Horizon: Forbidden West - Burning Shores

Burning Shores is a story expansion to Horizon: Forbidden West from 2022. It was developed by the Dutch Guerrilla Games, the same studio as the base game. The DLC's scale was too much for the PS4 to handle, thus it's only available on the PS5.

Plot

Burning Shores is set right after the ending of Horizon: Forbidden West. The main character is, once again, the warrior Aloy, traveling to a volcanic archipelago which used to be the city of Los Angeles. She must face a new, serious threat from the machines as well as many other dangers. Along the way she meets new characters and makes allies who help her in her journey.

Mechanics

In terms of gameplay, Burning Shores doesn't differ much from Horizon: Forbidden West. The player traverses a large open world, completing story quests and side quests. The latter reward Aloy with experience and valuable items, increasing her chances against the powerful machines.

Los Angeles is mostly traversable via swimming, diving, and flying on the Sunwing - an aerial mount returning from the base game. During combat, Aloy still has access to all the gear and weaponry she has acquired during her travels across San Francisco and Las Vegas, including bows, spears, javelins, traps and grenades.

Game modes

Horizon: Forbidden West - Burning Shores only supports singleplayer.

Technical aspects

Burning Shores is not a standalone expansion. It requires the base version of Horizon: Forbidden West to function. Moreover, due to the PlayStation 4's technological limitations and the DLC's scale, it's only available on the PlayStation 5, even though the base game was released both on the PS4 and the PS5.