The epic landscapes and ruins of the Forbidden West may be breathtaking, but danger lurks around every turn. Aloy’s enemies, both human and machine, have multiplied since the end of Horizon Zero Dawn. Whether she comes across a convoy of cargo machines and their guardians, a squad of rebel warriors looking for a fight, or a pack of Stalkers cloaked in the forest, the heat of combat will bring new challenges… but also opportunities to turn the tables.

Spoiler Alert: Please note this article may contain some spoilers for Horizon Zero Dawn and its storyline.

Combat evolved

For the team at Guerrilla, one of the goals for Horizon Forbidden West was to significantly evolve the combat design from Horizon Zero Dawn, and to continue to build on the principles of player freedom and choice during encounters in the open world. 

“Aloy is a smart and agile combatant,” says Charles Perain, Combat Designer. “In Horizon Forbidden West, the tools at her disposal generate a wide array of tactics that allow her to engage with physically stronger opponents — from fully armored humans to very large machines.’

‘Our changes to combat design stayed true to Aloy’s identity. First, we wanted to add additional depth to gameplay and increase the skill cap for players, through skills like melee combos and Valor Surges. Players who spend some time perfecting their combat skills will find some efficient and stylish ways to dispose of their enemies. Second, we wanted to cater to a variety of playstyles and really focus on freedom of choice. Through new weapons and outfits, which can be upgraded at a workbench, players can adapt their tactics. Finally, we wanted to design challenging enemies that encourage players to use all their abilities and skills. A whole new set of machines as well as advanced human enemies will keep players on their toes throughout the game!”

“It was important to us that players feel like Aloy has grown in her skills and confidence coming from her adventures in Horizon Zero Dawn and the Frozen Wilds,” says Richard Oud, Gameplay Animation Director at Guerrilla. “She gained a lot of experience and that needed to show in her animations. Our aim was to show that Aloy is more comfortable traversing her environment – without losing sight of the fact that she’s human, of course, so things don’t always go perfectly for her. The grapple mechanic is a good example of this: she is more agile and resourceful, but at the same time we show the physical struggle when she’s being pulled up on bigger inclines.”

The AI team has played a big role in improving the combat system, especially when it comes to increasing the challenge level. Lead AI Programmer Arjen Beij: “We wanted enemies to feel more authentic by improving the fluidity and continuity of motion, like making enemies (and companions) more capable of traversing rugged terrain. The AI in Horizon Zero Dawn already supported some dynamic terrain changes, but we wanted to take this further by adding jumping and climbing as a systemic part of their behavior. As you are playing the game, the AI will be searching for opportunities to take shortcuts, whe

Last week, we asked you to capture some glowing creations and share them using #PSshare and #PSBlog. From the setting sun, to vivid particle effects, to lunar light, here are this week’s highlights:

@mett981 takes aim in Kena: Bridge of Spirits

@mellydarkeyes gives Selene a well-earned moment to relax in Returnal

@kimchitraveler catches Star-Lord looking blue in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

@MdeavorVP captures a fetching action shot in Infamous First Light

@CaptureControl takes a shot in the dark in Control

@SindyJ_B prepares to enter fog in Demon’s Souls

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Sanctuary
SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on December 8

Next week, we’re seeking sanctuary for our Photo Mode creation theme. Share moments that capture the spirit of sanctuary using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

What does it feel like to race the greatest cars in the world, on iconic streets and circuits, whilst dodging crashes and jaw-dropping moments around every corner? Well, in just a couple of months’ time, you’ll be able to find out…

The entire team here at EA and Codemasters are so excited to announce today that Grid Legends comes to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on February 25, 2022 – and you can pre-order it right now from the PlayStation Store. Head there to get full details on everything coming your way, including bonus content for pre-ordering, and a Deluxe Edition option for more add-ons both on launch day and beyond.

Oh, and make sure to Follow Grid Legends on PlayStation as well, to make sure you get all the latest news, gameplay and more content straight to your console, as we share more in the coming weeks.

Race in the moment

But hey, that’s for the future. We’re ready to give you more details right now on what makes Grid Legends a truly unique racing experience – starting with a simple question. When you play an exciting and enjoyable game, what do you remember most from it? Usually, it’s those unforgettable moments ­– those magical instances where the drama kicks in, the jeopardy amps up, and the element of surprise creates something you want to tell the world about.

The beauty of Grid Legends is that it’s designed to deliver those amazing moments race after race, time after time. Of course, you will play your part in those moments – getting behind the wheel of well over 100 of the world’s greatest machines and battling for glory against 21 other drivers, on over 130 stunning routes. Intense pack racing is what the Grid franchise is all about, and Grid Legends takes that up yet another notch. That, though, is just the beginning of how this racer consistently delivers those epic moments.

Thanks to hundreds of AI personalities, each with their nuances and differences, and a race choreographer working behind the scenes to conjure up some shocks, you’ll never know what’s coming around the corner in Grid Legends. Be ready to squint through the smoke of an engine blowout right in front of you. Keep an eye on the sky for a car launching into the air after shredding a tire. Look out for aggressive AI personalities intent on getting back ahead of your after you traded paint with them earlier. Everywhere you look in a Grid Legends race, there is unpredictability and drama unfolding. That means more surprises, and more of those unforgettable racing moments.

Spectacular racing variety

What also helps create those consistent instances of delight is the sheer variety of experiences on offer in Grid Legends. The Codemasters team have used their decades of racing game know-how to pack in more cars, locations, and ways to play than we’ve ever seen from this franchise.

Prepare to hit the loud pedal in anything from hypercars to big rigs, single-seaters, drift legends, iconic prototypes, and stadium trucks. Enjoy a wide selection of event types, including the tense Eliminator, electrifying Boost races, and the return of stylish, sideways Drift runs. Hosting those vehicles and events is a massive slate of global locations, ranging from revered real-world raceways like Indianapolis, Suzuka, and Red Bull Ring, unique street circuits like the new London and Moscow routes, or even the new sprawling, high-speed Strada Alpina. Hundr

Believe it or not, 20 years have passed since a certain courageous teenager and his plucky ottsel sidekick entered our lives. Naughty Dog’s Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy launched on PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2001. True to the “precursor” moniker, this platforming debut predates the duo’s eventual forays into open-world exploration, desert-bound mayhem, and racing exploits. This first game focuses on satisfying platforming, power cell discovery, and the origins of Jak’s story, told with cinematic flair.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy inhabits a fascinating place within Naughty Dog’s gameography, fitting between the pure platforming goodness of the Crash Bandicoot trilogy on PlayStation and the blockbuster adventures of Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series starting on PS3. Despite this first title’s focus on platforming, it’s impossible to overlook Naughty Dog’s signatures, including fluid character animations, richly detailed worlds, and engaging cinematics. I personally have fond memories of collecting every last power cell and hovering in the fantastical Zoomer vehicle.

To mark the anniversary, we’ve invited friends from PlayStation Studios and other third-party studios to reflect on the milestone and share their first memories of jumping (and double-jumping) into the world of Jak and Daxter.

“The biggest thing I learned was the challenge of designing an open world game without using load times! We set out from the start to design a world and not levels like we were used to coming from Crash, and we made it a rule that if you could see it you could walk (or boat or fly!) to it and that when you reached a building or cave that you could go inside and that the inside would have to fit within the space that the exterior could support. It wasn’t easy!”

– Evan Wells / Co-President / Naughty Dog

“I remember being really excited about the physics that had been added to the rope bridge by the programmers, because we had rope bridges on Crash Bandicoot, but they did not have physics on them. We were just jumping up and down on the bridge and marveling about how it reacted to Jak jumping on it.”

– Charlotte Francis / Senior Technical Artist / Naughty Dog

Concept art for Jak, the courageous primary hero of the franchise.

“When Jak & Daxter first came out, it really broke a lot of ground. The graphics were top-of-the-line at the time and it allowed

PlayStation®Partner Awards 2021 Japan Asia

The PlayStation Partner Awards 2021 Japan Asia will present awards to hit titles sold for the PlayStation, recognizing the creative work of those who made them. This will be the twenty-seventh time for the event to be held since it started as the PlayStation Awards the year after the platform’s birth in 1994. Awardees will be presented with trophies based on the motif of the PlayStation controller’s trademark button icons (△○×□).

GRAND AWARD

PARTNER AWARD

Special Award

Awarded to the following three types of titles:

Titles developed by creators from outside the Japan / Asia region that have amassed the highest sales in the Japan / Asia region from October 2020 to September 2021*.
■ Apex Legends(Electronic Arts Inc | Respawn Entertainment)

Independent titles developed in the Japan / Asia region that have amassed the highest worldwide sales from October 2020 to September 2021*.
■ Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin(Edelweiss | Marvelous Inc.)

Titles developed in the Japan / Asia region with particularly noteworthy activity results** at the release of the PlayStation®5.
■ Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition(CAPCOM Co., Ltd.)

* Physical and digital sales through PlayStation®Store are counted in the calculation (including additional content and digital currency sales).
** SIE indices, which include player numbers, also factor into the determination of nominees.

GRAND AWARD