Horizon Forbidden West adds plenty of new features to the design blueprint introduced in Horizon Zero Dawn. Players get access to a wider variety of weapons and an extensive skill tree that overhauls the combat in meaningful ways. Horizon Forbidden West also adds a new and exciting way to explore the world.
Players unlock a flying mount in Horizon Forbidden West right before the final mission of the game. They may consider holding off on completing side content until they unlock this feature, as it makes traveling across the map far more convenient. The transition is remarkably smooth, as a Sunwing comes and grabs Aloy immediately after pressing the required button. Players can fully explore the world on top of the Sunwing, and one user even made a friend along the way.
A Redditor named iced327 was flying above snowy mountains and enjoying the view in Horizon Forbidden West. They came across an Owl who started flying with them, with the soothing background music adding to the scene’s beauty. The Owl flew away after a short while, and iced327 paused the game right after to presumably record the clip so that they could share the moment online.
This interaction appears to be scripted into the game, as users report seeing other similar clips online. Many players also experienced this event several times during their playthrough, and one considers this to be the perfect send-off for Horizon Forbidden West. One user had a similar interaction with a Pelican, who even replicated their Sunwing’s movements.
Horizon Forbidden West has an extensive upgrade system that requires players to hunt birds and animals to collect their parts. Owl parts are particularly useful, and because of this, many players jokingly mention how Aloy cannot kill it while flying. Most users will probably not hesitate to kill the same Owl if they are on the ground and need its bone for an upgrade, but that shouldn’t take away from this endearing interaction.
Flying was not marketed as a big selling point for Horizon Forbidden West, and it was probably a surprising reveal for many users. A sequel to Horizon Forbidden West is reportedly in development, so developer Guerrilla Games has an opportunity to further enhance this feature. The developer can maybe add flying combat to the next game and even design some boss fights around this mechanic. Whenever it comes out, it’s likely to be full of similarly sweet interactions between Aloy, the machines, and nature.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.