Horizon Forbidden West, the PS5 gameplay preview from the State of Play
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West was the protagonist of a presentation of the gameplay on PS5 during the new State of Play organized by Sony: an appointment in which the sequel to the action RPG developed by Guerrilla Games has finally shown its cards, highlighting the news compared to the first episode of the series.As told in the debut trailer, this new adventure will see Aloy committed to saving the world of the future from a mysterious red plague that corrupts all forms of life, including the Machines, and that ferociously Tenakth tribe has somehow learned to control, becoming even more dangerous.
Let's find out all the news in our preview of Horizon Forbidden West.
Gameplay
Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy in all the splendor of the new graphics. Horizon Forbidden West's gameplay video, lasting fourteen minutes, introduces us to a preliminary phase of the campaign in which Aloy and some of his companions, including Erend, went to the ruins of San Francisco to find an electronic device. whose role will be fundamental in identifying the origin of the plague and finding a way to stop its advance.The brave warrior's allies, however, were suddenly attacked and Erend was taken prisoner: it is from there that the in-game sequences of Horizon Forbidden West start, immediately characterized by a surprising visual impact, which exploits the greater polygonal complexity of characters and settings but above all ray tracing to give the graphics a Pixar-style look.
Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy glides using a kind of energy parachute. The first encounter with the Machines suggests that Aloy does not yet have power-ups that allow her to fight effectively during an open-face battle with multiple enemies, so the girl uses a new gadget, the smoke bomb, to confuse the her robotic opponents and quickly flee over some ruins.
However, the robotic creatures continue to chase her and do not lose sight of her, forcing her to reach the water and dive in order to lose her tracks. Thanks to a respirator we will be able to carry on our underwater operations for as long as we want, this too represents a novelty compared to the mechanics of Horizon Zero Dawn.
Horizon Forbidden West will include underwater sections. The representation of the seabed is suggestive, with Aloy who can push herself strongly from a hold to overcome currents and elude the creatures that live in the water. The stealth mechanics have therefore not changed and this is confirmed by the attitude of the protagonist who, re-emerged, crouches across the tall grass to hide from the sight of any enemies.
It is at that point that Aloy sees three members of the tribe Tenakth and confronts them: the former is eliminated from behind, silently, while the latter is defeated with a powerful maneuver while running. We were wondering if the developers would enrich the hand-to-hand combat system with the spear and the answer is evident in the confrontation with the largest and most armored Tenakth, which is knocked out using a special move and finishing him with an arrow shot in bullet time. : spectacular.
Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy spots some enemies while hiding in the tall grass. Using the Override on a Machine, the warrior with the Focus finally identifies the area where the enemies have led Erend and runs to free him, but is attacked by one of the largest creatures ever seen in the series, a sort of Mammoth armored and armed to the tusks. In short, a real boss fight begins in which Aloy tries to avoid the devastating blows of the enemy and at the same time to identify his weak points.
During this phase we discover some additions related to the arsenal of the protagonist, who can now throwing explosive spears and sticky bombs that slow down opponents. Her repertoire also includes the good old grappling hook, but in a more dynamic and versatile version, as well as a sort of energy parachute that allows her to glide from great heights.
Preliminary impressions
Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy prepares to fight a huge Machine. As a good sequel, Horizon Forbidden West does not revolutionize a starting system that has proved solid and fun, limiting itself to enriching it with new possibilities, both in terms of the exploration phase and the fighting. The demo of the State of Play from this point of view has highlighted some important news, but we are sure there will be many more to discover.The images have shown a general tendency towards cinematic storytelling, with in-game sequences that turn into cutscenes and vice versa, as is now traditional for Sony first party productions, but also and above all a technical sector of great depth, bright and colorful, somehow "comic" and close to the quality of feature films most famous animations.
Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy and the new graphic style in evidence. The merit, as already mentioned, is undoubtedly a higher polygonal complexity and the use of ray tracing for lighting, although the usual technical analyzes will clarify exactly how and to what extent this technology has been used in the new Guerrilla title. Games. There are some small uncertainties that suggest a resolution at real 4K, but which will certainly be filed down between now and launch.
It will also be very important to understand if the developers will insert the now traditional performance mode or not in order to aim for 60 fps: greater fluidity would make fighting with the Machines even more interesting.
The PlayStation 4 version also remains shrouded in mystery, which we imagine will run at a lower resolution and obviously with a less sophisticated lighting system.
What, however, was really missing in this presentation of Horizon Forbidden West is ultimately the most important piece of information, the one we've all been waiting for: an official release date or at least a launch period that can confirm the game's arrival on PlayStation 5 by the end of the year.
Imagining that Aloy's new adventure could be postponed to 2022 would not make much sense, but it would indeed be official; also to help us understand how exactly the rest of 2021 will be configured with regard to the PlayStation exclusives. What do you think?
Horizon Forbidden West is a great sight, no doubt: the greater polygonal complexity and above all the lighting system with ray tracing give the graphics of Aloy's new adventure an extraordinary visual impact , close to that of the most famous animated feature films. The demo highlighted several gameplay innovations that do not revolutionize the experience but certainly enrich it: from the platform phases to a more dynamic use of the grapple, from underwater explorations to new weapons, finally passing through completely new types of machines, there is enough to make this wait unnerving ... all the more so since there is no release date yet.
