#the immediate dislike a lot of people took to seyka seems so disproportionate to any actual criticism of the way she was written/acted

[cicadaknight]

burning shores thoughts below

things i liked:

The companion combat! Seyka felt genuinely helpful without taking away from the challenge. I’m excited for what that means for H3’s combat style for various companions.

The side mission where you rescue imprisoned Quen and they help you fight waves of Walter’s cronies. If I had to guess, they wanted to have more complex battles in FW (Wings of the Ten/Singularity) but were limited by the ps4 and/or pandemic. Being able to fight alongside a larger group of allies in H3 would be stellar.

It seemed like Aloy didn't immediately over-narrate the solution to puzzles? Hated that in FW.

Once you get the sunwing in FW you’re less incentivized to run around or use other mounts. But Burning Shores compensated for that nicely with the verticality of the map and introduction of mount-specific actions. Overall, I feel like I had more fun looking for things to explore.

Gildun's mission was perfection. No notes.

Ashly and Kylie’s performances were beautiful. The facial/body animations seemed so much more subtle and detailed than the base game.

Personally, I really enjoyed Aloy and Seyka’s dynamic. The banter, the curiosity, the admiration, Aloy getting to be nervous and goofy. Mmm. Good soup. Love that flashpoints might be more significant to the plot in H3.

things i didn’t love

Walter's arc overall? He just felt like a stereotypical caricature to me. No depth, no charm, no intrigue. Honestly, we already had that with the majority of the other Zeniths, I was expecting something to set him apart more than his unparalleled narcissism. I don’t understand why Tilda wouldn’t have mentioned him. Nor do I fully understand why he wouldn't need GAIA.

Kina's character as a whole felt uncharacteristically one-dimensional for a Guerrilla game. She's supposedly the Quen's most notorious and talented navigator, she's beloved by her people, and yet the most we get from her character on screen is this starstruck, damsel in distress. I wish there'd been some sort of side quest after we deal with the Horus where we could have gotten to know her.

I was expecting more underwater exploration, especially with the Waterwing.

Part of me enjoyed stumbling across things like Brin's painting, the toy bow, and brimstone caches. But I wish all the required collectibles and aerial captures were marked.

I didn't dislike what we learned about the Quen, but I wanted more. They've got a wealth of rigid traditions, power dynamics, and boiling tension. But it feels like Aloy and Seyka manage to skirt around everything without consequence.

I expected more new machines given the new region and Hephaestus's newfound freedom and chaos.

Lastly, it feels so fucking sad that the rest of the companions didn't make an appearance. A team debrief at the base before they all go on their new missions? A focus call where they let Aloy know what they're up to rather than leaving a data point behind? (Also the fact that Aloy personally gave Gildun a focus but not Talanah. Side eye, Guerilla, SIDE EYE.)

#burning shores #burning shores spoilers #horizon forbidden west #horizon forbidden west spoilers #hfw #and also #i'm still weirded out by some of the discourse around aloy and seyka #i think it mostly comes down to aloy being a beloved character who we're all attached to #and likewise we're attached to the other companions who we've had years to know #but i've mostly felt like the horizon fanbase was very open to a multitude of ships #up until now when Guerrilla's actually written Aloy as overtly attracted to someone #the immediate dislike a lot of people took to seyka seems so disproportionate to any actual criticism of the way she was written/acted #i'm thinkin about how a huge part of fanfiction and fanart has historically centered around queer people needing to see ourselves in art #and with that in mind i feel some type of way about how the fanbase has reacted to aloy/seyka so negatively #but y'all #canon doesn't change the chemistry we see between aloy and other characters #and it doesn't take away our joy or power to create what resonates with us #my notes