It seems even mega-publishers like PlayStation can’t escape the leaks, for, just as reported only a couple of days ago, Horizon Forbidden West is getting a DLC expansion called Burning Shores, and it’s set to release on April 19, 2023, this confirmed at the Game Awards.
Though, unfortunately, fans who played Forbidden West on PlayStation 4 are due for some disappointing news; Guerilla has officially confirmed that the Burning Shores DLC will only be playable on PlayStation 5.
The studio’s blog post stated as follows, “To achieve this grand vision technically and creatively, we’ve made the difficult decision to focus all our efforts on making an incredible experience exclusively for the PlayStation 5 console.” Forbidden West ran surprisingly well on PlayStation 4, so it’s curious that the console is getting excluded, but the trailer gives a possible reason as to why this may be.
Towards the end of the trailer, we get a tease that, finally, players will be able to face off against a metal devil, also known as a Horus Titan. These monstrous creatures have been teased since the first title in the series, 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, however, we’ve yet to have been able to fight the massive machine, and part of the reason could possibly be PlayStation 4’s hardware limitations.
“A massive machine threat lurks in its shadows,” the blog post reads, “a huge challenge that Aloy must overcome by using all of her skills and abilities.” The Horus Titan, unlike most of the machines in Horizon, wasn’t made by the sophisticated HEPHAESTUS AI. Instead, it was one of the machines that caused the world’s fall, created by Faro Automated Solutions. If players do indeed get to fight against it, it will be the largest enemy in the series’ history by far.
Though some speculated that Burning Shores would take players closer to Las Vegas, it’s now been confirmed that Aloy will actually be heading to Los Angeles. In the trailer, we can see her flying over a desecrated Hollywood sign, while lava pours down the terrain. The blog post confirms that Aloy will be able to use her Sunwing in the Burning Shores, so the entire area will be immediately explorable by flying. What we still don’t know, however, is the price point, but we’ll likely learn more soon.