After several teasing trailers, delays, and agonizing periods of radio silence, the launch of Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West is finally starting to come into view. While there’s been no confirmation that the game has gone gold and will make its February 18 release date just yet, the news that the highly anticipated PS5 and PS4 sequel has been rated in Australia suggests everything is now on track for that to happen soon. Unsurprisingly considering the timeline that’s in motion, Sony has recently started to ratchet up its promotional marketing campaign for Aloy’s follow up adventure.
In addition to Guerrilla Games’ recently unveiled ‘GAIA Podcast’, which has so far explored topics like the Horizon universe’s world and rich lore, the studio has also peeled back the curtain on the game via several blog and social media posts. Fans have subsequently had a glut of content to pour over in recent weeks, with details regarding Horizon Forbidden West’s expanded skill and cosmetic systems perhaps being one of the most tantalizing topics of focus. Considering the RPG mechanics that are clearly being built into and expanded upon in the game, it’s starting to become clear that a transmogrification feature would not only be ideal, but that the game is practically crying out for one.
Horizon’s Expanded Skill System
From the first reveal trailer for Horizon Forbidden West, it’s been apparent just how much Guerrilla Games is determined to expand upon the formula that it established back in 2017. One of the areas that’s been developed in particular detail is the skill system that's still at the core of Aloy’s abilities. In Horizon Zero Dawn, what was on offer was rather rudimentary to say the least, as a simplistic four-pronged skill tree was backed up with occasional outfit specific perks, and lootable mods for weapons and gear. For the impending sequel, skills and perks will not only be tied more often into specific outfits and items, but there will seemingly be a greater variety and depth to them in general. The fact that weapons and clothing will also be truly upgradable, a diversion from the simplistic color graded tiers found within the original game, suggests players will have more to experiment with.
In a lot of ways, developments like these feed into the sense that Horizon Forbidden West is shaping up to be an even more feature-complete action-RPG than the first game in the series. The ability to transmog outfits and weapons in games that feature similar mechanics or RPG-esque features, like Bungie’s first-person Destiny series for example, has often come hand-in-hand with these types of gameplay mechanics. Allowing players to change the appearance of their armor and weapons, as they explore the full depths of the intrinsically linked skills and gear systems, would therefore be a relatively natural thing for players to expect.
In the runup to the release of Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games has talked at length about its desire to give players more choice when it comes to topics like exploration and combat. For example, the studio’s Lead Combat Designer Dennis Zopfi spoke on the PlayStation Blog about how the idea of freedom is one of the paramount design philosophies being channeled into the game. Transmogrification that’s tied to skills and gear would therefore be the ultimate realization of this within the sphere of character customization. If there’s going to be more skills, it stands to reason that players are going to be finding ways to alter their version of Aloy more frequently as well. Fostering a sense of continuity through the ability to hold onto a look that they’ve decided they like, while this process is still ongoing, would likely please a lot of people.
Transmogrification’s Potential Benefits
Whenever transmog systems pop up in video game franchises, particularly RPG-focused ones that can take upwards of 40 hours to complete, they’re often subsequently lauded by fans for the fact that they allow them to further embrace the role-playing aspect of the experience. One such example of this, which just so happens to be a genre contemporary of Horizon, is Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. After the feature was added into Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, fans frequently requested its return within the Viking-themed Valhalla, when it wasn’t present at launch. Being able to change the visual identity of specific gear while retaining improved stats and skills, as would be the case in Horizon Forbidden West, would add an extra layer of individuality and ownership to what will no doubt be an expansive experience.
While there’s no doubt that Aloy has established herself as one of the best characters in PlayStation’s recent history, it’s also interesting that a lot of her subsequent appearances in tie-in media and games have highlighted the outfits she wears in Zero Dawn’s opening hours. Even though the late-game clothes player’s could find within the game featured special perks, Aloy’s appearance in Fortnite, Genshin Impact, and even her conversion into Funko Pops have all mostly ignored outfits that were likely designed to be iconic. This speaks most of all to the attachment that players can build towards early game gear during their adventures, which adds to the sense that a transmog feature would be the ideal companion to the incoming expanded skill system.
Horizon’s Lore Justification
From a lore perspective, a lot of the heavy work that would be required to make a transmog system feel at home within the world of Horizon has already been done. Despite the tribal nature of the humans that populate the post-apocalyptic landscape of Horizon Forbidden West, the presence of high-tech customizable robots suggests that taking characteristics from one piece of clothing or weapon, and transferring it to another, wouldn’t be all that difficult for someone that’s familiar with the world like Aloy is. Considering dinosaur-like machines can spit fire from their mouths in this universe, taking a piece of technology and stitching it into fabric doesn’t seem all that challenging.
Mechanically, Guerrilla Games has potentially set up the place for players to undertake this maintenance as well. The new workbench stations that enable players to upgrade their weapons and armor within the sequel would be an ideal location for Aloy to tinker with her loadout and gear. Alternatively, specific expert vendors could also be created and spread across Horizon Forbidden West’s map to take care of transmogrification as well, a move that would no doubt help to flesh out the expanded world of the game even more.
Horizon Forbidden West is set to release on February 18, 2022 on PS4 and PS5.