Horizon Forbidden West: The accessibility features are the hammer!

Accessibility options are a must for blockbusters. Horizon Forbidden West is really up to many of them.

• "That just has to be like that!"
• Build your own level of difficulty!
• Who wants, saves herself so some keystroke
• Two players, two controllers, a game character
• May I explore this time right?

In the term "barrier freedom settings" there is certainly such some players who just twitch with the shoulders. These are those who have no or only a slight visual weakness, a good hearing and also motionally impaired. But let me be told by me: In the case of Horizon Forbidden West, those options are not only aimed at people who make it difficult for their own bodies to fully enjoy video games without such functions. Developer Guerrilla Games is really true here to really allow everyone's fun at his new Open World game. And in this context, "barriers" is not only equivalent to physical disabilities.

Sony and Guerrilla have all kinds of information about the accessibility settings in Horizon Forbidden West on the Official Playstation Blog. The more I read from the article, the further I rose my enthusiasm. Not, because each of the options presented me personally appeals to me, but because I find it very independent of my personal needs of grandiose, what the Dutchman will deliver in this regard. And yet: Even for myself, an option I welcome I very welcome - if she's implemented as I hope for it.

"That just has to be like that!"

Let's clear the standards from the way that every modern game must simply offer. For example, it belongs that you can independently set the language for audio and text (I'll show you allegingly, Dying Light 2) and the highness that font size the subtitles should be displayed as well as whether you should have a background. Even a left-handed control is not missing nowadays and a free key assignment should also no longer be rarity even in console games. Horizon Forbidden West does not disappoint here.

You can also set the dead zones of the analog sticks and, in the case of the PS5 version, deactivate the special features of the dualSense controller or disable it immediately if you are not a fan of it. Also, this should be standard on the most recent Sony console. Especially with such long games like Horizon Forbidden West, many of them could feel annoyed when constantly vibrating the Gamepad. And the adaptive triggers are not everyone's thing. It is very active in itself if you really have to push the trigger with force to tension Aloy's bow because the resistance becomes active. But now, however, very often gets arrows, which will be the case in Horizon Forbidden West, that can be the one or the other fast nerves. Therefore, it is absolutely correct that Guerrilla Games are the option to disable the controller feature.

Build your own level of difficulty!

To be able to customize the level of difficulty of a game is nothing new anymore. I noticed for the first time in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and that already has three and a half years on the hump. But Horizon Forbidden West achieves a level in this regard, as I have not experienced it before.

Of course there are several levels of difficulty. If you only experience the story and want to explore stress-free the world, plays in story mode. Do you want the complete opposite, ie a truly sophisticated experience, you decide you for the stage "very difficult". Of course there are also several levels of difficulty that are between the two mentioned. But Horizon Forbidden West but also offers the option to play with custom difficulty settings.

Guerrilla Games let you adapt how much damage aloy is divided and how much you add the enemies. You can also enable the "lightweight booty" option. The name does not refers to the main character, but the components of mechanical engineering. Normally, you have to disconnect the targeted resources that you can enable your armor and weapons.

If you turn on the option mentioned, this will not be necessary. Then all raw materials that are still attached to the body of the ruined Robodinos automatically hike to the bag inventory. As a result, the fighting in Horizon Forbidden West will be a lot of simple, because you just no longer have to fire on components in order to be able to caught them. Normally, the danger is great that the otherwise descend when the essay gives up the mind. For me, the "lightweight prey" setting is nothing, but I'm sure that just casual players are looking forward to it.

Who wants, saves herself so some keystroke

Horizon Forbidden West offers a few more gameplay aids that facilitate survival in the post-apocalyptic world. So you can set the game to be slowing as much when it calls the Waffenrad. Even the duration of concentration (the slow motion while aiming) are allowed to extend it. There is also the ability to automate that feature, so you have to press any extra button for it. Then the time is always slow down when you press the left trigger to switch to the target mode.

Furthermore, let Aloy always sprinting automatically heal itself once their life energy slips into the range below 50 percent, the option exists. The use of the new wing shield with which you gently from great heights slides gen floor, can be automated so Aloy always extends him as soon as she falls down somewhere before / -springt. In addition, you can specify that the climbing markers that show you where and how their rock faces or ruins up scrambling can, are always visible. Then you do not have this enable the focus each time.

Who has difficulties to aim with the right analog stick in combat, can activate a motion controller on the PS5. Similarly, such as in Splatoon 2 on the switch it then uses the built-in gyro of Dual Sense controller to make adjustments to fine. I'm honest: I can not do anything with it at all and I have always disabled that function in the multiplayer shooter from Nintendo, so I do not get along. Nevertheless, I think it's great that such a thing is possible - both in Splatoon 2 and Horizon Forbidden West.

Two players, two controllers, a game character

The biggest feature of the accessibility features in Horizon Forbidden West is clearly the so-called co-pilot system, because something I have never encountered. The idea is so simple that I wonder why no one has come before it. Activates its option, a second controller can be used, which reflects the other entries. This means that two people sitting in front of the console, gambles, but the other can intervene at any time of the action. Both control Aloy. Just imagine you as a father together Horizon Forbidden West playing with his son. If the young at one point not because a struggle for him is hard to that Dad can easily take over the control and then is changed again without a controller has to be passed back and forth.

Prerequisite for the co-pilot system, however (along a second gamepad) that the player must be registered with its own user profile on the console. This is a bit annoying, but other than that I find this feature great. In addition, it allows a particularly funny kind of cooperative play: Player A controls the movements of Aloy, Player B attacks and used items. Awesome, right?... Well, probably only funny for a few minutes.

Another feature, but comes in their entirety only on the PS5 to bear, detailed sound settings in Horizon Forbidden West are. Here you can individually adjust not only the volume of music, speech and sound effects. No, it is also possible to separately adjust, or to be silent machine and ambient noise, weapons and explosions as loud., The developers state that this is intended for individuals who are mildly irritating flooded. Here again: Do not matter, but I can only praise Guerrilla Games, to allow such a thing. It's just a shame that this is not going well on the PlayStation. 4

May I explore this time right?

we come to the conclusion my personal highlight of the announcements - at least if the feature is designed as I now hope for me. I quote:

_ "Horizon Forbidden West plays in a huge area, which is why we've added some accession funds, so that you may rightly place more easily in the vast and vibrant world. Select you can, if you only minimal guidance explore the world want or you markers appear should so that you your quest goal can reach easily. "_

When I return to Horizon Zero Dawn, I conclude that Guerrilla Games will not incorporate additional aid at this point in the successor, but give me the option to disable icons on the world map and quest markings in the gameplay. Now the latter is not so important to me, but the former would be a huge reason to joy for me. In its predecessor, it has disturbed me very much that the map is quickly overgrown by markings. Although it does not appear like in some ubisoft games from house from hundreds of question marks that rob me of any exploration urge, but I do not have to come close to the "Points of Interest" so that they will be displayed on the compass and the world map. A few 100 meters are already enough.

This "Oh, I see behind it in the distance What interesting thing, I'll see myself" feeling with me in Horizon Zero Dawn never set. Finally, the game has always prepared me what I will find. I hope that I properly interpret the above words. That would mean that I get a marking for a place only then if I really discovered him - then, when I get right in front of it.

But I still have a little afraid that Guerrilla Games speaks of such a thing as explect mode from Assassin's Creed Odyssey. And that is a big laugh number because he just makes nothing else to remove as quest markers. Instead, stagnant is described, where you have to go, but what is so clearly formulated that everyone understands and you do not have to anticipate anything ourselves. And the whole question mark still remains activated. Yes, that's how power is really fun, ubisoft.

But now I think of Guerrilla Games, although Horizon Zero Dawn copies the infamous Ubisoft formula in its entirety, more than from the manufacturer from France. Certainly, Horizon Forbidden West will also provide a pretty formula game world again, but if I can discover interesting ruins and side quests at least with their own eyes, I am satisfied. Everything else would be a barrier for me - none, who can not experience me the game reasonably, but one for my fun. In this sense, I hope that GUERRILLA GAMES is the same as all the players who are looking forward to the really great accessibility options. For those, the studio has already earned a praise a week before release. For everything else... Well, that will show itself from 18 February.

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