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Sony shows what Horizon Forbidden West will look like on PS4

In a blog post announcing that Horizion Forbidden West has gone gold (see video below), developer Guerrilla shared more footage of the game in action on both last and current-gen consoles.

We have some exciting news for your all: Horizon Forbidden West has gone GOLD! ✨#HorizonForbiddenWest #RiseAboveOurRuin pic.twitter.com/oRHDtDlxTI

— Guerrilla (@Guerrilla) January 27, 2022

Horizon Forbidden West, which is set to launch on February 18, will bring players on Aloy’s journey into the unexplored areas of an America taken over by massive robotic dinosaurs and animals. Previous trailers for the game have shown off its new traversal mechanics, with players able to clamber around the wilds and ruins alike via grappling hook and a new paraglider.

Today’s blog post, however, focuses on the game’s performance across PlayStation consoles. While the game’s performance on the PS5 wasn’t in question, how it will run on the base PS4 and PS4 Pro has been. Showing performance on the latter, it doesn’t seem like PS4 Pro owners will be losing too much of the experience. The game will, naturally, run at a lower frame rate, but between a slow shot of Aloy walking through a town and another of her in a fight against a Clamberjaw, the game seems to be running smoothly.

One final clip included in today’s post shows a full combat encounter, also captured on PS4 Pro. It’s a much more demanding scene, with Aloy firing an arrow at an enemy as it leaps over her. The fire and particle effects here are demanding, and likely where players would see some dips in fram erate. While the game seems to be running smoothly, we won’t know how it actually performs on last-gen consoles until it launches.

Sony has already confirmed that another Horizon game is on the way after Forbidden West. Titled Horizon Call of the Mountain, the game will be developed by both Guerrilla and Firesprite, a studio Sony acquired last year. The game will be exclusive to the platform’s next-gen VR headset, the PlayStation VR2.

Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
Red Dead Redemption is coming to Nintendo Switch and PS4 this month
red dead redemption switch ps4 release date key art

The original Red Dead Redemption is coming to two new platforms, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, later this month. It'll retail for $50 on both platforms.
Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare Coming to Switch and PS4
Rockstar Games' open-world western game first launched in 2010 for Xbox 360 and PS3. It was critically acclaimed and a smash sales hit, creating a new franchise for Rockstar that could stand alongside the likes of Grand Theft Auto. It received a sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, in 2019, but the original Red Dead Redemption remained stuck on older platforms outside of backward compatibility support on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
That's why fans got excited when a rating for the game from the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea popped up. We've now learned that this rating is for new Nintendo Switch and PS4 ports of Red Dead Redemption by Double Eleven Studios. Red Dead Redemption will release across both of those platforms digitally on August 17, with a physical launch to follow on October 13.

It will cost $50 and includes the base campaign as well as the zombie-infested Undead Nightmare expansion; the Red Dead Online multiplayer is not included. This is the first time Red Dead Redemption will ever be on a Nintendo system, although it doesn't look like the port will have much in the way of Switch-exclusive features. That said, a press release does reveal that this will be the first version of the game to include Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese localizations.
Red Dead Redemption comes out on PS4 and Nintendo Switch on August 17. 

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How to start the Burning Shores DLC in Horizon Forbidden West
Aloy flying.

Aloy's adventure wasn't fully concluded at the end of Horizon Forbidden West, but you don't have to wait for the third game to continue her journey. With the Burning Shores DLC, a brand new region is unlocked. This area is home to the Quen tribe and brings in a new character named Seyka to accompany Aloy on a new quest. Of course, there will also be tons of sidequests, new machines to hunt, and sights to see. If you're interested in exploring this new and dangerous region, there are some requirements you should know about that could prevent you from jumping in as quickly as you think. Here's everything you need to know about how to start the Burning Shores DLC in Horizon Forbidden West.
How to start the Burning Shores DLC

The major requirement for accessing the new content (outside of purchasing it, of course) is that this takes place after the main campaign, unlike the DLC for the first game that could be accessed in the middle of the story. This means that you need to have gotten through all main story missions ending in "Singularity." Your save must be at this point to access the DLC. If you finished the game and started a New Game + run, but haven't gotten back up to that point, you won't be able to start the DLC until you get there again. The final mission of the game has a recommended level of 35, while the first mission of Burning Shores is 38, so you may want to do some side activities beforehand if you are underleveled.

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PlayStation Plus just set a new first-party precedent with Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon: Forbidden West

Sony revealed the games coming to PlayStation Plus Premium and PlayStation Plus Extra this month on February 21, and it's the best month that the service has had since it launched in the summer of 2022. Not only are some great PS1 classics like The Legend of Dragoon and Wild Arms 2 coming to the service, but Horizon Forbbiden West is getting added as well.
Horizon Forbidden West coming to the service one year after launch is a big deal because Sony has been resistant to putting recent first-party PS5 games on its subscription service. While it's still not adding first-party titles on day one like Xbox Game Pass does, this is possibly our first indication of how Sony will handle adding its own games to the subscription. It's not the only PS4 and PS5 title coming to the service this month either, as the following strong lineup of games was also confirmed to be coming on February 21.

The Quarry (PS4, PS5)
Resident Evil VII Biohazard (PS4)
Outriders (PS4, PS5)
Scarlet Nexus (PS4, PS5)
Borderlands 3 (PS4, PS5) 
Tekken 7 (PS4, PS5)
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (PS4)
Earth Defense Force 5 (PS4)
Oninaki (PS4)
Lost Sphear (PS4)
I Am Setsuna (PS4) 
The Forgotten City (PS4, PS5) 
Destroy All Humans! (PS4)

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