This month there has been particularly a lot of information coming out about this game due to PS Meeting, TGS and it is Game Informer's cover game.
So to kick things off here is a long write up of the info in the GI article.
Guerrilla wanted to make a game that's "Beautiful in a majestic way" instead of the grit of Killzone. They wanted to create a world you wanted to be in, instead of escape from.
-Work on Horizon began in 2010
- Horizon has its own engine. Not the same as Shadowfall
- GI saw settings in desert, arctic, and temperate environments. Saw machines that will hide in the water.
- Guerrilla promises why the world got this way will be answered. Also say "this is a sci-fi game and that they won't depend on fantasy at any point.
- The various tribes are radically different including how they feel about the machines. Some of them believe the machines becoming more violent is punishment from the gods.
- You aren't recruiting different tribes to your cause but they will sell you different gear and have their own side quests and storylines
- There are bandits in the world so you will have to fight other humans too
- Aloy is most concerned with finding her origin, and most importantly who her mother was
- She has been raised in the Nora Tribe, but the tribe completely ignores her existence. For reasons she doesn't know they seem to shun her.
- The Nora are ruled by women, Matriarchs
- Aloy was raised by another outcast named Rost, who didn't do it of his own will. The Tribe forced him
- Rost is stern and overprotective but only wants the best for Aloy / Father figure
- There are playable flashbacks of Aloy's childhood
- There are Hunter Trials which are essentially Big Game Hunts / Hunter's Guild
- A flying enemy called a d Glinthawk can throw ice bombs
There are "Corruption Zones" which are areas of the map filled with dangerous enemies. Some of the biggest fights in the game can be found in these zones
- There are lots of sidequests but don't expect them to be as expansive as The Witcher
-GI was surprised at the depth of the game, how intelligent the AI is, and how fluid the controls are.
- GI stated every battle felt like a challenge and that you are in danger often so you need to reasses scenarios such as finding a high spot to plan out your plan of action (GI surprised how fluid traversal was)
- You can craft different outfits to change Aloy's appearance
- A screenshot shows Aloy wearing a metal chest piece, quite a bit different than her normal "animal skins" look
- Aloy has 3 different skill trees that you can put level up points into. They are Prowler (Stealth), Brave (Damage focus), and Forager (Resource Gathering)
- Skill tree is designed to give extra abilities such as kill instantly stunned enemy instead of perks but they are in there
- Weather makes an impact as it affect your vision and traction on the ground
- Aloy can find modifications when she defeats enemies that can be slotted into her weapons and armor. These affect things such as stats and give buffs
- There are weapons such as rocket launchers and machines which you can tame which have not been shown
And also videos detailing the combat (with new gameplay)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fndW_4hfwaMSome new gameplay with the tribes and npc's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mwiYnENlvUThroughout the rest of the month there will be more GI content on Horizon Zero Dawn.