Developer Guerrilla Games just confirmed a ton of exciting details about Horizon Forbidden West, the upcoming PlayStation 5 sequel to 2017's critically acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn. Game director Mathijs de Jonge appeared in a developer diary to reveal that the open world adventure game is coming to the next-gen console in 2021.
A bit of a wait then, and kind of a bummer to learn it won't be a launch game... but it sure sounds like it'll be worth waiting for. What's really gotten me excited is that Horizon Forbidden West will feature almost no loading screens at all, meaning there'll be much more focus on exploring the world and having fun.
"With the PS5's SSD, there will be virtually no loading screens," Jonge said, echoing what various developers have already said about the PS5 being much faster than its predecessor. "In an open-world game like Horizon Forbidden West, if you open up the map and fast travel from one end to the other, or restart from a checkpoint, it will be super fast. When you boot up the game, you're right there in the action."
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Great news, right? Because let's be honest, nobody likes loading screens, do they? They've never been something anyone wants, they're a necessity. Visual upgrades are all well and good, but the crushing of loading screens is definitely one of the things I'm genuinely most jazzed about heading into next-gen. Let me boot up my console and get straight down to gaming.
Jonge also touched on what we can expect from the game's story and setting. Forbidden West's world will span Utah to the Pacific coast, with plenty to see and do. Aloy has journey here, we're told, as a mysterious infection has ravaged the nature and weather systems of the Forbidden West, causing all kinds of trouble for the locals. Naturally, it's up to our good friend Aloy to uncover the mystery and put a stop to whatever evil business is occurring.
The map has been described as a "bit bigger" than the original game, and is filled with all manner of new machines, such as the giant robot mammoth we saw in the reveal trailer. Many of these machines can be hijacked and given more powers by one of the new hostile tribes, while there are once again other friendly tribes who'll help Aloy out on her travels.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: Horizon Forbidden West, PS5, PlayStation, Horizon Zero Dawn