While Sony certainly considersHorizon Forbidden Westa PS5 headliner, the game will also appear on PS4. The reveal came during theSeptember 2020 PlayStation 5 showcase, three months after theForbidden West’s initial announcement. The cross-gen decision stems from Sony’s understanding that everyone will transition from the PS4 to the PS5 at different times, and it doesn’t want players missing out on fan-favorite franchises. Considering the PS5 shortages, this was likely a good decision.
Now, followingthe firstHorizon Forbidden Westgameplay showcase, Game Informer has sat down withForbidden WestGame Director Mathijs de Jonge and Narrative Director Benjamin Mccaw to discuss the title at length. “How Guerrilla Games planned to take advantage of the PS5’s technology” sat among the many questions that the two received, and de Jonge decided to answer it by spelling out the differences between the game’s PS4 and PS5 versions, giving fans an idea of what to expect from each.
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De Jonge states that much ofHorizon Forbidden West’s developmentand playtesting took place on the PS4, so it’s designed with that hardware in mind. By doing this, Guerrilla “ensured” that PS4 players would have a great experience with the title, even though they’re not playing on the PS5. That said, while the game will play and look good on the PS4, Guerrilla can do a lot more with it on the PS5. Specifically, it can enhance its visuals with much more detail.
For example, De Jonge says that the PS5 version has its own rendering technique for underwater scenes, one that adds extra detail to things like waves. Also, the lighting on Aloy “has much more definition.” Guerrilla uses a special, cinematic lighting rig inForbidden Westthat follows Aloy around. The PS4 only has enough processing power to activate the rig during cutscenes, but the PS5 can do it throughout the entire game. On top of this, the PS5 version supposedly supports a 60fps Performance Mode.
Many will likely be happy to know that most ofHorizon Forbidden West’s development took place on the PS4. De Jonge likely mentioned it due to theinfamous launch ofCyberpunk 2077, which unfortunately featured PS4 and Xbox One ports that were more or less unplayable at the time of their release.Forbidden Westreceiving its initial development on the PS4 should stop it from suffering the same fate. Conceivably, the PS5 version should still provide a unique experience too.
Horizon Forbidden Westis in development for PS4 and PS5.
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