When Horizon Zero Dawn was released in 2017, it introduced gamers to a post-apocalyptic world terrorized by large machines and fierce bandits. The urban landscapes of modern-day have been replaced by wild vegetation, and humans live in primitive tribes. Within this world, a brave red-haired girl named Aloy goes on deadly adventures to discover more about her origins and stop the murderous cultists. Horizon Zero Dawn has been a success for Guerrilla Games, with the game selling over 20 million copies on all platforms. The sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, is scheduled to release soon and, not unexpectedly, anticipation is high.
Horizon Forbidden West promises to bring many improvements over its predecessor in terms of combat, travel options, and Aloy's skill tree. Perhaps the most interesting improvements can be found in the accessibility options. As Guerrilla Games has revealed, Horizon Forbidden West will have useful features that will ensure more gamers than ever will get to journey with Aloy to the Forbidden West.
Horizon Forbidden West Is a Game for All Gamers
Recent years have seen more games than ever feature accessibility options that allow for a broader range of people to enjoy video games. Games from Sony's first-party studios have been part of this trend, and titles like The Last of Us Part 2 brought a plethora of options that let gamers fine-tune the game to their abilities. Horizon Forbidden West brings even more innovation with its accessibility options, and gamers will be able to fine-tune difficulty, change controller settings, and even get a friend to help.
All the basic accessibility options one might expect are present. Players will be able to turn on subtitles, change the subtitle size, and change the subtitle background to make them easier to read. The game will also feature fully remappable gameplay controls, as well as a few useful preset controller layout options, including one for left-handed players. Additionally, players will be able to invert the X or Y axis and pick between Hold and Toggle settings. Other useful features include motion sensing for more precise aiming, the ability to swap the functionality of the analog sticks, and the adaptive triggers and controller vibration can be adjusted.
The accessibility features Guerrilla Games has outlined are a huge improvement from Horizon Zero Dawn. With the release of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC, the series has expanded its fan base, and even more gamers will get to experience the sequel thanks to Horizon Forbidden West's accessibility options.
Difficulty Won't Be a Problem
The game will be playable by the most inexperienced novices and the most skilled veterans thanks to its comprehensive difficulty settings. Horizon Forbidden West will feature five difficulty settings that range from "Story" (for players who want to enjoy the plot without challenging combat) all the way up to "Very Hard." Difficulty can be further customized by adjusting how much damage Aloy deals and takes.
Plenty of other settings will help gamers make Horizon Forbidden West as challenging or easy as possible. Aim assist will be available for gamers who have problems landing the perfect shot, and players will also be able to adjust how much the game slows down when the weapon wheel is brought up. The game will also allow gamers to extend the duration of Concentration, an ability that slows down time while aiming, and Auto Concentration will automatically turn Concentration on for players.
Looting can also be made less challenging through the Easy Loot option. Typically, certain resource components cannot be farmed if they are attached to machines when they are destroyed. With Easy Loot, players will be able to loot all resources from defeated machines, making it unnecessary to knock off these components during combat.
See and Hear It All
The game will feature plenty of visual aids to help gamers better understand the Forbidden West. Climbing Annotation can be turned on to show players where available climbing options are without the need to use Aloy's Focus. Players can also enable pop-up reminders in case they forget basic things like how to use abilities and certain weapons. Visual settings can also be adjusted to reduce blur and camera shake, which can cause discomfort to some players.
Horizon Forbidden West will also have a robust range of audio options. In addition to the volume controls, players will also be able to remove tinnitus sounds, a feature that will be especially helpful to players with tinnitus. The game also allows players to trim the volume of certain sounds including weapon sounds, machine sounds, and ambient sounds. This feature is meant to assist players who may occasionally find themselves overstimulated.
Horizon Forbidden West's Co-Pilot System Is a Stroke of Genius
The biggest innovation in accessibility comes in the form of Horizon Forbidden West's Co-pilot system. As Guerrilla Games explains, the Co-pilot system will grant a second controller with mirrored controls access to the game. That way, a friend can help from the sidelines. For seasoned gamers, it may not always be obvious how many complex tasks gaming requires, and for a new gamer, something as simple as controlling a character and controlling the camera at the same time can be tricky. With Co-pilot, friends can lend a hand and help make things a little easier.
Horizon Forbidden West's co-pilot system also proves that the game would make for an excellent multiplayer title. The idea of traveling the Forbidden West with friends and searching for machines to hunt is an idea too tempting to ignore, and if implemented correctly, it could be a success in the same way that Ghost of Tsushima's multiplayer component, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, was.
With Horizon Forbidden West, gaming gets to take an important step forward in terms of making games more accessible to a wider audience. Although many of these settings will be ignored by most gamers, they have an immense impact on gamers who, for many years, have been excluded from some of gaming's most amazing moments. While there are still many ways gaming could improve accessibility, Horizon Forbidden West proves that important innovations are underway that will break down more barriers.
Horizon Forbidden West is scheduled to release on February 18, 2022, on PS4 and PS5.
