Horizon Forbidden West introduced a variety of ferocious machines for Aloy to contend with, and its Burning Shores expansion has added a few more. Players were treated with a sneak peek at the capabilities of the new flying (and diving) mount, but the DLC comes with some surprising new additions, including a hopping menace and the smallest machine in the franchise to date.
Then, of course, there is the ever-looming Horus that's taken residence over the Hollywood sign. While there were many of these machines littered about the land in Horizon Forbidden West, this one is reactivated and provides players with the ultimate challenge. Despite there only being four machines introduced in Burning Shores, they certainly make quite the impression.
Waterwing
Players will already be familiar with the Waterwing, having been revealed during the run-up to the release of Burning Shores. At first glance, it looks similar to the Sunwing, but on close inspection, its design borrows heavily from a pelican. And unlike the Sunwing's solar paneled wing membrane, the Waterwing has been designed with a different material to aid its diving and swimming abilities. These machines can be found throughout the Burning Shores and play a significant part in the main questline when Sekya suggests that she and Aloy should override one to avoid blasts from one of Lorand's Zenith weapons by diving underwater. Once overridden, Aloy can traverse the skies and seas of the Burning Shores and the Forbidden West. It makes for a swift and seamless transition from air to water and certainly beats swimming.
Waterwings are very quick and can be increasingly hard to fight when there's more than one of them. Its gullet, referred to as a Gular Pouch, provides the midweight acquisition machine with plow and gravel attacks, with its Wing Filters aiding in this process. By destroying the Wing Filters, Aloy can weaken dirt-based attacks, and removing the Gular Pouch will disable these attacks altogether.
Where To Find A Waterwing
As Sekya explains, Waterwings have become hard to find in the Burning Shores as many have been shot down by the Zenith towers. But there are still nests around the ruins of Los Angeles, including two prime spots next to the Fleet's End settlement. There's another near Cauldron Theta, and an unmarked one in the South West, where Aloy journeys to during the first side quest "The Splinter Within."
Bilegut
Like the foreboding machines introduced in the Frozen Wilds DLC, Bileguts will provide players with quite a challenge. This heavyweight acquisition machine is based on a massive frog or toad, croaking and jumping around the ruins of the Old World. The Bilegut has a variety of defensive mechanisms, including a long, robotic tongue covered in adhesive that can stick to Aloy and steal resources from her inventory. When Bileguts aren't trying to grab pieces of metal, it's launching its heavy body around the environment to strike Aloy at any given moment. If players thought Leapleashers were bad enough, this machine can cause much more damage.
On top of that, Bileguts will consistently be drenching the land around it with acid, awakening Stingspawn and harming Aloy. Purgewater and Frost ammo are players' best bet here, in addition to a Ropecaster to stop it from jumping briefly and get some super damaging hits in. And after visiting the Theta Cauldron, Aloy will be able to override the Bilegut to utilize in battle with other machines. Word of warning – the Bilgut hidden within the core of that cauldron harnesses a different element rather than acid.
Where To Find A Bilegut
Like the Waterwing, there are only three spots on map where you can find Bileguts. Two sites can be found within the main island near Fleet's End with a Thunderjaw and Slaughterspine in between, while the other lies to the north in the Hollywood Hills. There's another unmarked site up here, too, which Aloy and Sekya will stumble across during "The Stars In Their Eyes" as they find a way to disable Walter Londra's shields. The Bilegut is also the final boss in Cauldron Theta, but this machine is unique as it spews fire rather than acid.
Stingspawn
When Aloy first stumbles across a clutch of Stingspawn eggs with Seyka, it's rather ominous. Both are stumped as to what these eggs are, and the name doesn't exactly provide a sense of comfort. However, instead of a massive robotic scorpion, the duo is faced with an abundance of small, insect-like acquisition machines that after their name courtesy of their barbed stinger. Stingspawn are officially the smallest machines in the franchise, if players don't count the passive Survey Drones found in the Forbidden West. Moreover, these machines are produced by another, more intimidating machine – the Bilegut.
Stingspawn and Bileguts work hand in hand, with the small drones supporting the Bilegut in acquiring resources to collect. But in combat, these can be frustrating little things. They are fired out of the Bilegut from egg sacks on its body and appear from clutches surrounding the machine in swarms. These eggs are activated by sudden movement beside them, whether Aloy walks by or a Bilegut charges by and fires acid around it. Not all eggs contain Stingspawn, however. Players can tell by the way they are lit up, allowing Aloy to destroy them before they have a chance to hatch.
Horus
Players will be very familiar with the Horus, commonly known by the tribes of the new world as a Metal Devil. Aloy learned about their origins in Horizon Zero Dawn, where it was revealed that it was a colossal combat robot capable of replicating other combat machines, including itself. The Horus machines were the main culprits of the Faro Plague, which was eventually stopped by Project Zero Dawn after it decimated the world and its many lifeforms.
In Horizon Zero Dawn, these machines remained dormant with the daunting prospect that one day they might reanimate. Burning Shores provides this reality, when Far Zenith Walter Londra takes one over to fight Aloy and Sekya. Luckily for Aloy, this Horus isn't at its true power as they manage to destroy its central cooling system. But Londra manages to put up quite the fight with what power the Horus has left, which provides a foreboding challenge to the player. Particularly, Londra has access to the Horus' printing matrix, meaning that he can bombard Aloy and Sekya with countless amounts of Corrupters (and thankfully not Deathbringers).
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is available now on PS5.