Horizon Forbidden West becomes a lot less forbidden to PC users next year
Sony's not letting up in its quest to put PlayStation exclusives on PC (after a reasonable period of time).
Another Sony blockbuster is coming to PC. The latest entry in the PS5 catalogue to make the leap is Horizon Forbidden West, which will be arriving on our shores—says Sony—in "early 2024" in its Complete Edition form. That's the one with the Burning Shores DLC, bonus in-game items, and your standard digital knick-knacks like soundtracks and art books.
The port is being handled by Sony subsidiary Nixxes, the same studio that handled the very good ports of Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (plus Miles Morales) and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. So with any luck we won't have to deal with the kinds of bugs that plagued that port of The Last of Us earlier this year.
Forbidden West is the sequel to Zero Dawn, which is certainly a sentence with some nouns in it, and continues the robo-dino-hunting adventures of Ashly Burch as she "races to save the planet’s crumbling biosphere before vicious storms and a mysterious, unstoppable blight ravages the remnants of humanity". Relatable!
I've not played it myself due to my fierce loyalty to the PC as a platform and, secondarily, lack of funds, but it's been generally well-liked in its PS5 form. It's earned positive reviews and particular praise for its visuals, story, and improved combat and traversal compared to the first game.
I have played that first game, and while I found myself a bit tired of yet another big open-world map full of checklists to complete, I did still have a good time exploring its many beautiful areas. Plus, I found a new videogame CEO to despise and Lance Reddick (RIP) was there, so I had fun. Consider me interested in getting a shot at the sequel.
This feels like a quick turnaround to me, but I suppose it is in-keeping with Sony boss Jim Ryan's previous statements that PC players would likely be waiting "two or three years" before getting their hands on PlayStation games. Forbidden West launched on PS5 in February last year (although the PS5 version of the Complete Edition, the one we'll be getting next year, releases October 6), meaning that a release date of "early 2024" puts us quite squarely two years out from that. And really, it's no mystery why Sony is eager to put its games on our desktops: it's apparently working out very well for the company.
You can wishlist Horizon Forbidden West on Steam and the Epic Game Store right this second, if you fancy it.