Horizon: Forbidden West — 14 Minutes of Gameplay

Horizon: Forbidden West is one of the most anticipated PlayStation games of the year and on Thursday we got to see 14 minutes of gameplay from Aloy’s sophomore adventure. Aired during a PlayStation State of Play stream, the footage was captured on PlayStation 5 and it looks incredible.

Expanding on both the combat and exploration systems of the first game, Forbidden West will pit Aloy against a wider array of foes — both human and machine — in a whole new environment. The gameplay video (below) drops us in during what appears to be the middle of the quest, raiders have caught Erend (remember him?) and Aloy needs to save him.

Naturally, it’s not so straightforward. These new enemies have learned how to tame machines for their own use, presenting a whole new dynamic for Aloy to deal with. Of course, she does in the most effortlessly acrobatic way — a way that will look familiar to those who played Zero Dawn, but that appears to have been hugely built upon.

Ducking and diving through different areas of this lush, overgrown, sandy area, Aloy chases her foes. We even get a glimpse at underwater traversal too, and the transition from above the water to underwater is genuinely breathtaking. That, plus the exciting new combat additions and even more of the ‘old world’ showing through Horizon’s post-post-apocalyptic aesthetic is just wonderful.

Alas, the only thing missing from this outstanding debut was some kind of release date. Hopefully Sony/PlayStation are keeping that for some time next month though (E3, surely?).