2022 is off to a flying start with the release of Horizon Forbidden West. The second part of Aloy’s adventures promises to be a first-rate open-world, with many promises. All info.
[Mis à jour le 04 février 2021 à 16h31] Sony offers us an explosive month of February by presenting the second installment of one of its most popular exclusives: Horizon Forbidden West. Aloy is back in her futuro-dystopian world where humanity has been reduced to its most primitive state, and machines have partially replaced the surrounding wildlife, becoming the most dangerous predators humanity has ever known. This unique world, straight from the imagination of Guerrilla Games studios, has won over millions of players who are excitedly awaiting the release of this second opus. Featuring next-gen graphics, a deep story, and accomplished gameplay, this open-world promises a lot. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
For players less familiar with the Horizon universe, it is important to remember certain central elements of its history. The game is set over a millennium AD. The old world having been destroyed by a catastrophe on a planetary scale, Humanity survives there united in different primitive societies, but no longer occupies the highest place in the food chain. Indeed this post-apocalyptic world is also populated by machines, from the smallest to the most gigantic, which constitute a constant danger for its inhabitants. We follow the adventures of Aloy, an intrepid adventurer who knows how to handle bows, spears, grappling hooks and many others to perfection.
In Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy will have to visit the forbidden West, which is none other than the western part of the North American continent. A place of countless dangers where she will have to survive in order to save what remains of humanity from an unknown scourge: The Red Blight. From what we have seen, players will be able to explore the ruins of San Francisco and the Golden Gate but not only, according to Ben McCaw, the game’s narrative director. Aloy will have to make her way through a lush jungle populated by machines but also hostile tribes of raiders, on the largest map ever designed by the Guerrilla Games team.
What immediately jumped out at the Horizon Forbidden West presentation was its graphics. The world of the second opus in the series is strikingly realistic, with lush tropical vegetation, varied environments, impressive light management but also precise animations, adding a lot of dynamism to the fights presented. Little icing on the cake, the decorations seem to be partially destructible, which adds an additional touch of immersion during the various fights. But we must not forget the second player in this presentation, the Playstation 5, which seems to live up to its promises, delivering high-flying performance in 4K 30 fps.
So will these performances really be there on PS5? Will we be entitled to a 60 fps mode? According to Mathijs De Jonge, interviewed by Youtuber Julien Chièze, the game will offer two graphics modes on Playstation 5, a quality mode, where you can admire the full graphic potential of Horizon Forbidden West in 4k 30fps, and a performance mode. where we can appreciate the fluidity of 60 fps in 1080p. On the PS4 side, we don’t yet know what to expect, even if Guerrilla has announced that its game will be available on PS5 and PS4, the performance of the latter may be quite fair.
To overcome the obstacles that await her, Aloy has been offered a few new tools that we have been able to see in action: the Focus Scannerallowing to visualize the different climbing points of the environment, the Shieldwinga kind of hang glider offering the possibility of slowing down the falls, the Pullcastera grappling hook for accelerating vertical movements and getting out of dangerous situations, but also a diving mask and different weapons making many combos possible. So many elements to vary the styles of gameplay and to emphasize the importance of the player’s decisions. In addition, the developers claimed to have completely changed the skill tree, in order to give more freedom to the player. An object improvement system on a workbench should also be implemented, as well as rich and deep underwater gameplay. In addition, climbing becomes a central part of the game, since all surfaces should be accessible (we are thinking here of something like the latest Assassin’s Creed)
Horizon Forbidden West made a brief but notable appearance at Gamescom 2021, so Guerrilla Games could tell us a bit more about its current status. The development team of this Playstation 5 (and PS4) exclusive has arrived with good news and bad news. The good news is that the game finally has an official release date. The bad news is that it was pushed back to the February 18, 2022. In question, a development that we already knew was difficult, weighed down by the health crisis and recruitment difficulties. On the other hand, this is also reassuring news. A game of such technical ambition deserves all the necessary development time.
Of course, we don’t have any information on that yet. But several factors suggest that keyboard/mouse enthusiasts won’t be left behind for very long. Indeed Sony’s recent policy is to develop the export of its PC exclusives. We can think in particular of Uncharted 4 and the first Horizon Zero Dawn game.
As a reminder, Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the biggest hits on Playstation 4, with nearly 10 million sales in 2 years. Arriving on PC in 2020, the title generated nearly 700,000 sales in less than a month (a score comparable to that of The Witcher 3). The first opus, Horizon Zero Dawn, offered us an excellent cocktail. With innovative gameplay, an original story, impressive graphics, and deep characters, its success on both Playstation 4 and PC bodes well for the next Guerrilla title. Needless to say, Horizon Forbidden West is highly anticipated. And according to what we have seen, there is something to look forward to its release date.
It was announced a few days ago, Sony opened pre-orders for Horizon Forbidden West. All pre-orders include an exclusive Legacy Nora outfit and spear. Different versions of the game are available, with one notable fact: it was not originally possible to upgrade a classic PS4 version to a PS5 version. The PS4 version was certainly playable on PS5 thanks to backwards compatibility, but no upgrades were available. For that, you would have had to buy either the digital Deluxe edition (89.99 euros), the Collector’s edition (199.99 euros) or the Regalla edition (269.99 euros) which each include a game on PS4 and a game on PS5.
Faced with the outcry of the players, Sony backpedaled. Jim Ryan CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment), amended blog post introducing the different editions, to announce that players could upgrade their PS4 version to a PS5 version for free: “[…] Last year we committed to providing free upgrades for our cross-gen titles, including Horizon Forbidden West.[…] Players who purchase Horizon Forbidden West on Playstation 4 will be able to upgrade their game for free.” It is true that when the Horizon 2 project was revealed, Jim Ryan himself announced that this title, which would be released on both PS4 and PS5, would offer free upgrade solutions for players changing consoles. . Information came out at lightning speed on Twitter when the editions available for pre-order were announced.
Faced with general indignation, Sony therefore decided to backtrack. Excellent news which takes the form of a mea-culpa hailed by the public. In addition, Sony took the opportunity to present its policy on this subject. Horizon Forbidden West will be the last game to offer a free upgrade, as Sony Interactive Entertainment has committed to offering this service for 10 euros when releasing its next games. A logical decision to set the price of PS4 games on the price of PS5 games. For Horizon Forbidden West, on the other hand, there remains a small, notable and relatively amusing detail. There is no longer any point in buying the PS5 version (79.99 euros), which is more expensive than its little sister PS4 (69.99 euros) given that the latter is free to upgrade. A situation that is likely to change in the coming days.
The different editions:
Standard digital editions: 69.99 euros on PS4 and 79.99 euros on PS5.
Digital Deluxe Edition: 89.99 euros which includes:
- the game on PS4 and PS5
- 2 outfits: Elite Carja Juggernaut and Elite Nora Lightning
- An in-game resource pack
- One piece of Attakth Gallop-Alpha Claw
- A photo mode with exclusive features
- Artbook and digital soundtrack of the game
- A digital edition of the graphic novel Le Faucon-Soleil
- Available on Playstation Store only
Special physical edition: 79.99 euros on PS4 and 89.99 euros on PS5, with:
- The physical game on PS4 and PS5
- The Horizon Forbidden West Steelbook
- A mini artbook
- The game’s digital soundtrack
Collector’s Edition: 199 euros, which includes:
- The Horizon Forbidden West SteelBook®
- A download code for the game (PS4 and PS5) will be provided in the box.
- Hand-sculpted Defense Strike and Aloy figurines
- Figures will need to be assembled, detailed instructions will be provided in the box!
- A mini artbook
- 2 special outfits (Elite Carja Juggernaut and Elite Nora Lightning)
- 2 Special Weapons (Elite Carja Juggernaut Shortbow and Elite Nora Lightning Melt)
- An in-game resource pack, including ammo, potions, and fast travel packs
- A piece of Attakth Galop-claw Alpha in play
- Exclusive photo mode features (special poses and face paints)
- The game’s digital soundtrack
- A digital edition of The Falcon-Sunthe very first graphic novel inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn
Regalla Edition: 269.99 euros, which includes:
- The Horizon Forbidden West SteelBook®
- A download code for the game (PS4 and PS5) will be provided in the box.
- Hand-sculpted miniatures of Regalla’s and Aloy’s Tusk Strike
- Figures will need to be assembled, detailed instructions will be provided in the box!
- A replica of the Focus and a personalized base
- 2 printed posters
- Physical replicas of Helionwing and Gallopclaw Attakth parts
- A mini artbook
- A canvas map
- 2 special outfits (Elite Carja Juggernaut and Elite Nora Lightning)
- 2 Special Weapons (Elite Carja Juggernaut Shortbow and Elite Nora Lightning Melt)
- An in-game resource pack, including ammo, potions, and fast travel packs
- A piece of Attakth Galop-claw Alpha in play
- Exclusive photo mode features (special poses and face paints)
- The game’s digital soundtrack
- A digital edition of The Falcon-Sunthe very first graphic novel inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn