Horizon Forbidden West on PS4 looks better than a lot of PS5 games
If you were concerned about the quality of Horizon Forbidden West on last-gen PlayStation machines, it seems you've nothing to worry about
Back when Horizon Forbidden West was first announced, it was unclear whether or not the game would land on Sony's last-gen PS4, as well as the current-gen PS5. Whilst it's clear the game has been optimized for the latest hardware generation (all the trailers to date have focused on PS5 gameplay), PlayStation's latest gameplay snippet shows off the game running on a PS4 Pro.
And it looks good. Really good. Better than some PS5 games, in fact. In a post over on the PS Blog, Angie Smets (studio director and executive producer at Guerrilla Games) posted a couple of clips of the game running on a PS4 Pro that – genuinely – look super impressive. You see the gifs embedded on this page. Given the half-hearted ports we've seen of last-gen games on Sony platforms lately, it's nice to see a new game coming out is designed to "make sure you get to enjoy the best experience on each platform" (per the blog). Just try and ignore your PS4 fan, because this is liable to make it kick into overdrive.
The post also notes the game has gone gold, meaning we can expect to see it – finally – launch on its expected release date of February 18, 2022 with no more delays. That's the date we'll be able to get it on both PS4 and PS5 – there's no staggered release here. Sony has also confirmed that the PS4 version is getting a free PS5 upgrade, meaning you can save $10/£10 if you purchase the PS4 version. You can read all about that on our Horizon Forbidden West release date and pre-orders page.
Guerilla Games has confirmed 60fps support for the PlayStation 5 version of the title, whereas the PS4 version of the game is going to be capped at a lower ceiling than that (usually 30fps, but I've not been able to find any direct announcemnet of that). The PS5 version will also get full support for 3D audio and the DualSense controller.
In the game, you'll be guiding Aloy on an adventure along the ruined US pacific edge, taking out mechanical monsters and foraging for materials. The map stretches from California on the west coast right down towards Utah (which borders the sunshine state in the southwestern United States). The area apparently will be bigger than that which we enjoyed in Horizon Zero Dawn, and from the looks of things, it's going to look a damn sight nicer, too.
I'm pretty excited about this game; earlier this week, I waxed lyrical about how Horizon Forbidden West is getting me more jazzed for underwater levels than I have been since I was forced to watch Sonic the Hedgehog drown when I was a kid. We also saw the first gameplay preview for the game land earlier this week, too.