Horizon: Forbidden West was the competent, graphically impressive sequel to 2017’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, which was one of the first PlayStation games released on PC in this new multiplatform era.

And now, two years after it was released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, it is also on PC. And the port takes on the characteristics of the game itself. Competent, full-featured, relatively issue free, but ultimately unspectacular. We are now far beyond being excited at the mere prospect of a PlayStation game on Steam, and in the future porting house Nixxes and Sony may need to push their ambitions higher to regain the hype of the initial releases.

Horizon: Forbidden West continues the journey of Aloy as she seeks to discover the source of a blight threatening the land, coming up against new challenges and unexpected foes. The PC version has nothing new or specific to it in terms of the game’s narrative, but everything is here and fully featured. This means it includes the game’s Burning Shores expansion, which is a meaty addition to the main game that in my experience can be quite a bit harder (perhaps it was just my time away that made it feel trickier than it actually is).

As before, you can only access the DLC area after the very end of the main game, so unfortunately there is no concession to those who may have played through the original title on PS4 or PS5 and wanted to tackle the expansion on their PC. And again, there is no ability to transfer your Playstation save into the PC version, something I sorely missed after putting about 50 hours into it on Sony’s console. It seems like a missed opportunity, seeing as you can even link your Steam account to your PlayStation Network account. And while there is full DualSense support when using it wired, there is still no ability to get the full DualSense experience via wireless play, something Sony seems utterly uninterested in addressing.

I was happy to see though that there is a bevy of graphical options and settings to fiddle with, and there weren’t any strange exclusions of features. In terms of upscalers, there’s support for NVIDIA DLSS 3, including frame generation and DLAA, FSR2 and even Intel’s XeSS. There’s proper support for ultrawide displays, and in every other respect Horizon: Forbidden West can be configured like a true native PC port. Perhaps the only strangeness is that Nixxes continues to use a settings launcher to configure your experience prior to the game actually starting. Personally I appreciate this option but I know for some people it can be a minor annoyance.

But what about performance?

Given some of the issues with performance in recent releases of PlayStation exclusives such as The Last of Us: Part 1, I was a little trepidatious approaching Horizon: Forbidden West. Fortunately, while relatively heavy, I did not experience any strange PC performance issues in my time with Forbidden West on PC. Settings worked just as I expected them to, though I did not see as much of a boost as I was expecting with DLSS 3 Frame Generation at only around an extra 20FPS (this may be user error as I am still relatively new to using that option). Truthfully though, the game already looked excellent on PlayStation 5 and there aren’t any new options or settings that truly let your PC scale the visuals above the console version. So while it is solid, it is somewhat disappointing not to see any ray-tracing options or additions like Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion or Screen Space Directional Occlusion, both of which were added to God of War when it came over to PC.

For those who are interested in taking Forbidden West on the go with a Steam Deck, this won’t be a great experience. Even at the “Very Low” preset” and with FSR2 set to ‘Balanced’ I wasn’t able to maintain a consistent 30FPS, especially once you get into the main open world. This is a change from the first game, which just managed to run well enough to be one of the more popular titles on the Deck when it originally launched. It isn’t just the frame rate either, the frame times are unfortunately extremely inconsistent and there are big spikes relatively often.

Perhaps your tolerance for sub-30FPS gameplay is better than mine (to be fair, we did suffer through our fair share of PAL-related horrors back in the day – 17 FPS Ocarina of Time anyone?) but I imagine for most people Horizon: Forbidden West is simply too big for Steam Deck.

As game development costs spiral and the market size stagnates, publishers increasingly need to amortise the cost over more than one platform. Microsoft has been on both PC and Xbox day and date for years now, and with Sony we are finally in a somewhat regular cadence of PC releases a year or two after their console debut (Helldivers 2 – Sony published but independently developed excepted). It is just a shame that the two years between releases didn’t see Nixxes given the scope to actually expand the game’s visuals. It makes me wonder why we are left with such a long gap between drinks, seeing as there is very little reason for someone who has played the original to pick up this version – the audience is very different so releasing the PC version earlier is unlikely to cannibalise sales to any great degree. We are left with a competent, somewhat unexciting port that does exactly what it says on the tin.

If a PC release of Forbidden West is what you’ve been waiting for you can have no hesitation in picking it up but equally, there may be no reason to double dip, especially if you played it on PS5 with its impressive array of display and performance options.

The post Horizon: Forbidden West (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is the must have PlayStation VR2 game right now.

With rich detail and explosion of the colourful world that Horizon is, you are smack bang within the live and hazardous environment with the ultimate goal of surviving.

Shane from STG was invited to have a virtual chat with Jan-Bart van Beek, the Studio Director and Studio Art Director at Guerrilla Games, the developers of the Horizon series of PlayStation exclusive games.

Jan-Bart van Beek (Studio Director & Studio Art Director, Guerrilla)

Shane: When Horizon Zero Dawn was first released, had there been the initiative to make a PS VR2 version back then, or is this a totally new concept?

Jan-Bart van Beek: The first suggestion to make a VR game based on the world of Horizon actually predates the release of the first game. We had shipped RIGS on the first PSVR back in 2016, and we immediately thought that we should start making plans towards another VR game. It took quite a while before we really started working on the concept. We asked our developers for their initial concept pitches, further developed those concepts and prototyped, and then we went into full production around 2019.

Shane: For PlayStation gamers that have played through the story of Horizon Zero Dawn, what can they expect from Horizon Call of the Mountain?

Jan-Bart van Beek: It’s an incredible experience immersing yourself in the world of Horizon in VR. For players of the original game there will be some familiar places and characters, but of course the stars of the show are the massive machines you will be battling. And that’s really something that players won’t be prepared for. The size of the machines is just incredible seen from your own perspective.

In terms of story, we wanted to lean into the concept of seeing the world from a different perspective as well. So a new main character was developed that would allow players to see Aloy’s world from a different point of view.

Shane: We see characters from the original game in Horizon Call of the Mountain, what can you tell us about Ryas?

Jan-Bart van Beek: Ryas is a disgraced former Shadow Carja soldier. But there is a plot afoot that might be able to throw the Carja empire in disarray, as well as put thousands in harm’s way. Marad, the spymaster of the Carja, knows there is only one person who can take on the job, and that is Ryas. And so, we’ll see him take on a dangerous enemy, while also confronting his own dark past and hopefully finding some form of redemption.

Shane: Myself having played Horizon Call of the Mountain I’m in awe of the vast heights and scenic scapes experienced in VR. What experience do you hope the players receive?

Jan-Bart van Beek: That is exactly what we had hoped. Horizon is all about being in awe. Being in awe of its majestic landscapes, the rich tribal cultures or the fearsome machines. It’s one of the key goals for any of our games. And we feel that VR is a great fit for that. There is something very magical about VR and I hope as many people as possible get to experience that.

We also understand that there will be many players who will be new to VR, so we’ve worked hard to make this a great experience to VR players of all experience levels. We’ve also included a more passive theme park-style experience with the riverboat ride, so you can even put the headset on your granny and give her a thrilling experience.

Shane: Last question – will we see more Horizon in VR?

Jan-Bart van Beek: That’s a great question for another day 😉

The post Interview w. Jan-Bart van Beek (Studio Director & Studio Art Director, Guerrilla) appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sonys PlayStation VR2 has released and alongside a catalogue of Triple A titles.

From Guerrilla Games comes a VR extension and standalone Horizon title specifically developed for VR, Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Played in first person (you are literally the main character) we meet Ryas, a new protagonist who was previously a Shadow Carja rebel. Sentenced for his misdeeds Ryas is forced to join a dangerous expedition to investigate a new danger. For the most part, you’re on your own.

You will come across familiar characters from the first Horizon game but they’re NPCs that help tell the engrossing narrative.

In Horizon Call of the Mountain you’ll reach dizzying heights, climb a lot and engage in combat within a vibrant immersive Horizon world.

This is Horizon as you’ve never experienced before as you’re literally thrown in to the world and must survive.

Controls make use of gesture on the Sense controllers. Climbing and navigating around edges of cliffs requires you the player to act out real climbing movements. In combat you’ll arm your bow and fire as you would in real world.

You will encounter a varied selection of enemies in game and it’s almost via trial and error you’ll get good with aiming your bow. It was for me.

Also keep a lookout for side objectives too.

While the gameplay has a linear path there is some small allowance for exploration. You’ll food to keep your health in check and components to kit yourself out with.

Almost every object is interactive with real world physics.

Horizon Call of the Mountain may give some VR players vertigo as you scale high sky mountains and rock climb around precarious cliffs.

Horizon Call of the Mountain isn’t an add on, it’s not a rehash either, this is Horizon in VR, Horizon as it should be experienced and the Horizon you really should (literally) get yourself in to.

The post Horizon Call of the Mountain (PS VR2) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Horzion festival is back and better than ever. Taking place on the gorgeous sunny shores of Australia, Forza Horizon 3 shows us how fun racing games really can be. While there is very little departure from the winning formula established in Forza Horizon 2, there is enough tweaks under the hood to make this rendition of the Horizon festival the best one yet.

For me racing games have traditionally fallen into two categories; It is either a racing simulator, focusing on realism, or an arcade racer, focusing on just being fun. Even though it is definitely leaning in the latter category, Forza Horizon 3 manages to take the best of both worlds. It does this by taking the realistic look, sound and feel of the cars from the Forza Motorsports series and builds it into an open-world racing game. The end result is the most fun I have had with any racing game before.

This year’s Forza takes place in none other than Australia. This isn’t the lazy man’s Australia though; this is the real deal. This is the Australia you get when you look past the stereotypical iconic Sydney features and find out what Australia really has to offer. Much to the benefit of the game, Sydney doesn’t even get a look in, instead we are offered up other arguably more interesting areas of Australia such as the Yarra Valley and Surfers Paradise. The attention to detail, even down to the colours of the bins, was just impressive.

Being an Australian I am sure there is a bit of bias here but I found the setting much more to my liking than Forza Horizon 2. The contrast of beautiful beaches, thriving cities, wild jungles and the lifeless outback offers up an excellent variety in scenery as well as terrain to drive on. No matter where you go, the environment just looks stunning.

For a racing game, I found myself doing an awful lot of things that weren’t related to racing, not because I had to but there is so many fun things to do. Between trying to beat your friends records at speed traps, knocking over billboards, exploring the landscape, completing bucket list challenges, trying out new cars,searching for hidden barns and trying to rack up a nice skill streaks, driving around the vast open world of Australia proves to be an extremely fun time waster.

This isn’t to say that racing isn’t done well in Forza Horzon 3. In fact, I can’t think of a way to fault it. The driving mechanics are superb. There is a mind boggling number of races you can choose from. Every race offers a unique course, utilising the wide variety of terrain on offer. The AI is great. This is really the ultimate racing experience.

The festival has been changed up a bit. This time around you aren’t just a participant in the Horizon Festival, you are now the boss. This new aspect does provide new and interesting ways to play the game and really allows the player to impact the world provided. You choose what the races are, you choose where the races are held, you grow the festival and you recruit the drivers.

This plays into the major themes ofForza Horizon 3, customisation and choice. Probably the biggest way in which this theme is manifested is with the blueprints. Instead of having to choose from a bunch of preselected race themes, you can now choose to craft one yourself. This flips the traditional formula on its head, instead of choosing a car to fit the race type, you can now fit the race type to suit the car. In addition to the theme of the event, you can also choose the weather and time of day that the race will take place in.

The Drivatar system, now synonymous with the Forza franchise, is once again featured. How the name initially comes across aside, the system gives some personality to your AI opponents. In theory it is supposed to take in some characteristics of how your friends drive. In practice, the AI you are seeing is in no way a perfect copy of the actual person however it adds some much needed human elements to the way the AI drives. Also, seeing your friends gamertag pop up above another an opponent adds much to the competitiveness of the race.

You don’t have to be a dedicated racing fan to enjoy Forza Horizon 3. Although I’ve enjoyed a couple of games in the genre over the years, I wouldn’t call myself a fan of cars or racing games. The game does an exceptional job at catering to newcomers to racing games, hardcore fans and people in between like myself.

One way in which the game does this is through the great selection of difficulty and assist options to choose from to cater to all types of gamers. My personal favourite feature is the ability to rewind time to get another attempt at that manoeuvre you just failed to pull off, taking out the frustration that can come with racing games. Although this may make some hardcore racing fans cringe, it can actually be a great training mechanism for improving your skills at racing games. While there are a variety of assists available, you are rewarded with higher credit bonuses if you don’t use them.

The car upgrading system also does an excellent job of catering to the experience of all types of gamers, something much appreciated to someone as clueless about cars as myself. If you want to dive into it yourself, there is a wide range of things you can upgrade, each with a nice description of what it actually does in layman’s terms. For the really lazy, such as myself, there is an auto-upgrade option. You select the performance target of the car you want and the game works out how to get it there.

The extensive car decorating system featured in previous entries in the series makes another appearance. While I personally don’t have the patience, it is simply amazing what people in the community can create. Just like in previous entries, whole car designs or individual decals can easily be uploaded and downloaded to and from the community. If you spent countless hours on creations in the previous entries, thankfully you are able to download them for reuse in this entry.

A big focus of Forza Horizon 3 is on multiplayer. This not only plays through the leaderboard and club system but also on the variety of online modes you can play. The most unique is the game type modes. Rather than your typical race, you instead play a variety of games which include variations of capture the flag and tag. There is certainly some room for improvement in the way the games are designed however they offer up a bit of fun when you want to take a break from racing.

My favourite online mode however comes via way of the co-op campaign. This offers basically everything you could want from such a mode, allowing you to actually progress in the campaign whilst playing with your friends. The races change up somewhat, instead of being every man for himself it becomes team based. Not only do you have to perform well but your team does as well.

While music certainly comes down to taste, I didn’t care for any of the 8 standard radio stations on offer. Microsoft seems to have had some foresight and has made available their music subscription service Groove as a possible station where you can play your pre-created music playlists. If you are in the majority and don’t have a Groove subscription, there is a free 14-day trial you can use. Although I wish they offered a longer trial, being able to freely select the music you listen to is an excellent option.

Simply put, Forza Horizon 3 is the most fun racing game I’ve played. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel however it does take what was great about its predecessor and build upon it in all the right ways. The additional layers of freedom and the beautiful Australian landscape are enough to raise it above the very high bar set by Forza Horizon 2. You don’t have to be an avid fan of racing games to enjoy what Forza Horizon 3 has to offer.