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Travel through the Forbidden West<\/h2>\n
In the gameplay trailer<\/a>, you\u2019ll have seen Aloy using a variety of new tools in the Forbidden West. \u201cBuilding upon the foundation of Horizon Zero Dawn, we have added a number of new ways to move through the world,\u201d says David McMullen, Lead Systems Designer at Guerrilla. \u201cAloy can climb freely on and across huge sections of rocky terrain; even more machine types can be used as mounts; grapple points can be found throughout the environment which allows agile vertical traversal; swimming underwater has opened up a whole new aspect of exploration; and gliding with the Shieldwing provides the ultimate view of the beautiful world of Horizon Forbidden West – not to mention a quick way down from great heights!\u201d<\/p>\n Captured on PS5<\/em><\/p>\n Before we dive deeper into some of these new mechanics, David will share some insights about the development process, the challenges that come with it, and why it was a goal for the team to increase the amount of player freedom throughout Aloy\u2019s adventure. <\/p>\n \u201cOur traversal design decisions were always in service of increasing dynamic interactivity with the world around you. This could be to empower the player to manipulate and destroy their environment with a tool like the Pullcaster; or grapple-launching into a glide with the Shieldwing to set yourself up for a strike from above. What excites us most is how our mechanics, new and old, synergistically interact with each other to provide varied and dynamic approaches to any scenario.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u2018This wide array of new options also posed challenges to how we think about level design. We need to allow for players to outsmart us, using new moves or tools to bypass some of our challenges in clever and unpredictable ways. Traversal puzzles won\u2019t always have a binary solution; we encourage players to experiment and have fun with the new tools. We will offer a variety of challenges, regardless of playstyle or skill or previous experience in Horizon Zero Dawn.\u201d<\/p>\n And of course, the new features of the PlayStation 5 hardware presented another exciting challenge. While Horizon Forbidden West is developed and published for both PS4 and PS5 from the ground up, there are some highlights for those who will play on the latter console.<\/p>\n \u201cThe DualSense wireless controller is heavily featured throughout our mechanics,\u201d David says. \u201cFrom the scrape of rubble as you push a crate, to the sensation of an unravelling winch as you use the Pullcaster \u2014 with the increased adaptive trigger tension as you pull! We\u2019ve also added extra tactile dimensions to increase both the gameplay value and the feeling of being part of the world Aloy is moving around in; these can be subtle as the sensation of grass brushing around you to indicate you are entering stealth grass, or the pop of the adaptive trigger as you reach maximum draw with a bow. We even use the absence of adaptive tension to help communicate when you\u2019re out of ammo.\u201d<\/p>\n Our Horizon community loves discovering new areas and climbing up high vantage points; to this day they share lots of images, videos, and memories of their adventures in-game! This level of immersive exploration was naturally something the team at Guerrilla took to heart during development of the sequel, David mentions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe free climbing system in Horizon Forbidden West is a huge feature we are extremely excited about, as it has allowed us to make large sections of the terrain climbable (where it makes sense visually and narratively) in a way not previously possible in Horizon Zero Dawn. Rocky surfaces in these areas are freely climbable without the use of tribal handholds!\u2019<\/p>\n Captured on PS5<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Another addition was the high vault traversal mechanic, which essentially allows Aloy to hoist herself on top of any object of jumpable height with room to pull up. Combined with the ability to free climb and adding grapples to our environment, the potential for exploration is greatly increased.\u201d<\/p>\n Two other reveals from the Horizon Forbidden West gameplay trailer<\/a> that have fans – and Guerrillas – very excited are the previously mentioned Pullcaster and Shieldwing: new tools at Aloy\u2019s disposal to make her more agile during both exploration and the inevitable battles she\u2019ll be fighting in the West.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pullcaster is a mechanical wrist-mounted device with two separate functions,\u201d David explains. \u201cThe first function is a grapple mechanic, allowing the player to swiftly and easily ascend the environment and providing a dynamic traversal\/escape option to the player toolkit. When grappling, the player can activate the launch \u2014 throwing them into the air, where they can grab a higher ledge, fire their bow, glide, strike-from-above or even grapple to a further point.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u2018The second function of the Pullcaster is a winch, meaning the player can dynamically manipulate, move and destroy the objects in the environments. Think about pulling a hidden loot chest from a ledge, or tearing open a vent to create a new climb path.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Shieldwing was always a team favorite, it provides not only the most exhilarating way to return from an epic climb but also the most picturesque! This tool is invaluable with having so much more verticality, where backtracking down the same trail holds less of an appeal as on the way up.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Hopefully players appreciate this level of freedom, as well as new gameplay, combat and exploration opportunities. The Shieldwing combines well with numerous other mechanics both in and out of combat, such as landing on your mount, ziplining, the strike from above skill, and more\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n While exploration and traversing around the world all sound idyllic, the Forbidden West is also full of danger, with many unknown enemies and a roster of new machines for Aloy to deal with. It\u2019s imperative to have the right weapons, ammunition, and skills available for when you stumble upon an enemy base, or an angry Tremortusk\u2026 <\/p>\n As with traversal, it was similarly important to evolve combat design further from Horizon Zero Dawn, and build on the principles of player freedom and choice in an open world. With new combat mechanics, enemy types, and weapon variation (to name a few aspects), players can easily assess a dangerous situation and choose how to enter a combat scenario – then actively swap between combat tactics.<\/p>\n Guerrilla\u2019s Lead Combat Designer, Dennis Zopfi, shares how the team expanded its key features in Horizon Forbidden West. \u201cOne of the focus points that influenced all our combat decisions was increased player choice, and we applied this to everything: melee, weapons, outfits, skills and other new mechanics. We wanted to give players more tools, depth and dials to play with.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018One entirely new concept in Horizon Forbidden West is the workbench, where you can upgrade and strengthen weapons and outfits. This unlocks new perks, mod slots, skills, and offers a bigger degree of customization, resistances, and new abilities for players!\u201d<\/p>\n Another way to upgrade Aloy\u2019s abilities is through the skill tree. \u201cIn Horizon Zero Dawn, skills were bought and unlocked as you levelled up,\u201d Dennis explains. \u201cWhile that principle remains in the sequel, we completely redesigned the skill tree with additional tracks and skills; within the skill tree, skills also synergize with those that are either already present on outfits or need to be unlocked on them.\u201d<\/p>\n If you read our previous blog on Aloy<\/a> , you\u2019ll have learned about how character development has multiple teams involved; the Combat team also plays a huge role in her evolution. <\/p>\n Dennis agrees: \u201cWe always start with the character and how we want the player to perceive her during gameplay. In Aloy\u2019s case this means traits like smart, fast, agile, precise, and resourceful; our role is to translate these into game mechanics. Of course having launched Horizon Zero Dawn already, we had a base to start from, so for Horizon Forbidden West we looked at where these traits can come through stronger or maybe what could be added. There are the direct combat mechanics, like shooting and melee, but also indirect ones, like the skills, outfits, upgrades, and weapon techniques. It is a nice design challenge to make all these behind the scenes systems work together in the engine.\u201d<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just Aloy who\u2019s evolved since Horizon Zero Dawn. The Forbidden West is a majestic yet dangerous frontier with many mysterious threats that Aloy might encounter. This creates an additional goal for Dennis and the teams to make sure she has the right weapons and tools available to handle these battles.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to bring melee and ranged combat closer together,\u201d says Dennis. \u201cAloy is not a character who deals with brute force, so we were looking for ways to have the player go back and forth between melee and range, where she could use her precise bow skills to work towards a big payoff moment. A new example of a skill that does this is the Resonator Blast, where you charge up the spear with melee hits and when fully powered up, the energy can be placed on enemies (humans and machines alike) and followed up with a projectile – resulting in a big damaging explosion!\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Then there is the Valor Surge feature; there are 12 in total, with each of them representing and strengthening a specific approach to the game. You unlock and upgrade them through the skill tree with skill points. There are three levels of each Valor Surge: the higher the level, the longer the charge up, but the more powerful the attack.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThis level is shown on the purple bar you could see during the gameplay trailer: you\u2019ll receive more Valor – or charge up that bar – through skillful actions such as hitting weak spots on enemies or removing components. In the video you could see Aloy perform the Radial Blast on the burly Tenakth warrior. \u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt was also important to reward players who go into a melee situation, as it\u2019s very dangerous to be so close to enemies, especially the machines! If you are skilled and daring, you can do some really good damage with these new features – just be careful!\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from these encounters, there\u2019s another level of combat skill needed now that some enemy factions can mount machines. Players will have to keep a close eye on both the enemy mount and its rider, according to Dennis.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Horizon Zero Dawn, machine and humanoid encounters were very separate; they never really operated as a group against Aloy. The world has changed in Horizon Forbidden West, with more danger, more enemy factions, and more machines – and they can now fight together in groups, which poses a real challenge for our hero, and the player.\u2019<\/p>\n “When it comes to mounted combat, the player will have to adapt and decide whom to take out first and in what most effective way; human enemies have weapons, attacks, and abilities that machines don’t and vice versa, so they complement each other in these encounters; keeping you on your toes!\u201d<\/p>\n In the gameplay trailer, Aloy has a host of new weapons at her disposal. Familiar weapons like the Hunter Bow, Sharpshot Bow, and the Blast Sling will of course return, but there are plenty of new weapons to try out too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal for the weapons in Horizon Forbidden West was to give each of them a stronger personality, which is also expressed in how you have to handle them,\u201d Dennis smiles. \u201cEach weapon has their strengths and weaknesses in terms of the ideal situations to use them in.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe Spike Thrower, for example, is a new, high damage weapon which, when thrown at the right moment, makes it easier to hit larger targets. For elemental damage, such as fire or adhesive, you can choose to stick with the Blast Sling, and so forth. Each weapon comes with different perks, ammo types, and weapon coil slots to customize them further \u2014 though some weapons need to be upgraded first before you can make them stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n As both David and Dennis have demonstrated, increased player freedom and player choice was absolutely at the heart of Horizon Forbidden West\u2019s development cycle:<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a number of other subtle yet impactful additions that enable more dynamic gameplay,\u201d summarizes David. \u201cJust to name a few examples: Aloy can wall jump, leap away from a climb surface, high vault, and more. While these might sound like small things, combined they make for engaging environmental challenges and more player options.\u201d<\/p>\n Dennis attests to that: \u201cWe put a lot of effort into creating more choice and depth for the players, and are super excited to see how people will play as Aloy with so many new possibilities of skills, weapons and gear she can obtain throughout the mysterious Forbidden West. We had a lot of fun creating cool and powerful combinations for players to discover, and we hope people will enjoy the game when it launches!\u201d<\/p>\n For more information on Horizon Forbidden West, please visit here<\/a>. See you soon for our next developer blog.<\/p>\nImmersive exploration<\/h2>\n
A majestic but dangerous frontier<\/h2>\n
New weapons and tools<\/h2>\n
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<\/a> <\/p>\nMore freedom and dynamic gameplay<\/h2>\n
Read more about Horizon Forbidden West<\/h2>\n
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