For us, Guerrilla Games’ Horizon series has been great since the beginning, and it gets better each time we come back. Horizon Forbidden West is a great sequel that builds on the first game in virtually every way – a bigger, more diverse open world, a better ensemble cast, just to name a few. More interesting side quests, improved traversal. The DLC expansion Burning Shores is pretty much the same, but with enough additions to make it worth a visit.
Directly following the events of the main game, Sylens tasks Aloy with tracking down key loose ends in the title region. No spoilers, but it’s fair to say that this expansion serves as a bridge from Forbidden West to Horizon 3. But I love the nonsense. So do you, and if you enjoyed what the base game had to offer, you’ll definitely enjoy that aspect of the story here.
But don’t get too far ahead. Aloy crashes into Burning Shore and is immediately confronted by Seika. Seika is a member of the Kuen tribe who are now stranded and many people are missing. This new character joins Aloy in the main quest and proves to be as competent as the rare heroines in these titles. It challenges Aloy in a way and helps humanize the protagonist who was perhaps a bit of a one-note in The Forbidden West.
The main set of quests are five strong ones, all of which are fairly long. It takes about 6 to 8 hours, depending on your pace. This doesn’t take into account other things you do in your extension. The story takes you to some great places, lays a bit of groundwork for the inevitable sequel, and, strongly hinted, Horus actually wakes up. Put. The scale of this set piece is off the charts and could be the main reason this DLC is his PS5 only.
However, the story only takes you to specific locations within Burning Shores. It features bodies of water, mixed flowing lava, and old-world ruins that remind you that this was once Los Angeles. There’s a noticeable pop-in during the flight, but it’s visually gorgeous, as you’d expect. The main quest is mostly focused on one part of the map, while a few side quests spread things out, but one or two areas are mostly skipped.
That said, there are new collectibles to find, relic ruins to solve, cauldrons to infiltrate, and some new machines. Waterwing will be your new best friend. It’s a flying mount that can also dive underwater, greatly increasing your swimming speed. He has two other discoveries. Both are great additions to the roster that will test you in different ways.
There’s also a choice of new weapons and outfits to employ, but more impactful are a range of new skills.12 additional skills and 6 Balor Surges give you even more combat options. Many introduce new ideas such as firing weapons while gliding, elemental damage with spears, and dropping large shields. Others enhance existing mechanisms. For example, one skill allows you to tackle knocked-down machines. Resonator energy can be applied by pressing the button correctly. This allows you to deal a large burst of damage. These new skills (and new level caps) give players some new options and make chaotic combat even more varied.
Conclusion
Much like Frozen Wilds did with Horizon Zero Dawn, Burning Shores takes what was already great in Forbidden West and lets you play with quite a few new playgrounds and lots of extra toys. The archipelago is a lot of fun to explore by land, sea and air and there are many interesting things to see and do. Some areas feel a little underutilized, but overall, this is a nice expansion that continues his Aloy story and prepares for what’s to come in Horizon 3.
