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Horizon FW will not get to 4 million in 3 days. Simply not enough PS5s available for the amount of people that will want to play it. The PS5 version will be the dominate version in the long run.

 

[ChiefDada]

Sticking to it.

Breaking TLOU2 record; 5 million in 3 days, influenced heavily by 92+ Metacritic score.

#Believe

 

[elcapitano]

Sticking to it.

Breaking TLOU2 record; 5 million in 3 days, influenced heavily by 92+ Metacritic score.

#Believe

You think a metascore drives significant numbers with the standard gamer?

It certainly does not.

Early numbers is just about hype/anticipation and brand awareness.

It won't do that many in my opinion but on the off chance it does it won't be because of any metascore

 

[ChiefDada]

You think a metascore drives significant numbers with the standard gamer?

Sure I do. I know many people who have been convinced to purchase or pass on movies, games, etc. based off of critic reviews, casual gamers especially.

It won't do that many in my opinion but I'm the off chance it does it won't be because of any metascore

Lol, so I'm wrong regardless of outcome, got it.

 

[elcapitano]

Sure I do. I know many people who have been convinced to purchase or pass on movies, games, etc. based off of critic reviews, casual gamers especially.



Lol, so I'm wrong regardless of outcome, got it.

In my opinion yes. In others maybe not.

I just don't see any evidence to suggest metascore has such an influence on sales.

Critical acclaim and word of mouth will help it long term. I just very much doubt that even a 99 on metacritic would see it sell 4 million in 3 days.

Not because it wouldn't deserve to but because games sell based on name and Horizon just doesn't have the same pull as the others

 

[ChiefDada]

In my opinion yes. In others maybe not.

I just don't see any evidence to suggest metascore has such an influence on sales.

Fair enough. Just fun predictions at the end of the day.

 

[Pedro Motta]

Still not convinced GG can make a fun game. They always look amazing, but the gameplay falls flat.

And this ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between an opinion and a shit take.

 

[Markio128]

Reviews tomorrow? Should make Monday a bit more palatable.

 

[mejin]

More 5 Days. Long week ahead.

 

[ckaneo]

Sticking to it.

Breaking TLOU2 record; 5 million in 3 days, influenced heavily by 92+ Metacritic score.

#Believe

So the issue here is that even though there is a ps4 version, people are waiting to buy games for the PS5. If you check Miles Morales the PS5 sales vastly outpace the PS4 version and the game jumps up whenever the PS5 is in stock.

I think the same thing will happen here. Despite there being a PS4 version people will wait to buy it

 

[Freeman76]

I thought the first one was boring as fuck, which took me by surprise as it looked amazing from previews. One of the biggest dissappointments in years for me. It was just so generic and monotonous I couldnt bring myself to complete it. This one looks great again, and the stuff in that leaked review reminded me of the movie Avatar, but I expect this to look great with no real gameplay improvements and therefore another same old same old open world experience. I really hope im wrong though. I expect MC to be at least 85 as I seem to be a real minority with my view on it.

 

[Closer]

I think it's gonna be 93-95. Better than the first one.

 

[Smoke6]

I thought the first one was boring as fuck, which took me by surprise as it looked amazing from previews. One of the biggest dissappointments in years for me. It was just so generic and monotonous I couldnt bring myself to complete it. This one looks great again, and the stuff in that leaked review reminded me of the movie Avatar, but I expect this to look great with no real gameplay improvements and therefore another same old same old open world experience. I really hope im wrong though. I expect MC to be at least 85 as I seem to be a real minority with my view on it.

I have to ask, what does your gaming library consist of?

 

[Smoke6]

I want to say 95-98 score but these days people tend to make up shit to bring down a score of an otherwise great game just because it’s not on there favorite platform or whatnot. I’ll go 93.

 

[Sosokrates]

I want to say 95-98 score but these days people tend to make up shit to bring down a score of an otherwise great game just because it’s not on there favorite platform or whatnot. I’ll go 93.

Well that certainly wasn't the case with zero dawn, its meta score seemed high considering its flaws.

 

[ChiefDada]

So the issue here is that even though there is a ps4 version, people are waiting to buy games for the PS5. If you check Miles Morales the PS5 sales vastly outpace the PS4 version and the game jumps up whenever the PS5 is in stock.

I think the same thing will happen here. Despite there being a PS4 version people will wait to buy it

Don't get me wrong, I think what you're saying is completely logical and as you mentioned with Spiderman MM history supports this, but I also think there is a chance that many of those people who would rather wait until they are able to pick up PS5 to play HFW, will succumb to the hype driven by critical reviews and social media driven hype that will occur during the week. Even though HFW PS4 won't look as good as HFW on PS5, it will arguably become the best looking game on PS4, and that will be enough for PS4 players to pull the trigger.

Finally, HFW review embargo is ~1 week from release, similar to GoW 2018 and TLOU2. I think that helped them achieve those 3 day sales records and think the same can happen with HFW.

 

[ANDS]

I want to say 95-98 score but these days people tend to make up shit to bring down a score of an otherwise great game just because it’s not on there favorite platform or whatnot. I’ll go 93.

No way this scores in that range. It would need like perfect scores nearly across the board and do something that no SONY first party has done since GOW (and even that was "only" a 94 Opencritic).

 

[Freeman76]

I have to ask, what does your gaming library consist of?

Too many open world games

 

[BlvckFox]

92

 

[SlimySnake]

I thought the first one was boring as fuck, which took me by surprise as it looked amazing from previews. One of the biggest dissappointments in years for me. It was just so generic and monotonous I couldnt bring myself to complete it. This one looks great again, and the stuff in that leaked review reminded me of the movie Avatar, but I expect this to look great with no real gameplay improvements and therefore another same old same old open world experience. I really hope im wrong though. I expect MC to be at least 85 as I seem to be a real minority with my view on it.

I dont know whats so generic about the only game where you fight robot dinosaurs with bows and arrows.

I thought Horizon was anything but generic or especially boring. Too many open world games have you walk from mission to mission traversing large empty areas with nothing to do. Horizon filled its open world with deadly enemies at every turn. It was like dark souls in that sense. Every other open world has enemies isolated to outposts. Here, the world is your enemy.

I recently played it from start to finish on a new save and every second traversing the world was tense and challenging. I just dont get that from 99% of the other open world games.

 

[MikeM]

90. And Day 1 for me regardless.

 

[balls of snow]

Yeah replaying zero dawn as i await patiently for my copy, on hard you really gonna get your ass kicked if you dont exploit the dinos weakness. Gameplay holds up really well. If they can improve the subpar sidequests and have a more interesting world to explore, we have a winner.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

I change my mind. I want HFW scores better than Elden Ring just to see people upset lol.

 

[rofif]

Man... I bet there will be 30fps graphics mode and 60fps shit mode... and again devs make me choose between bad and bad.
With this game I might go with 30fps mode. It looks too good

 

[Magic Carpet]

Reviews should start hitting Monday. Game hits Friday. waiting for the dust to settle and a final consensus available.
I'm thinking first week of March the gaming community will have a firm grasp on if this game is worth getting or not.

Is the best cheapest way to get the game buy the ps4 version and upgrade to the ps5 for free?

 

[Rien]

85-89 i think

 

[retsof624]

Can't wait for one review to give it a 6 and everyone focuses on that one lower score for the whole day

 

[El Pistolero]

85-89 i think

Most probably. Better than the first one, but still perfectible.

 

[Swift_Star]

I think is very difficult to go over 90 these days in the open world genre. We all end tired and bored of the repetition associated with open world games, even reviewers that don't finish the games.

I wish it will be a 95 game, but I'm afraid it will be closer to Horizon 1 or Ghost of Tsushima.

Nah this will score at least 90.

 

[Swift_Star]

Hmm, let's see :
-Cinematic Sony exclusive
-Emotional storytelling
-Ubisoft open world
-Ubisoft mechanics like AssCreed magnetic climbing
-Pretty gwafics with no sort of identity, just realistic
-Ugly and strong woman protagonist that lives in racially diverse world with gay marriage
-Journalist difficulty for accessibility

This one is a 95+ for sure.

“No sort of identity.”
Where did Aloy hurt you?

 

[Swift_Star]

Your list is BS heavy but the bolded takes the cake. Imagine Horizon not having artistic identity. What substance are you on?

I bet Aloy shot an arrow on their knee.

 

[Swift_Star]

yeah, In Tsushima there were essentially 4 enemy types (shamans later), which is why you have 4 stances to counter them. Then you have your random wildlife which is pretty one note.

In Forbidden West, having over 40 machines alone, already adds almost unlimited possibilities for combat encounters, especially when you mix and match them with environments and humans who also seems to have about maybe 5 or so types.


The combat in Tsushima was good but it needs that 2nd game to really come alive for me. it's almost the same problem HZD had in other areas. Tsushima had good human combat, but it lacked variety, HZD had a lot of variety and good machine combat but the human combat sucked.

Tsushima I stayed for the story, game was boring AF. Beautifully told story but really boring. It was truly AC in Japan.

 

[rofif]

Hmm, let's see :
-Cinematic Sony exclusive
-Emotional storytelling
-Ubisoft open world
-Ubisoft mechanics like AssCreed magnetic climbing
-Pretty gwafics with no sort of identity, just realistic
-Ugly and strong woman protagonist that lives in racially diverse world with gay marriage
-Journalist difficulty for accessibility

This one is a 95+ for sure.

ugly ?! She is cute af


(yes, she is cute in sequel clothed too)

 

[Martinski43]

Is it 12 am pst Monday the embargo is? Imma little confused if it’s Monday or Tuesday.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Well that certainly wasn't the case with zero dawn, its meta score seemed high considering its flaws.

What serious flaws?

It's basically the best playing combat in an open world game. It has a very intriguing story, fantastic visuals, and controls. It was very deserving of its scores, probably a bit underrated for the time.

It's not perfect, but it's not like it was significantly behind other similar games because in many ways it was above and beyond them like Assassin's Creed, etc.

 

[Thief1987]

Is it 12 am pst Monday the embargo is? Imma little confused if it’s Monday or Tuesday.

Here is the countdown.

Horizon Forbidden West Reviews

Horizon Forbidden West is rated 'Mighty' after being reviewed by 191 critics, with an overall average score of 88. It's ranked in the top 2% of games and recommended by 96% of critics.

opencritic.com

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Finished the game today. Game is fkin nuts, way better than HZD. Close combat is still a bit awkward and there are some technical issues with texture popping, but overall that's the best PS5 game so far. Dunno if other revierws will share my sentiment, but 90-94 is very possible IMO.

Around 35 hours, but I've skiped ton of things to finish the review before the embargo. Should be easily around 60-70 if you want to get really into side stories and other activities.
As for "how the hell" - Sony sent out review codes two weeks ago, I'm working for the press.

 

[Sosokrates]

What serious flaws?

It's basically the best playing combat in an open world game. It has a very intriguing story, fantastic visuals, and controls. It was very deserving of its scores, probably a bit underrated for the time.

It's not perfect, but it's not like it was significantly behind other similar games because in many ways it was above and beyond them like Assassin's Creed, etc.

The fact there majority of the quests boil down to "go here and kill these robodinos" after about 5hrs of killing the dinos im just doing the quests purley to progress the story.
Zero dawn is not the only game guilty of this.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I hope it’s an uncharted 2 step up, interested to see where the so called journos land on it. They will be hungry to make as much cuntent as possible i Am sure.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

The fact there majority of the quests boil down to "go here and kill these robodinos" after about 5hrs of killing the dinos im just doing the quests purley to progress the story.
Zero dawn is not the only game guilty of this.

So...this is different from most open world games...how?

Sure, this is A Flaw, but the combat is so good that it's not a big deal that detracts from the game in a serious way. It's the main focal point of the game.

That being said the diversity of gameplay experiences could have been better...that's what the sequel is for

 

[ManaByte]

ugly ?! She is cute af


(yes, she is cute in sequel clothed too)

 

[Markio128]

So...this is different from most open world games...how?

Sure, this is A Flaw, but the combat is so good that it's not a big deal that detracts from the game in a serious way. It's the main focal point of the game.

That being said the diversity of gameplay experiences could have been better...that's what the sequel is for

Agreed, but as a new IP, I guess the focus on the combat and machines made sense. From the sounds of it, the devs have listened to criticism and acted on it for the sequel. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if they pulled it off!

 

[Sosokrates]

So...this is different from most open world games...how?

Sure, this is A Flaw, but the combat is so good that it's not a big deal that detracts from the game in a serious way. It's the main focal point of the game.

That being said the diversity of gameplay experiences could have been better...that's what the sequel is for

Yes, the combat is excellent and I can see people getting really into it. I have had fun with it, I just get burnt out really quickly, I'll play a few hrs of it and im like "nothing good is happening, there is a lot of filler and drone like dialogue".

Its why Ive never played an assassins creed game for more then a few hrs.

RDR2 is how open world games should be done, the variety in missions in that game is amazing.

Dont get me wrong, I can recognise the quality if horizons visuals, leveling up, menu design, movement and combat, but for me its more like a 80-85.
I would give it an 83.

But hey, different floats for different boats.

 

[Fredrik]

ugly ?! She is cute af


(yes, she is cute in sequel clothed too)

Darn it I knew I shouldn’t have jumped back to the PS version! PC gaming always win

 

[Elog]

Its why Ive never played an assassins creed game for more then a few hrs.

The combat in HZD is amazing though compared to the AC games in addition to a stellar main quest line/ story. The side quests are complete fillers - agree with that but roughly 1/3 into HZD the main story goes into overdrive - so well written. Great quests as well.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Yes, the combat is excellent and I can see people getting really into it. I have had fun with it, I just get burnt out really quickly, I'll play a few hrs of it and im like "nothing good is happening, there is a lot of filler and drone like dialogue".

Its why Ive never played an assassins creed game for more then a few hrs.

RDR2 is how open world games should be done, the variety in missions in that game is amazing.

Dont get me wrong, I can recognise the quality if horizons visuals, leveling up, menu design, movement and combat, but for me its more like a 80-85.
I would give it an 83.

But hey, different floats for different boats.

RDR is rated much higher though, and while the open world was amazing the combat and controls ruined the experience for me

I could never give that game a 10

 

[Danjin44]

For me it doesn't matter what reviews it gets, I learned my lesson from the first game, it just not made for me.

 

[Hendrick's]

And this ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between an opinion and a shit take.

Which of their games had good gameplay? KZ was always subpar and HZD was an open world snooze.

 

[Sosokrates]

Agreed, but as a new IP, I guess the focus on the combat and machines made sense. From the sounds of it, the devs have listened to criticism and acted on it for the sequel. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if they pulled it off!

The first thing I will be doing is watching some quest gameplay from the first 5hrs.
The start of zero dawn was actually some of my favourite, i like the exploring of little Aloy and the proving race was fun too. Its just the "attack these 3 outposts and kill dinos" or "clear out these Ryders" or save Olin by killing more dinos and humans" that get tedious. I hope it has keeps these kind of basic missions to a minimum. The missions attacking or defending big bases were fun and epic.

 

[Sosokrates]

RDR is rated much higher though, and while the open world was amazing the combat and controls ruined the experience for me

I could never give that game a 10

I guess thats the age old debate on gamers who value gameplay or quest variety and story more.