It took them long enough, but Sony and Guerilla have finally announced that other online Horizon game (the one that isn’t an MMO), and it’s called Horizon Hunters Gathering. On the offset it sort of looks like a Monster Hunter clone gameplay wise, especially being a co-op action game, though there are some definite differences between the two.
And there’s plenty of differences with the main series too, the most obvious being that radical art style change. I’m certainly for it, the Horizon games admittedly have quite nice colours but ultimately have a forgettable art direction, whereas this one is clearly following in the 3D animation pseudo revolution that was Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. There’s a hero shooter-esque quality to it, as you can only choose from pre-set characters as opposed to making your own a la Monster Hunter, all of which have a couple of classes to choose from themselves.
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There’s a guy with a big ole warhammer, another who’s speedy as hell with a bow and arrow, a woman with a fancy looking spear, a fair amount of variety on display (those three will also be the only characters available to choose from in the game’s first closed playtest, which you can only access through the PlayStation Beta Program). The combat itself looks flashy and crunchy enough, and like in the original games you still have to find weak points on the robo dinos.
This first playtest will have a couple of mission types to try out, the first one being Machine Excursion, where you have to fight off a bunch of the machines and defend your home, collecting random power-ups along the way, so a touch roguelikey. There’s also a Fortnite-esque ring that closes in more and more to keep you on your toes. The other mission type is called Cauldron Descent, which sort of looks like a dungeon crawly, puzzley take on Hades, as you choose different rooms to go through as you progress.
There’s also a Monster Hunter style hub area where you can upgrade equipment, or just hangout in a campsite that you can customise yourself. Overall it feels like a real mish mash of different games, and looks cohesive enough in its first trailer, though I do wonder if it’s able to find its own identity amongst it all. In any case, no release date or even window in this one, so if you’re interested, just have patience.
