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Horizon Forbidden West takes difficulties a step further via Accessibility options. You can adapt it exactly how you want to play it. Looking for a laidback experience? You can have it. Want something so challenging you’ll smash your controller or keyboard in disgust? You can have that too. Before you jump into Horizon Forbidden West, it’s best to learn about all the difficulty levels and how Explorer vs Guided mode works.
Explorer vs Guided Mode in Horizon Forbidden West
There’s less to Explorer vs Guided in Horizon Forbidden West than you think. The choice pops up before you start playing, so it’s no surprise it can confuse some players. Plus, you can still adjust it via the Quest Pathfinding and Waypoint Pathfinding in the Accessibility menu. It boils down to how you like to play, what features you can manage, etc. The key differences are set up in the table below:
| Explorer | Guided |
|---|---|
| -Minimal on-screen HUD -Does not show you on-screen icons directing you to your destinations | -Standard on-screen HUD -Provides on-screen objective markers tied to your active quests -Will highlight the shortest path toward your selected location |
So, with Explorer vs Guided in Horizon Forbidden West, visuals are all that changes. If you’re interested in exploring and naturally stumbling upon different things, Explorer mode is the better choice. But if you don’t want to risk it, you can always choose Guided mode. The real changes to Horizon Forbidden West come with the other difficulty settings.
All Difficulty Levels
Beyond Explorer vs Guided modes, the difficulty levels and settings further impact how you play Horizon Forbidden West. A great thing about this is that difficulties don’t affect trophies. So, you’re free to change anything you want at any point without consequence.
Below are the general difficulty levels in Horizon Forbidden West:
| Difficulty Level | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Story | Focuses on narrative and exploration with an easier combat experience |
| Easy | A lighter combat experience while still focusing on exploration and story |
| Normal | An overall balanced experience with story, exploration, and combat |
| Hard | Offers a more challenging combat experience |
| Very Hard | The mode provides an intense combat experience to test your skills |
| Custom | Personal customization for how much damage Aloy receives, how much she puts out, and Concentration settings |
Alongside choosing between Explorer vs Guided mode, there are additional options in Horizon Forbidden West that can impact difficulty. These are the ones you’ll want to focus on:
- Accessibility Options:
- Weapon Wheel Slowdown: Adjusts the slowdown time when the Weapon Wheel is activated
- Hold/Toggle: Makes it easier for those of you who have trouble holding buttons down for long
- Aim Assist: Helps with aim by changing the trajectory of arrows
- Auto Sprint on Foot/Mount: Makes it so you automatically sprint whether on foot or on a mount
- Visual Options:
- Climbing Annotations Always On: Highlights every climbable surface
Of course, you can play around with other settings like Controller Vibrations to pick at anything that may get in the way of your experience. If you’re feeling adventurous, start up another playthrough and select a different mode with different settings. Hands-on experience is the best way to get a feel of what you like.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PlayStation and PC.
