Every Horizon Forbidden West PS5 feature the PS4 version doesn't have


Horizon Forbidden West is going to be one of the several cross-generational titles coming to PlayStation in the next few months. The question remains though... Will Horizon Forbidden West be better on the PS5?

Here's everything we know about the additional next-gen features PlayStation 5 players have to look forward to in the future.

For details on the best place to pre order Horizon Forbidden West, check out Stock Informer!

PS4 vs PS5: What Extra Features Does It Have?

As you might imagine, Horizon Forbidden West is going to look better on a PS5 console and it should perform better on the updated hardware too. But, what does that actually mean? The PlayStation 4 isn't quite dead yet and Guerrilla wants to make sure as many people as possible can experience the next stage of Aloy's adventure across the post-apocalyptic world being explored in Horizon.

Narrative Director Benjamin McCaw and Game Director Mathijs de Jonge sat down with IGN recently to discuss some of the new features coming to Horizon Forbidden West and detail what was different with the PS5 version of their title.

Horizon Forbidden West Underwater Rendering PS5 vs PS4
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SPECIAL RENDERING - Horizon on the PS5 is going to employ unique techniques for rendering underwater scenes

At the moment, we know the following...

  • The PS5 version of Horizon Forbidden West is going to support a 60FPS "Performance Mode";
  • The PS5's 3D audio and DualSense features will both be utilised;
  • Horizon Forbidden West's "Cinematic-Grade" lighting system will be used throughout the game, rather than just in cutscenes in the PS4 version;
  • The PS5 version of the game has a special rendering technique for the underwater areas of the game, improving it drastically;
  • The PS5 version will feature Ray-Tracing in a Fidelity mode, the PS4 version of the title will not (at the time of writing);

On the whole, it looks like Horizon Forbidden West on the PS5 will benefit in all the standard ways a next-gen title would, given the improved hardware. In terms of the actual content of the title, it seems like both versions will be near-identical beyond performance and graphics enhancements.

There hasn't been any mention of loading times and draw distances, but we are expecting both to be better on the PlayStation 5 as you might expect.

You can read the full IGN interview with Guerrilla here, if interested.

Horizon Forbidden West Release Date & Platforms

At the moment, we don't know when Horizon Forbidden West is coming. At the moment, a recent Q&A with Hermen Hulst has revealed that Guerrilla is quite far along with its development of the game.

" For Horizon, we think we are on track to release this holiday season. But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can."

There are rumours that this date will be mid-to-late November, but PlayStation and Guerrilla aren't committing to anything as they continue to develop the title.

You can read the full Q&A with Hermen Hulst here, if interested.

Horizon Forbidden West is due to release on the PS4 and PS5 at some point later this year.

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