Following the release of Horizon Forbidden West last week, it’s fair to say that most of the discourse surrounding Guerrilla Games’ action-RPG has been on the positive side of things. Plenty of fans and critics have praised the studio for creating a sequel that pushes the series to new heights. Factors like a beautiful fully-realized world, improved missions, and engaging characters are just a few of the topics that have garnered praise. As a result, the game’s PS5 version is currently sitting at an impressive score of 88 on Metacritic. However, some corners of the internet are less enthusiastic about the accolades that have been pouring in for the game.
Some Metacritic users have been so compelled by their views that they’ve taken to review bombing Horizon Forbidden West. In recent times, this kind of phenomenon has become an increasingly common occurrence following the release of anticipated or critically acclaimed games. Just a few weeks ago, for example, Dying Light 2 was targeted by people attempting to lower its user score as well. While plenty of players have justified criticism regarding Aloy’s follow-up adventure, as no game is truly perfect, some of the negative submissions and the explanations for them are downright bizarre to say the least.
Aloy’s Physical Appearance
When Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn launched back in 2017, its remarkable protagonist was one of the topics that received the most praise from fans and critics alike. Aloy was a much welcome breath of fresh air at the time, to the point that it’s easy to see why the Nora Hunter has since become one of the most prominent characters within the PlayStation ecosystem. Her no nonsense approach to hostile characters, focus on humanity, and the perseverance she displayed at seemingly insurmountable odds were just a few factors that made it remarkably easy to root for Aloy.
Since Horizon Forbidden West’s debut trailer was revealed alongside the PS5 in 2020 though, some corners of the internet have taken an odd stance against the protagonist's physical appearance. A lot of the subsequent negative Metacritic user reviews that have been posted to the site following the game’s release have seized on the opportunity to publicly voice these views. Some users on the site have bizarrely claimed that Aloy is too ‘masculine', while others have stated their belief that she’s been depicted as a ‘bearded-woman’ in Guerrilla Games’ sequel.
While Aloy does appear to have some light facial hair when player’s zoom into her face in the game's Photo Mode, this and the character’s overall appearance aren’t topics that should be judged or criticized. For starters, the vast majority of humans, regardless of gender or grooming preference, have some degree of facial hair. Beyond the inescapable reality of peach-fuzz, Aloy’s appearance in Horizon Forbidden West isn’t dramatically altered from her original depiction in Zero Dawn, either. If anything, the PS5 has allowed Guerrilla Games to create a character model that more closely resembles Dutch actress Hannah Hoekstra, who Aloy is based on.
The Last of Us Backlash
To fully understand why Horizon Forbidden West has been review bombed on Metacritic, a brief examination of the past is needed. Following the success of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us 2, a lot of Sony’s releases have actually experienced the same phenomenon due to the reception that game received. Even though a lot of the discourse surrounding the game was positive, to the point that it currently holds the most game of the year awards in history, some small yet vocal parts of the internet took offense to it. Ridiculous complaints regarding the prevalence of transgender characters, Abby’s physical appearance, and Ellie’s sexuality were just some of the views that were voiced following the game’s release.
Fueled by the death of a prominent character within The Last of Us 2’s cast, these voices still haven’t disappeared in the two years since the game’s PS4 debut. While subsequent review bombing campaigns have been far less coordinated, some of the games that Sony has published have been caught up in the fallout due to their in-house proximity. Topics like the perception of Aloy’s femininity are tangled up in this, and are almost indistinguishable from the complaints that targeted Abby. The fact that some of Sony’s studios have made a welcome effort to represent people and cultures that are often overlooked by entertainment media has prompted some corners of the internet to lash out against what they deem ‘woke ideology.’
In the aftermath of The Last of Us 2’s review bombing scandal, Metacritic pledged to stamp out similar outbreaks. It’s likely for this reason that Horizon Forbidden West’s user score has recovered following the initial wave of negative reviews. At the time of writing the PS5 version of the game is currently sitting at an 8.1 user score, which is considerably higher than the sub 4.0 score that Guerrilla Games’ title once sank to. With more positive reviews having flooded in to counteract the troll-opinions, it’s perhaps telling that Horizon Forbidden West’s public user score is now almost in-line with its critic-backed rating.
Forbidden West’s Technical Capabilities
In the wake of Horizon Forbidden West’s release, players have been praising Guerrilla Games for the technical feats that the studio has been able to pull off within its latest adventure. The PS5 version in particular has been championed for its visually impressive world, graphical fidelity, and the new animations that the studio has created explicitly for the experience. Praise for the game has been so widespread, to the point that respected artists like the horror-filmmaker John Carpenter have voiced their admiration for it. Not everyone who’s come across the game is happy from a technical perspective, though.
Some Metacritic users have pointed out that Guerrilla Games has re-used some animations that it created for Horizon Zero Dawn. Aloy’s rappel animation for example, is virtually unchanged in Forbidden West. Part of the Metacritic review bombing that the game has experienced, is fulled by this and the belief amongst some that the studio has been lazy. However, there are plenty of reasons why this is far from the case. Beyond the fact that Aloy is still the same character and the narrative justifications that come hand in hand with that, re-using animations is a common practice for studios across the entire industry. Considering the amount of effort that Guerrilla Games has clearly made to make other areas of its expansive open-world feel alive, it makes a lot of sense why the studio has saved some creative energy by keeping animations that didn't need to change.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.