5 secrets from Horizon Forbidden West's gameplay reveal you may have missed

Sony revealed Horizon Forbidden West’s gameplay at State of Play on May 27th, 2021. The breath-taking graphical fidelity of the game undeniably became a talking point amongst fans awaiting the game.

Besides the beautiful next-gen graphics, the other thing that grabbed a lot of attention was the plethora of traversal options Aloy has at her disposal in Horizon Forbidden West. The Gameplay Reveal footage showed off Aloy using a grappling hook and a gliding umbrella - which the devs called "Shield Wing"

Horizon Zero Dawn seemed quite limiting in terms of traversal mechanics. Aloy could only use the grapple to marked terrain and that too only while descending from heights.

Shield Wing - new gliding mechanic in Horizon Forbidden West (Image via Playstation)

The grappling hook in Horizon Forbidden West seems to give Aloy a lot more options. It opens up exploration with high-tempo traversal like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and players can even use it in fights, akin to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Besides these big talking points, there were a lot of tidbits that went under the radar, barring the eyes of the few avid watchers who dug up these nitty gritty details about Horizon Forbidden West from the gameplay reveal.

5 secrets from the gameplay reveal of Horizon Forbidden West

Aloy can likely stay underwater as long as needed

The underwater visuals are jaw-dropping, with kelp and coral populating the scenery. However, one thing that might have gone unnoticed to the common eye is the lack of any oxygen meter or breathing bar while Aloy swam through the underwater section.

Aloy swimming underwater (Image via Sony)

It seems like Aloy’s Diving Mask lets her stay underwater for as long as she wants. And that may be a reason to rejoice for players who want to bask in the tantalizing beauty of the ocean for long periods.

The usage of smoke bombs

Aloy using smoke bombs (Image via Sony)

The gameplay reveal saw Aloy using a smoke bomb to escape a Clawstrider. It remains to be seen how much of this can be used in the general gameplay of Horizon Forbidden West.

Humans can now override Machines

Tenakht tribe member on a Clawstrider (Image via Sony)

The gameplay reveal saw the Tenakht tribe’s humans mounted on Clawstriders and Tremortusk. The human-overridden Machines also seemed to act more aggressively in Horizon Forbidden West.

Weapon special skills use the yellow and purple bar

Emplaced shot depleted the yellow bar (Image from Sony)

The gameplay reveal showed off a cool new mid-fight animation that Aloy used to supercharge her spear. However, what might have gone unnoticed is the supercharging depleting the purple bar at the bottom right of the screen.

A similar thing was also spotted when Aloy used her bow to shoot the Tremortusk’s belly with “emplaced shot.” This time, it depleted the yellow bar. However, it remains to be seen how these bars actually work in terms of gameplay mechanics in Horizon Forbidden West.

The Red Blight has spread exponentially

Red Blight in Horizon Forbidden West (Image via Sony)

The “Red Blight,” which seems to be a major threat to the world in Horizon Forbidden West, has overrun the lush green flora. What outwardly looks to be a visual treat in the gameplay reveal, is essentially death seeping into post-apocalyptic lives once again.

It is no leap of faith to infer that this has certain connections to the imminent storm and red thunder shown towards the end of the gameplay reveal.