Wednesday, January 19, 2022

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Horizon Forbidden West has cemented itself as one of the most highly-anticipated exclusives for PS5 and its February 2022 release date is getting closer by the day.

Releasing on both PS5 and PS4, Horizon Forbidden West is the sequel to 2017's critically acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn. It will continue the story of protagonist Aloy, this time taking her to the western United States on a mission to stop a mysterious threat known only as the Red Blight. 

Following on from Zero Dawn, the game will feature a large open world filled with machines, gadgets, and weapons to discover. New activities include underwater exploration and a variety of new tools and weapons Aloy will acquire on her adventure. It's safe to say what we've seen so far is pretty visually impressive.

If you want all the details about Horizon Forbidden West so far—and we're learning a great deal as the game's release approaches—read on. We’ve collected together the latest news and rumors below, including release date, trailers, price and more.

[Update: There's a new trailer detailing some of the story of Horizon Forbidden West. Watch it for yourself below.]

Horizon Forbidden West: cut to the chase

  • What is it? The sequel to the critically-acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn
  • When will it release? February 18 2022
  • What platforms will it be available on? PS5 and PS4

Horizon Forbidden West release date

Still from the horizon forbidden west trailer showing Aloy underwater

(Image credit: Sony)

Though it was originally expected to release in 2021, particularly after PlayStation boss Jim Ryan told GQ he felt "pretty good" that Horizon Forbidden West would hit that year, during Gamescom 2021 Sony confirmed that the game has been delayed until February 18 2022. While it's later than originally expected it is at least now a solid date.

This followed PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst expressing a cautious approach to the release date in June and a Bloomberg report in July which claimed that Sony has pushed back the Horizon Forbidden West release date to the first quarter of 2022.

In a post on the official PlayStation Blog, game director Mathijs de Jonge cited the global pandemic as a reason for the game's delay, saying "It’s no surprise that our teams were hugely impacted by the global pandemic; we have been adjusting to new workflows, protocols, and other challenges, while keeping our teams safe and prioritizing a healthy work/life balance."

He went on to say that "while the decision to move the game’s launch to 2022 certainly wasn’t easy, we’d like to take a moment to thank all of our fans for their unwavering support; we know how much you’ve been looking forward to reuniting with Aloy and her friends, continuing her story, and exploring a new and more dangerous world. Your passion, fan art, cosplay, virtual photography, and videos have meant the world to all of us."

Horizon Forbidden West price and versions

Following a pre-order announcement from Sony, we finally know how much Horizon Forbidden West will cost at launch for its different versions. 

The Standard Edition, which comes with just the base game will be $59.99 / £59.99 / AU$109.95 on PS4 and $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$124.95 on PS5. Alternatively, you could splash out on a series of more expensive options like the Special Edition (which includes an art book with the base game), a Digital Deluxe Edition (which includes the base game and in-game digital bonuses like outfits), or the Collector's and Regalla editions which add physical statues and other goodies into the mix.

Originally, Sony made the controversial decision to not include a free PS5 upgrade for Horizon Forbidden West's PS4 version. This has since been walked back due to fan backlash, with Jim Ryan announcing the PS5 upgrade will be free, and players will no longer need to purchase the Deluxe edition to be eligible for it. 

Additionally, all future cross-gen titles will feature a flat $10 / £10 fee to upgrade from the PS4 to the PS5 version, which will likely include God of War: Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7.

If you want to know more details about the various editions of Horizon Forbidden West, you can check out the full announcement on Sony's website.

Horizon Forbidden West trailers

Story trailer

In January 2022, a story trailer for Horizon Forbidden West was released. Running for three minutes, the trailer gives a glimpse at what Aloy will encounter in her new adventure, from fresh foes, to old companions, to brand new mysteries. You can watch it for yourself below:

Tribes of the Forbidden West

A January 2021 trailer has introduced some of the tribes that players will encounter when they visit the Forbidden West with Aloy. In the two-minute video below, different clans are outlined, among them Oseram, Carja, Utaru, Tenakth and a mysterious unnamed tribe which lies far west.

Three new machines trailer

In a December 2021 trailer, PlayStation has put the focus on some of the machines that will make an appearance in Horizon Forbidden West. There are some familiar machines in the trailer but it also reveals three new ones: “the armored Rollerback, the graceful Sunwing, and the acid-spitting Slitherfang”. Take a look at them roaming the rocky, sandy landscape of the Forbidden West. 

A trailer for Horizon Forbidden West was debuted at The Game Awards 2021, showing a mixture of environments and enemies we can expect in the long-awaited sequel. Check it out, below:

During Gamescom 2021's Opening Night Live showcase, Horizon Forbidden West game director Mathijs de Jonge revealed the official release date for the game.

We got another look at Horizon Forbidden West during a May 2021 State of Play. 14 minutes of gameplay were shown off, giving us a better idea of what we can expect from Aloy's adventures out west. Watch it for yourself below:

Sony and Guerrilla Games revealed the first Horizon Forbidden West trailer at the PS5 games reveal event on June 11, 2020. The trailer below provides a three-minute glimpse at the kinds of varied landscapes you'll explore in the second game, and which machines you can expect to fight (mammoths and alligators, by the looks of it).

We also get the sense that Horizon Forbidden West will be heavy on underwater gameplay, based on how much of a big deal the trailer makes of Aloy using her scuba gear at the 1:40 mark above, and the shots of underwater ruined cities.

Horizon Forbidden West setting and story

Still from the horizon forbidden west trailer Aloy facing a machine

(Image credit: Sony)

A direct sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West takes place 6 months after the end of the first game and sees Aloy travel west from her homeland to a new frontier setting. Aloy is seeking out her allies and a solution to the Red Blight, a mysterious organism that's destroying the natural world. She'll meet new tribes and new machines along the way. She’ll also face a new adversary: Regalla, a rebel leader who “seeks to slaughter all those who have wronged her” and has a higher power supporting her with troops, weapons and machines of war. 

Horizon Forbidden West will take players to locations like San Francisco, Yosemite and beyond, with narrative director Ben McCaw telling GamesRadar that “the vast, vast majority of the game takes place in the Forbidden West”.

Game Director Mathijs de Jonge has told IGN that Horizon Forbidden West has a larger, more dense game world than Zero Dawn. According to de Jonge: “The map is a little bit bigger, but in general, we’ve really looked at increasing the density, and adding more content, making sure there’s a lot more to do for the player across the map, and then making that content also engaging by telling little micro-stories.”

Some of the additional breadth and depth in the world is coming from new underwater exploration. Narrative director Benjamin McCaw explained that “Exploration is really the theme. And it’s not enough for us to just show underwater. We wanted to make sure that it’s every bit as beautiful as what you see in the natural world above it. But it wasn’t just enough that you could swim around underwater. We wanted to do some things that are really surprising and interesting. And I think that’s where some of the story stuff comes in, and we just absolutely can’t wait for players to see what they’re going to experience.”

As revealed in an official PlayStation blog post, there’s an entire team, headed up by Espen Sogn, Lead Living World Designer, that's dedicated to making Horizon Forbidden West's “world feel authentic and alive:  the tribes, the settlements, and the people within them."

Sogn’s team has worked alongside the narrative team and Annie Kitain, Senior Writer at Guerrilla, says that “a lot of thought” has gone into every tribe that players will encounter in the game. “Take the Tenakth, for instance,” Kitain explains, “Many of their beliefs are influenced by the ancient ruins of the Forbidden West, and unlike other tribes, they’re comprised of three distinct clans. Their shared history, convictions, disputes – all of that is important to developing the characters that Aloy will meet on her journey.” 

The “competitive and combat-focused” Tenakth are both similar and different from other tribes in the game world and this, in turn, is communicated through the game world itself, through “the details, the animations, and the behaviors. Within their settlements, you’ll see the Tenakth working out, readying themselves for battle. They’re often younger because they need to be capable warriors. Their base is an ancient ruin, from which they’ve picked up certain Old World gestures that they may not fully understand – like using a military salute to say hello.’”

“The Living World team does a fantastic job, and it’s so great to see it all come together,” says Kitain. “Each tribe starts as a bunch of ideas, then is translated into these amazing settlements. Like the Utaru, who were imagined as an agrarian society that’s deeply connected to the land around them. Once the tribe is in-game and the Living World team has done their magic, you’re walking around the Utaru’s fields, interacting with them, and you think, ‘whoa, they nailed it.’ Now this tribe feels real.”

To add to the sense of authenticity, the post reveals that every non-combat NPC is part of a “crowd system”, within which rules can be created. This allows Guerilla to “create unique people who behave like individuals within the world.”

Aloy will explore tribe settlements through the game and she’ll need them and the NPCs that populate them “to sustain and equip her.”

According to Steven Lumpkin, Senior Designer at Guerrilla, the team “wanted the towns and villages across the Forbidden West to feel lived in, vibrant, and useful.” To that end, “in each settlement across the world, you’ll find opportunities for adventure. They are filled with merchants and vendors: Stitchers, who can sell Aloy powerful (and beautiful!) new outfits in exchange for shards and machine parts; Hunters, who offer an array of tactical new weaponry; Herbalists, who sell potent potions that Aloy is definitely strong enough to handle; and Cooks, who prepare invigorating meals that Aloy can carry with her for a boost.”

Still from the horizon forbidden west trailer Aloy underwater

(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Horizon Forbidden West gameplay

Guerrilla is using Horizon Forbidden West's deeper and larger setting as an opportunity to give players more freedom of movement, with David McMullen, Lead Systems Designer at Guerrilla saying in a PlayStation Blog post that “Aloy can climb freely on and across huge sections of rocky terrain; even more machine types can be used as mounts; grapple points can be found throughout the environment which allows agile vertical traversal; swimming underwater has opened up a whole new aspect of exploration; and gliding with the Shieldwing provides the ultimate view of the beautiful world of Horizon Forbidden West – not to mention a quick way down from great heights!”

This focus on player choice extends to improvements in combat, too. According to Guerrilla’s Lead Combat Designer, Dennis Zopfi, “One of the focus points that influenced all our combat decisions was increased player choice, and we applied this to everything: melee, weapons, outfits, skills and other new mechanics. We wanted to give players more tools, depth and dials to play with.’

This means Aloy will also be getting new weapons and abilities—Narrative Director Ben McCaw explained how Aloy will have a “huge variety of weapons” at her disposal, with combat having an emphasis on tactics and choice—but she'll also be able to upgrade and strengthen them. This will be done at the new workbench which “unlocks new perks, mod slots, skills, and offers a bigger degree of customization, resistances, and new abilities for players!”

This upgrading is part of increasing the game’s RPG and action mechanics, with de Jonge telling GamesRadar that it also “comes from just the desire to make the weapons more engaging, that you have a little bit more of a bond with these weapons. By investing time and resources, and by upgrading them, you get that feeling of like, you actually spent time to make this weapon better, rather than getting an upgrade from a machine and just slotting that in. You have to fight sort of machines or get other resources throughout the world in order to upgrade. So the whole loop is more integrated, in that sense with the rest of the world.“

As far as new tools are concerned, we know of quite a few: the Pullcaster; the Shieldwing; and her Diving Mask. All of these, Guerilla say, make Aloy "more agile during both exploration and the inevitable battles she’ll be fighting in the West." The Pullcaster, for instance, acts as a grapple to speed up Aloy's movements as well as a winch for manipulating, moving and destroying objects in the environment. The Shieldwing, meanwhile, "allows her to safely descend from great heights (or surprise enemies from above)". 

There’s also a brand new skill tree, with the skill tree from Zero Dawn having been “completely redesigned and repopulated with new skills” to offer more depth. In an interview with Game Informer, game director Mathijs De Jonge revealed that players will be able to upgrade Aloy’s skills to suit their playstyle. 

As part of the new skill tree, there’s also a new Valor Surge system. There are 12 Valor Surges in total, "each of them representing and strengthening a specific approach to the game", and they’re unlocked and upgraded by spending skill points in the skill tree, with players then being able to choose which Valor Surge is active at any moment. 

To unleash a Valor Surge move, the Valor Surge bar in the bottom right of the screen needs to be filled. This is done by “playing technically”, headshotting humans or removing components from enemies, which will reward players with specific technical combat XP, which is its own point system, that can be spent in the skill tree.

One Valor Surge shown as part of a State of Play gameplay trailer is known as 360 Blast. Another, shown on the PlayStation Blog is Radial Blast, used to knock down stockier foes. 

It sounds like you'll be needing most —if not all—of the advantages you can get with Aloy’s new abilities, as her enemies can now hunt in new ways. Human enemies can now fight alongside machines as well as against them, and we've even seen them make use of mounted combat just as Aloy can.

Still from the horizon forbidden west trailer birds-eye view of the Forbidden West

(Image credit: Sony)

Horizon Forbidden West PS5 improvements

Horizon Forbidden West is expected to release on both PS4 and PS5 but PS5 players will enjoy some advantages that come from the power of the hardware. 

In an interview with HardwareZone, Guerrilla Games confirmed that the PS5 version of Horizon Forbidden West will feature the option to choose between a 60 FPS Performance Mode or a 4K Quality Mode, which will run at 30 FPS. It was Quality Mode which the May 2021 State of Play gameplay footage was using. The exact resolution for the 60 FPS Performance Mode hasn't been confirmed just yet but it's possible Horizon Forbidden West will go down the route of other games by applying dynamic resolution.

In an interview with Game Informer, Game Director Mathijs de Jonge said that because of its power, “the PlayStation 5 can go much further [than the PlayStation 4]”. De Jonge explained that, “Visually we can add a lot more detail. Graphically, the rendering technique for the underwater scenes is special for the PlayStation 5, it has extra details and extra systems, like the wave technique is better on that system.”

On top of this, “The lighting on Aloy on PlayStation 5 has much more definition,” as they “use a special cinematic lighting rig, that on the PlayStation 4 is only used in cutscenes because the game is not running and we have more processing power in those scenes. But with the PlayStation 5 we have plenty of processing power, so we can have that lighting rig always available, so she always looks great with that lighting setup traveling with her anywhere.”

PS5 owners will also be able to take advantage of the DualSense's adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, with Mathijs de Jonge confirming that "The DualSense wireless controller adaptive triggers will help us to make the weapons feel even more unique and satisfying to use." 

David McMullen, lead systems designer at Guerrilla, revealed in a PlayStation Blog post that the DualSense’s features are “heavily featured throughout our mechanics. From the scrape of rubble as you push a crate, to the sensation of an unravelling winch as you use the Pullcaster — with the increased adaptive trigger tension as you pull!" 

There are even some more subtle uses, with “extra tactile dimensions” such as “the sensation of grass brushing around you to indicate you are entering stealth grass, or the pop of the adaptive trigger as you reach maximum draw with a bow. We even use the absence of adaptive tension to help communicate when you’re out of ammo.”

But PS4 owners shouldn’t be worried about gameplay performance. According to de Jonge, “A lot of the development has taken place on the PlayStation 4, and a lot of playtesting has been done on PlayStation 4. So we are ensuring that owners of that console have a great experience and the game will look fantastic on that console.”

Horizon Forbidden West news and rumors

We've compiled all the latest Horizon Forbidden West news and rumors below for your perusal:

Leaked build—look out for spoilers!

Be wary of spoilers ahead of the release of Horizon Forbidden West as an early build of the game for PS4 has leaked online. In early January 2022, images from the build began appearing on social media and in a report from VGC, sources have said the leaked build is authentic. While it's missing some art assets, it apparently contains all of the content that will be part of the final release. 

Images have started cropping up on social media but those posted to Twitter have since been deleted under a copyright report. It feels like it would be wise to be wary of spoilers for the weeks leading up to the game’s final release. 

Better side quests and rewards

A recent Horizon Forbidden West preview published by Game Informer has covered some of the improvements that players can expect to see in Horizon Forbidden West and they include better side quests and rewards for embarking on them. Game Director Mathijs de Jonge promises that players can expect “a lot more variety” when it comes to the side quests as well as “a more sense of accomplishment that you actually get something cool in return for doing these quests.” He adds that rewards will include things like “a cool weapon” or “a cool outfit”, something “that’s really useful for your next quest or activity.” 

Improved relationship building

In addition to better side quests, Game Informer’s preview of the game also touches on improvements in relationship-building between Aloy and the companion characters she encounters. Guerrilla is, apparently, hoping that players will be able to build stronger bonds with characters by offering them the opportunity to spend more time with them. “That’s something we tried to do consistently throughout the game,” says narrative director Benjamin McCaw. “Not just for characters that you meet along the main quest, but also certain side quest characters; they don’t just go away after one quest.” 

Getting its rating

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which assigns age and content ratings to videogames in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has given Horizon Forbidden West a “T” for Teen game. The ratings board tags the game as featuring “Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol, and Violence” in its rationale for the rating which won’t come as a great surprise to anyone who played Horizon Zero Dawn. 

The description accompanying the rating gives an interesting insight into what players can expect when they finally get to play Horizon Forbidden West: “Players use slingshots, bows, javelins, and spears to kill enemies in frenetic combat. Puffs of blood are depicted as human enemies are hit; blood stains also appear underneath bodies in some environments. Players can also perform stealth attacks (e.g., spear impalement) to eliminate enemies discreetly. Cutscenes depict additional acts of violence: a character impaled by swords or spears; a character crushed to death by a statue. The game depicts drunk characters stumbling around, and in one area stating, 'I'm inebriated'; one cutscene depicts Aloy drinking beer from a mug; several background characters are seen drinking alcohol in taverns. The word 'sh*t' is heard in the game."

PS5 file size?

The PlayStation Game Size Twitter account might have just revealed the file size and preload date for Horizon Forbidden West on PS5. 

The account, which trawls the PlayStation database for uploads before they go live, states that the file size for Horizon Forbidden West sits at 96GB and that's before any kind of day one patches. Preload, the account says, will be on February 11, making it a full week before launch. 

PlayStation Game Size notes that some games on the database are bigger than on console, with a leeway of 10 to 20 GB, but this would still make Horizon Forbidden West over 70GB.

See more

Using ideas not possible in the first game

In Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games has said it’s making use of ideas for the game’s machines that it couldn't use in the first game. In a November PlayStation Blog post, Principal Machine Designer Blake Politeski said, “We’re getting to explore a new area within the world of Horizon. It was interesting to figure out what type of machines would live in different ecological zones, and how they would interact with each other, their environment, and of course humans. Machines are the so-called caretakers of this world, so how they perform their roles and what the player can do to use these behaviors to their advantage was always interesting to consider.

“During Horizon Zero Dawn’s development, we had a ton of ideas — of course not everything could make it into the first game, but now with Horizon Forbidden West we’ve been able to match some exciting ideas that previously weren’t feasible with new and interesting concepts!”

That means new machines and new behaviors that Aloy can take advantage of. Sunwings, for example, can harvest solar power but doing so will leave them temporarily more vulnerable. 

“Aloy has many different types of weapons and ammunition available, and she’s going to need them all to beat the different machines!” says Asset Art Lead Maxim Fleury. “Without spoiling anything, every machine has multiple ways to be defeated. We tried to make it clear for players through the machine design, and added textures to show the weak points or interactive components. You’ll need to study each machine closely to find different ways to approach it.”

“The machines in Horizon Forbidden West are more mobile in almost every way you can imagine – jumping, swimming, clinging to surfaces…” adds Blake. “Because of this, Aloy will need to keep up with them, so there’s new movement mechanics to help her out. We’re also focusing more on Aloy’s ability to survey and plan an encounter before engaging, as well as her ability to escape if things don’t go as planned.”

Resonator blast

One ability we're particularly looking forward to using is Aloy's new resonator blast. As detailed in the blog post linked below, the resonator blast acts as a marriage of melee and ranged combat.

Put simply, Aloy will build up a focused energy as she attacks with her spear. Not only does this mean melee combat is encouraged in Horizon Forbidden West, it's also very much viable in many circumstances.

When the energy is filled, Aloy can send a projectile out that sticks to her enemies. She can then shoot this energy, acting as a target, with an arrow, causing it to explode and dealing massive damage in the process.

Stronger Aloy, stronger machines

A December 6, 2021 official PlayStation Blog post from Guerrilla took a bit of a deep dive into combat and AI improvements that will feature in Horizon Forbidden West.

“We wanted enemies to feel more authentic by improving the fluidity and continuity of motion, like making enemies (and companions) more capable of traversing rugged terrain," explains lead AI programmer Arjen Beij.

"The AI in Horizon Zero Dawn already supported some dynamic terrain changes, but we wanted to take this further by adding jumping and climbing as a systemic part of their behavior. As you are playing the game, the AI will be searching for opportunities to take shortcuts, where it previously was a cumbersome detour."

And it's not just the machines who are getting buffed in the sequel, as Guerrilla has paid special attention to the human enemies that will attempt to block Aloy's progress.

"We rely on readable silhouettes and behaviors that the player can recognize," explains gameplay animation director Richard Oud, "so you can anticipate or react to an enemy move. We play around with the timing of those movements to not only create windows of opportunities for the player to strike, block, or run, but also to show some personality traits in the animations themselves."

GAIA podcast

Ahead of the release of Horizon Forbidden West, the team at Guerilla Games has launched a new, spoiler-filled podcast in which it “dives deep into the Horizon universe.” The first episode focuses on Aloy, the series protagonist, with more of a focus on the first game in the series, Horizon Zero Dawn. 

See more

Peach fuzz confirmed
In a September 27, 2021 post on the official PlayStation blog, titled Horizon Forbidden West: Evolving Aloy, Guerrilla community lead Bo De Vries wrote about just how much detail is going into Aloy's upcoming PS5 adventure, including something of a deep dive on the major graphical enhancements over the first game in the series.

To really sell just how far the developer has come since 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn, lead character artist Bastien Ramisse stated: "Each generation of consoles brings extra power that lets us add even denser polygons to our character models, so we can create finer details such as peach fuzz, smooth contouring, or finer texture details and accurate materials expression, to name a few."

This was followed by a rather stunning looking screenshot of protagonist Aloy, showcasing graphical enhancements such as visible stitching on her clothing and relaxed braids in her hair.

Horizon Forbidden West graphical showcase featuring protagonist Aloy

(Image credit: Sony / Guerrilla Games)

Developing for PS4 hasn't held anything back
Horizon Forbidden West is coming to PS4 and PS5 but according to the game’s director, getting the game ready for last-gen’s consoles hasn’t held it back or forced the team to scale back.

Speaking with Hardware Zone (via VGC),  Mathijs de Jonge said, “I don’t think the cross-generation development was limiting in any way. When we started with the concept of this game, we had so many great ideas that ended up being included – to the point that we didn’t really think about hardware limitations or anything, we just wanted to design a really nice, unique experience for the player. An awesome adventure.

“That’s how we also brainstormed all the quests and events the player is going to go through.”

That said, there are differences between what the consoles can do and de Jonge added, “I think that the big delta between these two consoles, apart from the 3D audio, quick loading and DualSense of course, is on the graphical side of things. On the PlayStation 5, we can add so much more detail graphically. We can see the tiny hairs on Aloy’s face, for example. You can also see a ton of detail from far away.”

This lines up with a previous interview with Game Informer, in which de Jonge revealed that “A lot of the development has taken place on the PlayStation 4, and a lot of playtesting has been done on PlayStation 4. So we are ensuring that owners of that console have a great experience and the game will look fantastic on that console.”

Still from the horizon forbidden west trailer

(Image credit: Sony)

In the "last stages of development"
Horizon Forbidden West doesn’t have a solid release date just yet but in an interview with Hardware Zone, game director Mathijs de Jonge has said that it’s in the “last stages of development”. 

“We have just successfully completed our beta milestone, which is pretty far along,” said De Jonge. “We’re now in the final stages of development. So we are polishing the game and fixing bugs. We are also wrapping up certain aspects of the game, like some of the machines being behind schedule - because it takes an enormous amount of time to build them. We’re working on the final cinematic. So, we’re really wrapping up. There’s still a lot to do with a game of this size and magnitude, but we’re in the final stages.”

This comes not long after PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst expressed a cautious approach to the release date, saying in a PlayStation Blog Post: “We think we are on track to release this holiday season. But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can.” 

So, while anything could happen with the game’s final release date at the moment, it is in its final stages. 

Virtually no loading screens
During a dev diary video from Guerrilla Games, Horizon Forbidden West game director Mathijs de Jonge explained how the sequel will utilize the PS5's super-fast SSD.

"With the PS5's SSD, there will be virtually no loading screens," Jonge said in the video. "In an open-world game like Horizon Forbidden West, if you open up the map and fast travel from one end to the other, or restart from a checkpoint, it will be super fast. When you boot up the game, you're right there in the action." 

Check out the video below:



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Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Latest Tech News

In March 2021 CBS All Access was rebranded as Paramount Plus, continuing its home to CBS Entertainment Group's library of content while also introducing original content, such as the iCarly revival and Yellowstone prequel-1883.

Also the place to live stream NFL, Paramount Plus is already brimming with over 30,000 hours of movies and TV shows, and has launched in Latin America, Canada, and Australia, with plans to become a more global platform, aiming to hit 45 markets by the end of 2022 - including the UK via Sky platforms.

The Paramount Plus app also features dedicated hubs to ViacomCBS’ various owned content arms - Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET and The Smithsonian Channel.

But is it the streaming service for you? Below we’ll tell you everything we know about Paramount Plus, including whether it has a free trial, which shows are coming to the service and which devices are compatible with the service’s app.

When will Paramount Plus arrive where I am?

As of early 2022, Paramount Plus is available in the US, Latin America, Canada, Australia, and Nordic countries like Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

In early 2022, the streaming service is expected to arrive in the UK via Sky platforms, and across European countries including Germany, France, Switzerland, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It's also expected to launch in South Korea via TVING.

Is a Paramount Plus free trial available?

For new customers looking to try out Paramount Plus, you're in luck. Currently there is a 7-day Paramount Plus free trial available, which you can sign up to here. Thereafter, you can choose between its monthly or annual plan.

It's worth noting sometimes Paramount Plus runs special offers, giving you the opportunity to benefit from a whole 30-day free trial by quoting a discount code on its sign up page.

What is Paramount Plus?

Paramount Plus is the rebranded platform of CBS All Access service. Outside the US, most countries don't have CBS All Access, meaning ViacomCBS has little in the way of a streaming footprint. So, while the rebranding part is important for US customers, the global ambition is what matters here on a wider level. 

The aim is to draw on a deeper well of content from the parent company's portfolio, with a library of older shows and movies alongside a selection of originals. CBS All Access featured news and sports content, like UEFA matches – whatever US customers enjoyed on CBS All Access now forms a key part of Paramount Plus.

Paramount Plus features over 30,000 episodes of TV shows and 2,500 movies, as well as a whole host of original shows to get stuck into.

Internationally, the content will vary depending on current licensing deals. For example, Amazon has the rights to show Star Trek: Picard outside the US as it stands – so don't expect to see an identical library globally, at least at first.

Paramount Plus cost: How much are plans?

Paramount Plus

This is how Paramount explains the difference in pricing tiers. (Image credit: Paramount Plus)

The Paramount Plus price is $9.99 per month without ads, or $4.99 with ads

Both tiers will feature the same selection of on-demand originals and library content, but the difference is access to local CBS stations – that's exclusive to the higher tier. You also get live CBS TV and more sports through the higher tier option. The image above breaks it all down.

The premium plan also offers the option to download your shows and watch them offline.

You can also choose to sign up to an annual plan to save 16%, making the essential plan $4.17 a month and the premium $8.33.

More recently, Paramount Plus has introduced a bundle deal which throws in Showtime from just $11.99 a month, giving you access to the likes of Yellowjackets, Billions, and reboot Dexter: New Blood.

Paramount Plus

(Image credit: Paramount Plus)

Paramount Plus apps: which devices are compatible?

Paramount Plus is available on the following supported devices, according to this help page:

Paramount Plus shows and originals

star trek discovery

Flagship CBS All Access original Star Trek Discovery season 4 will release on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Netflix)

Promising "live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment", Paramount Plus is already brimming with fantastic TV shows, movies and live coverage, including exclusive, original shows like Yellowstone prequel, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Star Trek Discovery, and Clifford the Big Read Dog.

In 2022, you can also expect the arrival of Halo, based on the popular games of the same name, which feels like the closest the service has to a massive The Mandalorian-type show. Fraiser fans can also look forward to its revival arriving on the platform at some point this year. The Yellowstone-verse will continue to expand with a second spin-off, 6666, also in the works.

Sports on the service include UEFA soccer, PGA golf, NFL, NCAA basketball, The Masters and National Women's Soccer League.

In terms of movies, your kids will be pleased with the likes of Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run exclusive to the service. The same goes for Star Trek and Indiana Jones movies, which were available at launch.

Paramount Plus has also made a deal to be the streaming home of MGM's new movies, like No Time To Die, House of Gucci and Creed 3, after they've made their paid TV debut. 

Other future movies, meanwhile, will arrive after their theatrical runs or pay TV runs, like Top Gun: Maverick, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Transformers 7, Dungeons and Dragons and Scream, among others.



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Where to find the best prices on AirPods right now - CNET

While the all-time best prices have come and gone, you can still find AirPods for less than you'd pay at the Apple Store if you know where to look.

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Apple once planned to release a portable battery-powered version of its HomePod smart speaker, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his PowerOn newsletter, Gurman said the company even created a prototype HomePod Bluetooth speaker before ultimately shelving the project.

If Gurman's claim is accurate, that's a shame, as there are few truly portable smart speakers on the market right now – we could certainly do with a rival to challenge our favorite model, the Sonos Roam, if only to shake up the market a bit.

Right now, Apple's only wireless speaker, the HomePod mini (Apple discontinued the original HomePod in March last year) needs to be plugged into a power outlet. 

Beats Pill Plus with a phone leaning on it

The Beats Pill+ (pictured) was recently discontinued. (Image credit: Future)

More recently, Apple discontinued the only Bluetooth speaker in its subsidiary Beats' range, unceremoniously getting rid of the Beats Pill+. While the company is yet to confirm the reason behind the move, Apple has been steadily streamlining the Beats product lineup over the last year, having also discontinued the Powerbeats, Beats EP, and Solo Pro headphones and earbuds.

While canning the Beats Pill+ could be Apple's way of making room for a new HomePod Bluetooth speaker, Gurman isn't convinced, saying he would be surprised if a portable smart speaker ever launches under the Apple name.

We're less eager to rule out the possibility, though. After all, Apple has massively expanded its range of audio devices in recent years, making waves in the true wireless earbuds market with the AirPods, and later delving into the world of over-ear headphones with the AirPods Max

Now that the HomePod range has been reduced to one, smaller version of its original smart speaker, there's certainly an appetite for – and the expectation that – a new HomePod will be launched in the near future.


Analysis: what's next for the Apple HomePod?

Apple HomePod Mini

(Image credit: Apple)

The Apple HomePod mini is a fantastic speaker in its own right, but its small stature and low price makes us doubt that Apple wouldn’t release a follow-up to its original flagship smart speaker in a bid to compete with more powerful models like the Amazon Echo Studio and the Sonos One.

Since Apple discontinued the HomePod we’ve seen a number of patents that could suggest that the company is looking to create a new HomePod model – the so-called Apple HomePod 2 – and it may even come with a display, if rumors are to be believed. 

In a previous Bloomberg report Gurman said that "before the discontinuation of the larger HomePod, the company had been working on an updated version for release in 2022. It has also been developing new speakers with screens and cameras, but such a launch isn’t imminent". 

So, there's no guarantee that a new HomePod will launch this year, but it's apparent that Apple is continuing to explore what it can do in the realm of wireless speakers

We think it's likely that any new HomePod will act as a replacement for the company's first smart speaker – and that means it will be big and powerful, and probably too weighty to be a portable Bluetooth speaker. 

That's not to say that a portable HomePod is totally out of the question. In any case, we'd be surprised if we never saw another Beats Bluetooth speaker. The subsidiary tends to offer cheaper products than Apple's own range of devices, which means the company has a presence across a broad swathe of the audio market. 

While Beats products generally play very nicely within the larger Apple ecosystem, they're also usually more operating system-agnostic than the company's own devices, with models like the Beats Fit Pro offering the same features to Android users as to owners of iOS devices. 

So we think a Bluetooth speaker under the Beats banner that isn't tied to a specific ecosystem would work well, whereas a smart speaker that can switch between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth just screams 'Apple' – to us, anyway. 

In any case, we hope that both Apple and Beats release new speakers in the near future. Right now we only have the Apple HomePod mini, and as much as we like it, its audio performance isn't a patch on that of Sonos's wireless speakers – and we know from the original HomePod that Apple can do fantastic audio outside of the AirPods range of true wireless earbuds and headphones.



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The new Ford Fusion arrives, but just for China this time - Roadshow

Ford stuck with the Mondeo nameplate for China, but this is the Fusion that's not coming to America.

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Latest Tech News

A bevy of franchises will likely soon be joining team Xbox, as Microsoft today announced it’s agreed to buy gaming publisher Activision Blizzard for close to $70 billion. Alongside Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, and other huge brands making their to the company’s portfolio, another much-loved series received a mention: Guitar Hero.

The rhythm game series got a brief shoutout on the official Xbox website, hailing it as one of many titles heading to Microsoft, along with the likes of Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft, and Overwatch.

It’s the first mention of Guitar Hero from a games publisher in several years, as the series hit a dry patch of mainline releases some years ago after focusing on a mobile release.

The most recent game in the series, Guitar Hero Live, was released back in 2015 to a middling critical and commercial reception. So much so that Activision sold its developer, FreeStyle Games, to Ubisoft a couple of years later.

Microsoft’s decision to highlight the brand in today’s acquisition statements might suggest it has a brighter future ahead.


Analysis: more mobile games

Guitar Hero Live being played

(Image credit: Activision)

Once a beloved game for letting you live out your rock ’n’ roll dreams in the innocent safety net of your own bedroom (with a miniature plastic guitar to boot), Guitar Hero had a solid run that ran out of steam by the early 2010s. The attempt to revive the brand with Guitar Hero Live, which had the added novelty of accompanying POV videos taken from the perspective of professional lead guitarists, didn’t pan out.

So, what’s likely to happen to the franchise under Microsoft’s wing? It might be prudent to expect a big push on mobile. Alongside all its talk in today’s announcement about Xbox Game Pass, streaming, and reaching new players, Microsoft hasn’t been quiet about setting its sights on the mobile market, angling it as a big reservoir that needs to be tapped.

With the series having already established itself on mobile, and many other music rhythm games finding success on the Google and iOS app stores, Microsoft might see the platform as a natural home for Guitar Hero.

That’s not to say more ambitious projects are out of the question. Last year, Unplugged: Air Guitar translated the fundamental Guitar Hero system to the Oculus Quest. It lets you rock out in rhythmic, gamified form in VR, without even the need for a silly plastic guitar to cling on to. 

It might be expecting too much to think Microsoft will take Guitar Hero in the same direction, though, not least for the fact it hasn't banked on VR as heavily as its competitors.

In the immediate future, you can be pretty sure of one thing: the Guitar Hero series might be coming to Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft made clear that they’ll be putting as many Activision Blizzard titles on Game Pass as possible, and there’s no reason why this series of decade-old games should be an exception, licensing issues aside. It might be time to dig out that Les Paul again.



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Monday, January 17, 2022

Best Minecraft server hosting service of 2022 - CNET

We compare Minecraft server hosts' prices, features, performance and support so you choose what's best for your sandbox gaming needs.

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Best blenders in 2022 - CNET

We tested 16 popular models to find the best blenders that money can buy. They come in different shapes, sizes and speeds.

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NFL Playoffs: How to watch Cardinals vs. Rams on ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN Plus on Monday night - CNET

The final game of the opening round of the NFL's postseason tournament takes place tonight.

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Best 3D printer for 2022 - CNET

These are our favorite 3D printers, scanners and laser cutters for all you makers and creators in 2022.

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Latest Tech News

Many users have reported that their favorite Facebook apps are no longer working following a recent change to a popular open source software project.

The open source project responsible is developed by Facebook's parent company Meta and is called Create React App. Distributed on both GitHub and npm, Create React App is designed to help developers quickly build single-page React applications with just a few simple commands. As a result, loads of developers rely on it to build apps for Facebook and other sites.

GitHub users recently began reporting problems when trying to build their create-react-app builds after receiving the following error message: “Type:Error: MiniCssExtractPlugin is not a constructor”. This error message shows that the problem doesn't lie with Create React App itself but rather with one of its dependencies called Mini CSS Extract Plugin.

Mini CSS Extract Plugin is another popular project that over 4.6m GitHub repos and more than 7,000 npm projects rely on. This project is used to extract CSS code into separate files, generating a CSS file per each JavaScript file that contains CSS according to BleepingComputer.

Potential workarounds

The latest version of the Mini CSS Extract Plugin (v. 2.5.0) was published quite recently and it appears that this update is what is leading to Create React App project builds to fail.

While BleepingComputer believes that the addition of “types” to the plugin could be what is leading to Create React App instances to break, a bug report on GitHub takes a further look at some possible causes.

Until Facebook's open source team releases a proper fix for the issue, some developers have been able to get their Create React App builds to work by downgrading Mini CSS Extract Plugin to version 2.4.5. According to developer Alexandru Pavalovi, you can pin your version to 2.4.5 by adding several lines of code to your JavaScript app's package.json file. The code that needs to be added is:

"resolutions": {

    "mini-css-extract-plugin": "2.4.5"

},

However, this workaround doesn't work for those not using Yarn but front-end developer Oscar Busk says that running the following command (npm i -D --save-exact mini-css-extract-plugin@2.4.5) may work.

Hopefully the problem will be resolved soon with a more permanent fix but until then, you can try testing out these two workarounds to get your Create React App builds to work.

We've also featured the best laptops for programming and best JavaScript courses

Via BleepingComputer



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Sunday, January 16, 2022

Latest Tech News

A developer has managed to turn a laptop from 1989 into a cryptocurrency mining machine, but it won’t be making anyone rich any time soon.

The computer in question is the once cutting-edge Toshiba T3200SX, which is powered by a 16MHz Intel 386SX processor and runs on MS-DOS. When it first hit the market, the T3200SX was available at the low, low price of $6,299 (or $13,896 in today’s money).

The architect of the mining project, Dmitrii Eliuseev, has published a blog post setting out his process, which included programming his own mining software for MS-DOS (now available on GitHub) and calculating potential earnings over time.

Retro crypto mining rig

Transforming unlikely hardware into Bitcoin mining machines has become something of a tradition in recent years; smartphones, Raspberry Pis and even Teslas have been used to mine cryptocurrency. Thanks to Eliuseev, the Toshiba T3200SX now joins this prestigious list.

However, while the T3200SX is indeed capable of mining Bitcoin, it achieves a performance of just 15 hashes per second, which Eliuseev estimates would yield one dollar’s worth of Bitcoin every 584 million years. Predictably, the Toshiba T1100 Plus from 1986 didn’t fare any better, producing 3.5H/s running the same code.

Toshiba T1100 Plus

The Toshiba T1100 Plus fared even worse than the T3200SX. (Image credit: Dmitrii Eliuseev)

For context, the most performant ASIC miners on the market today produce 110 terahashes/second, 100 trillion times more than the T3200SX. And Bitcoin mining farms are packed out with many hundreds of these ASICs.

As noted by our sister site Tom’s Hardware, there’s more bad news for anyone hoping to turn a profit using the T3200SX. Under load, the laptop guzzles roughly 39W of power, which would cost the owner around $3.30/month.

Unfortunately, therefore, mining Bitcoin on the T3200SX will make you the opposite of rich: for every $1 earned, you’ll lose $23.1 billion to the utilities company.

Via Tom's Hardware



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You can actually make that old laptop last longer - CNET

There are ways to maximize the lifespan of your existing laptop so you don't have to buy a new one just yet. We'll explain.

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Latest Tech News

If you ask for any recommendations online when looking for a new gaming chair, chances are you’ll be told at least once that all ‘racing’ style chairs (named such as they resemble the bucket-style seats found in racing cars) are hot garbage and that instead, you should buy yourself a Herman Miller

These highly coveted, luxury office chairs have gained a cult following thanks to their true ergonomic design, and despite having an asking price that would make anyone's eyes water, people seem more than happy to bend over backward in order to procure one, from saving for as long as required to hunting down second-hand models.

They’re certainly impressive, and the love they get is far from undeserved, but they have one glaring issue that means I’ll likely never buy one - they’re hideous. I’m irked that many of the calls asking for help selecting a chair usually also namedrop popular models used by the gaming community such as Secretlab, which could be a better indication of what they’re actually looking for. 

Sometimes, people really do want style over substance, and particularly with younger folk, there’s less of a need for the level of ergonomics found in Herman Miller products. There are plenty of available options on either side of this fence, with garish, gamer aesthetics and stuffy, professional-looking chairs both appealing to different demographics, so we're hardly lacking in choice regardless of what you're looking for.

Spending money on ugly furniture isn't it

Herman miller gaming chairs on a grey backdrop

These Herman Miller gaming chairs look like they belong in a call centre. (Image credit: Herman Miller)

I’ve had the pleasure of testing a fair few gaming chairs in my time, and I’ve never had any issues with my back even after sitting in them for around 12 hours a day (thanks to the pandemic, my work desk is also my gaming space). This is very unhealthy of course, but it without a doubt tested how comfortable these chairs are for long periods of use and I’ve rarely found them to be unfit for purpose, especially as many brands also claim to have an ergonomic design.

I should point out that I’m an overweight 28-year-old, so I do sit somewhere between the age demographics for both styles of chair, perhaps leaning closer towards the colorful, punchy designs loved by the younger demographic than the need for enhanced back support proffered by those over 35. And I’m by no means saying that Herman Miller is inferior - in fact, I’d argue that people pushing the health benefits to its design are correct, and if you suffer from a bad back or have a few extra years behind you then they’re a fantastic purchase.

I also do believe the claims from people that they can find some racing style chairs to not offer enough back support, or at least that they’re inferior to what Herman Miller can offer, though I have a great deal of skepticism about how many people on social media are just parroting what other people are saying, without having gained their own experiences. The way some people talk about racing-style gaming chairs, you’d think they’re made from broken glass and Lego, destined to leave your back in a worse state than Batman's after a run-in with Bane.

Not everyone needs to care about top-line ergonomics the minute they start getting involved with gaming, especially as for most youngsters a gaming chair is an expensive purchase for a setup. Spending up to thousands of dollars on a chair to get…well, something that looks like it came out of an IKEA flat pack would certainly leave me feeling a little deflated.

All a matter of personal preference

The Jinx special edition gaming chair from Secretlab

(Image credit: Secretlab / Riot)

A lot of people take pride in their gaming space and how they decorate their environment. You only need to take a look at spaces like YouTube and TikTok to see people talking about how to theme their peripherals together, what desktop accessories to buy to add some extra pizazz, and occasionally, what products match their favorite games or shows. With folks on social media showing such a love for color-coordinating their spaces, I greatly appreciate the resulting market demand to have products in shades other than black, white and grey.

This is a space where other brands excel, with Secret Lab offering designs styled after things like The Witcher or CyberPunk 2077, and AndaSeat releasing a series of Marvel-themed products, such as this fun Spider-Man model. Razer has also developed its own chair lines in recent years, featuring awesome snake-inspired designs and a pink variant to match its Pink Quartz line of peripherals and gaming gear.

Place those funky chairs next to what Herman Miller is offering and it’s no contest for me. Even the Herman Miller ‘gaming’ chairs suffer from a case of the uglies, looking no better aesthetically than the rest of its product catalog, and despite my weight, I’m in good enough health to not worry about my back, so the only selling point (as far as I’m concerned) that makes them worth the outrageous asking price has no sway for me.

If Herman Miller released another line of gaming chairs to appeal to a younger demographics then I may have a newfound interest on dropping a small mountain of cash on one, but for now, I’m sitting in blissful comfort in what some would warn you is a terrible, uncomfortable racing style seat. 

If you’re young and in good health, just pick something that you like the look of that’s within your budget, provided it has decent reviews and won’t fall apart. As The Dude would tell you, it’ll “really tie the room together”.



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Today only: Amazon's Kindle is on sale for the all-time low price of $70 - CNET

Pick up Amazon's popular e-reader for $40 off, the best price we've seen to date.

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Latest Tech News

Unitree has launched the first known robot app store, which provides canned actions that you can upload or download and add to your robot. ...