There's plenty of content to experience in Horizon Forbidden West, including story missions, side quests, errands, and other activities that serve to enhance gameplay. Although Horizon Forbidden West has somewhat of a slow start, once the world is completely open, it can be hard to determine where to go or what to do. Completing a good balance of story missions and side activities will give players the best experience with Horizon Forbidden West.

Aloy is a young huntress of the Nora Tribe and the returning protagonist from Horizon Zero Dawn. In Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy must traverse the dangerous, unknown territories of the Forbidden West as she searches for the source of a plague that's killing plants, animals, and humans across the planet. As Aloy attempts to restore balance to Earth and stop the Red Blight from continuing to spread, she finds herself at odds with a variety of hostile forces.

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There are 17 story missions to complete in Horizon Forbidden West. With plenty of secondary content, players can expect to explore the Forbidden West for hours at a time. While traversing the large open world in Horizon Forbidden West, players will come across missions, side quests, collectibles, and a large number of enemies to fight. Getting 100% completion can be difficult and time-consuming, but there are a lot of side activities that offer valuable rewards.

Horizon Forbidden West: Basics

How to Solve The Daunt Relic Ruin in Horizon Forbidden West

Understanding the basic mechanics is essential for successfully completing Horizon Forbidden West. There are a few features that may be unclear at first, like how to apply face paint to Aloy, and it may take some time for players to unlock these options. It can also be unclear what the best skills to unlock are or how to get more mounts. A few of the features available in Horizon Forbidden West don't come until later in the game, like having the ability to use the Sunwing, a flying mount that makes getting around the Forbidden West much easier. While some mechanics are story locked, understanding how to do perform these functions and when they're available will give players a better experience in Horizon Forbidden West.

Horizon Forbidden West: Special Gear

How To Unlock The Diving Mask in Horizon Forbidden West

Aloy has five Special Gear items to unlock and craft in Horizon Forbidden West, and they're all story locked. A few of these items are obtained in the opening missions of the game, but for players to collect all of the Special Gear, they will need to complete most of the story. The last Special Gear item, the Vine Cutter, will be unlocked during the "Seeds of the Past" mission. Special Gear items are needed to complete many of the side quests and gather various collectibles throughout Horizon Forbidden West. While completing side activities, players will likely come across a blocked path that needs a Special Gear item to let Aloy progress, so beating the story before exploring has its advantages.

Horizon Forbidden West: Bosses & Enemies

Horizon Forbidden West Boss Fight Gameplay

There are a variety of new and returning machines in Horizon Forbidden West, including a few that need to be defeated to complete main story missions or side quests. Learning the weak points of various machines and the best strategies for killing them quickly will help players progress in the story or complete side activities like the Arena. Machines can also be overridden to fight for Aloy or be used as mounts, but throughout most of Horizon Forbidden West, they will need to be defeated. Every machine has weak points to exploit and weaknesses to certain status effects or elements, so understanding them will make traversing the Forbidden West much easier. Along with machines, there are a few human enemies that Aloy needs to fight throughout the story, and some of these boss fights can be difficult.

Horizon Forbidden West: Collectibles

Horizon Forbidden West Hardest Find Vista Points Isle Spires Solution

Players can find many unique collectibles in Horizon Forbidden West, some of which are attached to side quests or errand quests. Some collections are harder to complete than others, like finding the solution to every Vista Point or finding all of the Ornaments in the Relic Ruins across the Forbidden West. The rewards are generally worthwhile for completing collections in Horizon Forbidden West, even with early sets like the Signal Lenses in The Daunt.  Some collectibles also unlock special environmental effects that can be applied to things like the Las Vegas lights in Horizon Forbidden West. Completing collections can unlock legendary gear or count as progress toward various trophies.

Horizon Forbidden West: Cauldrons

Horizon Forbidden West All Cauldron Locations & What They Unlock MU

Cauldrons are essentially dungeons in Horizon Forbidden West, and completing them will unlock new machine overrides. Only two of the Cauldrons are part of story quests, and the rest are optional, but the rewards make them worth completing. Along with machine overrides, completing Cauldrons is also how Aloy gains new mounts to use throughout the game. Some machine overrides are ready to use as soon as a Cauldron is completed, but others will only be partial overrides. The partial machine overrides can be taken back to the Base to be fully crafted. Cauldrons are an important part of Horizon Forbidden West, and completing all of them will earn players a trophy.

Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck Overrides

Horizon Forbidden West How To override The Tallneck in the Stillsands.

For those looking to clear the fog from their map, Tallnecks are essential in Horizon Forbidden West. These machines can be overridden to not only clear the map but mark nearby points of interest as well. Some of the Tallnecks need to be overridden during the main story in Horizon Forbidden West. Overriding all six of the Tallnecks in the game will help players find various side activities, and they're required for a trophy. Some Tallnecks will require story-locked equipment, like the Diving Mask, but most of them can be overridden as soon as Aloy reaches the territory they're located in.

Horizon Forbidden West: Side Activities

Horizon Forbidden West Aloy Riding On Charger Mount

There are some optional activities that players can complete in Horizon Forbidden West that unlock legendary gear or earn skill points for Aloy. These activities aren't necessarily tied to quests or count toward finishing a collection, but they're worth completing to unlock the best available gear in the game. For example, the Hunting Grounds Trials each have three tiers of rewards, and completing every trial with Full Stripes will also earn players a legendary weapon. While progressing through the story, players will likely come across many of the available side activities, but saving some for when the story is finished will help players avoid coming across blocked off areas that can't be cleared yet.

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Horizon Forbidden West is available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.