'Horizon Forbidden West' Director Reveals PS4 And PS5 Differences, Development Update And More

Guerilla Games' much-awaited title "Horizon Forbidden West" will launch on both PlayStation 4 and PS5, but there will be remarkable differences available in the game's new-generation console version.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, game director Mathijs de Jonge revealed how "Horizon Forbidden West" would differ between the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 versions.

Talking about PlayStation 4, he said that “a lot of the development” has taken place on the PlayStation 4 along with playtesting. “… We are ensuring that owners of that console have a great experience…” the director stated.

"For the PlayStation 5, we can go much further… we can add a lot more detail graphically,” de Jonge said. Graphically, the rendering technique for the underwater scenes is special for the PlayStation 5, it has extra details and extra systems, like the wave technique is better on that system."

The PS5 version of "Horizon Forbidden West" can utilize the cinematic-grade lighting system that the PlayStation 4 can only use in cutscenes. De Jonge shared that "the lighting on Aloy on PlayStation 5 has much more definition."

"We use a special cinematic lighting rig, that on the PlayStation 4 is only used in cutscenes, because the game is not running and we have more processing power in those scenes," he said.

The director also explained that because the PS5 has more processing power, they "can have that lighting rig always available, so she always looks great with that lighting setup traveling with her anywhere."

When it comes to PlayStation 4, de Jonge noted that the development of "Horizon Forbidden West" has used the PS4 console, indicating that the game was designed with Sony's previous-generation console in mind.

"A lot of the development has taken place on the PlayStation 4, and a lot of playtesting has been done on PlayStation 4," the director said. He assured PS4 owners would "have a great experience and the game will look fantastic on that console." Guerilla Games previously revealed that the PS5 version of "Horizon Forbidden West" will make the most of 3D audio and DualSense controller.

The "Horizon Forbidden West" director also revealed that the game is currently in its final stages of development in a recent interview with Hardware Zone. "We have just successfully completed our beta milestone, which is pretty far along. We're now in the final stages of development," de Jonge shared.

"So we are polishing the game and fixing bugs. We are also wrapping up certain aspects of the game, like some of the machines being behind schedule - because it takes an enormous amount of time to build them. We're working on the final cinematic,' the director added.

"So, we're really wrapping up. There's still a lot to do with a game of this size and magnitude, but we're in the final stages," de Jonge concluded.