Horizon Forbidden West’s new DLC, Burning Shores, was announced at The Game Awards on Thursday evening. In the trailer, Aloy flies over the sea, on the back of a Sunwing — the rideable, pterodactyl-like machine. She flies by Los Angeles landmarks that appear to be the Griffith Observatory and Capitol Records Building, before zooming by the imminently recognizable Hollywood sign, a teaser for what can only be an expansion set in Los Angeles.
Burning Shores will be released April 19, 2023 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Horizon Forbidden West was released earlier this year. Though Aloy defeated the Hades protocol in the first game, Horizon Zero Dawn, the sequel stacks her up against new, dangerous threats. In Forbidden West, Aloy must find a way to prevent mass famine from striking the world — a journey that takes her along the gorgeous west coast.
The enormous, open-world game’s best highlights, beyond action-packed machine fights, involved exploring and poking around recognizable cities. Aloy restores power to the neon lights of Las Vegas — complete with futuristic holograms — and runs through the rubble of post-climate-catastrophe San Francisco. You can swim underwater and see the famous Ferry Building, completely submerged. A side quest even involves scaling an immense, leaning skyscraper (perhaps the Millennium Tower).
An expansion allowing Aloy to fight her way through Los Angeles would be entirely welcome, and in keeping with the theme. In the trailer, we’ve only seen the Hollywood sign get destroyed so far, but maybe Aloy will scale a palm tree, find an old In-N-Out Burger, or help revive Arclight theaters? (I can say these things because I live here.) Just a thought.
Horizon Forbidden West is available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.