Sony Confirms Horizon Hunters Gathering, a New Multiplayer Game Set in the Horizon Universe

This is the official news about the long-rumored Horizon online project from Sony Interactive Entertainment and Guerrilla Games. Horizon Hunters Gathering is the name of the project. There was a nine-minute movie and a news post about it on the PlayStation Blog. Thoughts, leaks, and talks about concept art have been going on for years now.

The project was made by people who work at Guerrilla. It changes the Horizon universe but stays true to the original world. They were very clear about their plans from the beginning of the show. It was made clear that the company still loves making single-player games and plans to keep doing so.

A movie clip that put people right in the middle of the Horizon world opened the show. 

This was said before any ads or video clips of the game were shown. Sony is investing more in online and live-service projects, which makes that message seem carefully placed and planned. Horizon Hunters Gathering wasn't meant to replace other Horizon games; it was meant to go with them. The studio made sure of that right away.

There were well-known figures, like Aloy, who helped keep the project true to the story. Also, you can now play as new types of hunters. The way these figures are drawn is very different from how they are drawn in Zero Dawn and Forbidden West. These figures look more like they belong in a comic book. The way it looks might remind some people of Fortnite, but the overall mood and world design still feel very Horizon.

Horizon: Hunters' Gathering is a three-player co-op game, as its play makes clear. You and your team use close combat, bows, skills, and coordinated attacks to get into machines' weak spots. The main fighting loop is still a lot like Horizon, but it's been changed so that you can fight other people. You choose your hunter job and adjust some settings before each task. This makes the game more strategic before it even starts.

This game changes the way tasks work by giving you random power-ups that change how each run goes. There will be four worlds to explore when the game first comes out. In the middle of tasks, players gather to talk, prepare for the next run, and check their progress. You also get a campsite that you can customize to suit your needs. This way, your space changes as you play.

There is a fully-fledged story in the Horizon world, even though the game is mostly about playing with other people. 

Two kinds of tasks were shown off during the reveal. The first one has waves of enemies that you have to avoid while you explore the map, pick up perks, and make your team stronger before you fight the big final machine. It gets harder to play as the game goes on, as the storm slowly moves in. You have to figure out how to get the prizes before time runs out.

The second kind of quest is called Cauldron Descent. It's more like a dungeon with multiple levels and split ways. You fight more in some ways than others, and you jump from one platform to the next as you go deeper into the mechanical rooms. This story can be played by one person, with friends who are not people filling in for other people.

The game is meant to be played with three other people, but you can play it by yourself if you'd rather. This way, you can go at your own pace and still get the main points. They both said that more information will be shared in the next few months. The first closed playtest will start at the end of this month. The game is coming to PS5 and PC. To play in the test, you can sign up for the PlayStation Test Program on Sony's website.

The ending looks a lot like the concept art and early pictures released years ago, for many people who have been watching this project since the first rumors. Some people already differ about the style of this. There are different views on whether the art direction is good or bad, but if you lean toward liking it, there is a lot to like. The game doesn't try to be as realistic as other games in the series, but it still looks clean, bright, and well-built.

It gets more difficult when people compare things.

Another Horizon-connected project that looks very real is Steel Frontiers, which is very different. There are PvP, PvE, and PvPvE parts to that game, but it's mostly like an MMO or Monster Hunter. On the other hand, Horizon: Hunters Gathering looks like it's only for PvE and is based around three-player co-op. It draws on elements from roguelikes, Fortnite-style layouts, and boss fights from Monster Hunter.

One thing that stands out is how solo-friendly it seems, even though it was designed for multiplayer. Adding a single-player story with people who aren't you changes everything about the game. But even though we know how to play by ourselves, we might still want to play with our friends because that's where the fun is. To enjoy the story, you don't need to use matchmaking or have a large group.

It's still not clear how to keep people for long, though. It can be hard for multiplayer games to get and keep players, especially if they come out a long time after the first big hit in the series. Some people may wonder how well the game would have done if it had come out before Zero Dawn. Time will be very important. No matter what, the future beta should help us figure it out better, since people will naturally have thoughts once they have time to play.

A lot of people thought Horizon: Hunters Gathering would look worse than it did. What people have said so far isn't as clear as in other projects, but the base seems strong. That's it for now. Guerrilla needs to ensure the game is fun, playable solo, and fits with the Horizon world. It's real, and the game will be here soon. We'll soon find out how it works.