Human enemies will then team up to form a search party with a leader giving orders, but that in itself will give players an idea of what they can do next to outsmart their opponents. Melee sounds build up until the moment of impact, while ranged attacks have weapon charge sounds or projectile sounds.Īloy can also escape combat by breaking line of sight and sneaking around. The machines also have their own unique audio cues that describe ranged and melee attacks. Enemies will approach Aloy and investigate things they find suspicious, such as the body of a machine or an arrow landing nearby. Each enemy has a different “game function” which can be anticipated by their actions, posture and movements, giving players a chance to come up with an appropriate response. The animation and audio teams worked hard to ensure that players were never completely taken by surprise during the fight. This means that there will be underwater battles where enemies can dive in and chase her, maybe even combine jumping out of the water with an attack. They can also swim, an ability that Aloy herself has now learned. They can now jump and climb in response to changes in terrain, instead of going a long way. There are new mechanical enemies and the human enemies are more advanced. However, this does mean that Aloy’s opponents have also evolved to match his newfound skills. A good example of this is the grapple mechanic – it’s more agile and resourceful, but at the same time we show the physical struggle when pulled over bigger slopes. Our goal was to show that Aloy is more comfortable in her surroundings – without losing sight of the fact that she is human, of course, so things don’t always turn out perfectly for her. She has acquired a lot of experience and it should be seen in her animations. It was important to us that players feel that Aloy has grown in his skills and self-confidence through his adventures in Horizon Zero Dawn and the Frozen Wilds. Guerrilla Gameplay Animation Director Richard Oud explains: They’ve already explained how they did it by implementing a variety of new weapons, tools, outfits, and abilities, including a new high vault traversal mechanic and a new climbing technique.

The team wanted to make sure that the players had more freedom in West forbidden. In their latest PlayStation blog, they discuss how combat has evolved since Zero dawn but still manages to remain “true to Aloy’s identity”. Guerrilla Games has made many changes to Horizon forbidden to the west which improves the gaming experience compared to Horizon Zero Dawn.

Horizon zero dawn: the frozen wilds