Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores — Everything We Know

Guerrilla Games' Horizon Forbidden West is on the verge of adopting its first DLC, Burning Shores, an expansion that will launch exclusively on PlayStation 5 later this month. Question is, where will this proposed venture take Aloy next, and how will it tie in with the overarching narrative depicted in Forbidden West? Well, therein lies a question that only the ruins of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles will be able to shed light on.

Come April 18th, those who have completed the main questline in the base game (on PS5) will have the opportunity to venture even further west, where the Burning Shores lay in wait. Here's what else you need to know before gearing up for the pilgrimage to Los Angeles.

What Is Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores?

Burning Shores is an upcoming DLC for Horizon Forbidden West. It will serve as a continuation of Aloy's journey as she heads further west to the ruins of Los Angeles, where new machines loom and world-shaking calamities rumble. In a bid to defend the Californian shores, the red-headed huntress will take to new territories south of the Tenakth Clan Lands, a region that hosts a mysterious new threat.

“The Burning Shores contains additional content for Horizon Forbidden West™, including new storylines, characters, and experiences in a stunning yet hazardous new area,” the description adds. “To enter the Burning Shores, you must complete the main quest (up to and including Singularity) in the PS5 version of Horizon Forbidden West – following the main quest, the player will receive a call over Aloy’s Focus, beginning the DLC.”

Story

With Aloy's struggles in the Forbidden West at bay, the huntress now turns her attention to Los Angeles, a seemingly desolate ruin that houses a “sinister new threat to the planet.” With fresh characters, alliances, and mechanical beasts on the nearby horizon, the Nora-bred warrior will leave the Tenakth Clan Lands and venture to the far west, unaware of the trials that lay in wait.

“South of the Tenakth Clan Lands, millennia of volcanic eruptions and violent seismic activity have carved the ruins of Los Angeles into a treacherous archipelago,” the blurb reads. “Experience the next chapter of Horizon Forbidden West™, as Aloy pursues a sinister new threat to the planet, hidden among these dangerous, untamed wilds.”

Gameplay

Burning Shores, running in the same vein as Forbidden West, will feature an open world setting for you to explore and quest in. Unlike the base game, which takes place around the outskirts of Las Vegas, however, the DLC will take you to Los Angeles—a city in ruins and on the brink of collapse due to the overwhelming amount of mechanical beast activity. This is where you, once again returning as Aloy, will make your stand and conquer the so-called Burning Shores.

An action-RPG at heart, Burning Shores will employ a smooth blend of melee and ranged combat, as well as a wide range of extracurricular activities that range from side quests to hunts, unearthing collectibles to taming legendary mechanical beasts. But that's not all, according to Guerrilla Games, who said the DLC will also include “new characters, adventures, and more.”

In Guerrilla Games' words: “Our creative vision for the Burning Shores is an ambitious expansion which will take Aloy to the ruins of Los Angeles. It's an overgrown and fractured city that can be fully explored via the water and flying on the back of a Sunwing. A massive machine threat lurks in its shadows – a huge challenge that Aloy must overcome by using all of her skills and abilities.”

Development

Guerilla Games announced the DLC during The Game Awards, an event that showcases all the latest previews and exclusive interviews relating to the biggest up-and-coming video games on the market. At the time of its announcement, Burning Shores was given a rough April 18, 2023 release window for PS5. It was also said that it wouldn't be coming to PS4. But more on that in a moment.

In addition to the Burning Shores DLC, Guerrilla Games has also gone ahead and bulked out the Horizon lore via a PlayStation VR2 entry, Call of the Mountain, which launched just last month.

Trailer

So, has Aloy's latest expedition caught your eye? If so, then you'll no doubt be wanting to snag a snippet of the adventure ahead of its upcoming launch. Kudos to Guerrilla Games, then, as the studio already went ahead and posted a release trailer back in 2022, during The Game Awards. You can see it for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores will be coming to PlayStation 5 on April 18, 2023. Does this mean it won't be coming to PlayStation 4? Unfortunately not, as Guerrilla Games confirmed upon releasing its announcement trailer back at The Game Awards. According to the team behind the DLC, the decision to make Burning Shores exclusive to PS5 was purely down to the fact that they wanted to achieve their creative goals—a revolutionary feat that has been billed as a “grand vision technically and creatively.”

Again, just to echo the fact that you will need to have beaten the main campaign in Horizon Forbidden West to be able to access Burning Shores' questline. On release, those who have purchased the DLC will receive an upcoming call via Aloy's Focus.

As this is DLC, there are no special editions outside of the bog-standard copy, which is currently available to pre-order for $19.99. You can go ahead and add it to your basket ahead of its April 18th release here.

For more information on the Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores launch, you can follow the official social feed here. If anything changes ahead of its release, we'll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores when it drops? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.