Horizon Forbidden West Has An Abysmal Completion Rate

For all of its brilliant iconography, and for how much PlayStation champions the series and its brilliant protagonist, you'd hope that Horizon would be dealt a better hand.

Horizon Zero Dawn was met with critical praise and landed well with fans, but it had something much bigger to contend with - being released the same week as Breath of the Wild. It was quite the blow, and it makes the release of its sequel, the long-awaited Horzion Forbidden West, sting even more - as it came out the week before Elden Ring. The game that is already lorded as an all-timer. Oh.

Though fans are still enjoying the game, its hype was absolutely steamrolled - and it looks like it's rubbing off on fans, who for the most part, simply aren't finishing the game.

No One Is Completing Horizon Forbidden West's Story

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Though the game is pretty sprawling, and it hasn't been out for all that long, Horizon Forbidden West is still struggling to keep its players engaged, as very few have actually completed the game's story.

When looking at the game's trophies, we can see how many players have beaten the game's narrative - and on both PS4 and PS5, the percentage of players that have finished the story hovers around 13%. Blimey.

2.4% of players have bagged the platinum trophy, and 9% have reached the highest level of 50 - but there's more. 

Of everyone who has logged some time in Horizon Forbidden West and have their trophies synced online, 85.2% have reached the Daunt, its first open-world area, meaning that 14.8% of players are still hovering around the game's first mission.

Is Elden Ring To Blame For Horizon Forbidden West's Completion Rate?

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It's interesting to see how the game's completion rate has fallen, especially in the wake of Elden Ring's launch. It definitely looks like a lot of players are simply dropping Horizon for Elden Ring, but that doesn't mean that the game is doomed to have a dreadful completion rate going forward - just look at Horizon Zero Dawn, and its ability to prosper despite the arrival of Breath of the Wild.

It might seem bleak for now, but the game could be on track to seriously bump those numbers up - and judging by the game's critical reception, it'd be surprising to see it flatline from here.

The stats may be bleak, but fear not - Forbidden West isn't done just yet. In fact, we may come to see that it's just getting started.