Can't drop down in Horizon Forbidden West? Here's what you can do [Fix]

Reading time icon 3 min. read


Readers help support Windows Report. We may get a commission if you buy through our links. Tooltip Icon

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team Read more

Key notes

  • Out of all the bugs in the Forbidden West game, not being able to drop down is very annoying.
  • Gorilla Games haven't quite gotten around to fixing this game-breaking problem once and for all.
  • However, there is a workaround that will restore this game functionality and you can carry on.
  • Also, turning on the Climbing Annotations in the Settings menu will show you where to climb.
forbidden west drop down

No matter how much we love a certain game, or how good and experienced the studio that created it is, in reality, no games are free of bugs, crashes, or other glitches.

Even though most of the time we only have to deal with minor issues, that don’t necessarily ruin or prevent gameplay, there are cases in which playing is simply not worth it.

The same goes for Gorilla Games’ latest title, Horizon Forbidden West. Zero Dawn’s sequel came with quite a few bugs that drove players that bought the game absolutely crazy.

And since we’re talking about Forbidden West, be sure to check out current bugs, how to cross-play the game, or how to transfer your saves from a PlayStation 4 to a PlayStation 5.

Today we’re going to tackle a bug that prevents players from dropping down from ledges or other props. Even though there isn’t an official fix patch in sight yet, we got a neat workaround for you.

What can I do if I can’t drop down in Horizon Forbidden West?

Forbidden West will, of course, feature some of the core mechanics established in Zero Dawn, which help Aloy quickly traverse some tricky areas on the map.

If you are in need of some assistance, you can head over to the Visual tab of the Settings menu and switch on the Climbing Annotations.

This setting will display the yellow lines on a surface which Aloy can grab onto. Climbing up or down is pretty simple, as players will need to locate these yellow lines and x marks to plan their path.

Similarly, the game will automatically prompt when Aloy is close to a ledge, and players can drop down by pressing the Square button.

How can I turn on Climbing Annotations?

  1. Pause the game and open Settings.forbidden west settings
  2. Navigate to the Visual tab and switch Climbing Annotations to On.climbing annotations

However, players have been reporting not being able to drop down from ledges in Horizon Forbidden West, without any apparent explanation or reason.

Three is no clear solution to this annoying and game-breaking bug, except for one workaround that has proved to work in multiple cases.

I switched square and circle and I had the same issue, when I switched the controls back to default it worked.

Thus, if you encounter the same bug, head on over to the Settings menu and perform some control tweaks before returning to the game.

How can I fix not being able to drop down?

  1. Pause your game and open Settings.forbidden west settings
  2. Navigate to Button layout and customization.button layout and customization
  3. Set Full Controller Preset to Custom and press Edit Preset.custom preset forbidden west
  4. Switch Square and Circle controls between them and revert to default.change controls

Has this guide been helpful to you? Let us about your experience in the dedicated comments section below.