New Horizon Forbidden West gameplay details have been revealed, including a new free-climbing system and melee system.
In a new interview from Game Informer with developer Guerrilla Games, game director Mathijs de Jonge and narrative director Benjamin McCaw shared more information on Aloy’s new gameplay and traversal abilities.
During the latest State of Play, where the first gameplay was revealed for Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla shared a look at new tools Aloy will be able to use to explore the world. According to Jonge, there is even more than what was shown in the trailer.
The free-climbing system is a new addition to Forbidden West and will allow Aloy to climb completely free of restrictions in the world, including rocks, mountains and cliffs.
In a separate interview with IGN, Jonge clarified that Aloy’s Focus ability lets players get a better sense of their surroundings.
He said: “I think some people think that you have to [use the Focus] to be able to climb, but that’s not true. This is just for light, for low light conditions, to be able to highlight them so you can actually see them better. But the player could climb anyway without having to ping.”
The game director also revealed that the glider, now known as the Shieldwing, was one of the things the team tried to incorporate in the first game, Horizon Zero Dawn, as a prototype but never made it into the final product.
In terms of PS5 technology, Horizon Forbidden West will take advantage of full 3D audio and DualSense controller support. Jonge also confirmed that “a lot of the development has taken place on the PS4” along with a lot of playtesting.
“So we are ensuring that owners of that console have a great experience and the game will look fantastic on that console,” he said.
Jonge revealed that the PS5 water rendering technique is different to the PS4 version and hero lighting on Aloy is only available in cutscenes on the PS4 whereas, on the PS5, it is used throughout the game.
Additionally, Guerilla has completely overhauled the in-game skill tree, and has added a brand new melee system with specific combos that rewards players with abilities such as the Resonator Blast, a charged-up spear ability that was shown off in the trailer.
Forbidden West will also feature many different biomes, along with a new workbench system for upgrading weapons and armour.
Horizon Forbidden West is set to launch by the end of 2021.
Elsewhere, Hermen Hulst confirms more PlayStation games are coming to PC, but not at launch.
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