Horizon Call of the Mountain

Horizon Call of the Mountain
Key art, depicting protagonist Ryas overlooking the game world
Developer	Guerrilla Games Firesprite
Publisher	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director	Alex Barnes
Writer	Matt Sophos
Series	Horizon
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platforms	PlayStation 5 (PlayStation VR2)
Release	February 22, 2023
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Horizon Call of the Mountain is a 2023 virtual reality action-adventure video game developed by Guerrilla Games and Firesprite and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5's PlayStation VR2 headset. Part of the Horizon series, Call of the Mountain is a standalone narrative set concurrently to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn.

Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape besieged by machine lifeforms, Horizon Call of the Mountain follows Ryas, a former member of the Shadow Carja who seeks redemption by uncovering a new threat looming over his former home; the campaign features both new and previously-established characters including series protagonist Aloy. Gameplay, presented from first-person perspective and requiring a PlayStation VR2 virtual reality headset, emphasizes Ryas' archery and climbing abilities. Players can use a bow to fight numerous Machines previously introduced in earlier titles, and utilize climbing and platforming to traverse the game's landscapes. An additional mode, River Ride, allows the player to passively explore the game world.

Development was handled by Horizon creator Guerrilla Games and fellow PlayStation Studios entity Firesprite, which possessed experience in virtual reality titles; Call of the Mountain is the first title announced to be developed by the latter since Firesprite's acquisition by Sony in September 2021. The game was officially announced in January 2022, while additional details on the story and gameplay were shown in June later that year. In November 2022, it was announced to be a launch title for the PlayStation VR2.

Horizon Call of the Mountain received generally favorable reviews, and numerous gaming publications found it to be a suitable showcase for the PlayStation VR2 hardware. Critics highlighted the visuals, Machine encounters, combat feel and player interactivity as positives, but found fault in the game's pacing and offered mixed opinions on the climbing segments.

Gameplay

Horizon Call of the Mountain is an action-adventure video game played from a first-person perspective and requires a PlayStation VR2 headset for its virtual reality presentation. The game follows a former Shadow Carja man called Ryas, who is experienced in archery, climbing and crafting, skills which the player has to use to survive through the game. Throughout the game the player will encounter several Machines introduced in previous titles such as the giraffe-like Tallneck and the tyrannosaurus-like Thunderjaw.

An additional mode outside the main campaign is River Ride, which allows the player to passively explore the game world.

Synopsis

Characters and premise

Horizon Call of the Mountain is set in a post-apocalyptic United States, overrun by mechanical lifeforms called the Machines; the game's events run concurrently to the main, Guerrilla Games-developed titles that follow Aloy's journey. Much of the game's events are set in the Sundom, the territory of the Carja tribe that were introduced in 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn.

The main protagonist is Ryas, a former Shadow Carja member in a quest to redeem himself. The game will feature several new and returning characters from the Horizon series, including Aloy.

Development

Promotional image used with the game's announcement, depicting a Tallneck.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is developed in collaboration between Horizon creator Guerrilla Games and Firesprite, who previously developed first-person shooter The Persistence for virtual reality and was acquired by Sony in September 2021. Firesprite's Alex Barnes, who previously worked as game designer on the studio's previous virtual reality game The Persistence, serves as game director. Firesprite originally promoted the title in its job listing, though its connection to the Horizon wasn't revealed at the time.

On February 6th, 2023, Guerrilla announced that Horizon Call of the Mountain went gold.

Technology

Horizon Call of the Mountain uses Unreal Engine 4.

Release

Horizon Call of the Mountain was first teased by Guerrilla Games studio director Jan-Bart Van Beek at Sony Group's SEC 2022 presentation on January 5, 2022, which included a short visual teaser of the title and Firesprite's involvement. A second trailer was shown at Sony's State of Play presentation on June 10, 2022, which revealed the premise and depicted several gameplay mechanics.

Reception

Pre-release

In a preview for Horizon Call of the Mountain, Polygon's Matt Leone as "one of the most beautiful games [he's] seen in VR", heavily praising the visuals and various graphical effects. Eurogamer's Ian Higton shared similar thoughts, believing Call of the Mountain was the "most technically impressive" title presented for the PlayStation VR2 during his time experiencing the hardware, with an "intoxicating" attention to detail. Higton was largely positive about the combat, but suspected of it being too on-rails for veteran VR players. Gamespot's Tamoor Hussain likened his introduction to the game to the 1993 Jurassic Park movie in its awe-inspiring usage of new technology, and noted that the game's visual fidelity blurred the usual graphical gap between traditional and virtual reality titles.

Reviews

Reception to Horizon Call of the Mountain generally favorable. On review score aggregator Metacritic, the game holds a score of 79/100 based on 71 scored reviews, which is classified as "generally favorable reviews" by the site. Critics generally praised the visuals, controls, combat mechanics and translation of the Horizon franchise to virtual reality, with several reviews agreeing the title was a suitable showpiece for the PlayStation VR2; in contrast, critics criticized the narrative, inconsistent pacing and lack of innovative design concepts for the medium.

Accolades

• Develop:Star Awards 2023
  • Best Visual Art - Won
  • Best Technical Innovation - Won