Two years and a month after its launch on PlayStation consoles, Horizon Forbidden West has finally arrived on PC, allowing gamers to explore the breathtaking post-apocalyptic landscapes of the Western USA. Developed by Guerrilla Games and expertly ported by Nixxes, this highly anticipated release brings the vast open world and captivating storyline to the PC platform.

Nixxes, a renowned Dutch porting team acquired by Sony in July 2021, has an impressive track record of working on successful game ports, including Horizon Zero Dawn and the Spider-Man series. Horizon Forbidden West marks their latest achievement, showcasing their expertise in bringing console exclusives to the PC.

The PC version of Horizon Forbidden West boasts an array of advanced features and technical enhancements. Gamers can immerse themselves in the stunning visuals with support for ultrawide display ratios, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution and Frame Generation, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, and more. The game also offers full compatibility with the DualSense controller, utilizing haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and the built-in speaker.

HDR implementation in Horizon Forbidden West is commendable, although there is a minor issue with the Max Luminance slider not functioning properly. However, players can fine-tune their HDR experience using sliders for Paper White, Shadow Boost, and Highlight Boost, offering more control than the average PC game.

While Dolby Atmos is not natively supported, users with Atmos-compatible sound systems can enable it through the Dolby Access app, leveraging the high-quality 7.1 sound mix crafted by the developers.

Performance is a crucial factor in any PC port, and Horizon Forbidden West delivers on this front. Stuttering issues are virtually non-existent, allowing players with powerful rigs to maximize graphics settings without sacrificing performance. Players with high-end GPUs, like the RTX 4090, can achieve over 70 frames per second at 4K resolution with DLSS Frame Generation and DLAA enabled.

One aspect that sets the PC version apart from its console counterpart is the enhanced visual clarity when DLAA is enabled, effectively addressing the aliasing issues that were present on the PlayStation 5's Performance mode. However, it should be noted that beyond improved shadow filtering and resolution, there are no major visual enhancements compared to the console version.

In an interview with Digital Foundry, Guerrilla Games stated that they considered implementing ray tracing but deemed it impractical due to the game's extensive use of natural environments and immense scale.

Despite this slight disappointment, Horizon Forbidden West on PC still impresses with its breathtaking visuals and near-flawless performance. The game offers an expansive and immersive world filled with engaging gameplay mechanics, improved combat, and seamless traversal. Fans of the genre are sure to thoroughly enjoy this worthy sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn.

Horizon Forbidden West's PC release further highlights Sony's commitment to expanding their console exclusives to the PC platform, allowing a wider audience to experience these acclaimed titles.