#and fix the shieldwing

[robo-dino-puppy]

when our armor can’t save us

[ramblingcj]

OK, there are a few things that bug me about HFW, though they're mostly nit-picking. But I like to ramble so...

- Why were most of the female characters you meet in Zero Dawn sidelined in favor of Erend and Varl? Like Petra and Talanah? Just like the guys, they were there for the battle of Meridian and, frankly, have as much content if not more than the guys. Erend especially seemed to be there just because. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy but he felt really underutilized. 

- Where was Ikrie? Or those three Banuk you meet who want to head for the Sundom? Or Inatut? Aratak? Or any other NPC you meet in Zero Dawn? Again, why was Petra and Talanah sidelined like that?

- Also what the fck is Erend doing in Las Vegas? Oh, they're trying to get allies so he goes to a random location instead of back to the Claim or the Sundom? Back to Meridian? The excuse is that they will “spread the message”. First, someone has to go back to Meridian and let everyone know that its safe to travel into the west in the first place before any messages can be spread to people back home. Again, what the fck is Erend doing in Las Vegas? If it was just for endgame purposes, they could've put him back in the settlement where Petra is. Now it just seems like the dude went to have fun rather than actually doing something useful. Which was a character flaw of his that he overcame in Zero Dawn btw...

- Why couldn’t Aloy fix the damn shieldwing? Seemed out-of-character for her to be running around with some busted equipment that she could easily fix. 

- This is something that irritates me in every single game that has this mechanic. If I have to hunt animals to get skin or bone to use as an upgrade, I shouldn't have to fcking hunt 50 of them to get that skin or bone! Pretty sure every single animal has those things! Upgrading is already a chore, don't make it worse!

- Both Zero Dawn and Forbidden West excel in small moments of storytelling. Some of the best scenes are the ones where the past and the present blend. The black boxes were great if a bit annoying to get to at times. The scene with the message from Faraday was one of my favorites. However, there's too much filler in the map. The greenshine or the metal flowers were just kinda there. Would be cool if there was a mini-story attached to it like with the black boxes. Flesh out the world more since it has such interesting lore.

Random stuff:

- I know Aloy will mention CYAN at some point and it would be really cool if the DLC involved CYAN somehow. Like CYAN had to deal with Hephaestus so it would be cool if recapturing Hephaestus meant recruiting CYAN’s help. 

- I like how Aloy has gotten more and more comfortable with touch. To the point where she even mirrors it. One example is in the end when Erend puts his arm around her and pulls her towards him, she just kinda goes with it (because it's Erend and he's one of her closest friends). She then later mirrors that gesture by doing the same thing to Beta while talking to GAIA. Zero Dawn had hints of that as well. People would put their hand on Aloy's shoulder and she would start doing it to others (most noticeable in Frozen Wilds). It's a subtle detail, but a nice one.

- Aloy talking to herself. Some people seemed to find that annoying, but I didn't. This is a young woman who grew up with a man who wasn't the most talkative and is used to being by herself. Of course she talks to herself!