A new machine called a Slitherfang has been unveiled for Horizon Forbidden West, and it shows how developer Guerrilla Games is not only continuing the original game's incredible enemy design, but also moving it forward in interesting new ways. The Slitherfang was first teased in a new Forbidden West trailer at The Game Awards 2021, but more details on the mechanical beast have come to light. Forbidden West so far appears to be shaping into a worthy successor to the celebrated Horizon Zero Dawn, and that includes expanding the series' roster of deadly machines.
To briefly describe Horizon Zero Dawn while spoiling as little as possible, the Horizon series takes place after a machine-led apocalypse, which reverted humanity back to tribal societies. The machines were built in the likenesses of Earth's animals, including big cats, deer or elk, predator birds, bison, and even crustaceans. Just like actual animals, some are docile, but others are aggressive, and they are singularly massive, making them exceedingly dangerous to the fledgling human societies trying to rebuild civilization.
Horizone Forbidden West is continuing the story of Zero Dawn protagonist Aloy, and sending her into the wild, untamed, and relatively unknown lands which lie to the west of the first game's map. The Tremortusk, a robotic woolly mammoth of sorts, has been a highlight of Forbidden West's early trailers, but now Game Informer has revealed some new details on the Slitherfang. The machine appears to be dozens of feet long, and built in the image of a king cobra. Much like the Stormbird from Zero Dawn, the Slitherfang appears to be something of a boss encounter, but it looks to provide an entirely new experience.
HFW's Slitherfang Has A Wide Array Of Attacks
One thing that stands out from Game Informer's Slitherfang sneak peek is the impressive variety of attacks described. It shoots jets of acid from its mouth, electrified projectiles from the mechanical rattle on its tail, and disorienting sonic pulses from the hood around its head. Horizon Forbidden West game director Mathijs de Jonge was sure to let it be known that this preview of the Slitherfang didn't reveal the entirety of its arsenal. The Slitherfang is a reminder of the great enemy design Zero Dawn had while also introducing a completely new combat encounter to the series.
There wasn't any sort of snake-like machine in Zero Dawn, and it sounds like the Slitherfang might be more maneuverable than its predecessors. It can reportedly climb certain structures to gain a vantage point for its ranged attacks, or even follow Aloy up to high places in order to knock her down. Just like other boss fights in Zero Dawn, players will have to change strategies as more of the Slitherfang's components get destroyed, leading to a dynamic encounter where players will need to use a variety of Aloy's Horizon Forbidden West weapons.
Source: Game Informer