Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West came bundled with my PS5. It's the reason open worlds still have my attention years later. I can lose entire evenings wandering the Utah ruins or climbing a Tallneck just for the view, not because a quest told me to. The machine fights hold up too: circling a Thunderjaw, stripping parts with tear weapons, figuring out which trap to set before it notices you. I'm actually playing Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered right now, working backward into the story this one builds on. The skill trees and side quests lean a little RPG for a strict action-adventure list, which is the only reason it sits mid-table instead of higher. Anyone who wants a genuinely stunning world to explore should start here regardless.

Horizon Forbidden West is one of my most-played PS5 games and it did not make the top ten, which tells you something about how strictly this list applies its exclusivity standard. It launched on PS4 the same day, and the cross-gen design is part of its DNA. As a PS5 recommendation it is brilliant. As a PS5-first exclusive it falls short. The world is the most visually detailed open environment on the platform. The machine designs are extraordinary and the lore rewards curiosity in ways that I find genuinely hard to put down. If you own a PS5 and have not played it, that is still something you should fix.

I am currently playing Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, which means Forbidden West is sitting on my shelf already waiting. That is not a problem. These games are built for exactly the kind of play I do most: open worlds you can pause on a Tuesday, return to on a Friday, and still remember where you were heading. Forbidden West is visually one of the best things on PS5. The Complete Edition includes the Burning Shores expansion, which pushes the visuals even further. Combat against the machines gets more interesting as the weapon variety expands. It sits at nine rather than higher because the story does not hit the same heights as the gameplay and the world. Still a very strong recommendation.

Horizon Forbidden West is the game I would hand to someone who wants a polished, approachable, visually spectacular open world without the learning curve of Elden Ring or the slow burn of Red Dead. The biome variety is real: you go from burned-out desert to flooded ruins to dense jungle inside the same playthrough. I have spent time with the Complete Edition and the glider traversal changes the relationship with the environment significantly. It missed the main list because the world, for all its beauty, does not surprise you the way the leaders do. Discovery feels managed. But managed well, and with a generosity that many harder games lack.