Since its release, Horizon Forbidden West has offered a supremely demanding experience to players brave enough to face the machine-ridden wilds. The game’s many interlocking systems and difficulty modes make it more than challenging for new and returning players alike. Following Sony’s June 2022 State of Play, however, players are introduced to a variety of new features that make Horizon Forbidden West even harder.
Following a trailer for the PlayStation VR2 game, Horizon Call of the Mountain, Ben McCaw, the narrative director at Guerrilla Games, revealed the latest update for Horizon Forbidden West. Patch 1.016 brings a whole host of additions, including improved visual fidelity, a Transmog system, an Ultra-Hard difficulty mode, and New Game Plus. This guide will show players how to begin their New Game Plus run to re-explore the Forbidden West with all the gear and upgrades they have acquired over their first playthrough.
How to Start New Game Plus
Firstly, players should ensure that their game is fully updated before launch; to check this, press the “Options” button whilst hovering over the Horizon Forbidden West icon on the home menu. From the dropdown box, select “Check for Update” and download any patches that appear. The console must be connected to the internet for this to work.
To unlock New Game Plus, players must have completed the final mission of the main story, titled “Singularity.”
This is a level 35 quest, so Aloy should be sufficiently leveled up before attempting this mission. New Game Plus strips Aloy of all her progress and when it comes to quests and collectibles, so players should ensure they have all Forbidden West's best weapons and armor sets they want before progressing into New Game Plus.
When players load up their completed save, post-update, a pop-up will appear explaining to players that they can start New Game Plus from the Base. The Base is the central hub in Horizon Forbidden West, from which Aloy and her allies conduct their work to restore the Earth.
Find the Base in the easternmost mountain range – west of Plainsong and east of Scalding Spear – and travel to it. There, enter through either the east or west entrance and head to the central communal area.
To the left of the kitchen counter, beside the small sitting area, is a pile of white and gold Zenith technology salvaged from their base. The HUD will indicate this with a “+” in a white diamond floating above it.
To begin New Game Plus, approach the technology and hold the triangle button. A pop-up will appear asking the player for confirmation; press the cross button to accept and Aloy’s new journey will begin.
Horizon Forbidden West is currently available for PS4 and PS5.
