Horizon Forbidden West being delayed from 2021 until February 2022 was a painful blow to the gaming community. The title was initially announced during Sony’s PlayStation 5 reveal event in 2020, and in May 2021, Guerrilla Games gave fans their first glimpse into what they could truly expect from the title with a 14-minute gameplay trailer. Desperation reached a fever pitch–after all, the original Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the most visually stunning games for the PlayStation 4. Forbidden West is promising to blow even that out of the water when it finally releases early next year. In a new blog post made by Guerrilla Games Community Lead Bo de Vries, some in-depth insight regarding Aloy’s updated character model has been released, and expectations have once again begun to skyrocket.
With the intention of making the title more lifelike and realistic, the team shot for the highest quality down to the smallest detail, including the barely visible peach fuzz on our heroine’s face and the stitching on her clothing. More skeletal joints will also make Aloy move more naturally. The title will take full advantage of the PlayStation 5’s increased processing power, and will utilize the capabilities of the new DualSense controller.
The sequel to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West will take place in a post-apocalyptic western United States, with the ruins of San Francisco featured heavily in the game’s marketing. Developers have stated that new monsters and new combat abilities would be introduced, along with a much larger map than the previous title. Underwater exploration will also be newly available, as seen in the original game trailer.
Horizon Forbidden West is scheduled to release February 18, 2022, for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The team promises that although the game was designed to harness the more powerful PlayStation 5, the PlayStation 4 version will allow players an equally immersive experience.