During the State Of Play live stream, Guerilla Games showed off gameplay footage of Horizon Forbidden West running on the PS5.

The new gameplay footage showcases new enemies in the form of mecha raptors, which protagonist Aloy can override and mount. We can also see Aloy taking on a massive mecha mammoth, which is also a brand new enemy type that will be introduced in the upcoming game.

In addition, the focus scanner can highlight places to free climb., while the shield wing can allow players to glide. Players can also now stay submerged as long as they want thanks to new tools.

Horizon Forbidden West continues six months after the events of Horizon Zero Dawn. Aloy, a machine hunter, has travelled west to investigate a mysterious and deadly blight. In these uncharted lands, she will meet strange new tribes and encounter ever more deadly machines. Together with old friends and new companions, she must brave this dangerous frontier to find the answers she needs to save life on Earth.

According to PlayStation Blog, in the State of Play gameplay footage, Aloy has sent her loyal friend Erend into the remains of San Francisco to recover an important artifact. But he quickly runs into trouble, encountering a rebel faction of the Tenakth tribe – vicious fighters who have somehow acquired the power to override machines. Aloy must cross the ruins and fight multiple enemies to rescue her friend and continue her journey.

This dangerous and unfamiliar land is full of challenges and threats, but Aloy will have new tools to help her on her way. These include the Pullcaster that speeds up climbing and gives her airtime when she launches from a grappling point, the Shieldwing which lets her glide and safely descend from great heights (think Deku Leaf from the Zelda games), and the Diving Mask that makes her breathe underwater and explore its depths.

Her Focus also gets an upgrade; it now shows areas that allow you to free-climb and also overrides more machines & beasties to ride on.

Speaking of combat, Horizon Forbidden West puts the emphasis on tactics and choice by giving the player a huge variety of weapons.

Aloy’s patented Spear now has new combos and close combat options. Bows now have ammo that strip off armour from either machines or humans. Your slingshot can fire adhesive grenades that cover enemies in yellow goop that temporarily stalls them. All these and more can be upgraded at a workbench.

Aloy won’t just be dealing with human enemies; the game’s highlights are still the robot animals and dinosaurs. New additions include the flying Sunwings, the raptor-like Clawstriders, and the giant elephant-mastodon hybrid Tremortusks. You’ll have to be smart and creative to take them all down.

Horizon Forbidden West is slated to release for the PS4 and PS5 sometime in 2021. As for an actual release date, well, Guerrilla has recently stated that it will have an update “very soon”.

Thanks for watching our #HorizonForbiddenWest gameplay reveal! We don't have an exact release date just yet, but development is on track and we will have an update for you very soon – thank you as always for your ongoing support!

— Guerrilla (@Guerrilla) May 27, 2021