Post Script
The trouble with Aloy
When we reviewed Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in E360, we expressed some concern about Aloy’s apparently relentless narration in the advance footage for Forbidden West – which did at least have the upshot of saving her creators the job of supplying voiceover. We afforded Guerrilla the benefit of the doubt back then, but unfortunately it turns out to be as bad as we expected, if not worse. Forbidden West includes an Explorer mode promising to let you ‘explore the world with minimal guidance’, which means following a compass at the top of the screen, as opposed to a dynamic marker that leaps about like an excitable tour guide, pointing the way ahead at all times. But whichever option you choose, there is no way to escape Ashly Burch’s voice, as a constant exterior monologue has Aloy vocalising seemingly every single thought that crosses her mind.