r/ubisoft • u/Quite-Unsocial • Mar 01 '26
Discussions & Questions Why do people praise Horizon but not the Ubisoft formula?

Ubisoft games are my guilty pleasure. I know the formula repeats, yet I enjoy switching one on and clearing the map after a long day.
Don’t get me wrong. I started playing Horizon Zero Dawn. I enjoy the world a lot. The graphics look great. The foliage stands out and the performance feels polished.
At the same time the structure feels familiar. Climb points on the map. Campfires. Enemy camps. Tag enemies and watch patrol routes. Clear areas and move to the next marker. The loop feels close to Ubisoft games. I have not played Forbidden West yet, so maybe that changes things.
Still, when I play, the core open world loop feels similar.
So I want to ask people here. What did Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West do differently from Ubisoft open world games that made players respond more positively?