If you have played Horizon Zero Dawn, you will be familiar with the various machines in the game. From the nonthreatening Tallnecks to the likes of the giant Glinthawks and Thunderjaws there was a decent selection. When we saw the first gameplay of the sequel we saw some glimpses of the new Horizon Forbidden West machines.
We knew the Horizon Forbidden West machines were getting some of the original machines returning and some new machines making their debut. For example, the end of the gameplay footage had a fight against the machine equivalent of a wooly mammoth. However, now we have more information on what to expect on Aloy’s new journey.
Horizon Forbidden West machines. What to expect
A new PlayStation Blog post by Bo de Vries explains more. They are the community lead at Guerilla Games. But the information came from Blake Politeski. They are the game’s Principal Machine Designer since the development of Horizon Zero Dawn. So we have some continuity from the first game and someone who knows what the machines are like. They had this to say on one of the new Horizon Forbidden West machines.
We’re expanding this catalog further with Horizon Forbidden West. For example, we knew we wanted a slightly bigger flying machine than the Glinthawk, which resulted in the Sunwings. But it needed a place and a role in the world. We studied various flying reptiles and primitive birds for inspiration. And came up with the concept of their wings collecting solar energy during sunny weather. This in turn created an interesting gameplay dynamic. Sunwings will be vulnerable when they are harvesting solar power. But are also more alert to potential predators when they are idle.
And that mammoth machine from the trailer
Asset Art Lead Maxim Fleury spoke about this new machine. So let’s introduce the Tremortusk. And this is what Maxim had to say
The Tremortusk is based on a mammoth with a nod to the historic and cinematic examples of the great war elephants. It has many different attacks and a body covered in various guns. Apart from using its tusks to attack up close, it also has different elemental weapons it can use. The one we see in the trailer is controlled by a rebel faction of the Tenakth. But you can also find them wandering the wilds.
Blake Politeski expanded on this by saying:
It reminds me of a mixture of war elephants and a huge siege tower that was used to attack fortresses in medieval times. Hard to destroy, slow moving, and a lot of fire power. This generated the idea for the Tremortusk, which is a well armored but slow machine, almost an unstoppable force. In Horizon Forbidden West, human enemy factions can control machines. So it seemed like a natural fit to combine the two and make our own spin on ‘war elephants’. With a platform on top that humans can fire at Aloy from.
To circle back to the machine (eco-)system, it was created to keep balance on Earth. And ensure that humans cannot wipe out life again. Tremortusks were created as combat machines. Protecting other machine species so they can do what they were designed to do without human interference.
So hopefully we don’t see too many of those machines. However, it’s likely this could be a grueling journey for Aloy. Will you be jumping in this coming February? As always we love hearing your thoughts.
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