i have a lot of thoughts on the newest guerrilla games announcement and i am just. okay.
when it comes down to these sorts of things i sit back and ask myself three questions:
was the decision made by the developers themselves, or is it an order from on high? in this case: shifting focus to a multiplayer game with an objective of machine hunting being considered “the core” of horizon. horizon’s combat does make the game super dynamic and fun, but it’s not the reason i’ve replayed it countless times.
this shift to developers pushing the unique combat as what makes horizon special and away from the actual story of the world being destroyed by unregulated ai owned by egotistical billionaires happening as generative ai is surging in that very industry is Loud, and i don’t think it’s accidental.
secondly… who is it for? fans of aloy’s story have stuck around through radio silence about how hers will continue/conclude. yes, there was deserved backlash to burning shores, but hiding away forever is not the answer. they say they will “get back” to single player games. i had thought there were two different teams working simultaneously on h3 and the multi project, but that statement almost sounds like the entire company was focusing on this? so, the fans who continue to stay—who post cosplays to fill tuesday showcase, who post fanart for friday, and who continue to post stellar virtual photography because of the story—have to wait longer with no answers. i hope i can eat these words! genuinely!
but this, combined with the new overwatch-style art, makes it clear that this game is to draw in new crowds. new players. and to be clear, i’m not mad about the art style. i think it’s cute and lends well to this type of platform. (that said, i do have critiques of the character designs. love the body diversity, but the rainbow hair and the outfits don’t match the established lore of horizon, and THAT bothers me.)
which brings us to question three: who does this benefit?
ultimately, this project is for sony. at the end of the day, we are stuck in a capitalist hellscape and they are the string-pullers.
i am not against a multiplayer game. i’ve said it many times. the non-canon character design aside, it looks… fun? i guess? my concerns lie a) in how it will fit with the canon of the story, and b) the overall implications of what this project means above-table, so to speak. the timing of this game just feels… eh? i’d rather be excited about it after seeing a trailer for h3 but also… am concerned about combat being pushed as the takeaway. because… nah man. that ain’t it.
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