaky ground. I can’t wait to see how they tie themselves in knots trying to explain why Burning Shores is no good. Should be good for a chuckle.

@Amnesiac Glad you liked it, for me personally it went to far into nonsensical sci-fi, and it just kind of lost me if that makes sence. Zero Dawn had a much more interesting story, and I hope they look to that for inspiration regarding the next one. But I still enjoyed the game as a whole, enough to get the platinum in Forbidden West, just like i did for Zero Dawn. I am more of a gameplay before story person anyway. Once I finish Raganarok il be sure to check out Burning Shores and see if the story appeals to me more. Hope you enjoy the DLC aswell

@Kevw2006 well that's just your opinion bro lol. it's WAY more memorable and interesting to me already than the first game for real. even the side quests are memorable for me and some of the best if not the best i've seen in a open world game. they all offer something whether more lore, character development, new weapons etc. every little feels like a fetch quest and fleshes out the world more.

I can see how they struggle because I struggled with the first game but tell them to keep going it gets good then the sequel is even better. better characters etc

@Sakai notice I said objectively wrong and you can be that. I gave you proof why as well. like somebody else here already said using eurogamer is crazy lol. even the review is wrong. aloy goes to the west to try to rebuild gaia...not find a working copy lol. there is no video gamey ridiculous and silliness of scifi...it's just like any scifi i've seen in movies and tv shows(albeit way more interesting). ya'll over here critiquing it not being "realistic enough" when it's scifi is freaking hilarious honestly. gaming journalism is a joke and eurogamer is poster child for that aspect. looked at their god of war ragnarok review a little and they called it wonderfully absurd...so absurdity is wonderful when it's not horizon yea ok lol. thanks for sending me two whole paragraphs so I'll know never to go to eurogamer again.

@Zeke68 ah I see and agree. well in that case horizon in a way does stuff never seen in a game as well in it's own way ofc. that's awesome man so did I and loved the father/kid aspect as well and i'm not even a parent yet lol. it's very well done. interesting and how is horizon like oddessey...I don't see that at all.

tried playing bloodborne a while back but lost interest but maybe one of these days i'll pick it back up. does it have a story at all? it's cool bro...i'm not big on souls games myself. don't let the souls fanboys see you saying this...they will lose it lol.

ahh I see. you mean games that have you doing quick reactions the whole game. even in my 20s I don't want to spend 3 hours on one boss...I don't know how these people do it. I love a challenge but that's too much and the lack of fluid combat as well is just grating.

I get what you mean I only platinum games I really love but some I just too hard to get like gow 2018 but I did it lol. took me a while but I did. ghost of tsushima has online stuff I need to do to get the platinum and I need to play new game plus. for real bro...all sony games have the movie quality for me. ghost is no exception.

@middyone Totally agree, Playstation Studios is in a league of their own. I think it is because the even help each other out to be even better! 🦾✌️

@Zeke68 absolutely agree. they each give each other tips and root for each other and I think it just pushing them to great heights. the only limit they have is budget and hardware...I truly believe they can do anything besides those constraints and it looks like we are about to see what ps5 only finally has to offer. horizon was already incredible looking but now we get to not only fly but go up all the way in the clouds now. no other game has land, underwater, and flight like horizon does. the traversal is unmatched imho. not to mention the unique environments etc.

@Zeke68 you still didn't quite answer my previous question though lol

@middyone what question did you mean? If Bloodborne has a story? Yes of course it does. But it's convoluted as all Dark Soul games. The game is happening during a single day and night known as "The Hunt". The game shows how that affect you and everyone else during that time with 3 distinct different endings based on how you play it.
How is Odessey like Horizon? Storywise - not at all, one is in ancient Greece and the other is about futuristic world in chaos do to robotic A.I. But both play in the same way overall, climbing, shooting the bow, questhubs and so on. 😉
Or did I miss any question? Then please remind me. 😁

@Zeke68 well that's a bummer lol. I like stories that I don't have to go looking in every nook and cranny to find lore to piece together somewhat of a story. interesting premise though...reminds me how arkham knight takes place over one night which is crazy considering how long it took me to even make halfway. every game that has climbing and bow shooting is like assassins creed? lol that's a stretch...I was looking for more of a standout thing to why you think it's actually like it though. those things are more games than you know. I do think that no bow and arrow in other game feels as good as horizon's...even ghost. the one about assassin's creed was the main one...forgot I asked the other ones but thanks for answering anyway.

@middyone You read through my posts and all you got out of it was that AC is climbing and bows? Now my friend, that is the real stretch lol.

@Zeke68 that's literally what you said lol. Like all did was copy and paste those two words from your last replay so you are reaching. i'm pretty sure horizon is nothing like assassins creed

I shouldn't answer but I do anyway. Read all comments and make a conclusion as an adult and you get it. Or not. Up to you. No offence meant. 😀