As the release date for Horizon: Forbidden West draws closer, Sony and Guerrilla Games are offering more expansive previews of the game. In the last few days, Guerrilla has used its social media pages to show off highlights of Horizon: Forbidden West's new abilities and gadgets. Now, the company has given an expansive look at the opening of the game.

A 4-hour preview build of the game was experienced by IGN's Johnathan Dornbush where they were able to sit down and dive deep into the new environments, weapons, and traversal options of Horizon: Forbidden West. From the sounds of it, they came out quite impressed. According to them, Guerrilla has expanded every bit of the game and made improvements to key areas that were deemed lacking in the first title.

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One of the biggest improvements in the lengthy preview came from Aloy's Focus. Aloy's Focus can now be used in shorter bursts rather than needing to hold down the Focus button. This improvement not only offers more fluid gameplay but will give more information to the player. IGN noted that when fighting enemies or machines, there will be an option to highlight and cycle through key points of armor or resources to pinpoint the most vital information using the D-Pad. This short burst also reveals more climbable areas of the environment, freeing the player up for more traversal options. This, coupled with the Pullcaster and Shieldwing, opens the game up for new ways to move and fight in Horizon: Forbidden West.

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The preview that was given to IGN also made a point to add new depth to Aloy's experience in the world she's in. The Oseram settlement called Chainscrape was featured as part of the preview that explored the new feel of the dynamic environment and sounds in Horizon: Forbidden West. It was noted that NPCs will have unique animations as well.

The preview offered a new look at a new elemental type, Acid, as well as an optional Arena area where players can repeatedly fight machines under a given time limit. These new additions along with new weapons, new outfits, expanded skill tree and armor perks, and even a new mini-game fulfills Horizon: Forbidden West's quest of being more immersive, engaging, and straight-up fun.

Horizon: Forbidden West releases on PS4 and PS5 on February 18th, 2022.

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Source: IGN