‘Horizon Forbidden West’ release date, gameplay: Developers reveal new abilities and weapons before the game launches in 2022

“Horizon Forbidden West” will not launch for a few more months, but Guerilla Games has announced some of the new skills and weapons Aloy will use in the sequel. The developer also explained how the difficulty in dealing with the enemies has evolved along with Aloy’s journey.

One of the more interesting changes in terms of combat in “Horizon Forbidden West” is dealing with human enemies mounted on machines. In the first game, Aloy did not need to battle humans and machines at the same time. The main protagonist had to deal with them separately in “Horizon Zero Dawn,” but this is no longer the case in the upcoming game.

“Horizon Forbidden West” is confirmed to introduce new machines, which means new enemies, but it will also feature new factions that would try to bring down Aloy along the way. Making the game more challenging, human enemies will be able to mount machines as well.

Guerilla Games said players would have to fight them in the same combat scenarios, so to weaken them, Aloy will have to choose which of the machine or the human to target first. Choosing between human and machine enemies is not simple in “Horizon Forbidden West.” The developer added they both have unique weapons, attacks, and abilities they can use against Aloy.

On the bright side, there will be new abilities at Aloy’s disposal in “Horizon Forbidden West.” The sequel will introduce a new combat move called Resonator Blast that will allow the protagonist to charge a spear when used in melee fights. Once the spear is fully charged, it can be thrown to enemies to deliver a “big damaging explosion.”

Aloy’s staple weapons from the first game, such as the Hunter Bow, Sharpshot Bow, and Blast Sling, will return in the sequel. But “Horizon Forbidden West” will also introduce new weapons, including the Spike Thrower. “The Spike Thrower, for example, is a new, high damage weapon which, when thrown at the right moment, makes it easier to hit larger targets,” Guerilla said.

“Horizon Forbidden West” was initially planned to release this year, but Guerilla Games announced last August that the developers need more time to polish the game. It is now slated to launch on Feb. 18, 2022, on PS4 and PS5.