You might not realize it, but it’s been a year since Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores arrived. This was the DLC for the PS5 exclusive that allowed players to go to a new part of the world, Hollywood, and explore what life was like there. Aloy met new people, flew high in the skies above, and faced off against some impressive bosses. In light of its anniversary, the team at Guerrilla Games broke down the “BIG boss fight” from the DLC: Horus. This was a behemoth that made even Aloy wonder if she could win, and that’s just part of what made it special.
As franchise fans know, Horus technically was always in the title, the catch was that you only saw it in the “Dormant State” that it laid in. Obviously, that didn’t last, as Aloy had to come up with a way to put it down for good.
Senior Art Director at Guerrilla, Misja Baas, was the one to talk on the PlayStation Blog about bringing it to life, and it was quite a task:
“For something that monumental, you need something that fits, something epic to go with that theme. Imagine these giant machines crawling through the landscape, drilling holes in bunkers and wiping entire cities off the face of the earth. They also served as mobile factories producing Corruptors and Deathbringers to do the groundwork. Together they would form the swarms that ended up destroying the world as we know it. Secondly, we also wanted something that would look impressive and amazing in the landscape. For the final design, we settled on these colossal, almost insectoid machines. It allowed us to really drape the machine on the landscape and make it look very dynamic as if you’re seeing the last moments of life on earth.”
Another team member noted that since this would serve as the way to wrap up everything going on within Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores and tie off the loose end of the main game, they HAD to go big. Just as important, they had to ensure that it felt like a boss fight that couldn’t end easily. They had to make Aloy’s typical weapons useless, as something like Horus wouldn’t be felled by anything basic.
The team also felt it was a great way to show off Aloy and her new allies’ teamwork. So, if you want to see this epic fight from the perspective of Guerrilla Games, be sure to read the blog!
