Horizon Zero Dawn was a very well-received PS4 exclusive released earlier in 2017. During E3 this year, developer Guerilla games has announced a DLC expansion, The Frozen Wilds, due for release in November. We've learned a little bit about it since then, but today, they've opened the floodgates of information.
The Frozen Wilds takes place in an area called The Cut. This new area, as you might have guessed, is primarily a cold region. According to The Sixth Axis, Aloy travels there following rumors of a Daemon that can control and influence machines. It can be tackled pretty early in the game, as it happens alongside the main game, but the difficulty will likely keep you at bay until most of the main title is progressed through.
The Daemon that controls the robotic beasts has put them into overdrive, allowing them to be stronger and able to repair themselves if they're within the reach of the Daemon's new control tower machines. The new challenges seem like a natural progression from the main installment.
A new environment brings new machines such as the Scorcher, with a multitude of fire and explosive attacks. Of course, with these new machines, Aloy can make and commandeer new weapons as well. We don't know a whole lot about them yet, but we do know about some of her new abilities from the new skill tree.
Alongside the existing skill trees is a new one called Traveller. The few of the skills include a Mounted Pickup skill, which obviously allows Aloy to pick up items while mounted. You can also gain the ability to scrap items yourself instead of having a shop do it. There's also a Dismount Strike, which allows Aloy to leap off of a mounted beast and deal heavy damage to whomever/whatever she lands on.
On top of these new gameplay elements, Guerilla Games also fixed a number of weak points the original game had for the expansion. Conversations look a lot more dynamic and engaging. With as large of a game as Horizon Zero Dawn is, it's not much of a surprise that dialogue took a bit of a back seat, even if it wasn't intentional. But Guerilla seems very aware of that as they built the brand new, 15-hours story.
If you weren't already excited about more Horizon Zero Dawn in the form ofThe Frozen WIlds, it seems like Guerilla Games decided to take it a step past "More of what you love" and continued building for the expansion. Even regular gameplay elements like using Tallnecks to scout a region has been changed a bit for the expansion.
Last week, Xbox executive Shannon Loftis talked about the costs of single-player games and how it may affect the future of single-player stories. But Guerilla Games designer Tim Stobo responds that Horizon Zero Dawn proves that single-player very much has a place in mainstream gaming. We'll have to see him prove it again on November 7 when The Frozen Wilds launches on the PS Store for $19.99
