WhenGuerilla Gamesannounced that Horizon: Burning Shores won’t be coming to PS4 due to technical and creative constraints, I instantly became more hyped for it. Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with current PS4 owners who haven’t had the chance to upgrade to Sony’s newest console yet. In most instances, allowing as many people as possible to access entertainment is the obvious choice.Horizon: Forbidden WestandGod of War: Ragnarökwere both amazing experiences on my PS5, but a part of my mind always pondered what was being held back by the games needing to run on nearly decade-old hardware. Now, with the DLC for a base game thatdidcome to PS4 being PS5-exclusive, that question is about to be answered.
The progress of technology should be taken into consideration when making new entries in a popular series. If computing power has vastly improved since last time, why not take full advantage of everything at your disposal when crafting the next chapter in your story? A good couple of years into the current console generation, I think Guerilla Games is well within its rights to push forward with all the latest tech. After all,the PS4 has had a much better run than previous generationswhen it comes to supporting current-gen blockbusters.
Of course, as someone who has acquired many consoles within their launch windows before, I understand there will always be a slower liminal period in which the amount of reasons to upgrade is slim,with launch titles often being far from the best representation of what the console’s ultimately capable of.In the case of PS5 and Xbox Series X, that limbo period extended even longer than normal thanks to the Pandemic placing numerous economic factors outside Sony or Microsoft’s control. The Burning Shores not only represents the true onset of “current-gen”, but also marks the return of a sense of normalcy when it comes to console life cycles.
Related:How To Start New Game+ In Horizon Forbidden West And Obtain New Weapons
Guerrilla Games have already spoken about some of the perks that come with PS5 exclusivity for Burning Shores, a prime example being the new voxel cloud technology. In aPlayStation Blog post, the developers explain how they tackled the experience of flying through the clouds on one of Alloy’s mechanized mounts.
Utilizing PS5 hardware, Guerilla can now simulate individual cloud formations with a prototype renderer that would have proved too taxing for last-gen hardware. Each formation is rendered with actual 3D assets, as opposed to being painted in the background as a projection of 2D information. This lends physical presence to the skyscape Aloy can traverse, so you can happen upon caves, tunnels, and other surprises while pushing your way through a dense packet of clouds in the sky.
Even if you have not upgraded your hardware just yet, there will be more reasons to do so very shortly now that Guerilla has shattered the cross-gen seal. A collection of enticing exclusives is the key to normalizing the notion that the PS5 is truly a current-gen console capable of things that would’ve been impossible on the PS4. It’s time for the industry to let loose and see what each machine is truly capable of.
