A live streamed demo of Horizon: Zero Dawn was played by Guerrilla Games' Lead Combat Designer Troy Mashburn at EGX in Birmingham, UK yesterday, revealing more information on the game's narrative, trading/crafting mechanics, and gameplay.
Starting with protagonist Aloy going into a village that had just been attacked by a corrupted Thunderjaw, one of the biggest mysteries in the game, according to Mashburn, will be to find out what’s causing a lot of trouble by corrupting the machines and making them more dangerous and violent. Though no one knows anything about the Corruptors – the machines that are going around and infecting the others – they are somehow linked to Aloy’s personal mystery and where does she come from.
Before going into combat, the EGX demo showcased a bit of the trading/crafting systems as well, with the main character buying a very rare slingshot that fires elemental grenades with a big area of effect, a rare bow capable of knocking parts off machines, and a protective vest with additional protection against corrupted machines. All items can be modified and improved through a socket system, which will be familiar to RPG fans:
The title will be a full open world from the very beginning, allowing players to explore the world as they see fit. The interface will point out nearby quests and points of interests as you can see in the image below:
The EGX demo then moved on to combat, and Mashburn revealed that four weapons can be active at the same time and swapped instantaneously. Moreover, every weapon in the game can be used by Aloy while riding a mount.
Horizon: Zero Dawn will release exclusively for PlayStation 4 in North America on February 28, in Europe on March 1, and in the UK on March 3.
