After being announced at the PlayStation 5 reveal event almost a year ago, Horizon Forbidden West has finally had more information released. An extended look at gameplay was shown at a State of Play exclusively for Forbidden West, though developer Guerrilla Games still hasn't announced a release date. As expected, Forbidden West looks to be roughly the same gameplay loop as Horizon Zero Dawn, but with some extra additions. This includes some new weapons shown off in the State of Play gameplay reveal.
Like many open world action-adventure titles, Horizon Forbidden West utilizes a wheel for players to select their weapons from. Just like the first Horizon game, bringing up the weapon wheel slows down the action, giving plenty of time to select the desired item. The first weapon shown off in the gameplay reveal was, of course, Aloy's Nora Elite Hunter Bow. The main slot at the top of the weapon wheel holds Advanced Arrows, but three other slots in the counterclockwise direction appear to hold others, including plain old Arrows represented by a similar symbol as those in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Aloy is also shown using another bow called a Tenakth Ranger Sharpshooter Bow. It fires Heavy Arrows (though there is another, apparently electrical arrow type for it) with a longer draw, dealing more damage and having a higher zoom. Different bows and arrow types were a large part of Horizon Zero Dawn's combat, so it isn't surprising to see them return. Aside from revealing some new locations through coordinates in the Horizon countdown, the State of Play also revealed some new weapons and projectiles.
New Weapons Coming to Horizon Forbidden West
The first new weapon Aloy uses in the State of Play gameplay reveal is an Oseram Forgeblast Spike Thrower. It looks very similar to an atlatl, an ancient device used to propel spears. The Oseram Forgeblast Spike Thrower is launching more than just spears, though.
While fighting an elephant-like machine called a Tremortusk, Aloy uses the Spike Thrower to launch Basic Explosive Javelins into its metal armor. It can be inferred that more complex and powerful javelins can eventually be crafted in Horizon Forbidden West.
The Carja Blast Sling from Zero Dawn reprises its role in Horizon Forbidden West, but comes with some new ammunition types. The wheel briefly scrolls past a Cluster Grenade, the name of which makes its function pretty obvious, but it is not used in the Tremortusk fight. Aloy did, however, use the Blast Sling to fire Adhesive Grenades at the Tremortusk, coating it in a sticky substance to slow its movements.
A new feature for Horizon Forbidden West's weapons appears to be some sort of special attack for each weapon. Though none are used in the gameplay reveal, each item highlighted on the weapon apparently has one: High Volley for the Hunter Bow; Rocket Shot for the Spike Thrower; Sticky Grenades for the Blast Sling; and Emplaced Shot for the Sharpshooter Bow. There is also an item never highlighted in the weapon wheel during the gameplay reveal, but its symbol looks like an arrow or spear with a rope tied to the end. Perhaps it will function in a similar manner to Horizon Zero Dawn's ropecaster.
Overall, Horizon Forbidden West's combat looks to be much the same as its predecessor's, just with more unique items. The Oseram Forgeblast Spike Thrower is especially interesting, and will likely have many variants. It's nice to finally have some more information on Horizon Forbidden West, but there is still clearly much to be learned about the next game from Guerrilla.