As seen previously in June’s gameplay trailer, Aloy’s ability set has also been broadened by the addition of free-climbing - Assassin’s Creed eat your heart out. This can also be combined with the grapple, and also the holographic Shieldwing umbrella that lets you glide through the air Breath of the Wild-style, while looking like something out of Fortnite. “This wide array of new options also posed challenges to how we think about level design,” Guerilla’s David McMullen wrote on the PlayStation blog. “We need to allow for players to outsmart us, using new moves or tools to bypass some of our challenges in clever and unpredictable ways. “Traversal puzzles won’t always have a binary solution; we encourage players to experiment and have fun with the new tools. We will offer a variety of challenges, regardless of playstyle or skill or previous experience in Horizon Zero Dawn.” (Some of the cunning and often counterintuitive solutions to Zelda’s shrine puzzles spring to mind.)
The Pullcaster grapple item lets Aloy reach higher areas and combo ledge-grabbing with bow firing, gliding, or further grappling upwards. You can also use it to pull objects towards you, or break open objects like vents. The Shieldwing glider will aid in backtracking, Guerilla said, giving you a quicker route back down a cliff, say. “One entirely new concept in Horizon Forbidden West is the workbench,” Guerilla’s Dennis Zopfi wrote, “where you can upgrade and strengthen weapons and outfits. This unlocks new perks, mod slots, skills, and offers a bigger degree of customisation, resistances, and new abilities for players!” Last month, Sony issued a dramatic U-turn on its controversial Horizon Forbidden West PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 upgrade policy following a vociferous backlash. Both versions of the game were recently delayed into next year, and will now launch on 18th February 2022.
