Guerrilla has detailed Horizon 2 and confirmed a 2021 PS5 release

Guerrilla has released a new video which offers more details on Horizon 2, aka Horizon Forbidden West, and confirms a planned 2021 release for the PS5 title.

According to game director Mathijs De Jonge – who also directed the first Horizon – Forbidden West will feature a larger game world than its predecessor and “virtually no loading screens” thanks to the PS5’s high-bandwidth SSD.

“If you open up the map and fast travel from one end to the other, restarting from a checkpoint will be super fast,” said De Jonge. “And when you boot up the game you’re right there, in the action.”

The sequel has protagonist Aloy exploring the new frontier, which stretches from Utah in the USA, all the way to the Pacific Ocean in the West. According to Guerrilla, players will explore deserts, valleys and ruined cities full of iconic landmarks.

“For the sequel, we wanted to go wider and deeper, so the map is a bit bigger,” De Jonge explained. “But we also wanted players to be able to explore what lies hidden beneath the surface of lakes and rivers. The landscapes may be stunning, but danger lurks in every corner in the Forbidden West.”

The sequel will feature “dozens” of new machines, as well as peaceful and hostile tribes. As revealed in Horizon 2’s debut trailer, one of these tribes has discovered the knowledge of how to override machines and use them in combat.

A red blight is also infecting the lands of the Forbidden West, choking wildlife and starving tribes, while the weather has spiralled out of control.

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“Aloy will have to go to great lengths in order to save this world,” said De Jonge.

“As the game is designed and built on mystery, we don’t want to spoil all the surprises today. We have been working very hard in order to create a worthy sequel, one that will hopefully appeal to all the fans, but also newcomers to the franchise.”

VGC recently revealed that PlayStation was planning a trilogy of Horizon Zero Dawn games, following the success of the 2017 original.