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Horizon Forbidden West 2022
Horizon Forbidden West is a 2022 action role-playing game made by Guerrilla Games and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It continues the story from Horizon Zero Dawn, which came out in 2017. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States. This world has been affected by an extinction event caused by a robot swarm gone rogue. Players control Aloy as she journeys into the Forbidden West to discover the source of a strange plague that kills everything it touches. While playing, players can explore open areas and take on quests using both ranged and melee weapons against machine creatures and rebel groups. The game added new gameplay features like new traversal tools, underwater exploration, and more advanced melee combat.
Development of Forbidden West started in Guerrilla Games. At its peak, the team employed over 300 full-time staff members and spent approximately US$212 million on making the game. This made it one of the most expensive games ever created. One goal was to keep the core elements from the first game while also expanding exploration and combat options for different playstyles. The developers put more effort into the cinematics and created more character-focused side missions. Ashly Burch and Lance Reddick reprised their roles as Aloy and Sylens, respectively. New voice actors included Angela Bassett and Carrie-Anne Moss. Like its predecessor, the game used Guerrilla's own Decima engine. It was revealed in June 2020 and launched on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 18 February 2022.
Critics generally responded well to the game, praising its visuals, combat system, quest design, and voice acting. However, they also pointed out weaknesses in the story and Aloy’s character development. Most agreed that Forbidden West was larger and better polished than Zero Dawn, though it offered more of a gradual improvement rather than a major change. By April 2023, the game had sold over 8.4 million copies. It received multiple awards nominations, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022 and the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. An expansion called Burning Shores released for PlayStation 5 in April 2023. The original game and Burning Shores were bundled into a single release titled Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition for PlayStation 5 in October 2023. That version was later ported to Windows by Nixxes Software in March 2024. A follow-up title is currently in development.
Trailer
Plays from YouTube only after you click.
Crew
- Director
- Mathijs de Jonge
- Programmer
- Michiel van der Leeuw
- Artist
- Jan-Bart van Beek, Misja Baas
- Writer
- Annie Kitain, Ariadna Martinez, Nick van Sameren Brand
- Producer
- Joel Eschler
- Music
- Joris de Man, Niels van der Leest, Oleksa Lozowchuk, The Flight
Details
- Developer
- Guerrilla Games
- Publisher
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Platforms
- PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows
- Modes
- Single-player
- Engine
- Decima
- Series
- Horizon
