【Game-Time News】
Recently, many highly anticipated games have been launched on PC, and the commonplace issue of game optimization has once again become the focus of discussion among players. Among the many new games, “Horizon 2: West End” (hereinafter referred to as “Horizon 2”), which was released on March 22, has also been praised by players for its good PC porting and optimization effects. It is currently rated as particularly favorable on Steam, and The peak number of people online at the same time exceeded 40,000.
In fact, this sequel, which was launched on the PC platform after 2 years, did not win a 93% praise rate just because of “good optimization”. On the basis of the previous game, “Horizon 2” continues the solid content narrative and performance, enriches the development of the protagonist Eloy, combat strategies and numerous collection elements. The overall game experience is further improved, allowing people to easily immerse themselves. In this magnificent and fantasy post-apocalyptic world.
“Canned” but “top”, what’s not to like?
In the context of players, “canned game” is an ambiguous label. It means a game experience that “can be predicted and imagined”: a smooth gameplay design, a plot development that meets psychological expectations, and a large amount of content. The exploration content, etc., may not be too new, but it often doesn’t disappoint.
In the Steam comment area, some players also classify “Horizon 2” into this category, but it can also be seen, but also with some approval. Perhaps when a game chooses to maximize each basic experience, it often brings more surprises than imagined.
The most eye-catching thing about Horizon 2 is its image quality. As a PS5 release companion game, the game was initially well received for its excellent graphics, and thanks to the excellent optimization effects and the blessing of NVIDIA DLSS3, this advantage can be further amplified in the PC version.
It was with this kind of high psychological expectation that I updated the driver specially released by NVIDIA for “Horizon 2”. However, after starting the game, I found that I still underestimated the beautiful scenery of this wasteland science fiction world, and its ability to Brings a sense of deep immersion.
The author doesn’t like taking pictures in the game very much, but I still can’t help but become a photo maniac.
Although it has been discussed for many years, there has never been a definite conclusion on the topic of “whether 3A games should pursue the ultimate graphics simulation”, but in actual experience, I still have to admit that excellent graphics are indeed easier to win in the first place. Grab the player’s attention, and with the explorer mode that hides the UI to the greatest extent in the game and the well-adapted handle vibration feedback, you can quickly create a sense of immersion.
Avoiding “death lighting and perspective”, the confident and powerful Eloy is also very eye-catching
However, “Horizon 2” is not just a place to check in for cyber scenes, it is also thought-provoking in terms of core gameplay experience. In the combat part, this game retains the unique elemental reactions and trap setting and other special strategic methods in the previous game. On this basis, it also greatly expands Eloy’s optional weapon types and talent skill trees, especially for melee combat. With a set of smooth combos, it gives players plenty of options for combat strategies when fighting against mechanical beasts.
Stealth Assassination
Melee combat also has a skill tree
It’s not impossible to ride a mechanical beast and go on a rampage.
Similar to Gwent in “The Witcher 3”, “Horizon 2” also has a unique mini-game “Mechanical Chess” as an aside from the story and combat. Its rules can be regarded as a streamlined version of the war chess game, simple and clear but still fun.
Various chess games are also a collection element in the game.
In general, compared with the previous game launched on PC in 2020, “Horizon 2” itself has not only been fully evolved, but the PC version has also had better launch optimization performance, which can give PC users a smooth gaming experience to the greatest extent. Even players who have never played the previous game can quickly understand the basic background of the story through the prologue. There is no excessive understanding threshold and psychological burden. It is a good opportunity for new players who are interested in this IP to get started. .
Following the PC platform strategy, Sony goes one step further
The debut performance of “Horizon 2” on PC surprised many players, and compared to the previous game, the game also landed on Steam more than a year earlier. At the same time, the ported version of Sony’s well-received “Ghost of Tsushima” has also been put on the agenda and will be launched on PC in May this year. The person responsible for porting the game is still Nixxies, who ported “Horizon 2” studio.
It can be seen that Sony is indeed accelerating its embrace of PC platform users, and this move has also been praised by the outside world. Recently, Blizzard’s former president Mike Ybarra retweeted media reports on the PC version of Horizon 2 on social media, expressing support for Sony’s cross-platform strategy. He said, “This way we can understand the PC platform and PC players, and establish connections with AMD/Nvidia. , to provide players with the best game configuration. Everything is just to make the game better.”
In addition, “Bad Soldiers 2”, which was released by Sony in February this year, also chose to be launched simultaneously on PS and PC platforms, and achieved great success. So far, this game has a maximum of 450,000 players online at the same time, becoming Sony’s first game. The game with the highest online peak on the Steam platform.
