There’s a lot to love about Sucker Punch’s unique fusion of an epic samurai action story and the Wild West. But can it beat the definitive Wild West experience in modern gaming, a classic that many believe to be the king of open worlds? What about the Forbidden West, the stage for another highly successful PlayStation exclusive?

It’s Atsu versus Aurthur and Aloy as we dive into which open world nailed down the things that matter the most in the genre. Let’s get started!

Unique, Eye-Catching Settings

Ancient Japan has had a lot of games visiting various points in its history in recent times. And while Assassin’s Creed Shadows did a great job at recreating the Sengoku period earlier this year, Ghost of Yotei’s take on Ezo is so immersive and visually stunning that it pulls you in right away, and keeps you invested in all of the activities it has to offer. It’s a version of Japan that benefits well from the cinematic flair of numerous samurai action film directors, and Sucker Punch’s raw talent at crafting worlds that have enough to do while keeping players engaged throughout.

Atsu’s adventure saw her travel across fields filled with flowers, witness the peace and tranquility of quaint villages, scale peaks in search of loot and gear, see the devastation of a civil war and the lives it destroyed, and find more than a few iconic spots for duels against incredibly talented opponents. Making the most of what current-gen platforms had to offer, it’s a world that had us stopping on numerous occasions just to take in the sights, and stare slack jawed at the scene in front of us.

That’s not to say that Forbidden West doesn’t do that too. Aloy’s own trek through the frontier beyond the world she once knew is as much of a visual treat, complete with the wreckage of once proud cities and futuristic machines that benefitted well from the PS5’s raw power. The franchise’s unique premise of a world recovering from the hubris of its past citizens has never looked, or felt, better.

But Rockstar’s take on the Wild West in Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) continues to be quite the stunner despite being released for last-gen platforms. Aurthur’s adventure is certainly quite the looker, and his travels across the 1899 American frontier can get quite immersive thanks to visuals that pushed the envelope of what last-gen systems were capable of. And with a potential current-gen update on the cards later this year, this is a game that really sells its setting, and brings it to life in a way that other titles cannot hope to match.

But which one of the three did it best? It’s so hard to pick a favorite among these titles as far as their settings are concerned, and it’s a well-fought tie. But what about the things you get to do in their worlds?

A Lot of Activities and Adventures

Let’s begin with Forbidden West here. Aloy gets many mysteries to solve, machines to fight, people to assist with a variety of requests, and a lot of lore drops that uncover the past and reveal more about the actions of a generation of humanity that’s now long gone. There are hunting grounds, enemy camps, Tallnecks to climb and scan, the newly added underwater exploration systems, and just so many interesting characters for her to meet even as she desperately looks for a way to beat her latest adversaries and thwart their mission to bring ruin to the Earth. Heck, there’s even a mini-game involving a blend of chess and machines!

But things are definitely repetitive once the initial allure wears off. A great setting and a gorgeous map are not enough to save Forbidden West from the fatigue that sets in when a large map features a limited set of activities to take on. Guerilla Games puts up a great fight in this regard but the other two studios we’re discussing simply surge ahead of it thanks to some very well-designed ways to present their offerings.

Ghost of Yotei does have a modicum of repetition in its side content, although the manner in which each activity is framed does stave off boredom to a large degree. For starters, the manner in which you uncover each activity via the new Cards system or through guided, organic exploration that does away with markers and other standard trappings of open world games is a big plus.

Each activity also comes with unique twists, making things unpredictable to a large extent. You might expect an uneventful visit to a nearby mysterious location only to find that you’ll need to take down a trio of vicious ronin who have a sizable bounty on their heads to get there. Or find that you’ll need to put Atsu’s climbing skills to the test in some well-designed sequences that often end with a stunning vista to photograph once you get to the summit. Golden birds pop up almost constantly, distracting you from your objective and leading you to valuable upgrades, stylish weapon kits, or opportunities to play your shamisen or paint a beautiful picture for your home.

The manner in which Yotei presents all it has to offer is so authentic and well-integrated that it allows it to take the win over Forbidden West. But you’ve probably guessed that RDR2 is miles ahead of its rivals, and you’re right. Jumping on your horse and just going in a single direction is bound to give you something to look into, no matter which stage of the game you’re in. What’s more, there’s just so much to do that it feels impossible to see it all in a single playthrough unless you live and breathe in Aurthur’s world for days on end.

It’s hard to forget how a single conversation with a stranger you meet on the road can launch you into a series of activities that could have you wondering what you wanted to do before you got involved with them. As far as finding something to keep you occupied during your travels goes, RDR2 retains its crown, and does so with style!

The Question of Quest Design

Once again, Forbidden West comes in third thanks to a fairly straightforward approach to missions. Aloy meets NPCs, agrees to do a job for them, and once it’s completed, returns to them to claim a reward. While there are twists to these missions, and the potential for more exposition as you take them on, they are largely by the numbers and do not lead her down narrative branches that can have you spending hours tracking down objectives and getting lost in the process. We can’t help but feel that Guerilla Games played it safe on this front, especially considering how the other two titles we’re discussing have been quite adventurous in their approach to quest design.

Yotei takes things up a notch, with several quests resulting in outcomes that allow the characters in question to come back at a later time. It’s hard to forget a bounty hunt resulting in an assault on a nearby stronghold only for the NPC in question to vanish at a very inopportune moment for Atsu. That same NPC later comes back in another guise, only for Atsu to discover that their deception, while morally wrong, stemmed from very noble intentions. It was quite the moment, exposing a humane side to Atsu as well as the NPC. It was also a great opportunity for a few tongue-in-cheek references to another Sucker Punch classic. That’s not bad for a side quest!

But once again, it’s RDR2 that comes out on top. It’s hard to find reasons to not give Rockstar’s epic the win here. It’s not everyday a video game set in the Wild West lets you discover a mad scientist building a robot in the basement of his lab, only for the robot to later kill him and vanish. Or meet a circus owner whose ferocious beasts turn out to be adorable pets in reality. RDR2 has the added advantage of its world simply carrying on irrespective of its players’ involvement, something that both Yotei and Forbidden West cannot match up to.

For instance, if you go hunting for the robot we mentioned earlier, you find it sitting atop a cliff constantly saying “Papa”. A railroad construction project makes gradual progress every time you see it irrespective of whether you’re involved with it in any capacity. NPC scheduling is just insane, with them leading active lives outside of their business with you, and even switching locations in line with the title’s day and night cycle.

In comparison, Atsu and Aloy’s worlds are largely static, their denizens existing only to give you new objectives or reward you for completed ones. While Yotei’s camping system does offset this limitation to a large degree, allowing important NPCs to come to you, and even having them move to new areas that you visit with valid explanations for why they chose to do so, it simply cannot hope to match the scale and scope on offer in RDR2.

An Obvious Winner

RDR2 continues to hold its throne as the most iconic open world game out there despite stellar efforts from both Forbidden West and Ghost of Yotei. It’s an interesting contest, albeit a rather futile one despite there being a lot to like about both Aloy and Atsu’s adventures.

Arthur Morgan’s time with the Van Dyke gang continues to be the undisputed champion as far as having a map that lives and breathes alongside you is concerned. Perhaps the eventual sequels to both Forbidden West and Yotei might put up a better fight when they eventually make their way into our hands.

But until then, Red Dead Redemption 2 remains as the one to beat.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

We’re talking about the Decima Engine, of course. A proprietary engine that was developed in-house at Guerilla, it has been at the heart of wildly successful video games from the studio, most notably Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West. That makes it a development platform that has worked across successive generations of hardware, and one that has evolved in response to the improvements they brought to the table.

But in a world where Unreal and Unity continue to dominate popular discourse, why should Decima be relegated to the background despite the stellar job it does there?

Honestly, it shouldn’t, given how it has allowed Guerilla and even Kojima Productions a way to push the envelope on several fronts that include visual fidelity, improved environments in massive open worlds, and also brought performance boosts to the experiences that it has powered.

It’s time to give Decima the spotlight it deserves.

A Performative Powerhouse

Decima made its debut back in 2013, powering the sixth instalment of the Killzone franchise named Killzone Shadow Fall. Bringing the title to the then newly launched PlayStation 4, the first-person shooter was quite a success despite it utilizing only a portion of what the new console was capable of thanks to Sony keeping its new console’s  improved RAM and graphical capabilities under wraps until its launch.

Guerilla’s attempts to breathe new life into the franchise paid off thanks to a version of Decima that was then referred to as “the engine”, with the studio not planning to take its powers public.

The engine was next seen working its magic in Supermassive’s Until Dawn and its 2016 PlayStation VR spinoff, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. Thanks to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s ownership of Guerilla Games and its role as a publisher for Until Dawn, the Decima Engine began to make its presence felt in the gaming world.

Its prowess was enough to catch the attention of none other than Hideo Kojima, who chose the Decima Engine for Kojima Production’s first independent title Death Stranding. The eccentric director showcased what it could do in terms of accurate detailing and physical lighting effects by recreating his own meeting room to justify its choice. Quite the feat!

But Death Stranding was still a long way from its final release at the time. 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn was a feather in Guerilla’s cap, and a brilliant showcase of how the Decima Engine could bring a unique gaming experience to life in ways that its rivals could perhaps not achieve. It was a demonstration of all the capabilities Guerilla highlighted in 2016’s PlayStation Experience which included AI, logic tools, 4K support, HDR imaging, and exquisite physics.

It was at this time that the name Decima finally came into being as an acknowledgement of Kojima’s role in bringing the engine into the spotlight and Guerilla’s Dutch origins.

Decima has since made its presence felt in the sequel to Zero Dawn, with Forbidden West taking its capability even further – which was evident from the game’s PS5 version bringing advanced terrain rendering, a gorgeous and smooth underwater experience, and breathtaking cinematic set pieces to the table.

Those very capabilities have been honed even further in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, allowing Kojima to realize the vision he had for his explorations of life and legacy through the lens of Sam Porter’s adventures in Australia and Mexico. Decima has played a huge part in bringing some of modern gaming’s most impactful titles to life – and is among the more obscure reasons for their success.

But how – and why – is it better than the best? That’s quite easy to answer.

Bringing Milestones to Life

In many ways, the Decima Engine has been the biggest benefactor of a collaboration between Guerilla and Kojima Productions. On the PS4, it ensured that Aloy’s adventures in Horizon Zero Dawn came with a layer of realism that matched her world weary take on a post apocalyptic world.

Each machine she took on was as detailed and intricate as the Cauldrons she explored to learn more about them while the Nora’s and Carja’s villages, cities, and fields shone with a vibrance that other games simply could not match. But Decima’s capabilities went beyond its visual flair. The machines came at Aloy with deadly efficiency, and the engine’s true value was there for all to see.

Every leap, frantic dodge, and counterattack came together in an experience that continues to enthrall gamers to this day, while gentle breezes and cramped spaces felt alive in a players’ hands. It was clear that Decima could bridge impressive visuals and stellar graphical performance, tying them together into a cohesive whole.

Things only got better in Forbidden West with the addition of a larger, more ambitious open world, dynamic lighting, improved weather and a terrain that was the perfect way to show off the PS5’s improved draw distance. Buttery smooth framerates on the game’s Performance Mode made the experience work well with an improved melee combat system while taking to the skies in the game’s later sections was a visual and graphical treat that no other experience available for Sony’s latest powerhouse could hope to match at the time, let alone imitate.

The same evolution of Decima’s capabilities has been showcased in Death Stranding and On the Beach. Sam’s adventures benefitted greatly from Decima’s ability to bring a layer of ethereal realism to a landscape devastated by the Death Stranding while giving Kojima the ability to weave his thematic explorations into the environments he created for the game.

Norman Reedus excellent acting chops, alongside those of a very talented cast, were icing on the cake for Decima’s most influential titles, as it brought every bit of nuance in their performances to life in ways that elevated the experience its players were privy to, allowing both Strand titles from Kojima to shine in ways that directly impacted the quality they offered to those who decided to dive into their deadly worlds.

On the Beach’s recent release is almost certainly the epitome of what Kojima and Guerilla have built over the years with Decima, bringing a level of cinematics that makes incredible use of skin shaders, fluid simulations, and lighting effects that make its take on Mexico and Australia come alive in the hands of its players.

A common undercurrent that ties these four great games together is the way in which Decima has been a factor in making their worlds feel like characters on their own, responding to a player’s actions in ways that other engines have perhaps come close to but not quite matched in their efforts to bring new levels of visual and graphical fidelity to the games they have powered.

But can Decima continue to surpass its rivals, or hold its own against them in a future where gaming experiences are shaping up to be even better than what’s currently on offer?

Standing Out From the Crowd

The answer to that question requires a nuanced look at how Decima’s biggest rivals have managed to fare in the recent past.

Pitting Guerilla’s creation against Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) brings an important distinction to life. The collaboration between Guerilla and Kojima is sure to play its part, allowing the studio to future proof its creation in preparation for the inevitable launch of the PS6. While many UE5 experiences do bring a lot to like, its performance inconsistencies are a sore spot in any comparisons with Decima’s ability to deliver each and every time it powers a game.

The RE Engine is another valid contender, powering some of the studio’s best work and culminating (for now) with Monster Hunter Wilds. While the experience it has managed to deliver does come close to Decima in terms of how it presents the many biomes it takes its players to, the Japanese studio’s transition from the PS4 to PS5 could have been better.

However, Guerilla might want to pay close attention to any releases RE Engine brings out in the next few years while it gears up to bring the third instalment of its Horizon franchise to players. The studio is sure to take all of the lessons it has learned from creating Death Stranding and its sequel and apply them to a new generation of games that will undoubtedly allow Decima to bring further refinements and abilities to the table.

While its rivals are certainly catching up, Decima currently holds the crown for a video game engine that seamlessly blends unique visual signatures with graphical and technical capabilities that allow talented developers to create experiences that garner both critical and commercial success.

Whether that trend continues in the coming years is a matter of patient observation, but Guerilla is sure to bring its A-game to the table and continue to enthrall its players with aplomb. And that’s not even considering whatever Kojima has up his sleeve for his next game.

It’s going to be an interesting time for Decima and the games it powers. But modern gaming’s most silent success is certainly up to the task.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

NCSoft has indeed cancelled the in-development title known internally as Project H, though contrary to speculation, it seems that game isn’t the Horizon MMO being made in collaboration with PlayStation and Guerrilla. That’s as per reporter Seo Jeong-geun, who wrote the original report for Korean outlet MTN from which this story emerged. Taking to Korean gaming forum Ruliweb, Jeong-geun that the Project H in question “has nothing to do with Horizon“.

Interestingly, job listings published by NCSoft indicate that the Horizon MMO is in development under the codename Project Skyline (via ResetEra). Though it was initially being worked on as Project H, it seems that codename was being held by an entirely different project that has now have been cancelled. That would mean NCSoft is still collaborating with Guerrilla and PlayStation on the Horizon title. The company signed a strategic partnership with Sony back in November of 2023.

Guerrilla is currently also working on a separate co-op Horizon project that is rumoured to be the studio’s next big release. Read more on that through here.

At its recent CES 2025 presentation, Sony announced that PlayStation Productions and Columbia Pictures have started working on a film based on Guerrilla’s acclaimed 2017 open-world action RPG Horizon Zero Dawn. Little is known about the project or who is attached to it, with Sony only confirming that it is in early development right now.

Horizon Zero Dawn will be the second collaborative project between PlayStation Productions and Columbia Pictures, who previously worked together on the Uncharted film.

Sony also recently announced that an anime based on Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, and a movie based on Helldivers, in addition to showcasing a new trailer for HBO’s upcoming second season of The Last of Us.

As for fixes, the chance of getting stuck outside levels has reduced. Animals can now eat the fish from the Fishing Pond, and interacting with different customization plots in Mother’s Heart now provides Studs as rewards. Apex Hunts have also received a balancing pass.

For co-op, player ring visibility has improved, and you’ll know who initiated a pause. As for Teersa, one of the unlockable playable characters, she’s received improvements to projectile defense and her hold attack.

Check out the full patch notes, complete with known issues, below. LEGO Horizon Adventures is available for PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Head here for our review – we gave it an eight out of ten.

LEGO Horizon Adventures – Patch 1.02

KNOWN ISSUES

We’ve heard our community’s feedback and are already digging into these pesky issues. They’re not quite fixed in this patch, but rest assured, our teams are on the case and giving them the attention they deserve. Thanks for sticking with us!

• The ‘Stay Frosty’, ‘Flaming Ninjas!’ and ‘Silent Storm’ Community Challenges do not progress by defeating element afflicted enemies with a non-elemental weapon.
• Changing environment colors increments the wrong Community Challenge.
• Some machines may spontaneously explode when entering the area (please keep your distance).
• Lighting may appear blown out on HDR Steamdeck. To resolve this either disable HDR, or increase the max luminance value to 4500 in the graphics settings.
• The game may crash on boot on specific 13th and 14th generation Intel CPUs. To resolve this a BIOS update may be required. More information is available here.

NEW FEATURES

• Added a Player Progression screen to track content / overall game progress.
• Options have been added to allow you to customize which features are highlighted when using the Focus. Highlight ALL THE THINGS.

FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS

Runs

• Various fixes to reduce the risk of the player getting stuck outside of the level.
• Performed a balancing pass on various Apex Hunts.
• Fixed the player having a chance of being eaten by (stuck inside) the Dragon Cart masterbuilding object when it has been built.

Mother’s Heart

• Added stud rewards when having interacted with various yard customization plots.
• The fish from the Fishing Pond can now be eaten by animals (sorry fish).

Characters & Co-op

• Improved the visibility of player rings when playing in co-op.
• Improved Teersa’s ability to defend herself against projectiles. This old gal’s still got it!
• Improved the responsiveness of Teersa’s hold attack ability. Seriously, don’t mess with Teersa…
• Fixed an issue where the guest player may be missing a pickup prompt on gadgets and weapons after dying and being revived.
• Fixed an issue where the Deathbringer may always target the host player and not the guest. No playing favorites!

UI/UX

• Added a note to indicate which player opened the Pause Menu.
• Various localization improvements.
• Fixed an issue where simultaneously pressing the Cross and OPTIONS buttons may cause the Pause
• Menu to become unresponsive. There’s no trophy for button mashing!
• Removed a ‘Continue’ button that does not function on various Brick screens.
• Improved the HUD Scale option to increase the size of the quest markers, damage numbers, danger warnings, and more!
• Added ‘+’ signs to upgrade stickers to better highlight stat increases.

Combat

• PC Only – Fixed an issue where the player can lose functionality by pausing and clicking off the game window when charging the Arrow Storm Bow. Stay focused Aloy!
• Ensured that Erend’s stacked Giant Hammer now deals increased damage to the Deathbringer. Don’t stop him now!
• Fixed an issue where machines may become stuck on geometry. Math is hard.

Other

• PC Only – Adjusted default graphics settings based on hardware.
• PC Only – Improved performance on Intel ARC series GPUs.
• Various bug fixes and stability improvements.
• Various audio fixes and improvements.
• Significantly improved stability of reflections and facial animations on Nintendo Switch.

As per SteamDB, LEGO Horizon Adventures has seen a peak of just 602 concurrent players on Steam today. For some context, that’s the lowest concurrent player count for any PlayStation-published game on Steam to date, below even Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which had a peak of 610 concurrent players upon its 2022 PC launch- and that was a two-year belated port, whereas Horizon is a completely new release. This is also the fourth-lowest concurrent users peak for any LEGO game on Steam to date (our of 24 listed titles).

LEGO Horizon Adventures is, of course, also available on Nintendo Switch and PS5, but if we’re judging things based on its Steam performance – a platform where the Horizon series has generally performed quite well – it seems to have endured a tough launch, to say the very least. Of course, with the weekend coming up, Sony will hope to see that number climbing a little higher, but you have to wonder how much higher at can climb given where it’s started.

Read our review of the game through here, where we awarded it a score of 8/10.

Developed by Studio Gobo and Guerrilla Games, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a reimagined version of Horizon Zero Dawn, with the original 2017 title’s story more compactly retold for a more lighthearted experience. From a gameplay perspective, it simplifies things heavily, adopting straightforward action-driven mechanics in linear levels- though you can, of course, still expect to be fighting a variety of different mechanical monsters in lush and overgrown post-apocalyptic environments. 

In our review of the game, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “LEGO Horizon Adventures successfully adapts and abridges Horizon Zero Dawn for a younger audience, delivering a fun, charming, and straightforward experience in a delightful post-apocalyptic world.” Read the full review through here.

LEGO Horizon Adventures is available on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The game doesn’t feature PS5 Pro enhancements. 

As previously announced by the developer, there are two modes: Performance and Fidelity. The former offers a locked 60 frames per second, while the latter forgoes the same for better lighting, shadows, and textures at 30 FPS. There’s no Pro Mode or even improved versions of the current modes.

Guerrilla Games hasn’t confirmed whether a PS5 Pro update is coming post-launch, but the title’s listing on the PlayStation Store doesn’t state “PS5 Pro Enhanced” like other supported games. Time will tell, so stay tuned for further updates.

LEGO Horizon Adventures launches on November 14th for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC. Check out our review, where we gave it an eight out of 10, praising the visuals and charming atmosphere while criticizing the repetitive gameplay and some technical issues.

On paper, LEGO Horizon Adventures certainly does make sense then- but is the actual game itself any good? Thankfully, it is. Developed jointly by Guerrilla and Studio Gobo, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a simplified, charming, and colourful take on the original Horizon game that saw Guerrilla Games’ stock shooting through the stratosphere. It successfully boils much of Zero Dawn down to its basics in its attempts to cast a wider net with its target audience, and in addition, also feels like a genuinely enjoyable LEGO game, even if that transition to a more lighthearted tone means it loses several elements that make the original game that this adaptation is based on so memorable.

"LEGO Horizon Adventures successfully boils much of Zero Dawn down to its basics in its attempts to cast a wider net with its target audience, and in addition, also feels like a genuinely enjoyable LEGO game, even if that transition to a more lighthearted tone means it loses several elements that make the original game that this adaptation is based on so memorable."

Such changes are made throughout the length of the experience, though this obviously won’t come as a huge surprise to anyone who’s grown familiar with LEGO games over the years. No, this doesn’t come from the TT Games side of the LEGO pipeline, but it still does share a lot of its DNA with those games, especially in how it changes its source material as part of its adaptation process. The story follows the same main beats as what Zero Dawn fans will remember, but it gets to those beats in its own way, and at a much more rapid pace. This obviously isn’t a story-focused game in the sense that Zero Dawn was, given its target audience, so that makes sense.

Of course, a lot of the changes are made due to the game’s attempts at keeping a much merrier tone. All of the events of Zero Dawn are viewed through a much more humorous and childlike lens, which means brevity and levity both rule the day, with the original game’s epic post-apocalyptic story being run through a sieve in order to be presented in a much more abridged and cheerful manner. It helps that the humour generally lands rather well, even if the game isn’t often laugh-out-loud funny by any stretch of the imagination. A combination of delightful characters, endearing animations, and consistently solid writing (for the most part) helps it retain its charms for most of its runtime. Oh, and now that Horizon is a LEGO game, Aloy’s chattiness doesn’t feel nearly as grating.

As someone who has extensively played and loves the Horizon games, however, what’s particularly interesting about LEGO Horizon Adventures is how it adapts the universe. In spite of its much more lighthearted take, it somehow manages to capture the essence of Horizon rather well nonetheless, whether that’s because of the beautiful and overgrown environments that you traverse, how true to the source material the machines feel in both their visual design and how they function in gameplay, or the fact that most of the original game’s voice cast has reprised its roles here (with the notable but obvious exception of Sylens, with actor Lance Reddick having sadly passed away last year).

"In spite of its much more lighthearted take, it somehow manages to capture the essence of Horizon rather well nonetheless, whether that’s because of the beautiful and overgrown environments that you traverse, how true to the source material the machines feel in both their visual design and how they function in gameplay, or the fact that most of the original game’s voice cast has reprised its roles here."

On the gameplay side of things, you can obviously expect a hugely different experience from Horizon Zero Dawn. For starters, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a linear, level-based game, while unlike the mainline series, it also isn’t an action RPG, instead adopting a light combat-driven action-adventure loop that those who’ve played LEGO games in the past will be very familiar with. Some core elements are retained, like using the Focus to highlight enemy weak points that you then target, some basic progression systems that resemble Zero Dawn’s leveling and customization, light stealth mechanics, an emphasis on elemental combat, and of course, the different kinds of machines that you fight, and the unique attributes, strengths, and weaknesses that they each have.

All of that is heavily streamlined and simplified, however. Playing from fixed isometric camera perspectives obviously means aiming and shooting works much differently, while you also no longer have any ammo limitations to worry about (at least with your default attacks). Instead, the focus now is on maintaining distance from enemies, carefully dodging incoming attacks, and finding pockets to dish out your own attacks. That actually ends up working out pretty well, thanks to the controlled chaos that the game creates with its combat encounters.

You’re frequently accosted by different enemy types, or at least by multiple enemies of the same type, and running around the compact battle arenas as you try to take them out always feels enjoyable. It’s worth noting that I played on the Adventurer difficulty, which, based on its description, sounds like your regularly balanced Normal difficulty, but is actually one above the default setting in the game. On this difficulty, I thought the combat struck a nice balance between being fairly straightforward and easy to grasp while still finding ways to push back and challenge the player to use all of the tools at their disposal.

And you do have a fair amount of tools at your disposal. In addition to your default attacks, the game also encourages using the environment to your advantage, from using explosive barrels to goading Broadheads to ram into walls and deal damage to themselves as they try to charge in your direction. Meanwhile, as mentioned, elemental combat is also quite important, whether that’s setting enemies on fire, electrocuting them, or freezing them, which you can do either through objects and elements in the environments, or with special weapons that you find from time to time. Additionally, there are also special gadgets to utilize that come with many different uses, from temporarily freezing enemies in your vicinity, to letting you double jump (while burning everything beneath your boots), and more.

"LEGO Horizon Adventures does a good job of crafting a compelling combat system, in spite of how much it simplifies things. "

On top of all of that, LEGO Horizon Adventures also lets you play as multiple different characters, each with their own play style. Aloy, for instance, is the archer that we all know her as, while Varl can chuck a spear through multiple enemies in a line, and Teersa can lob bombs. All in all, with its elemental mechanics, different weapons and gadgets, multiple playable characters, and of course, its roster of mechanical monstrosities to fight, LEGO Horizon Adventures does a good job of crafting a compelling combat system, in spite of how much it simplifies things.

Things can start feeling a little repetitive at times, however, because of the way the game is structured. As I mentioned earlier, this is a mission-based game, and in terms of the level design, there isn’t much to separate a large number of the missions from each other. Though there is sufficient biome diversity from chapter to chapter, when it comes to the actual design, missions quickly start blending together, an issue that is exacerbated by your main objectives also often being repetitive (if not downright mundane). This is also a heavily-combat focused game, for the most part. Though there is some light exploration to be done during missions, other than small branching paths and the odd hidden area here and there, you don’t get much of a break from the combat.

Between missions, thankfully, you do get some downtime. LEGO Horizon Adventures adopts a hub-based structure that sees players returning to the village of Mother’s Heart after every mission. The village expands and grows over the course of the experience, and while a lot of that unlocks in accordance with story progression, you also get to put your own stamp on the village. From building buildings and putting up various decorations to cosmetically customization existing structures, you get to make Mother’s Heart your own in many ways. The customization options provided also deserve praise in how varied they are and how much personality they inject into the experience (which is true of the many costumes available in the game as well).

"This is a game targeted at a younger demographic, and one that is working with the Switch as its minimum target spec, which means it was never going to be a visual powerhouse. It looks sharp and vibrant nonetheless, with performance issues having been next to nonexistent in my time with it."

From a technical perspective, meanwhile, LEGO Horizon Adventures is an impressive game. No, it’s not the sort of graphical masterpiece that both mainline Horizon games have been so far- but then again, it’s not meant to be. This is a game targeted at a younger demographic, and one that is working with the Switch as its minimum target spec, which means it was never going to be a visual powerhouse. It looks sharp and vibrant nonetheless, with performance issues having been next to nonexistent in my time with it (I played it on a PS5). I have, however, run into a couple of bugs that blocked progress and forced me to restart entire missions, which was definitely an annoyance, and one that will hopefully fixed with post-launch patches.

In boiling the world of Horizon down to its basics as LEGO Horizon Adventures has done, Studio Gobo and Guerrilla have managed to strike the perfect balance between losing enough of the series’ excess to potentially appeal even to those who weren’t enamoured by the games already, and keeping enough of its identity alive that long time Horizon fans are going to find this to be a worthwhile experience. As both, a new LEGO title and a new Horizon game, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a success (even if it is definitely more of one as the former than as the latter), and hopefully the beginning of a collaboration that will continue for years to come.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Interestingly enough, the entirety of LEGO Horizon Adventures was made of virtual LEGO bricks, which means every single character, machine, building, or shrub you see in the game is comprised of discrete bricks. The game’s LEGOfication also obviously comes with a healthy dose of the sort of humour and charm you’d expect. 

The video also goes into detail on the game’s combat, co-op gameplay, and customization mechanics. As you’d expect, the latter is a particular area of focus, with customization options being available aplenty not only for Aloy herself, but also a hub village that players will be building up, expanding, and decorating. Check out the video below for more details. 

LEGO Horizon Adventures launches on November 14 for PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.