Horizon Forbidden West is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn, the game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States recovering from the aftermath of an extinction event caused by a rogue robot swarm. The player can explore the open world and complete quests using ranged and melee weapons against hostile machine creatures. Horizon Forbidden West was released on February 18, 2022, for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It was praised for its visuals, combat, vocal performances and technical advancements, while the writing and open world design drew mixed responses. An expansion, Burning Shores, will be released on April 19, 2023. Horizon Forbidden West is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. The player controls Aloy, a hunter in a world populated by dangerous, animalistic machines. In an open world, she explores the mysterious frontier known as the Forbidden West, a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States, specifically the states of California, Nevada, and Utah.  The map is larger than in the previous game. Exploration is improved with new underwater discoveries, and improvements to combat using the Valor Surge system, freeform climbing, and tools such as the Shieldwing, Focus Scanner, Diving Mask, and Pullcaster. The mission structure for quests better supports variety in objectives with compelling reward systems. Horizon Forbidden West continues the story of Aloy (Ashly Burch), a young hunter of the Nora tribe and a clone of the Old World scientist Elisabet Sobeck, as she leads a band of companions on a quest to the arcane frontier known as the Forbidden West to find the source of a mysterious plague that kills all it infects. On her journey across these uncharted lands, Aloy encounters new regions ravaged by massive storms and deadly machines, and conflicts with a tribe of nomadic raiders who have tamed the machines as war mounts. She discovers a vast array of environments and ecosystems, including lush valleys, dry deserts, snowy mountains, tropical beaches, ruined cities, and underwater settings.