Burning Shores’ focus makes it the best part of Horizon Forbidden West. The expansion takes place in a flooded and overgrown Los Angeles, which is now known as the Burning Shores thanks to the lava also flowing through the area. Tall buildings are partially submerged in water, and the Hollywood sign looms in the distance with a giant machine tangled around it. It all looks stunning — and that’s likely in part because Burning Shores is only available on PS5, meaning it’s been optimized for Sony’s more powerful console hardware.
The bulk of Burning Shores, which took me about seven hours to finish, is spent helping Seyka try to rescue her sister from a cult-y spaceship magnate / celebrity. (He’s Elon Musk-adjacent but more of a mustache-twirling supervillain.) Guerrilla teamed Aloy up with a buddy during much of Forbidden West, but Seyka quickly became my favorite of her companions. Seyka is just as capable in battle as Aloy is, which means she’s a great person to have in a fight. And over time, Seyka actually gets Aloy, who is usually quite stoic under the weight of her world-saving responsibilities, to show some vulnerability.
I also like that Burning Shores’ story is, for the most part, a more grounded quest about helping reunite loved ones. When the Horizon series focuses too much on sci-fi jargon and worldbuilding, my eyes tend to glaze over. The expansion occasionally strays into that territory, but I didn’t find it too overwhelming.
Burning Shores looks gorgeous. The expansion takes place in a flooded and overgrown Los Angeles, which is now known as the Burning Shores thanks to the lava also flowing through the area. Tall buildings are partially submerged in water, and the Hollywood sign looms in the distance with a giant machine tangled around it.
Burning Shores shows what’s possible when developer Guerrilla Games builds a condensed and focused experience, and it’s easily the best part of Horizon Forbidden West.
In conclusion, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is an excellent expansion that offers players an immersive experience with stunning visuals and an engaging storyline. The game takes place in a flooded and overgrown Los Angeles that has been transformed into the Burning Shores due to lava flows through the area. Players will spend most of their time helping Seyka rescue her sister from a cult-y spaceship magnate/celebrity while battling enemies along the way. The game’s focus on helping reunite loved ones makes for a more grounded quest that’s easy to follow without getting bogged down by sci-fi jargon or worldbuilding.
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