How to turn on Thalassophobia mode in Horizon Forbidden West

Amidst the Burning Shores DLC fanfare, the latest Horizon Forbidden West Patch 1.2.1 adds a slew of accessibility features, including a Thalassophobia mode. This has been much to the community's delight, as many have expressed similar concerns over the past year since the game's launch. Thalassophobia refers to the fear of large bodies of water, which includes lakes and oceans. The word finds its roots in Greek, specifically thalassa, meaning "sea," and phobos meaning "fear." The added Horizon Forbidden West mode will ensure a better experience for those with this phobia.

So, how can players switch on the newly added Thalassophobia mode in Horizon Forbidden West?

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Guerrilla Games added a Thalassophobia mode to Horizon Forbidden West; here's how to switch it on

For those who wish to turn on the Thalassophobia mode in Horizon Forbidden West, they should follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Once you have launched Horizon Forbidden West and are inside, make your way to the in-game settings
• After you have opened the locations, switch over to the Accessibility option
• Search for the Thalassophobia Relief option and switch it on
• You can also switch off the Underwater Camera Shake option for a smoother experience. On top of it

Speaking about the new mode, Guerrilla Games stated:

"This feature aims to ease thalassophobia symptoms by improving underwater ambient visibility and allowing you to breathe indefinitely, regardless of story progression."

These tweaks will help players better navigate their time underwater. The developers' Reddit post explaining the new feature received positive feedback from the community, with one player thanking them and saying:

"I have severe thalassophobia and have had several legit panic attacks playing this game. The underwater environments are so gorgeous but my irrational anxiety hates them. New Game Plus with automatically keeping the rebreather helped but I'm excited to see if the visibility helps me explore underwater more."

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Other added accessibility features that came with the official patch 1.21 are as follows:

New accessibility features other than Thalassophobia mode:

• Improved UI readability options - Added options to increase waypoint and quest icon sizes.
• Navigation Assist - Added an option to assist the player's orientation during a quest, with a new option added in Focus mode to face the camera towards the current objective. Additionally, the camera will prioritize aiming toward this direction if the user has a waypoint set.
• Color Blind settings - Added new color blind accessibility options.
• Auto Camera - Added an option to allow the camera to follow your movement behavior from the left stick without controlling it with the right stick.
• HUD Vignette - Added an option to add a vignette to darken the edges of the screen, increasing the contract and improving HUD readability.
• Auto Pickup - Added an option to collect pickups without button-press interactions from the player automatically.
• Improved Subtitle Sizes - Increased the size of subtitles for the Large and Extra Large options.

Patch 1.21 also added support for Horizon Forbidden West DLC Burning Shores. The PS5 exclusive expansion will see Aloy travel beyond the Forbidden West, pursuing "a sinister new threat to the planet, hidden among these dangerous, untamed wilds."