Horizon: Forbidden West (18th February 2022)

[Julius]

On track and seemingly aiming at this holiday season, per Herman Hulst's latest Q&A:

Quote

For Horizon, we think we are on track to release this holiday season. But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can. 

 

[Ronnie]

6 hours ago, Julius said:

But that isn’t quite certain yet

Uh oh. Sounds like another delay incoming.

It'd be crazy if Playstation only have Ratchet and Returnal as big first party hitters this whole year.

[Julius]

Game Informer have put up an interview with the game's director Mathijs de Jonge and narrative director Benjamin McCaw:

Key takeaways:

Free climbing was one of the things I wanted to see the most with this game (not nearly enough games have tried something like it since Breath of the Wild), so I'm really excited to see what they do with it! 

Quote

"The climbing tools for the first Horizon were a little bit limited and restricted," admits de Jonge, "so we really just wanted to open that up and give players the freedom to climb anywhere they like in these open worlds."

"So now you also don't have to go around the mountain. If there are no handholds, you can just go over it in a straight line, which is great. And then combining that of course with the glider that you can glide back down. You can go down even further into the water. We just add a lot of verticality in that sense to exploration," says de Jonge.

And what they mention about micro-stories and more densely populating the world with things to do has my attention. I enjoyed the combat with the machines in the first game, but it really felt empty. I'd love to be able to remove as much of the HUD as I can, like I did with Breath of the Wild, and then just come across things naturally instead, and I think a world with more things to do might help lend this game to that. 

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“The map is a little bit bigger, but in general, we've really looked at increasing the density, and adding more content, making sure there's a lot more to do for the player across the map, and then making that content also engaging by telling little micro-stories,” de Jonge said.

In Julien Chièze's interview, they also confirmed that there will be a 60 fps Performance Mode on PS5. 

And PlayStation have also just put up a tweet spotlighting the game's composers:

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Julius

[Ronnie]

All sounds great. Weird how they didn't demo the "climb anywhere" aspect in the trailer. In fact they showed the opposite with specific highlighted places to climb!

Climbing a high mountain and gliding down to somewhere that looks interesting was one of my fav gameplay loops in BOTW, so it's exciting to see it here.

[Julius]

shockedpikachu.jpg

Think we all knew it was coming, but definitely makes the decision to show it off nearly two months ago a strange one. Yet another one though where I'd rather the company or studio involved (Sony/Guerrilla) share this with us than Schreier. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Julius

[Ronnie]

I. am. shocked.

Really weak year from Sony, basically just Ratchet and Returnal from them for the whole of 2021  Not a good look, especially after that ludicrous 2021 date for God of War.

Still at least 2022 will be a good one with BOTW2, Starfield, Elden Ring, this and GoW2.

[Dcubed]

Expected delay is expected.

I doubt it'll hurt Sony that much though.  The usual yearly COD (which they will almost assuredly pay for some timed exclusive DLC) will likely be enough to carry them through this holiday season.

[Ganepark32]

The delay has been officially confirmed during Opening Night Live. Game will launch on both PS4 and PS5 on February 18th 2022. Pre-orders start next week, September 2nd.

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Ganepark32

[Julius]

Pretty big update from Jim Ryan on this game's PS4 to PS5 upgrade and the future of upgrades on the system: Forbidden West will be getting a free upgrade, and new cross-gen first-party exclusives will offer an upgrade from PS4 to PS5 at $10 USD. 

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Thursday was to be a celebration of Horizon Forbidden West and the amazing team at Guerrilla working to deliver it on February 18, 2022. However, it’s abundantly clear that the offerings we confirmed in our pre-order kickoff missed the mark.

Last year we made a commitment to deliver free upgrades for our cross-gen launch titles, which included Horizon Forbidden West. While the pandemic’s profound impact pushed Forbidden West out of the launch window we initially envisioned, we will stand by our offer: Players who purchase Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version for free.

I also want to confirm today that moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive cross-gen titles (newly releasing on PS4 & PS5)–both digital and physical*–will offer a $10 USD digital upgrade option from PS4 to PS5. This will apply to the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, and any other exclusive cross-gen PS4 & PS5 title published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Pretty big news that, nice to hear something after the uproar we've rightly seen the last couple of weeks. Wouldn't be such a bad idea for them to reiterate this during Thursday's Showcase. 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Julius

[Julius]

Update from the PlayStation blog today. 

Looks a lot of fun! I'd been toying with the idea of playing through the first game again next year, but honestly, I think I might just wait for Forbidden West at this point. 

The Machines were a lot of fun to fight and the game looked beautiful, but things like combat against humans, the story of the past being far more interesting than the story in the present (shares that with BOTW I guess), and the repetition of certain lines (I still have nightmares about Aloy commenting on what felt like every herb she picked up) has really put me off and made me want to wait for this instead. 

So fingers crossed it lives up to the billing! 

[Julius]

Guerrilla have shared screenshots of the PS4 version of the game:

Now, I'd assume it's running on the PS4 Pro, but it still looks to be a noticeable step up from Zero Dawn, even if it's a clear step down from the PS5 version. Still looks great! 

[Ronnie]

Good to see devs showing old gen versions, Cyberpunk was probably a kick up the arse a lot of them needed. Still disappointing how it's a last gen game too though and not built from the ground up for PS5.

[Sheikah]

37 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Good to see devs showing old gen versions, Cyberpunk was probably a kick up the arse a lot of them needed. Still disappointing how it's a last gen game too though and not built from the ground up for PS5.

Probably quite easy in this case, likely this was a PS4 game initially that moved over to PS5 partway through. "We believe in generations" indeed.

[bob]

Also pretty easy decision to make when you want to sell lots of games. 

[Julius]

A new trailer with a focus on the Machines of the Forbidden West:

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In the Forbidden West, awe-inspiring machines rule the lands. These technologically advanced robots have become Earth’s dominant species and pose a serious threat throughout Aloy’s mission.

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Julius

[Julius]

Game has gone gold...

...and it's going to be a beefy one! 

Crazy to think that between them and a Day 1 patch, this and Gran Turismo 7 will probably take up a good third or so of your storage on an untampered PS5. 

Guerrilla have also shared some PS4 Pro footage, which looks bonkers. We've seen some serious wizardry on the PS4 and PS4 Pro the last few years! 

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by Julius

[Julius]

Some footage of the game running on a base PS4:

Obviously a step down from what we've seen on the Pro and PS5, but still, some serious wizardry going on here.

I played both The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima on a base PS4 when they released and was astounded at what they achieved with those games on the hardware, and this looks to be the same. Fingers crossed for those load times! 

[Choze]

The first game is still insane looking. Looks nicer than the PS5 version of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. I loved the locations, characters, story, music everything.

Will be fun to see where everyone ended up from the first game. Some characters already shown in trailers.

[drahkon]

Apparently there's a leaked review that leaked a gameplay mechanic. Just FYI, in case you are reading up on H:FW news  

[Julius]

2 hours ago, drahkon said:

Apparently there's a leaked review that leaked a gameplay mechanic. Just FYI, in case you are reading up on H:FW news  

Had it spoiled for me in a clickbait headline  if you've read it you can be my sounding board, if not ignore, but...

Spoiler

...I find it really strange that they've decided to keep flying mounts - to whatever extent they're actually useable - quiet, just considering all of the talk around the release of the first game of that being something that they hinted that the hardware wasn't capable of, and which I personally assumed wouldn't make it into this game purely because of that previous statement. 

It's nice to have something to look forward to rather than just spraying gameplay mechanics all over the place pre-launch, don't get me wrong, but every time those flying Machines were shown (and they're really front and centre in the marketing!), I was sitting here like, "hey, guys, if flying mounts aren't going to be in the game, don't show it so much!" 

Really curious to see if the leaked mechanic gets talked about when the review embargo drops (on Monday, I think?) or if it's something they stay mum about and which most will come across for the first time in-game. 

Total aside: who here is planning to pick the game up on Day 1, and is there anyone like me who will be holding off just because of Elden Ring being a week later?

For me, I just don't think there's any way I'd be able to stop myself from rushing through, which I definitely don't want to do with a game like this, and to be fair, the next few months feels like a game if picking your battles with all of the releases as it is! It is a shame though, because I've been in a Nausicäa mood lately (in retrospect a huuuuuuge influence on the first game and Aloy) so there's definitely that (fictional!) environmental disaster scratch that I want to itch 

[bob]

I saw the 'gameplay mechanic leak' and immediately guessed what it was anyway. What else could it have been?!

I'm intrigued this is coming out on PS4 still. I assumed that they would have cancelled the PS4 version at some point, but now I feel like I ought to buy it simply because I can.

[drahkon]

4 hours ago, Julius said:

  Reveal hidden contents

...I find it really strange that they've decided to keep flying mounts - to whatever extent they're actually useable - quiet, just considering all of the talk around the release of the first game of that being something that they hinted that the hardware wasn't capable of, and which I personally assumed wouldn't make it into this game purely because of that previous statement. 

It's nice to have something to look forward to rather than just spraying gameplay mechanics all over the place pre-launch, don't get me wrong, but every time those flying Machines were shown (and they're really front and centre in the marketing!), I was sitting here like, "hey, guys, if flying mounts aren't going to be in the game, don't show it so much!" 

 

Spoiler

Yup, that's the thing. 

Not sure how much is known, it was just mentioned that those flying thingies can be used as a mount. We'll see if there will be any limitations.

4 hours ago, Julius said:

Total aside: who here is planning to pick the game up on Day 1

Already traded in two games and pre-ordered F:HW. Bad idea, 'cause I have exams coming up but...yeah  

 

[Julius]

Woo accessibility stuff! 

Just quickly glancing through, but gyro aiming and optional loading screens for tips on PS5 (this is kind of a hilarious flex) look like the highlights. 

[drahkon]

Always happy to see accessibility settings.

I'm lucky enough to not need them, but I wish every single game would offer them.

[Julius]

14 minutes ago, drahkon said:

  WHOOOOOPWHOOOOOOP (Reveal hidden contents)

Yup, that's the thing. 

Not sure how much is known, it was just mentioned that those flying thingies can be used as a mount. We'll see if there will be any limitations.

 

Spoiler

I am a little concerned that it might be a limited implementation and this review has now set the bar too high for a mechanic they might have purposely not shown, for example if the mounts can't be controlled, are on predetermined routes, etc. 

Still, cool stuff to hear about! 

 

16 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Already traded in two games and pre-ordered F:HW. Bad idea, 'cause I have exams coming up but...yeah  

I respect it. 

You're still in for Elden Ring though, right? 

Also: good luck with your exams! 

14 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Always happy to see accessibility settings.

I'm lucky enough to not need them, but I wish every single game would offer them.

Yeah, same here, honestly with some it's just really nice to see how positively received they are by very small but heavily affected parts of the gaming community (for example, the audio and visual stuff in The Last of Us Part II).

Playstation has been making some weird moves over the last year or so that haven't exactly always sat right with me (shuttering most of their highly talented Japanese studios, buying Bungie), but this is one of those things that transcends the business side of things and has more to do with giving people a fair chance to enjoy something they might not otherwise.

It's really commendable, and while I know it's not exactly reproducible across the industry due to the cost involved, I do think on a per game basis, a slew of their AAA offerings have some of the best and most through lists of accessibility options. Would love them to just throw money at a team which could help smaller teams try to make their games more accessible, but unfortunately that's where the business side of things make it an unrealistic proposition  they're setting the right example in this regard though, for sure! 

Reading through this blog post, though, it also seems to go well beyond typical accessibility stuff, and touches quite a lot on quality of life stuff. I'll try to go through and list some, because some of these sound like things I could see folks on here being interested in using:

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General Accessibility Settings

• changing size and background of subtitles for better visibility, and subtitles are enabled by default at the start of the game. 

• Notebook in the game menu is essentially an exhaustive encyclopaedia with details on the world, characters, machines, and datapoints. It also includes a Tutorials section for looking up game controls and mechanics. 

Difficulty Settings

• five difficulty settings, ranging from Story Mode to Very Hard. 

• also introducing Custom Difficulty Mode in which you can adjust the damage Aloy receives and dishes out. 

• an Easy Loot option is available in Story and Easy Modes, as well as being an option in Custom Difficulty. Any resources still attached when killing a machine are automatically added to your inventory, lessening the need to detach them during combat. 

Controller Settings

• a number of presets for controls, including left-handed support. 

• fully remappable gameplay controls, with guidance on any potential conflicts. 

• several options to swap between Toggle and Hold, as well as inverting the X or Y axis. 

• a Co-pilot system is available which grants a second PlayStation controller with mirrored controls access to the game. Only requires an additional controller and second user profile. 

• optional gyro controls for aiming. 

• sliders for movement sensitivity and Dead Zone settings for analog sticks. 

• you can Quick Swap between weapons with a single button tap. 

• for PS5 owners using the DualSense, you can change the vibration intensity on cinematics, travel, combat, UI, or the environment. You can also disable adaptive triggers when wielding weapons. 

Gameplay Assist Settings

• you can adjust how much the game slows down when you bring up the weapon wheel is activated or enable Aim Assist. 

• you can increase duration of Concentration or set Auto Concentration if you have trouble activating it yourself during combat. 

• similar options for Auto Sprint, Auto Heal (below 50% health), Auto Shieldwing (when falling from great heights, once unlocked). 

• option called Climbing Annotations Always On which makes climbing holds and markings easier to see without needing to use Focus. 

• range of guidance options for the open world, from minimal to markers appearing for each quest location. The same goes for waypoints. 

• for longer travels, you can select Mount Follows Road to follow the beaten path with minimal input on your part. 

• option to toggle on or off reminders on how to use abilities, weapons, or engage with certain enemies. 

• booting up the game after shutting down will bring up a Story So Far screen to help get back into the swing of things. 

• while PS4 players might encounter the occasional loading screen with tips and hints, PS5 players can toggle between Informative and Immediate, since the game loads faster on PS5 and some might want to see those same tips and hints. 

Audio and Visual Settings

• you can fine-tune camera shake and motion blur settings. 

• completely customisable HUD. 

• in terms of audio, there are options to individually adjust the volume of music, speech, and sound effects. 

• you can also force mono audio, and can remove tinnitus sounds (triggering sounds such as machine shrikes which are similar to tinnitus sounds). 

• in the PS5 version, there are additional options for adjusting the volume of machine sounds, weapon and explosion sounds, and ambient sounds. 

Story So Far is the other one for me that stands out and sounds like it could prove useful!