We haven't heard much about Horizon Forbidden West for a little while now, but we are under the impression that it is still due to release at some point in 2021.
Recently, Studio Director Angie Smets has been talking about how Guerrilla is utilising the PlayStation 5's unique DualSense controller to enhance the gameplay experience of the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel.
LATEST - Forbidden West's Haptic Feedback
It isn't anything too major, but it's something. Horizon Forbidden West is going to make full use of the DualSense's Haptic Feedback features and we can imagine the Adaptive Triggers are going to get a look too.
The latest hints were found in a Wired article discussing the PS5 as a whole, but the quote from Guerrilla Studio Director Angie Smets is what we want to look at.
"If you want to take a stealth approach to a combat situation and you dive into long grass, you can feel those long grass leaves.”
We know it isn't a lot, but it's something. Hermen Hulst has also recently touched base with Guerrilla and he is singing the praises of their work on Horizon Forbidden West.
Unfortunately, that's pretty much all we have to talk about right now.
New Sizzle Confirmation?
A recently uploaded PlayStation "Game Range" trailer has confirmed that Horizon Forbidden West is still on course for its 2021 launch window.
Although there isn't anything more specific than the "anticipated second half of 2021" quote we see in the trailer below, it's a promising sign for fans of the series.
It's vague, but when you combine this with Jim Ryan's comments to GQ the other day (which can be seen below), it's certainly good news.
State of Play Announcement
PlayStation is going to make their first State of Play presentation of 2021 one to remember.
The presentation is due to be released on February 25th and will feature at least ten upcoming PS4 and PS5 title. Of course, everyone is expecting Horizon Fordbidden West to make an appearance given the fact that it is one of the most anticipated titles coming from a PlayStation Studio.
READ MORE: First State of Play Presentation of 2021 Promises To Be Good
An appearance from Horizon Forbidden West and Guerrilla seems likely after a recent interview with SIE CEO Jim Ryan. In his interview with GQ, he said the following:
" We’re feeling pretty good about Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West. And, you know, there are two approaches to this: you can either hold the date and put out the game irrespective of quality or you can ship it when it’s right. We have always taken the latter approach. There have been some fairly high-profile instances of publishers trying the former approach."
Looking past the slight dig at CD Projekt Red, we see that Horizon Forbidden West is amongst the titles that Sony is "feeling pretty good about".
We got an announcement for Rift Apart recently, so why not the next Horizon title?
Release Date
This is, unfortunately, something we don't know a whole lot about at the moment.
We know that Horizon: Forbidden West is due to launch in 2021, but that's about it when it comes to any official announcements.
READ MORE: Horizon Zero Dawn VR Game Rumoured To Be In Development
The lack of information so far into 2021 would suggest that Horizon Fordbidden West isn't due to launch until Q3 or the end of the year at the earliest.
We imagine Sony would want enough time to build up hype and market the title prior to release. Although, this isn't always the case and surprise announcements have worked well in the past.
Story Details
The ending of Horizon Zero Dawn left us with a lot more questions than answers and set the game up perfectly for a sequel.
Just focusing on the main narrative, Aloy finally defeats Hades in the final segments of the game.
However, things aren't exactly what they seem. Sylens, Aloy's mysterious mentor, is shown to actually be helping Hades survive their conflict with Aloy after being seduced by the AI.
The two "disappear into the sunset", so to speak, at the end of Horizon Zero Dawn and we can imagine Horizon Forbidden West is going to follow on almost directly from this point.
For the rest of the narrative arcs, only time will tell. We're not sure if any of our favourite characters from Horizon Zero Dawn will be travelling West with Aloy, but we can hope to learn more about this soon.
We know that Horizon Forbidden West will showcase landmarks such as San Francisco and Yosemite Valley, with the map being set across California, Utah, and Nevada.
If we look at the Announcement Trailer above, we also get a glimpse into a mysterious ailment plaguing the world and destroying everything in its' path. Could this be the work of Hades or something much larger and more dangerous?
New Features?
One of the new features everyone wants to know more about is the element of underwater exploration that has been confirmed to be appearing in Horizon Forbidden West.
Although we don't know quite what capacity this will appear in, it is an exciting prospect that will undoubtedly bring an important depth to the game.
In addition to this, fans are speculating about what gameplay changes could be brought to Horizon's sequel to keep combat and traversal fresh.
Flying Mounts is one which many agree would be fantastic to see and a new array of technology and weapons could help keep Aloy's next journey as incredible as we all hope it will be.
With Gran Turismo recently being delayed, fans are hoping Aloy's next outing won't suffer the same fate. Be sure to check back for more information about Horizon Forbidden West as and when it becomes available.