An expanded experience

Videogame Review
Horizon Forbidden West
Sony PlayStation 5

Elden Ring
PS5

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction
PS5

THE sense of freedom that Horizon Zero Dawn was able to provide kept gamers glued to their seats when it was released four years ago. With a fun main character, interesting enemies and concepts to explore, and a vast open world to traverse, Horizon Zero Dawn wasn’t just about exposition; apart from the Guerilla Games title progressively offering details about Aloy, the principal protagonist, it likewise dealt with her coming to learn more about the machine-dominated world. It was about finding her place in a setting that was both beautiful and harsh, that was filled with majesty and danger from wildlife and technology.

Horizon Forbidden West, continues this line of thought, having Aloy take a perilous journey west despite the many troubles it brings. Facing old and new foes alike, Aloy must now uncover forgotten secrets, and risk life and limb to preserve everything she cares about. These are the concepts the latest release in the series wrestles with. For the most part, they seem like logical extensions of the overarching narrative. Picking up months after the original game’s ending, it seeks to redefine and expand the experience. A new threat has emerged, one that only she can answer, and the farther she goes, the more dangerous it gets.

Aloy’s journey in Horizon Forbidden West means frequent skirmishes, which proves to be even more entertaining given the improvements in the interface. In a lot of ways, it’s a much more fluid and dynamic experience, with a clear focus on action set pieces. New combat mechanics and skills are in play, expanding upon Horizon Zero Dawn’s offerings, and allowing for more dangerous foes to emerge. While old enemy types still remain, it’s the new ones that take center stage. And these enemies pose even greater challenges. Ranging from great animal-like machine beasts with gears for teeth to large, titan-like foes that throw projectiles, there is certainly no lack of variety. Even weaker enemy types can still prove to be challenging if they’re not taken seriously, with the capacity to overwhelm through sheer numbers and seemingly incessant quick hits.

Thankfully, Horizon Forbidden West’s greater arsenal and much more defined focus on combat makes triumphing over enemies far more satisfying to do. With new damage types, new weapons, and new skills to use, there are a ton of options available, to the point where first-time players may actually find it overwhelming. Past the initial shock comes sense, however. After all, no longer is Aloy grasping at straws. At the end of Horizon Zero Dawn, she has become a full-fledged warrior. In the sequel, this shows in how she can stealthily take down opponents and exploit their weak points. She’ll be bouncing and dodging across the grass, hitting enemies at key points to weaken them, and then overcoming them just as a huntress would any dangerous prey. Gamers will flip through various weapons, control her sprinting and dodging and diving into cover, and facing mechanical monstrosities that the less-prepared would be hard-pressed to face.

And that’s only half the game.

While Horizon Forbidden West shines best during sequences in combat or in stealth, its exploration segments are no slouches. Gamers are free to climb, dodge, run, and grapple their way to pretty much wherever they want in search of loot and goodies. The environments they travel around in are often breathtaking, and there’s good use of the Sony PlayStation 5’s hardware to make things look great. To say it’s visually impressive is an understatement, as there’s a lot of love put into the environments on tap — barren deserts, lush forests and jungles, and so much more to discover in a map that feels larger and more expansive than anything Horizon Zero Dawn had to offer. It really tries to live up to expectations as a superior sequel, and it does so fantastically.

Horizon Forbidden West’s story is similarly in a great spot. The main quest is sufficient, if nothing else, with a pretty decent mix of story beats to keep gamers on their toes. Where the writing really shines though, is in its side content. There’s a plethora of side quests for the willing and able, and each having memorable characters to talk to, and having a clear sense of identity and purpose. Doing them not only gives gamers unique gear to use; they also have the added benefit of providing memorable story arcs and characters to fall in love with. While other open world games often populate these side quests with forgettable characters, Horizon Forbidden West gives these quest givers a clear focus. These aren’t just nameless wanderers who ask gamers to get something for them for some other cryptic purpose. These are characters in the world, living and breathing like anything else in its setting, and while gamers may not have much influence over how their arcs turn out, the amount of attention and writing they get cements the idea of the world being bigger and more alive.

To be sure, Horizon Forbidden West does exhibit some blemishes. As with every other game, it does have limitations symptomatic of titles in its genre. While it is stunning and visually impressive, it does fall into the Open World loop of map markers and objectives to complete. The climbing also does feel off at times, as it’s not in the style of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or of Genshin Impact that gamers tend to gravitate to. For all the seeming restrictions in interface design, however, it’s not a deal breaker.

Minor annoyances notwithstanding, Horizon Forbidden West manages to make up for it with its interesting set pieces, lovable characters, and brilliant combat. If you enjoyed Horizon Zero Dawn or simply want an exciting open-world game with a deep, interesting combat system and story, Horizon Forbidden West is pretty much a no brainer. It has taken the best parts of the first game, made it feel bigger and grander, and expanded upon the ideas its predecessor had laid the groundwork for. It’s fun and interesting through and through, and certainly well worth the tens of hours gamers will spend on it.

THE GOOD:

• Enjoyable combat mechanics, with a focus on good aim, good positioning, and good pre-planning

• Large, expansive open world to explore, with lots of interesting sites to find and areas to discover

• Outstanding writing and quest design, making characters feel interesting to talk to and empathize with

THE BAD:

• Can feel bloated at times due to the sheer volume of map markers, content, and side quests

• Might feel overwhelming to new players unused to the fast-paced style of combat

RATING: 9.5/10

POSTSCRIPT: Games from Software’s Dark Souls series are frustrating and fun in equal measure. With intimidating enemies, mazelike designs, and an emphasis on slow but decisive combat, titles from the franchise have invariably provided an experience that can leave gamers pulling their hair out one moment, and then marveling at their triumph over a hard section the next. It’s a tightrope of curated levels, equal parts annoying and workable, and always pushing gamers to learn, understand, and adapt to the situation so they won’t be caught off guard in the next. This kind of design however, only really works in games with tight corridors and linear paths. The more paths there are, the harder it is to account for how players will enter or exit each area, and the easier it is for an encounter to break, or for sequences to get ruined by unintended exploration.

This is what most gamers expected as they tried out Elden Ring. No small measure of skepticism greeted the prospect of combing through a hybrid Souls-like open-world design. It had the potential to be full of bloat, and to make the same mistakes that other open-world games tend to do: to be bogged down by grinding and repetition.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for Elden Ring to allay the fears of doubting Thomases. From the outset, it manages to nail the difficulty of the earlier titles while still giving off the feel of an expansive world ready to be explored. In many ways, it feels like a natural extension of what the earlier Souls games sought to do. Exploration remains a primordial concern, albeit on a much more expanded level. That said, it retains the near-Sisyphean characteristic of its predecessors in requiring players to approach each encounter carefully, and with caution  — and still be prepared for death. Over and over.

The duality is what makes the Elden Ring experience really shine, as it manages to capture the careful thought that goes into underscoring the uniqueness of each location, while still making the world feel expansive. Each area gamers can traverse feels memorable, filled with human-like knights and creatures mingling with more obscure and fantastical eldritch beasts. It’s this grand experience of going from more normal, tame encounters, to intense climactic boss fights. In between, it’s punctuated by the unsteady calm that riding across the Lands Between brings, occasionally broken by a hidden secret, or a chance encounter against unlikely foes. In short, it’s the Souls experience, elevated as it never was before, and it succeeds in meeting its lofty ambitions.

In Elden Ring, gamers still start off with the standard Souls character creator. They can still customize their chosen character’s looks and starting class and equipment. The rest is a question mark, a blank page they can fill as they desire. New equipment, new abilities, and newfound powers are all waiting to be discovered, but most of them lie in dangerous places, or tucked away in hidden caches that require exploration to discover. It’s all standard open-world design, but what makes it flourish is how neatly this type of exploration feels at home in the genre.

Previous Souls-like experiences did have exploration built in, but the open world in Elden Ring is a standout. Gamers are allowed more freedom to explore their environments and to approach each area as they please. With the Lands Between rife with secrets waiting to be discovered, each area they uncover feels mystical and alien. The rewards they find not only widen their character’s arsenal; they also provide opportunities for testing against any new foes along the way. This may seem trivial in any other game, but not in Elden Ring, where every enemy can be a life-ending threat if approached with caution thrown to the wind. Even basic enemies can be hard to overcome if taken lightly, making these optional side areas all the more engaging when they’re tense and effectively life-and-death struggles for new equipment. This treasure on tap and the experience gained can be vital to progress, but they always feel earned when tough enemies lurk around every corner.

The monster design and level layout in Elden Ring is much more complex than in previous entries in the Souls series. Bosses are grander in their characteristics, and are much tougher because of the open world. While it’s still possible to take them on with subpar equipment, Elden Ring expects gamers to veer off into other pathways first, and makes sure that enemies are still sufficiently challenging regardless of upgrades.

Elden Ring is difficult through and through, even during its open, sandbox-like parts. Where other games would be content to let the player engage in more relaxed side activities, it does the opposite. Each area to be traversed is laden with danger, and because of this, at no point does the content ever feel like filler. The opponents lying in wait and the bosses en route ensure that no matter the area, there will always be meaningful challenges, there will always be new enemy types, and there will always be monsters that cannot be overpowered with brute force, but with cunning and caution.

Elden Ring fully embraces its identity from start to finish. The level of detail put into every encounter always feels like it has a purpose, and the options gamers have provide them with better control over their environment. Elden Ring features the ability to play with summons, to be able to power stance and use weapon arts, to even use a horse to get around. All of these add to making the game feel deeper, especially when combined with the game’s difficulty.

The game does have a handful of hitches. The open world expands the options that players can have, but it’s unrelenting in its challenges. It’s very easy to miss things if gamers aren’t careful and tend to breeze through the dialogue and the surroundings. And the game doesn’t just reward exploration; it expects its players to engage in some experimentation as well. Without the latter, it’s easy to get stuck in certain boss fights, or to get lost and miss certain areas that might hold goodies that could help players progress. In a lot of ways, the best parts of Elden Ring’s open world can also be its worst for the unwary, especially those who come into it thinking that it’s a game designed for everyone. For the unprepared, frustration is inevitable.

On the whole, Elden Ring is a brilliant title, with an astounding amount of care and attention put into every encounter. It presents a wider world to discover and a bigger map to explore, even as it retains (and at times even heightens) the challenge expected from a title in the Souls series. It’s a game that will frustrate and entertain in equal measure. Highly recommended.

THE GOOD:

• Excellent game design, striking a good balance between optional side content and difficult, story-integral missions

• Lots of options on how to play and progress through the game, all valuable and equally viable

• Rewards patience and careful exploration, with player skill and ingenuity being the most important factors

THE BAD:

• Closer to the original Dark Souls games rather than its faster-paced cousins like Sekiro or Bloodborne

• Can be frustrating until the new open-world design “clicks”

• Tends to not let up on the difficulty, with bosses proving to be much tougher than can be initially expected

RATING: 9/10

Those on the outside looking in would be hard-pressed to find a gamer who hasn’t heard of the Rainbow Six series. Even if they’re not familiar with Tom Clancy’s books as the source material, the many titles spewed out by the franchise have more than lived up to their inspirations, thrusting players into situations which require both a cool head and a steady aim. Unlike other shooters, Rainbow Six emphasized a more tactical approach to combat, necessitating good positioning and situational awareness to win the day.

Where most of the original Rainbow Six series games had been focused on its single-player options, Rainbow Six Siege took a multiplayer approach, pitting two teams of players against each other in a Counter-Strike style match of planting a bomb in a specific site. With breakable walls, the prevalence of wall bangs, and the different weapons and skills each Operator has, Siege was able to stand out and establish itself among its brethren as a title worthy of playing.

This is where Rainbow Six Extraction comes in. Rainbow Six Siege originally released a limited-time event featuring players against aliens, forcing them to work together against an inhuman menace. This mode, called Outbreak, was so popular that it inspired the creation of the standalone Rainbow Six Extraction. With much of its concept inspired by an event well loved by its community, what could possibly go wrong in marketing it as its own PvE title?

In Rainbow Six Extraction, players combat an alien presence that has taken over the area. They need to shoot down all sorts of monsters, team up with friends to rescue friendly civilians, and stay alive to earn experience to better equip their chosen character for the next run.

Indeed, the operative word is experience. Rainbow Six Extraction plays with a sort of Rogue-lite system, with the operators being a vital part in each run on the slate. By completing objectives and successfully extracting out of the map, gamers will earn experience points, level up their operators, and slowly gain access to maps presenting harder obstacles. Lose the operators at any point inside the mission, though, and gamers will not be able to tap them for the entire run and until they are rescued in a future operation. This forces a pretty interesting cost-benefit scenario, often having gamers rotate between operators depending on the level of risk involved.

The operators and maps are lifted directly from Rainbow Six Siege. Any hardcore player of the game will most likely feel at home in Rainbow Six Extraction, with a few new additions here and there to really sell the aliens theme. Slime covers the walls, alien goo and rubble litter once-clean areas. In theory, this is a pretty decent way to change up the gameplay, especially for those who loved the initial Outbreak event. Add some new objectives to do, insert some familiar characters that people love, touch up the surroundings to sell the atmosphere, and, voila: new game. In practice, however, this is so very different, and not necessary for the better.

While Rainbow Six Extraction might have some good ideas, it’s not able to perform them as well as it should. The game on its easier difficulties is a breeze, and is a boring slog at that. It’s really only in the harder modes that gamers need some caution, and even then, maps and objectives get repetitive fast. With only a handful of maps to really play through, they’ll start to see the same ones loop the more they play, and with the higher difficulties locked away, they’re going to be playing through the same scenarios over and over just to get to the more challenging modes.

This wouldn’t be a problem if Rainbow Six Extraction was structured and linear. Something akin to Left for Dead, for instance, would have big maps, but with dynamic events to really make each run feel different. The objectives gamers will do might be the same, but the experience they’ll have in each map will be different, punctuated by new enemy placements, memorable set pieces to run through, and different enemy encounters to really sell the idea that the mission is unique.

Rainbow Six Extraction however, relies more on randomly generated objectives. It’s not necessarily bad, but some objectives feel way too easy to accomplish. Given how the maps are designed as well, gamers will soon find that nothing much sticks out. Gone are the intriguing moments that Rainbow Six Siege had; no more rappelling down roofs or breaking walls for vision. Instead, gamers will be skulking through narrow corridors and peeking through hallways, unsure of what lurks around the next corner. Maybe it’ll be an exciting encounter, or a tough new enemy type; more than likely, it’s just going to be the same old, same old; the most unique parts of Rainbow Six Extraction are never really leveraged to make it stand out.

True, Rainbow Six Extraction remains fun. Figuring out these missions the first time around is actually pretty exciting. While maps are mostly carbon copies of their Rainbow Six Siege equivalent, the designers did well in making the areas feel a little more menacing. Moreover, the tactical element is still present, as harder difficulties force gamers to play quietly and slowly. The different enemy types they encounter necessitate different ways to deal with them, and that initial challenge, paired with the new objectives, can bring some enjoyment.

However, Rainbow Six Extraction doesn’t feel like a game to be played for long. It just doesn’t have that robustness that other games do. Randomized objectives can be fun, but only if they’re designed well. In any case, thoughts on the Outbreak event from Rainbow Six Siege should serve as an accurate gauge. Gamers who liked it will feel at home. Gamers who didn’t will not. Enough said.

THE GOOD:

• Enjoyable little side attractions with a lot of tension

• Surprising amount of depth for what was essentially a side mode for Rainbow Six Siege

• Familiar enough gameplay combined with some new gimmicks to spice things up

THE BAD:

• Feels and plays like a side mode, relying on repetition and routine to get the most out of the playtime

• Gets monotonous after a while

RATING: 7/10

THE LAST WORD: In line with the global launch of Gran Turismo 7 last week, Sony released a video of Hong Kong-based superstar actor/singer Aaron Kwok (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcXHNGTcP1Q) that has him explaining how the Gran Turismo series has helped him improve his racing skills.

Also released is the Gran Turismo Café livestream video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mugHSTpnVgU&t=4s) featuring automotive and motorsport personalities in Southeast Asia: Bobby Tonelli (Singapore), Claire Jedrek (Singapore), Jazeman Jacuaycongafar (Malaysia), IP Chin (Malaysia), Marlon Stockinger (Philippines) and Pete Thongchua (Thailand).

The Southeast Asia Gran Turismo Café video was filmed on location at the ABM Ten Square building in Singapore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_9CBJDXE9o). The Supercar Vending Machine (yes, it’s exactly what it sounds) has 15 classic cars playable in Gran Turismo 7 stacked inside the building’s 20 floors – to be selected and then brought down via a special lift for test driving.