News broke recently about a rumored Horizon Zero Dawn remake, although details are unclear about whether it is intended to be a remaster or a remake. Accompanying this rumor was another that suggests a multiplayer Horizon game is also in development. Because of how little information was shared, Horizon’s rumored multiplayer game is left entirely to speculation, and it is therefore possible that the project is fictional. If it is true, however, the potential for a Horizon multiplayer game is exceptional, especially if it taps into Monster Hunter's ideas.
Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West already lend themselves fairly well to the idea of a multiplayer game. It seems natural that the premise would be to hunt machines in an open-world PvE environment, where players could potentially create custom characters and customize the weapons they have equipped. It would be incredible to see customization options allow for players to choose their desired tribe affiliations as well. However, when considering how gameplay could be designed in a multiplayer Horizon game, there is a wealth of inspiration it should take from Monster Hunter.
The Horizon Franchise Lends Itself to Monster Hunter Mechanics
There are already a number of incredible similarities between gameplay in the Monster Hunter franchise and the Horizon franchise. Based solely on each franchise’s premise, players encounter enormous, creative creatures, whether they are organic or mechanical, and arduously battling them. This pits players in cinematic bouts where they somersault about and utilize a unique range of weaponry to strike the creature’s critical points. Horizon came after Monster Hunter, and as such these comparisons are more apparent in Aloy’s encounters with Thunderjaws, Stormbirds, Rockbreakers, and the like.
Aloy sprints around, takes aim, and wields her Focus to scan detachable machine parts to strike. Unlike in Monster Hunter, Horizon’s creatures cannot be subdued with traps and tranquilizer bombs, and must be destroyed for parts to salvage in the open world. But when looking ahead to the potential of a rumored multiplayer game, there is a lot more that Horizon could implement from Monster Hunter. Perhaps one of the most exciting ideas would be that the multiplayer Horizon game could elaborate on is its Hunters Lodge.
Here, players could cooperatively submit hunting trophies and earn rank in their guild. If a multiplayer Horizon game distilled it to its best Monster Hunter features and added its social features, it could truly be a fantastic experience in the franchise.
Forbidden West’s Traversal Gadgets Could Be Essential in Multiplayer
Horizon Forbidden West improves upon Horizon Zero Dawn’s traversal in significant ways. Gadgets such as the Pullcaster and Shieldwing are definitive of the sequel and seem inseparable from the franchise now, and a multiplayer game where players cooperatively hunt machines would be a logical place to see these gadgets appear. Shieldwings have no precise equal in Monster Hunter as players rarely get to leverage the environment for traversal in a hunt without Monster Hunter Rise’s Wirebug mechanic. Having a glider to descend from high cliffs could be great in Horizon’s multiplayer, where multiple players all soar from the top of a mountain.
However, Horizon Forbidden West’s Pullcaster is similar in function to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s Clutch Claw. In Horizon Forbidden West, the Pullcaster is used to grapple to nearby points of interest with the option of launching upward from it afterward into the air. Later in the game, players can then use the Pullcaster to grapple onto Sunwings. In a multiplayer Horizon game, this gadget could be used similarly to Monster Hunter’s Clutch Claw, grappling onto rampaging machines and then carving away at their parts with a spear or other close-quarters-combat instrument.
A Horizon multiplayer game is rumored to be in development.