Horizon Forbidden West vs Horizon Zero Dawn | Direct Comparison
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Published 2022-02-19
Direct visual and gameplay comparison of the recently released "Horizon Forbidden West" and its predecessor, "Horizon Zero Dawn."
This video covers primarily the visual aspects of both games - all spoiler free, including a look at character models, environmental detail, lighting design, effects, and a few side comparisons.
Both games are being played on the PS5 - with Zero Dawn defaulting to a checkerboarded 4K resolution at 60fps, while Forbidden West is set to its "Fidelity Mode", which targets 4K at 30fps.
For the sound comparisons - Forbidden West is set to its 1800p 60fps performance mode.
You can learn more about Forbidden West with my full review here: • Horizon 2: Forbidden West | 40+ Hours...
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
02:08 Character Models
04:54 Machine Models
06:56 Environments
10:21 Lighting
11:41 Shadow Quality
12:04 Effects
14:44 Sound Comparisons
18:11 Final Thoughts
Learn more about my setup here: • Ultimate Gaming Setup | Studio Tour (...
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All Comments (21)
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Correction: Forbidden West is actually set to a NATIVE 4K output in fidelity mode, not checkerboarded, which is pretty impressive considering it maintains 30fps almost all the time (had it drop heavily once during a battle with a slitherfang)
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The character interactions and facial animations in the sequel are a triumph. They didn’t just improve them, they’ve completely revamped them. Even the side quests are all mocapped with incredible facial animations
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The biggest improvement IMO are the interactions with NPCs during side quests. I remember getting bored with the side quests because the interactions are so robotic and has limited animations. I'm so glad they went all out with Forbidden West so every conversation are more engaging now.
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Forbidden West is a perfect example of how to do a sequel. Keep the game about the same, but make it better and only change things that need changed
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To be honest, I'm more impressed with how well Zero dawn continues to hold up
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Both horizon games are really impressive but forbidden west pushed everything further and it's really beautiful
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You'll never beat that feeling I got when I first saw a Longneck in HZD - how tall it was, how it moves and sounds, climbing it, everything!
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The audio in this game is UNREAL, for battles with hidden or burrowing enemies you can hear the direction they are coming from and going to attack. When just walking through the environment you can hear everything around you, friend or foe, and turn your camera to look in the direction to see what it is. The level of immersion with the 3D headset is unreal. It makes great use of sound as a sense to experience the game.
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Both games are absolutely gorgeous, I still think it would be impressive if Zero Dawn came out today, but they just crushed it with the new one.
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This is the first time in while that I’ve been able to tell a drastic difference in sound quality from one entry to the next Edit: since a few commenters didn’t seem to catch it my comment is talking about SOUND quality, rather than general game quality
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Only real visual issue I have with the game is Aloys over animated hair. The smallest movement seems to send her whole head of hair flying.
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Its quite staggering to see how far games have come. From my wee days playing Alex Kidd on my master system to this... like its hard to even comprehend how much graphics have changed in 30 years.
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It's so interesting how I can look at Horizon Zero Dawn from 2017 and be like : Wow, this is still one of the best looking games ever And then I see Forbidden West and just have no words left.
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Wow, the waves are quite amazing. The gaming industry has a severe lack of water-based games, and each time I see something like this, as well as the incredible ocean in Sea of Thieves, it gives me hope for some cool water-based games such as realistic white water rapids, surfing, jetskiing, etc.
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Water, forests, and jungles is where HFW blows HZD out of the water and you can see a generational difference. The canyon and snowy environments HZD still stacks up quite well imo.
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As a person who has paid $3k+ for a PC rig, I bought a PS5 recently just to play the exclusive Forbidden West... and my god... its just breathtaking. Visually one of the best games I've ever played, unbelievable for a $500 package. In love with this game.
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The character details are insane. She even has tiny little hairs visible on her face. You gotta love the ridiculous amounts of improvements.
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My favorite detail in Forbidden West was definitely the music. The producer really outdid themselves with this soundtrack. Also her ability to fly and swim underwater really brought the game over the top, as you can utilize every inch of the map
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The hefty amount of details this game shows is just otherworldly. Salute to Playstation and Guerilla on this achievement and to you for the incredible quality of your work.
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It's actually insane that I could spend hours by just roaming around the field while enjoying sceneries. It's almost like traveling.
