Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
Promotional art of Burning Shores, depicting Aloy and supporting character Seyka as they fly towards an awakened Metal Devil
Developer	Guerrilla Games
Publisher	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Composer(s)	Joris De Man
Series	Horizon
Engine	Decima
Platforms	PlayStation 5
Release	PlayStation 5: April 19, 2023 PC: Early 2024
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a 2023 expansion pack to the 2022 action role-playing video game Horizon Forbidden West, released on the PlayStation 5.

Set after the events of the base game, Burning Shores sees protagonist Aloy exploring the eponymous location and fighting against an awakened Horus unit, known in-universe as a Metal Devil. In her quest, she is aided by Seyka (Kylie Liya Page), a warrior of the Quen tribe. The expansion pack adds a new map for Aloy to explore, as well as new Machines, weapons and side quests. Several mechanics are introduced to Forbidden West, including new takedown moves against Machines and expanded usage of aerial transportation.

Burning Shores was announced at The Game Awards 2022, following speulcations and rumors surrounding an expansion pack to Forbidden West akin to The Frozen Wilds expansion of 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn. Unlike the base game which was a cross-generation release, Guerrilla chose to make Burning Shores PlayStation 5-exclusive to fully realize visuals and game mechanics. It is the last Horizon installment to feature actor Lance Reddick in his role as Sylens due to his death a month before the expansion's release.

The expansion pack received generally favorable reviews, with praise towards it graphical upgrades over the base game, additional Machines, the dynamics between Aloy and Seyka, and build-up towards a third Horizon title.

Gameplay

Similar to the base game, Burning Shores is an action role-playing video game set in an open world environment and presented from a third-person perspective. Player controls protagonist Aloy as she explores threats airing within the eponymous Burning Shores, a volcanic region built on the ruins of Los Angeles.

Burning Shores raises Aloy's level cap to 60. It contains a main quest consisting of five missions, three side quests and a new Cauldron. The expansion introduces four new Machine types including the Waterwing. The Waterwing is a variation of the Sunwing introduced in Horizon Forbidden West, and can be used as an aerial mount. The Waterwing can also be used as an underwater mount for faster traversal.

Development

The Burning Shores expansion pack for Horizon Forbidden West was developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. Additional support was provided by fellow PlayStation Studios entities Bend Studio and London Studio, who previously worked on Horizon Forbidden West in similar capacity.

Release

Burning Shores was announced as an expansion pack for Horizon Forbidden West at The Game Awards ceremony, in December 2022. It was released on April 19, 2023.

Reception

• Metacritic: 82/100
• GameSpot: 7/10
• IGN: 8/10
• PlayStation Universe: 7.5/10
• Push Square: 8/10
• VGC: 4/5

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores received generally positive reviews. On review aggregator website Metacritic it holds a score of 82/100, based on 43 reviews.

IGN's Simon Cardy praised Burning Shores as a "worthy addition" to the Horizon series, and Video Games Chronicles' Jordan Middler considered the expansion pack to be "an essential chapter" for future installments. Push Square's Stephen Tailby considered Burning Shores to be "well worth the visit" despite acknowledging it as "largely more of the same", while PlayStation Universe's John-Paul Jones deemed the expansion an "effective bridge" to Horizon III, but criticized it as "routinely unambitious".

The visuals received critical acclaim. IGN's Cardy felt that Burning Shores "reinforced" the status of Horizon Forbidden West as one of the best-looking titles of the ninth console generation, particularly praising the depiction of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles and local landmarks such as the Capitol Records Building. VGC's Middler echoed Cardy's thoughts, finding the depiction of Los Angeles "stunning", though he lamented its limited usage within the main quest, and believed that aside from the ending sequences, the visual upgrades did not necessarily require to be PlayStation 5-only. Middler also praised the facial animations, citing them as a core aspect of the ending's strengths.

IGN's Cardy was largely favorable towards the narrative and its character depiction, though he felt the ending fell to the series' "sci-fi trappings". VGC's Middler considered Burning Shores to be the best story told within the franchise, enjoying its emotional moments and satirical edge regarding tech magnates.

The character of Seyka received particular praise, as was Kylie Liya Page's performance as the character; both reviewers approved of her dynamic with Aloy and characterization, with Cardy applauding Page's ability to portray Seyka as "an engaging and believable three-dimensional character" despite the expansion's shorter running time. Middler also praised main villain Walter Londra and Sam Witwer's portrayal, and found him more memorable to villains from the base game. Cardy praised Londra's charisma, but lamented his little amount of screentime, a sentiment shared by Middler.

VGC's Middler declared the final combat scenario to be "one of the most spectacular boss sequences yet made", adding that it was "incredible" and questioned whether it was the one aspect required for Burning Shores to be PS5-only. In contrast, IGN's Cardy found the final boss encounter to be "clunky", further calling it "stuttering sin" that failed the franchise's usually smoother combat design. He also found a boss encounter that occurred during the main quest "a particular annoyance".

Following the expansion release, Burning Shores was review bombed on Metacritic, with outlets attributing the negative reviews to the depiction of a same-sex kiss between Aloy and Seyka. In response, Metacritic issued a statement that the site will be "evolving [its] processes and tools to introduce stricter moderation in the coming months".