The risk is that a base game can be so good, or so perfectly contained within its existing storyline, that the DLC seems like bloat or just a cash grab. In addition, — as I seem to strike constantly now — muscle memory among players can fade quickly as they move on to other games, so it’s easy to alienate gamers who loved a title the first time but have forgotten how to play it while waiting for DLC, and get put off when they pick it up again.
Thankfully, there are no such concerns with Burning Shores, the DLC for the amazing Horizon Forbidden West, arguably the best game of 2022.
The futuristic sequel just did everything so darn well. It played smoothly, looked amazing and had just the right blend of action, exploration, tinkering and storytelling.
Returning into the shoes of protagonist Aloy, you are taken to a new area known as the Burning Shores — thanks to the lava everywhere — that was once a city you might have heard of called Los Angeles.
Aloy’s companion is a warrior from another tribe, Seyka, on a quest to rescue her sister from the clutches of a morally bankrupt billionaire (wait, such a thing exists?) called Walter Londra.
Broadly speaking, it’s more of the same gameplay.
Aloy uses her supreme hunting skills, her range of spectacular bows and arrows, and her various abilities to challenge a bunch of robot animals and angry humans, clamber up and over buildings and walls and islands, solve the odd puzzle and generally soak in the quite extraordinary scenery around her.
The main quest is fairly tight — perhaps eight or nine hours — but the story is engaging and the ending, without spoilers, sets up a guaranteed sequel to the sequel.
