Aloy is back in action for the next generation.
One of the biggest games revealed at the June 2020 PS5 showcase was Horizon Forbidden West. Developed by Guerrilla Games, this PlayStation title brings the custom Decima engine and everything it’s capable of to next-generation hardware.
Aloy returns as a protagonist, heading into the former western U.S. There are new threats, new machines, and new lush lands to explore. It’s currently set to release on Feb. 18, 2022. Here’s everything we know about Horizon Forbidden West on PS5 so far.
Jump to:
- What is Horizon Forbidden West?
- Check out its trailers
- Story, gameplay, and features
- Does it have multiplayer?
- Is it coming to PS4?
- Is it coming to PC?
- What we’d like to see
- When does it release?
What is Horizon Forbidden West?
Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn, released in 2017. It’s an action role-playing game in the 31st century, in a world where humanity now exists in tribes and gigantic mechanical lifeforms roam the earth. Players play as Aloy, a young woman cast out of the Nora tribe who works to uncover the mysteries of the machines, what happened to the previous humans, and the current threat set to destroy the world.
Horizon Forbidden West follows the events of Horizon Zero Dawn as Aloy travels west and seeks to discover who sent a signal that activated HADES, an AI attempting to destroy all life. Given how the first game was a major critical and commercial success, it’s very possible that Horizon Forbidden West may end up being one of the best PS5 games.
Ahead of the game’s launch, Aloy is available in a crossover event with Genshin Impact, a popular free-to-play game.
Another game in the series has been announced, titled Horizon Call of the Mountain. Unlike Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, Horizon Call of the Mountain is an upcoming PlayStation VR2 title.
Can I check out some Horizon Forbidden West trailers?
You can see the Horizon Forbidden West reveal trailer from The Future of Gaming PS5 event below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq594XmpPBg?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
Another quick trailer at The Game Awards 2021 showed several machines and new outfits for Aloy:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d73ZuUAkvE?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
Horizon Forbidden West Story, gameplay, and features
Horizon Zero Dawn was an action RPG, and Horizon Forbidden West will be as well. The story takes place in what was formerly the Western U.S., with the ruins of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco clearly visible in the trailer. Aloy is seeking to understand a mysterious corruption damaging the environment. At the same time, Sylens is in possession of HADES (from the previous game), seeking to understand the signal that first reactivated the AI. As in Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy will be performed by Ashly Burch.
While the gameplay in this sequel will likely be similar to its predecessor, the scope of the game is almost certainly larger. In the June State of Play, we see Aloy undertaking a mission to save Erend from the “rebel threat” while traveling along a beach and diving underwater. Rebels seem to be the main antagonists of this game; what makes them so dangerous is that they’re able to get machines to attack for them. But Aloy’s equipped with some new and returning gear to take them down.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQATS4HOxdo?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1&start=1066]
Aloy’s gadgets
- Focus: A device that sits on her ear and can scan environments to help her identify threats or climbing areas.
- Pull Caster: Hook shots to compatible areas to pull Aloy through the air, allowing her to get out of trouble in a hurry or reach new climbing pathways. It can also be used to pull items, providing Aloy with a kind of winch.
- Shieldwing: Works like a glider, allowing Aloy to descend slowly and safely from a high point.
- Diving mask: Lets players stay submerged underwater “as long as you like.” From what we’ve seen in videos, it seems underwater exploration will be a large focus in-game, and Aloy will be able to make use of underwater currents to get around faster.
- Spear: Aloy’s spear helps override machines and can be charged up to create a high-damage effect or knock enemies backward.
- Slingshot: Various projectiles provide different effects. For instance, Adhesive Grenades can temporarily stall machines.
- Bows and arrows: Different arrows have different effects. For example, some explode on contact to strip machines of outer layers and expose weak spots, while others lay traps. Aloy has two bows: the Hunter Bow and Sharpshot bow.
- Spike Thrower: An automated weapon that fires spikes that explode on impact.
- Blast Sling: A slingshot that fires different kinds of bombs.
- Smoke bombs: Temporarily blinds enemies when thrown in range.
- Machines: As in the first game, Aloy can override various machines and use them to get around.
We’ve also seen some new machines
Here’s just a few standouts from the new machines revealed:
- Shellsnappers: A turtle-like creature resting in a swamp.
- Tremortusks: Mammoth-esque machines being used as beasts of war by an unknown tribe.
- Sunwings: Pterosaurs-styled machines searching the skies.
- Clawstriders: Machines seen in artwork and gameplay that look like velociraptors.
- Tiderippers: Plesiosaur-style machines that stalk the waterways.
We’re keeping track of every machine in the game in an ever-updated bestiary, our list of all machines in Horizon Forbidden West.
Machines in Horizon Forbidden West are more deadly than in the prior game, with new options, reactions, and improved AI making them more of a threat. The machines have also been designed to be more easily readable with audio cues for players to pick up on, especially when using the PS5’s 3D audio setup.
“Without spoiling anything, every machine has multiple ways to be defeated. We tried to make it clear for players through the machine design, and added textures to show the weak points or interactive components. You’ll need to study each machine closely to find different ways to approach it,” says Maxim Fleury, Guerrilla Games asset art lead.
Horizon Forbidden West is being designed with a new “Free Climbing” system in mind, which allows Aloy to climb up more terrain and objects in the world than in the previous game.
Aloy also has access to workbench upgrades this time around, allowing her to upgrade her weapons and outfits. This also unlocks additional perks, modifications, and more. For example, Aloy can unlock 12 Valor Surges, special abilities with three ranking levels. The higher the rank, the more damage is done and the longer the Valor Surge lasts.
One of the new locations in Horizon Forbidden West is Chainscrape, an Oseram city on the border. Tribes in Horizon Forbidden West are designed to be visually distinct, with different aesthetics. Animations are even different, with unique things for the tribes to interact with. At settlements, Aloy can eat meals or carry them with her for various bonuses. You can check out the trailer below for more information on the distinct tribes:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6JU5eUcP4M?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
According to Guerilla Games’ official Twitter, we know about a couple of outfits Aloy has access to: the Nora Huntress and Utaru Harvester outfits. Per PlayStation Blog, Aloy’s outfits provide different bonuses, fitting depending on what kind of tribe each outfit comes from. By shooting off rare Machine Parts and collecting resources, more and more upgrades are made available for Aloy.
The soundtrack is being done at least partially by Joris de Man, with Julie Elven providing vocals. In addition, the song from the reveal trailer, Promise of the West, has been released on digital storefronts.
Horizon Forbidden West will take advantage of the new PS5 DualSense controller, using haptic feedback and adaptive triggers to enhance how different weapons feel. Guerrilla Games director Mathijs de Jonge has shared more information on the game in a video you can watch below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIyz_7Hz3U4?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
This extends to other parts of the experience. For example, Guerrilla Games is adding tension through the adaptive triggers when pulling various items in the world, while the DualSense haptic feedback simulates the feeling of moving through the grass while Aloy is in stealth or the scrape of rocks and rubble.
Guerrilla Games, the development studio working on the game, are a part of Sony Worldwide Studios and the creators of the in-house Decima engine.
Guerrilla Games also talks in-depth about how the hardware of the PS5 allows for a more detailed character model for Aloy. This includes more detailed textures, small details like peach fuzz, and more accurate material work. Some of these improvements are seen in Guerrilla Games’ official cosplay guides for Aloy:
Will Horizon Forbidden West have multiplayer?
According to a rumor from VGC, Horizon Zero Dawn was the start of a trilogy. VGC also claims that the second title (now revealed to be Horizon Forbidden West) would have co-op gameplay of some kind. Nothing has been officially confirmed yet.
Guerrilla Games is hiring developers that have experience with massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), adding more fuel to the fire that something multiplayer-related could be happening.
Is Horizon Forbidden West coming to PS4?
Despite previously saying that Horizon Forbidden West would not be available on PS4, Sony confirmed after a September 2020 PS5 games showcase that it will come to PS4 and PS5. There will be numerous differences between the two versions of the game, with the PS5 version including far more visual features, including a completely different water rendering system.
Anyone who buys the game on PS4 will get a free upgrade to the PS5 version at no additional cost. This is the last game from Sony Worldwide Studios that will provide a free upgrade. Future cross-generation games such as God of War Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7 will require a $10 fee for the PS4-to-PS5 upgrade.
Guerilla Games has shared some screenshots, giving a look at what Horizon Forbidden West looks like on PS4:
Is Horizon Forbidden West coming to PC?
As of right now, Horizon Forbidden West has only been announced for PS5. With that said, the complete edition of the first game, Horizon Zero Dawn, came to PC in August 2020. Other PS4 games are also being ported to PC, including Days Gone, which launched on PC back in spring 2021. As such, we wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Horizon Forbidden West arrives on PC sometime after its release on PS4 and PS5. However, with that in mind, it’s almost certainly not going to arrive alongside the console versions.
What we’d like to see in Horizon Forbidden West
There are a few different improvements in Horizon Forbidden West that haven’t been confirmed, but would be interesting to see unfold. For starters, we’re hoping that maybe flying machines can be overridden and rode on, allowing Aloy to travel through the skies.
With the introduction of underwater exploration, we’re also hoping to see some form of underwater combat. While it would be limited compared to the usual player arsenal, allowing Aloy to fight aquatic machines would provide some welcome variety and a change of pace from typical combat encounters.
We’re also hoping to see deeper role-playing mechanics. While it’s unreasonable to expect something on the caliber of more dedicated RPGs, some additional options for customizing Aloy and her response to situations would be nice.
What’s Horizon Forbidden West’ release date?
Horizon Forbidden West is currently scheduled to launch on Feb. 18, 2022 and is available to preorder. This was a delay from previous statements from Guerrilla, For example, in a dedicated update, the team was aiming to release Horizon Forbidden West in 2021. In fact, the company stated that it thought it was “on track to release this holiday season,” but things weren’t certain yet.
This delay was due to the lingering effects of the pandemic on development, with the team wanting to take more time after entering the “final” stage of development.
Hermen Hulst, head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has been blunt with how Horizon Forbidden West and the next God of War were impacted during the pandemic due to limited performance capture technology access.
“But when you’re doing performance capture for a lot of cinematics, with multiple actors — that’s not so simple to solve. So you’ve got a choice. You could do it later in the schedule, which could cause you problems. Or you could risk the final quality by doing it differently. But I can tell you; we’re not going to risk the quality. We want to ship extremely high-quality games, finished games, and we have to do that obviously without pushing our teams to the breaking point,” Hulst said.
Both the original Horizon Zero Dawn and its expansion, The Frozen Wilds, were released in 2017, so Guerrilla has had three or four years of development time. Despite many games being delayed due to the worldwide pandemic, there was at the time no reason to believe the team at Guerrilla couldn’t make the targeted release date of sometime in 2021.
With Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart having released back on June 11, if Horizon Forbidden West were to have still made 2021, it would’ve almost certainly been further out as a Q4 release. But, instead, the game was reportedly delayed to Q1 2022, with PlayStation and Guerrilla Games confirming this news during Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2021, announcing a release date of Feb. 18, 2022.
Launch Edition
Horizon Forbidden West
$70 at Amazon (PS5)
$60 at Amazon (PS4)
$70 at Best Buy (PS5)
$60 at Best Buy (PS4)
$70 at GameStop (PS5)
Aloy is back
Journey to the titular Forbidden West and help Aloy uncover the truth behind a mysterious plague destroying the land. It’s set to launch on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.