Horizon Forbidden West is the next big PlayStation exclusive game slated for release, with the game scheduled to land on consoles in February 2021. However, despite showing off major graphical improvements in its trailers, Horizon Forbidden West is a cross-gen release coming to both the PS4 and PS5. Developer Guerrilla Games has now detailed the improvements coming to the PS5 version over the PS4 port.

Over on the PlayStation Blog, Guerrilla Games Community Lead Bo de Vries shared an update on Horizon Forbidden West, showing off some of the improvements being made to Aloy’s character model. The post gives some in-depth insight into the detail of Aloy’s model down to minutia like peach fuzz on the character’s face. There are also more skeletal joints to make for a more realistic performance.

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According to the post, the idea is to make the character, and the game, feel more authentic and lifelike, with the team aiming for “high quality and visual benchmarks.” While that’s usually the case with triple-a game development, especially with PlayStation's blockbuster exclusive titles, the small details being highlighted here are some of the most impressive to be featured on a character model to date.

horizon forbidden west aloy detail

The developer also stated in the blog that, despite Horizon Forbidden West harnessing the power of the PS5, the PS4 version of the game won’t be compromised. In fact, the developers tested the game on both the PS4 and PS5 simultaneously to ensure that the game won’t experience issues between the current-gen and last-gen versions of the game. The goal is for PS4 players to have an equally immersive experience as those that have a PS5.

So far, Horizon Forbidden West doesn’t sound like a drastic overhaul of the first game as it does an evolution of the core concepts. Combat will have more depth, while there will be a plethora of new locations to explore in Forbidden West’s depiction of San Francisco. While some fans have been apprehensive about cross-gen releases in general, it should be a major concern if Guerrilla is being as diligent as it says it is with the two versions.

Updates like these are a good way to build confidence in the PS5 and PS4 versions of the game. There’s still a decent bit of time before fans will get their hands on Horizon Forbidden West, and that time could possibly be extended if the game is delayed again, though it’s shaping up quite nicely.

Horizon Forbidden West is in development for PS4 and PS5.

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Source: PlayStation Blog