Honestly, the way people talk about Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores usually misses the point entirely. Most reviews focus on the technical wizardry—which is fair, considering Guerilla Games basically forced everyone to upgrade to a PS5 just to play it—but they ignore the sheer tonal shift this expansion represents for Aloy. It isn't just more robot-dinosaur hunting. It’s a messy, gorgeous, and occasionally frustrating attempt to ground a protagonist who spent two full games being a living icon rather than a person.
You’ve probably seen the screenshots. The Los Angeles ruins look like a neon-soaked fever dream. Magma flows into the Pacific. The clouds are dense enough to feel like solid ground. It’s beautiful. But let’s get real: the reason we’re still debating this DLC years later isn't just because of the graphics. It's because of Walter Londra and Seyka.
What Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores Actually Changed
The jump to PS5-only hardware wasn't some marketing gimmick. It was a necessity for the Horus. If you played the base game, you saw these massive, mountain-sized "Metal Devils" rusted into the landscape. We always knew we’d have to fight one eventually. Guerilla saved that for the Burning Shores, and the resulting boss fight is a logistical nightmare that would have literally melted a PS4.
The scale is staggering.
When you’re grappling onto a moving leg that’s the size of a skyscraper while the ocean boils beneath you, the "Forbidden West" label finally feels earned. This expansion turned the dial from "tactical hunter" to "cinematic spectacle" in a way that left some purists a bit cold. They missed the slow-burn stealth. They didn't like how the game forced them into high-octane aerial combat. But that’s the thing about the Burning Shores—it’s not trying to be a companion piece. It’s an exclamation point.
The Seyka Factor and the Controversy No One Expected
Aloy has always been a bit of a loner. She’s the savior, the clone of Elisabet Sobeck, the only one who can fix the world. Then comes Seyka. She’s a Quen marine who doesn't just follow Aloy around like a lost puppy; she’s her equal in almost every way. This dynamic is the heartbeat of the DLC.
Some fans hated it. They felt the relationship was rushed, or they just didn't like seeing Aloy vulnerable. But if you look at the subtext, it makes perfect sense. Aloy has been running on adrenaline and savior-complex energy for years. Meeting someone who moves at her pace is bound to cause some friction—and some sparks. The ending of Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores gave players a choice in how to handle that romance, a move that triggered a massive review-bombing campaign on Metacritic. It was a weird time to be in the fandom. People were less mad about the gameplay and more upset that their version of Aloy might actually have a personal life.
The Villain Problem: Why Walter Londra Matters
Walter Londra is a jerk. He’s a silver-tongued, narcissistic billionaire from the Old World who survived the end of the human race by fleeing to the stars. Unlike the other Zeniths, who were mostly cold, detached monoliths, Londra has a personality. He’s obsessed with his own celebrity.
He’s basically a dark mirror of what the Zeniths represented: the absolute worst of 21st-century tech-bro culture preserved for a thousand years. His plan to build a rocket using a thermal power plant that would essentially incinerate the entire region is peak villainy. It’s simple. It’s greedy. It works because it gives Aloy something she can actually punch, rather than just another abstract existential threat.
Exploring the Volcanic Archipelago
The map itself is a character. You aren't just trekking through forests anymore. You're navigating a shattered Los Angeles.
- Fleet’s End: The hub city built into the side of a shipwreck. It feels lived-in, cramped, and desperate.
- The Waterwing: This is the game-changer. A machine that can dive underwater and fly through the clouds seamlessly. It makes the Sunwing from the base game look like a tricycle.
- Thermal Uplifts: The environment is vertical. You spend half your time in the air, dodging lightning storms and volcanic debris.
The Waterwing changed how I explored the world. In the base game, water was a barrier. In Burning Shores, it’s a playground. You can be soaring at 500 feet, spot a sunken ruin, and dive straight into the surf without a loading screen. It’s seamless. It’s also terrifying when a Tideripper decides to join you.
The Combat Refinement: New Toys for Old Machines
If you think you’ve mastered the combat in the Forbidden West, the Burning Shores will humble you quickly. The introduction of the Specter Gauntlet—a piece of Zenith tech that fires homing shards—changes the economy of a fight. Suddenly, you aren't just managing arrows and elemental effects. You’re managing high-tech weaponry that feels "illegal" in the context of Aloy’s primitive world.
But the machines got an upgrade too. The Bilegut is a nightmare. It’s a giant robotic toad that spits acid and spawns "Stingspawns"—little mechanical dragonflies that swarm you while you’re trying to dodge a tongue that can crush a boulder. It forces you to use the new "Grapple Strike" mechanic. If you aren't constantly moving, you’re dead.
The game demands more from your fingers. It’s fast. It’s loud. It’s chaotic.
Technical Limitations and the PS5 "Wall"
We have to talk about the PS4. Guerilla caught a lot of flak for cutting off the previous generation for this DLC. But once you see the "Cloudscape" tech in action, you get it. These aren't just flat textures in the sky. They are 3D volumes you can fly through. They catch the light. They have turbulence.
The hardware bottleneck was real. By ditching the PS4, the developers could increase the density of the foliage and the complexity of the AI routines. The "Burning Shores" feels like a glimpse into what Horizon 3 will actually look like. It’s a benchmark. If you’re still playing on a PS4 Pro, you’re missing out on about 40% of the visual storytelling that happens through the environment.
The Legacy of the Burning Shores
Is it perfect? No. The main quest is actually pretty short—about 6 to 8 hours if you sprint. The side content is a bit thin compared to the massive sprawl of the Forbidden West mainland. And yeah, the romance plotline can feel a bit "accelerated" if you haven't been paying attention to Aloy’s internal monologue throughout the series.
But as a bridge to the third game, it’s essential. It moves the needle on the "Nemesis" threat while giving Aloy a reason to keep fighting that isn't just "save the world." She finally has something to lose on a personal level. That’s a big deal for a character who started as an outcast with nothing.
Actionable Insights for Players
If you’re diving into the Burning Shores for the first time, don't just rush the story.
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- Prioritize the Waterwing Quests: The ability to submerge while flying is the best part of the DLC. Don't leave it for the post-game.
- Farm the Bileguts: You’re going to need their primary nerves for the high-end legendary upgrades. They are tough, so use frost damage to slow their jumping animations.
- Find the Delver Trinkets: There’s a scavenger hunt across the islands that provides some of the best lore in the game. It explains what happened to the common people in L.A. during the "Enduring Victory" era.
- Upgrade the Specter Gauntlet Early: Once you get the railgun upgrade for it, the game becomes a different beast entirely. It’s essentially a "delete" button for smaller machines.
- Check the Clouds: There are hidden caches and unique machine spawns tucked away in the high-altitude cloud banks. Don't stay near the ground.
The Burning Shores is a messy, beautiful, loud, and emotional piece of software. It proves that Horizon isn't just a "checklist" open-world game anymore. It has teeth. It has heart. And most importantly, it finally has a boss fight that matches the scale of its world. Go find Walter Londra. See the ruins. Just make sure you’re ready for the heat.
To get the most out of your time in the volcanic ruins, focus on mastering the Grapple Strike early on, as it allows you to finish off downed machines with a cinematic (and high-damage) flourish that saves precious ammunition. Additionally, keep an eye on your Brimshine count; this new resource is rare and required for the expansion's best armor sets, so looting every glowing yellow crystal you see in the crags is a non-negotiable for late-game survival.