In 2017, a game known as Horizon Zero Dawn caught everyone by surprise with its action-packed gameplay and crisp graphics alongside a thrilling storyline. The game quickly became one of the best to come out that year, and a sequel was bound to be commissioned.
Over the years, the developers have begun working on the new game, and Horizon Forbidden West was revealed. Forbidden West promises a slew of new gameplay mechanics, creatures, regions, and surprises.
The game unveiled a reveal trailer last year, and the hype for this game began to intensify. Find out more about Horizon Forbidden West, what the game is all about, and what we know so far in the article below.
What Is Horizon Forbidden West?
Horizon Forbidden West is the direct sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn by developer Guerilla. The game was officially announced during Sony's PlayStation 5 event. The developer has long been working on the title after the success of the original game.
While the game is still in its development stage, there are many things that the event has unveiled, and fans of the game are truly excited for Forbidden West. The game promises more locations, more creatures, more action, and a new storyline to follow.
While there aren't many details revealed during the event, it is good to know that there are things that players are looking forward to for the upcoming game.
Where To Purchase/Download?
Horizon Forbidden West page is currently up and running at the PlayStation Store. It says that it is available for the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 4, which is good news for those who own the older gaming console.
Do note that the information on the website is currently limited, and additional content may be added during the entire development stage.
Storyline
Horizon Forbidden West is the follow-up to the widely successful Horizon Zero Dawn. Our red-headed heroine Aloy heads to America's west coast and faces new threats alongside a dangerous landscape.
It has been confirmed that the game's region will expand from Utah to the Pacific coast. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted the Golden Gate in San Francisco alongside the Palace of Fine Arts in the game's exclusive trailer.
The Forbidden West shares the same notoriety as the Bermuda Triangle, where there is not much known about the region. This makes the region very mysterious and dangerous at the same time. The Forbidden West will be the main setting for the game.
First mentioned in the original game, Horizon Forbidden West follows Aloy. She begins to uncover the mystery behind the strange blight that is slowly destroying life and the entire landscape.
Expanding The Stories
She'll have to face new threats along the way, including a new tribe known to override machines while also trying to search for a cure for the blight creeping across the land. It is unclear whether the red blight will take center stage in the sequel's storyline.
There are still a lot of stories waiting to be unveiled in Forbidden West. HADES is still not destroyed, even with Aloy's efforts in the first game to expect more from that storyline.
This also includes Sylens, who has taken a portion of HADES to an area where a gigantic war machine lies hidden. Sylens is adamant about finding out who sent the signal to activate the AI in the first place. It also seems like he might be joining a new faction as well.
Release Date
While there is still no exact date for the release of Horizon Forbidden West, Guerilla has unveiled that it will have a release window sometime in 2021. The original game was released in February of 2017 for the PlayStation 4, and it has been more than three years since then.
With all the speculation that it will be released later this year, there is still no specific month or date planned for the game. There is also no mention of its release date during the PS5 State of Play and was suspiciously absent during the event, indicating that the game might encounter some delays.
If you want to play Forbidden West, it's high time you should buy your own PlayStation 5 now since it will be a PS5 exclusive game. Horizon Zero Dawn might have been released for PC, but the sequel might not go down the route.
According to Herman Hulst, the Head of PlayStation Worldwide Studios, there is still no current plan to bring the game to other platforms apart from the PlayStation 4. The reasoning behind this is performance.
PS5 Exclusive
The game director mentioned that with the PS5's current performance, the game would have no loading screens in between. In an open-world game such as Forbidden West, players should be able to travel around different areas without any interruptions, and when you start the game, players should be smacked right into the action.
Both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 have the capabilities to bring high-quality performance and can support the game for all its glory. Guerilla and PlayStation have made it a point to bring the full experience to the players hence their reasoning for the exclusivity of the game to PlayStation only.
Many might not be too fond of this information due to how difficult it is to purchase the PlayStation 5, but the reveal that it can also be played in PlayStation 4 is a sigh of relief for many fans.
Gameplay
The reveal trailer left some breadcrumbs for fans to chew on while waiting for the game's release. And while we only have the trailer to base our speculations on, there are still so many things to look forward to when it comes to Forbidden West's gameplay.
The trailer provided us information that Aloy still has her Focus earpiece, which allows her to scan the environment and give players the information they need. Players can still override different creatures to help her in battle.
The game would still have the same mechanics as the original game, but the trailer revealed that we might be going to new and exciting areas not in the first game this time around. This should open up interesting mechanics in the game.
New Mechanics
The trailer also revealed some gameplay aspects that are new to the game. One of which is an underwater exploration which is technically new to the Horizon franchise. The underwater exploration opens up whole new gameplay for players, who could also easily mean new mechanics and new threats to quell in the sequel.
It is still unclear how combat will look underwater or how Aloy can override these creatures. Another area that might be familiar to players of Horizon Zero Dawn is the cliffs of mountainous regions. Previously, players were only able to climb certain areas instead of giving them the freedom to climb anywhere in the game.
Guerilla has taken notes and offers more options for players to traverse through these terrains by opening up more gameplay mechanics.
New Creatures
Speaking of creatures, Forbidden West also features a slew of new creatures based on the reveal trailer alone. The trailer revealed an alligator-like creature swimming in the depths of San Francisco's waters which was a fascinating and interesting revelation to fans worldwide.
Not only does this reveal that players can now head underwater, there is a possibility that we may be able to use these creatures to travel underwater faster or encounter many more sea creatures in the game.
The trailer also revealed a cliffside landscape where Aloy was able to traverse around. This also revealed a new breed of flying creatures known as "Sunwing's," where it is a mix of flying dinosaur-like creatures that heavily resemble vultures.
Guerilla has not provided any information on whether players can fly using the creatures. Still, fans are already imagining gliding through the skies with the “Sunwings” and how it would affect gameplay.
Shellsnapper, Trumotusk And More
Forbidden West is a strange land, and new creatures are bound to be discovered. One is the "shellsnapper," which is a massive tortoise-like monstrosity with a powerful jaw and moss-covered shell. The creature is known to reside in swampy areas but could also be in the game's coastal areas.
We also get to see the "trumortusk," which resembles a gigantic elephant-like creature that seems to function like a post-apocalyptic tank that can ravage through everything. The creature is seen with spiked armors.
It also looks like a tribe uses the trumortusks against Aloy in a sequence that leads to fans breathless of how action-packed Forbidden West might be.
Conclusion
While the game is still in development and with the recent news claiming that it might get delayed, fans are waiting in bated breath to know when the game will be released.
One thing is for sure, though. Horizon Forbidden West is going to be one of the best games that are exclusive to PlayStation 5 when it is released.
