Guerilla Games, best known for the amazing Horizon Zero Dawn series, announced a surprise multiplayer spinoff set in the same universe. Horizon Hunters Gathering is a cooperative action game that pits teams of 1-3 players against the machine forces in replayable hunts.
The art style is very bright and colorful, and what I can only describe as Fortnite-like. Judging from the trailer, the action is very fast-paced and combat-focused — not exactly the slow and stealthy approach that I approached each Horizon game with!
So, Horizon + Monster Hunter, drizzled in Fortnite sauce? Dauntless is back!
Instead of creating your own characters, players choose from a set roster of specific character roles or classes, with different playstyles and appearances. Players can then upgrade their character through a roguelike perk system to hone their skills and abilities.
The game can be played solo with bots, and will feature a narrative campaign that fits within the overall canon of the Horizon storyline, set after Horizon Forbidden West.
While the developers are tight-lipped about the campaign, they did announce two game modes. Machine Incursion looks like a standard horde mode or survival, where players defend against waves of machines, culminating in a large boss battle.
In Cauldron Descent, players will progress through a dungeon-like experience with different rooms, encounters, alternate paths, and hidden secrets.
Horizon Hunters Gathering is development for PC (Steam) and PlayStation 5. A release date has not yet been announced. Players can sign up to help playtest the PC or PS5 version via the PlayStation Beta Program. The first “small-scale closed playtest” should arrive at the end of February.
Meanwhile, it’s been three years since the Burning Shores DLC from Horizon Forbidden West. The series hasn’t been quiet in the years since, releasing the Call of the Mountain VR game, Remaster of the original game, and co-op game, LEGO Horizon Adventures. During the announcement for Hunters Gathering, Guerilla Studio Director, Jan-Bart Van Beek assured fans that they are in fact still making single player games.
