Horizon Forbidden West is due out February 18, 2022, and there’s still a lot we don’t know about Aloy’s next adventure. But in a new post on the PlayStation Blog, Guerilla’s community lead, Bo de Vries, outlined some of the big changes the team is making in for the upcoming sequel to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn.
The biggest changes seem to be related to the ways enemies will now react to Aloy’s presence. Past previews of Forbidden West have revealed a world inundated with water. That inclusion affects Aloy’s moveset — our hero can now swim in all directions instead of being limited to the water’s surface. But, life under the sea wouldn’t be very interesting without a little conflict.
“More machines are now capable of swimming and have the ability to dive and chase Aloy underwater,” said Arjen Bejj, the game’s lead AI programmer. “Amphibious enemies can also use jumps to get in and out of the water, so if you are unlucky they will combine this with an attack.
This is part of a broader evolution of the enemy roster’s AI which will now actively seek out shortcuts to Aloy’s position, rather than taking the long way around. But Aloy also has new tools in her toolkit. Well, it’s less a toolkit, and more a workbench. As in another recent Sony first party tentpole, The Last of Us Part II, players will be able to upgrade their weapons and outfits at workbenches around the map.
The blog also reveals that Aloy has a new charge attack, called the resonator blast, which is awarded when players successfully land multiple spear hits.
“Whenever Aloy attacks with melee, the resonator in her spear stacks up some energy. This energy can be blasted at the enemy and will stick to them for a short duration,” said Charles Perrain, Forbidden West’s combat designer. “Shooting it with an arrow before it dissipates will deal a huge amount of damage! This mechanic creates a powerful synergy between close combat and ranged combat, encouraging players to transition smoothly between both.”
The resonator blast isn’t the only sticky part of Aloy’s arsenal. Additionally, Aloy can shoot adhesive goop onto enemies, which will bubble and then harden into place. Though it isn’t super clear from this GIF what exactly that does to opponents.
With swimming opponents, workbenches, adhesive attacks, resonator blasts, and the grappling hook and glider we’ve seen in previous trailers, it seems like Horizon Forbidden West is adding enough new mechanics to keep things fresh. We’ll know for sure in February.
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