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So the writers at Game Informer got to see a demo of HFW. The demo opens in a canyon called the Daunt, which is described in the article to be in the "eastern edge of the Sundom" but the wiki refers to it as the western edge of the Sundom, so I believe this is a mistake on Game Informer's part. It wouldn't make sense to have an area in the game that's farther east than Zero Dawn's map since the main caveat of HFW is that we're exploring the Forbidden West not the Forbidden East.
Narrative director Ben McCaw says that the Daunt is the last stop before the Forbidden West, and that Aloy's objective is to go to the embassy at the Sundom's border, near Barren Light, to meet with members of a "hostile tribe" (likely the Tenakth) to "hopefully attain rite of passage through their lands." The article remarks that the Daunt is an "onboarding area" to introduce players to the new gameplay and mechanics. So, it sounds like this is one of the very first areas in the game, if not the first.
The Daunt is also described as having snowy terrain and mountains (contrary to the photo above) making it "harrowing to access on the best of days." In the demo, Aloy asks the guards to operate the cable car so she can go down to the valley so she can head on to Barren Light, but the guards say that the valley is infested with machines (resembling hogs, called Bristlebacks) that can only be stopped by acid arrows. Aloy convinces the guards to run the cable car and she heads down the valley, and the Game Informer writers note the breathtaking mountain and trees. Aloy runs into the Carja Sun-Priest at the bottom, who is supposed to run the embassy in Barren Light, and he refuses to go further until the machine problem is taken care of and the path to Barren Light is clear.
Aloy then heads to the nearby Oseram village Chainscrape to craft acid arrows and to improve her weapons to (begrudgingly) aid the Sun-Priest's journey by killing the machines. Chainscrape and the Daunt are located in and based off of present-day Zion National Park in Southwest Utah. During the cable car ride, Aloy passes the Angels Landing rock formation that characterizes the Zion Canyon.
Aloy arrives in Chainscrape and is constantly addressed as the "Savior of Meridian" or just "Savior." This is a difference from the original games, as Aloy was constantly being ridiculed or underestimated for being an outcast, a Nora, a woman, etc., so she took joy in proving her naysayers wrong. Now, there's literally the pressure of saving the world from the blight on her shoulders. Ben McCaw acknowledges this by saying, "On one level, Aloy really wants to live up to the example of Elizabet Sobek, her mother figure, and do whatever it takes to stop the blight and save the world. Even if that means doing it single-handedly; but, she'll also discover that it's lonely being the Savior. And ultimately, it's the connections with others that make the world worth saving in the first place."
This concept is highlighted as Aloy arrives in Chainscrape and runs into her old friend Petra who greets her with an, "About time there was something worth looking at in this dump." (
cue Billy Eichner screaming 'let's go lesbians') Petra wants to catch up with Aloy at the brewery pictured below, but Aloy feels pressured to not stray from her path and upgrade her bow so that she can kill the machines and proceed to Barren Light. Aloy feels guilty for not catching up with Petra, though. The article says that this will be a constant battle for Aloy over the course of the game, feeling a push and pull between wanting to be with her friends and needing to fulfill her mission of saving the planet. Petra remarks that Aloy has "bigger gears to grind... But if you want a cold beer and a few laughs with an old friend, come find me at the brewery, your choice." The writers of the article note that Aloy feels torn but goes to upgrade her bow using a workbench, which I believe is a new mechanic in the game. Petra is also noted to be hanging around a "shady" character named Ulvund.
This is so starkly different from the original games - you can just
feel the life in this world. Ben McCaw says, "We've upgraded our civilians and settlements since the last game with an improved crowd system, better animations, and much better audio, so everything should feel a little bit more authentic and lifelike." This is really exciting because one of my two minor complaints about HZD is that the people were pretty much confined to the settlements, and rarely would you see people just living throughout the world. The people within those settlements seemed to be lacking in personality, too. I'm really glad that this will be improving! I'm already excited about this change just looking at the picture.
You can also see mannequins with Oseram armor on them behind Aloy in the picture. There are also pairs of boots sitting on a shelf - this looks to be where you can buy some outfits. With the boots sitting on the shelf, this makes me think that there could be separate items of clothing (i.e. Oseram boots, Oseram pants, Oseram breastplate, Oseram helmet, etc) rather than just full outfits, but it could also just be how the devs chose to decorate this particular marketplace.
The writers of the article note that there are several side quests available in Chainscrape. They call them "companion activities." Ben McCaw says that, "The big focus, though, that we wanted to change from the first game to the second, is that you just get to spend more time with key characters. That's something we tried to do consistently throughout the game. Not just for characters that you meet along the main quest, but also certain side quest characters; they don't just go away after one quest." McCaw seems to hint at the characters possibly being Skyrim-esque followers, probably not accompanying Aloy throughout the entire duration of the game but leaving Aloy with options to have companions.
This makes me very happy - the second of my two complains with HZD is that there wasn't enough character development or depth with any side characters besides Sylens. I think that the lack of character-building was due to the fact that much of the game's narrative efforts were geared towards world-building, a massive feat to take on due to the sheer amount of lore that the world of Horizon has to offer. With HZD players returning to play the Horizon sequel, the world and lore is already well-established - leaving more room for characters to be expanded upon.
The second demo that the Game Informer writers saw was later in the game when Aloy was actually in the Forbidden West. She is accompanied by a friend named Alva, a member of a "mysterious new tribe," which I'm assuming is the Utaru but as always could be something else entirely. She is described by Ben McCaw as bright and curious, but unsure of herself. Alva and Aloy are headed for "the ruins of an old tech campus" to find information and data that is important to Alva's tribe. The landscape is now tropical. Aloy and Alva have known each other for a while at this point of the game, as Aloy says that Alva has come a long way since they met. Alva says that she used to be terrified of making mistakes but has learned a lot so her anxieties are eased slightly. The writers say that Alva had been reevaluating her worldview. As the pair approach the ruins, the ground starts shaking and a Slitherfang appears, starting a battle.
è una cosa ironica con lui
