The future arrival of the Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores expansion for PlayStation 5 was one of the most notable announcements of The Game Awards 2022, an event for which we have also told you about its nominees and winners, as well as the main adaptations of the leading titles. of the event. Over the years, this awards ceremony has managed to become a benchmark event within the sector, with a scope that continues to grow year after year. And that we are talking about quite young awards, since they began to be awarded only eight years ago, in 2014 (although it is true that they picked up the baton from the Spike VGA/VGX).
Released on the market on February 18, 2022 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Horizon Forbidden West takes up the world created for Horizon Zero Dawn and puts us back in control of Elay, the young warrior and hunter from the Nora tribe who, as indicates the title, this time it will go to the lands of the west, in a new visual spectacle in which what were once urban centers have yielded to the forces of nature in a post-apocalyptic world.
The first trailer for Burning Shores will take us (or will make us take Elay, to be more exact) to the ruins of Los Angeles, now turned into a volcanic archipelago that still retains some iconic elements, such as the Hollywood sign located on the Mount Lee that we can see in this trailer. But that is not the only thing that the trailer reveals to us. If we see it until the end, next to its release date, April 19, 2023, we will see that the PlayStation 5 logo is displayed. PlayStation 5 logo only.
Although it cannot be ruled out, it does not seem likely that it is an accidental omission, no, it is actually the confirmation of something expected and feared, and that is that this expansion will only come to PlayStation 5, leaving behind its predecessor, the still very present PlayStation 4. Something that, of course, has not been amusing for Sony console users, especially those who have bought and played Forbidden West, and who now see that they will not be able to enjoy this update on their console.
And the anger is understandable, since we are talking about a game that is particularly highly valued by its users, which has garnered very, very positive reviews, and an expansion that promises to be large and, therefore, provide many more hours of gameplay. . And it is also a difficult decision to explain, since the base game is available for PS4. Why the base game yes, but the expansion of it no? Obviously it would be very different if Horizon Forbidden Wes had only come out for PlayStation 5, leaving the previous generation behind.
However, and this is something that we have discussed many times here, maintaining compatibility with previous generations is, unfortunately, a hindrance that hampers the use of everything that the latest generation can offer. We saw the great example of this with the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, but there are more cases that, although not as pronounced, do show us that maintaining compatibility with PS4 (or with Xbox One, this is similar on all platforms) means a penalty for those who have made the necessary investment to acquire a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X | S.
It should not be an easy decision for a developer to decide to leave behind a previous generation of console. Only because of the loss of potential sales that this entails, it is surely the opposite of what shareholders are asking for or even demanding. However, the games industry is, and we have also told this on more than one occasion, the party responsible for the technical evolution of the platforms that support them.
That Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is only coming to PlayStation 5 is bad news for PlayStation 4 users who have been waiting for this update, and I really feel sorry for them, honestly. However, I understand that the studio has opted to raise the technical level of the game so that the experience of the game is even better, and it is something that I am very sure that PlayStation 5 users will really appreciate. What do you think?
