Horizon Forbidden West DLC is being review bombed after LGBT character reveal

Warning: the following article contains spoilers regarding Horizon Forbidden West’s Burning Shores expansion. Some players are review-bombing the DLC due to its introduction of a significant LGBT character.

On April 19, Horizon Forbidden West received a Burning Shores expansion over a year after its initial release. The DLC follows Aloy throughout sunny apocalyptic Los Angeles – unlike Zero Dawn’s Frozen Wilds area.

In addition to new machines, Burning Shores introduced never-before-seen characters like Aloy’s companion Seyka. With Aloy’s romantic relationship with the Quen marine, a few fans have taken to Metacritic to express their disappointment with the franchise’s direction.

Horizon Forbidden West DLC review bomb targets LGBT character

Metacritic

At the time of writing, Burning Shores stands at an abysmal 4.4/10 rating on Metacritic. Additionally, the DLC has 81 average critic Metascore. Most bad reviews blast Guerilla for enforcing its “agenda” instead of focusing on the main story.

“Disappointment. The whole time I had the feeling that DLC was only to push down my throat love interest for Aloy, and I hate it,” promks wrote. “There were some cool moments and findings, and overall gameplay is as good as in the main game, but everything was overshadowed by this unnecessary forced romance.”

Besides LGBT content, players criticized the shortness of the Burning Shores expansion. “There’s just barely side content and five missions to finish it,” cyberkevin remarked. “It still took me 10 hours, can’t say it wasn’t worth it, but I felt like it’s just a REALLY SMALL addition to the game, not enough to go back to it once it’s done.”

Before Horizon confirmed Aloy to be queer, fans theorized about her sexuality. Some assumed she was aromantic or asexual. Now, one dialogue scene between Aloy and Seyka finally reveals her preferred love interests. To watch the in-game conversation, check out our article on what went down.