Horizon Forbidden West has revealed that enemies will be able to continue their pursuit of protagonist Aloy underwater. Horizon Forbidden West was originally scheduled to release this year, however, its release date was ultimately delayed into 2022. According to developers at Guerrilla, this was in order to ensure that the game will be of the highest possible quality for fans on its eventual launch. As a result of this delay, it is currently nominated for the Most Anticipated Game award at this year’s Game Awards, alongside Elden Ring, Starfield, Breath of the Wild's sequel, and God of War: Ragnarok.
Acting as a sequel to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, Forbidden West will allow players to venture once more into Guerrilla's futuristic yet primal vision of America. Fans have been treated to several updates on Horizon Forbidden West since it was first announced, with deep-dive trailers and informative insights from the developers gradually being revealed ahead of the game's February release. This included a new segment of gameplay that took place under Horizon Forbidden West’s breath-taking waters. However, no matter how tranquil and inviting this water may look, players will still need to watch their backs when diving into the game's azure depths, as several of Horizon Forbidden West’s enemies are amphibious and will actually follow Aloy underwater during a confrontation.
A new come across in Horizon Forbidden West and how they will act. Fans have already witnessed footage that showed Aloy escaping a flurry of Clawstriders by plunging herself into the waters around the San Francisco Bay area. However, while these Clawstriders did not dive under the water to continue their chase, other enemies will not give up on their pursuits of Aloy so easily. According to the blog post, certain amphibious enemies will be able to leap into and out of water to attack Aloy, with lead AI programmer Arjen Beij saying this was part of an effort to make enemies feel more fluid and authentic. This new move set is all part of Guerrilla’s plan to improve the combat system in Horizon Forbidden West.
Thankfully for players (and Aloy), it is not just Horizon Forbidden West’s AI that has seen an their overall performance. Aloy herself will also have new skills that she can utilize, as well as some additional equipment. Along with her diving mask, Aloy will also have access to a Shieldwing and a Pullcaster to make traversal easier. Meanwhile, she will have new weapons in her arsenal, such as adhesive grenades.
Horizon Forbidden West looks set to be another great PlayStation exclusive, with the team at Guerrilla expanding upon their winning Zero Dawn formula even further. Reassuringly for the many fans who have been unable to snag themselves a PlayStation 5 thus far, the developers of Horizon Forbidden West have additionally promised that it will be just as immersive an experience on the PlayStation 4 as it will be on the PS5 when it finally releases next year.
Horizon Forbidden West comes to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on February 18, 2022.
Source: PlayStation
