The first review of Killzone: Mercenary has arrived, all thanks to Official Playstation Magazine Benelux.
Push Square writes: "Following a round of layoffs in October last year, a new report by Korean publication MTN reveals that the aforementioned Project H has been cancelled as part of a feasibility review. Staff will now apparently be transferred to a different project."
Just incase people miss it. This ain't the one GG was working on.
I don't like seeing games cancelled. Considering hard work from plenty of people and planety of money spent on it. But I'm glad Sony are seemingly looking at this live service plan and taking measures. They don't want another concord. Really hoping this means they have less focus on Live service now.
Wait, there is/was two different Horizon live-service projects?
"It’s important to note that this game is not to be confused with a separate online multiplayer version of Horizon, confirmed to be in development at series creator Guerrilla. That game, as far as we understand, still very much remains in production for now."
I though GG was working on Horizon 3 and the live-service was being handled by NCSoft?
edit: The comment section under the PushSquare article is pretty interesting.
"The comment section under the PushSquare article is pretty interesting. "
Yeah the same couple of asshats who are trying to defend GaaS games.
get2sammyb dosen't have a clue.
Horizon Zero Dawn sold brilliantly for Sony, but Shuhei Yoshida revealed what we all suspected , the second game didn’t sell so well. Sony has got it in its head that it could be its very own Star Wars franchise - but it’s misjudged the demand as the majority of people who’ve played the games don’t love them. Thank God it’s cancelled the MMO because I could see this being an Ubisoft Skull & Bones level disaster.
Thing is sony is now rethinking their strategy that means studios won't release a game for a long time now
Bend and blue point will need 3-5 years for their next release so basically this while generation absolutely nothing bedies 1 remake
Ghost of Yotei and Wolverine would be the 2 big releases within 1.5 years. And maybe Intergalactic?
And hopefully, Marathon doesn't get cancelled and whatever Housemarque's up to, releases within the 2 years window.
And there's Fairgame$ and GG's Fortnite-esque Horizon co-op game as well (found about it just now, apparently it was leaked as well, 2 years back).
I hope they just let bend make days gone sequel and have BP remake a game just to regain their confidence
@venom the game still sold well, 8.5 mill in a year, if you remember the leaks, it showed that sales tanked after they put it into ps plus, had nothing to do with the ips popularity.
I am not much of a supporter of leaks,
But seeing these projects getting cancelled, and with so many people spent time working on these AAA projects, I do hope atleast some of the alpha/beta gameplay clips gets shared/leaked, so atleast we get to know what we may have missed/avoided.
Again, not much of a supporter of leaks, but we did get to see a finished gameplay promotional trailer of the Spider-Man: The Great Web live-service game. And imho, after seeing the trailer, that could've been the better Sony 1st party live-service game and had potential.
There should be more leaks from more studios and developers.
Greedy corporations like Sony, like Microsoft, who boast about their profits ("most profitable generation" for Sony) while cutting projects/jobs, deserve to be exposed for the years of developers' lives and careers being absolutely wasted with nothing to show for it.
Maybe if someone at Guerrilla can leak this stylized Horizon GaaS, our feedback can kill that off before Sony invests even more into a project no one wants.
Well much of that GG Horizon GaaS has been leaked actually :
https://twistedvoxel.com/ho...
Dont know if there was more .... but would love to see the now cancelled NCSoft's version as well.
There are no such thing as "Greedy corporations", all corporations want maximum profit.
The Spider-Man LS game could of been a potential hit. I just dont understand. Why cancel Twisted Metal Spider man etc for something like a Concord? I Know dead horse but it's beyond baffling at these decisions especially Twisted Metal. That game has actual LS written all over it, in good way.
Same here .... why cancel Twisted Metal and Spider Man but keep others?
I would even prefer a Motorstorm or SOCOM live service game ... over a God of War LS.
I have been wanting a KillZone with Battlefield style maps and destruction. I think that suits KillZone very well and is a part of the shooter market we are missing.
There has only been 2 Horizon games. They have both been pretty good. And as far as we know there is only one left.
Horizon Zero Dawn: 2017
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Initial release date: February 22, 2023
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
Initial release date: April 19, 2023
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition
Initial release date: October 6, 2023
Lego Horizon Adventures
Initial release date: November 14, 2024
Horizon forbidden West TV show on Netflix
Horizon forbidden West canceled MMO
Look how much activity this IP has from 2023 to right now, all within the same generation.
I’m not just going by what I can buy off the PlayStation store I’m going by what commercials I see in different products I can interact with around this IP.
@jwillj2k4
Seriously? Count "complete edition" and expansion as well? The only extra one that we might not need is "Lego Horizon Adventures". For me, this gen they have Horizon Forbidden West and a VR game (which PSVR2 desperately need), anything that are not out, are... simply not out, you can't count that.
@northpaws
I include anything that’s getting advertised in front of my face that they want me to buy as part of the that IP. That’s not a stretch.
Also, I failed to mention the gorilla games Horizon monster Hunter game coming out. It’s just too much too soon. I don’t even think horizons their biggest money maker. It feels like there’s an agenda that was being pushed.
Damn, I even forgot the horizon zero dawn remaster in 2024. This IP needs to be shelved ASAP.
They did that to Killzone and Resistance as well. After Killzone 2, we got the PSP games, parts 3, 4, and the Vita game all in the span of like 5 years. The series was never that popular to begin with, and unless there is something to spark new excitement in the series, the audience drops off gradually after each entry.
Horizon had its fans, but I never felt that it had mega franchise potential. And so here we are.
What a wasted generation. I’m glad at the end of last gen I said for this gen I’ll get the PS5 in three years and just play vr and older gen games. At the end of this gen or rather the start of the next I would pick up the PS5 games for cheap.
I’m glad that was my plan and glad that I stuck to the plan.
Sony trying to follow the hype into areas that they have no clue about, instead of sticking to their bread and butter games.
It sounds like you are patting yourself on the back for confirming your own decision to play old games. We all play old games, no use publishing it.
Hell yes I’m patting myself on the back for my decision.
I also said I’m playing vr games too, not just older games.
Good, I play old games too. I got games from GoG for like a dollar. I'm sure glad I did.
I'm playing new PS5 games too not just old ones.
Good they needed something to wake them up. These companies get arrogant so quickly so they realize they have a money maker. At least it didn’t need to reach PS3 levels of arrogance.
It was a much needed eye opener. Seriously, what were they thinking sinking so many resources into this absurd amount of GaaS games? You would think they never heard of 'not putting all your eggs into one basket'.
They learned from EA. These corporations have a tendency to try to replicate a profitable formula in evey project they can get away with.
Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier criticizes Xbox's inconsistent strategies while revealing that Guerrilla Games is prioritizing Horizon Online over Horizon 3.
Considering the Horizon series is one of the highest grossing IPs to come out of the PS4 era for Sony….
I’d say a lot of people care about it. Two major releases, a small comic series, and now a LEGO game, I’d say “who cares” is a pretty ignorant statement to make.
As someone who really liked the first game, and bought the second at launch. I've kinda lost much care about it. It is a lot and there's other massive games I'd rather sink into. It's general loop is fun and graphically it's unbelievable, so there is part of me that wants to go back. I'd rather see something new from Guerrilla, same with Naughty Dog.
I’ve got a feeling that Hermen Hulst will make EVERY new first party game a Horizon game. Look out for Polyphony’s Horizon: Kart Racing and Insomniac’s Aloy collectibles action game next.
Horizon is fine but i think sony has other titles that deserve the shine, a little more.
Horizon online?? Oh God!!!
How about Killzone “online”? More suited for the purpose.
I think the issue is how much Sony is exploiting it when Killzone went through the same (with just games by the way) and we were all burnt out by it.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Frozen Wilds
Horizon Forbidden West
Burning Shores
Call of the Mountain
Comic book series
Possible TV show (cancelled but who knows)
Board game
Lego Horizon Game
Horizon Lego Sets
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Horizon Online
Like take a chill pill Sony, I know it’s popular and all but slow down.
Why not have a new IP and cycle between them or go back to Killzone if you want to it online fix
You hit the nail on the head But I don’t think you realize it. Why was horizon one of the highest grossing IPs??
Because it was fresh and new.
The PS5 era has been nothing but remakes, remasters and continuations Of games that came out Not that long ago.
HZD online will fail in the end. Not because it’s a bad game But because of the lore being so forced upon us in such a small amount of time.
I do agree with the sentiment that Sony should do more with other IPs. I stand by what I said about "who cares" being an ignorant statement to make. Just because you don't care doesn't mean that others do. The sales do speak for themselves and Sony wouldn't go balls to the walls if people weren't buying into it. The loud minority online is not indicative of actual sales of the franchise.
That being said, personally, while I did like HDZ and HFW, I have not consumed any other content from the franchise. I would like to see the third game take a few more risks in where it goes, and I believe the online game is going to be a likely miss considering it was likely a part of Sony's GAAS push that hasn't gone too well (sorry, Concord).
I agree that I would like to see Guerilla take a step back and bring Killzone back. Just like I would like to see Sony have some balls and revive SOCOM. I echo the sentiments with Naughty Dog too.
At the end of the day, people speak with their wallets and Horizon is popular. Knowing how Sony treats their popular franchises, they will run it into the ground and we will wait for the next big thing. I think Horizon's world has a lot of potential but obviously it will stay tied to Aloy and her adventures for the time being. I have a lot of respect for Sucker Punch for not making a sequel with Jin, as much as I would have loved to see more of that specific story start to pan out, but who knows? Games take soooo long to make nowadays, sometimes we have to take what we can get, and if you don't like it, then don't buy it?
HZD is Sonys polished, Ubisoft-like game.
A beautiful world with the same old tired open world game design and gameplay tropes (which is a industry problem not just HZD or Ubisofts).
The second game was, for a period of time, bundled with every PS5 boosting them figures massively.
Yup. It was bundled with mine. I played it for an hour and dropped it. I finished the first one. Felt it was pretty good.
Hell HZD was available for free on PSN leading into the launch of HFW. It's when I took the plunge.
Didn't they cancel SpiderMan The Great Web, which actually looked pretty promising as well as the anticipated TLOU Factions 2?
Instead we get Concord and Horizon Online?
And you know this is probably going to be a Monster Hunter rip
So the question is if so why play this when you could just play Monster Hunter
@-Foxtrot
"So the question is if so why play this when you could just play Monster Hunter"
~ coz muh Sony exclusive, thats why and thats enough for some die hard folks
Yea I thought the first was ok, but the 2nd lost me. I’m honestly kind of meh about the franchise. I don’t think it’s awful or anything, it’s just whatever to me. I can tell you I have 0 interest in a MP game in the universe, so good luck with that, Sony.
Yeah, loved number 1, enjoyed the second but feel like they need to have a break, not abandon it but give it a break
Question is which massively anticipated game is it going to launch against this time? Breath of the Wild with the first, and Elden Ring with the second. I don't know how this series has survived when it keeps doing this.
Both games have sold millions as well, its impressive actually i think both ball parked over 10 mil in sales.
Sony shoukd grab a better release window
Haha
Honestly it’s had the worst luck, there’s always something that overshadows it.
Also, they released the Horizon FW Burning Shores DLC around the same time as Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
I see almost an equivalent number of disagrees so I'll put on my boring hat and clarify.
This is a humorous jab and a compliment. Horizon keeps going up against some of the heaviest hitters of all gaming-time and still is a success. I myself bough both games at launch. I like them. They're pretty cool.
Who asked for a Horizon Online? Do they make any kind of survey or whatever to make this decisions?
CO-OP online would be fun to take down giant bosses.
But versus multiplayer, such as extraction shooter, looter shooter with endless grind, or Overwatch type of game would be a mistake.
Im looking forward to it because the gameplay of the series is great. And unique.
"We're going to be continuing it for a very long while"
Curious to know more about these "plans". I assume many will be expansions (dlc) while they will at some point release a full horizon 3 or maybe even 4.
Wasn't there word about a show to at some point I thought I remembered seeing something. 16 is a pretty high number lol. I like the series though , I liked it the most of what Sony brought new on ps4.
It's kind of difficult with the way they have the game set up. Everything is built around her being "the one" and the savior of humanity. They definitely Mary Sued the series into a corner. Unless they come out with the co-op robot hunter game based in their Horizon world that was talked about then there could have somewhere else to go with the series but even then everyone would have to ignore the world dying around them to make it work.
Exploring the detailed biomes was my fav part of the game, especially gliding and (later on) flying, and underwater was amazing too. I’ll explore another open world from GG day one.
Agreed. I enjoyed Aloy in Zero Dawn, but the personality she has taken on after becoming “the savior” is in my personal opinion unlikable and unrelatable.
Here's what I'm ready for: play as a rough dude in the Horizon universe. Less flowery dialog, more Just Cause blowing things up?
Would be a nice change of pace imo
Your “rough dude” game is “Horizon Call of the Mountain on PSVR2”. Great game. A “rough dude” protagonist like the Doom Slayer wouldn’t work for a main Horizon game because the overall story requires the protagonist to be an outside thinker, cerebral, and empathetic enough to build a coalition of allies. It would be like putting Doom Slayer in “Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sure, he’d kill a lot of Nazis, but he would never find the Ark or save anyone.
I mean, there can be multiple stories in a universe like Horizon. You could put doom slayer in a parallel story involving a horde of corrupted machines led by a mad man as an example.
No thanks. Go play Just Cause for that. Horizon isn't about mindless, blow stuff up, action. The story, dialog and characters of this world are what make it special and Aloy is a fantastic protagonist. Coupled with that, you already have awesome gameplay in fighting amazingly designed robotic enemies (the human enemies, however, need some work). It's perfect the way it is and as long as they keep evolving on their current path, then it'll be wonderful.
I love this franchise but Jesus...take a chill pill
Look what happened to Killzone, they got success and it was Killzone, Killzone, Killzone, Killzone, Killzone until eventually the quality slowly dropped, it started to become samey and we just got so fatigued by the Killzone Universe that most lost any excitement for it.
I'd rather they take a break, work on a new IP, get some new ideas going with that game and then when the PS6 comes around as a launch game do Horizon III with all the new fresh ideas you've learnt from the last new IP
I wouldn't mind a new Killzone universe game come of think of it... I'd like to see Playstation create at least 1 FPS this gen.
2 Games in 5 years needs a chill pill? We really haven't gotten all that much for the series. Perhaps you just read too many Horizon articles.
It is crazy how people constantly complain about how games were better and less rushed 10-20 years ago, ignoring the fact that we often used to get sequels to games every two years or so. Now you get a sequel 4-7 years after a game launched and people start screaming about franchise fatigue and how the devs are driving the series into the ground.
VR game, TV show in the works, the bird game, Horizon III coming, the multiplayer game, they are talking about other things
Come on…this is just the start
@ Foxtrot
"VR game, TV show in the works, the bird game, Horizon III coming, the multiplayer game, they are talking about other things "
Because all those things are coming out this year? What on earth is the bird game? Horizon 3 and the Live service game are many many years away like 2025 or later and the TV show you simply don't have to watch if you don't want to. There are many other franchises that need a bigger chill pill than Horizon. Call of Duty and Assassins Creed being the top 2.
This, don't give people franchise fatigue, I love the games, but if they just keep hammering out more HZD, people are going to get sick of it. I would be up for a Netflix series though as long as it's good, and a new game in a few years would be fine with me.
While this may be true, I thought the death of Killzone was more due their failure to stick to what worked. KZ2 was the best Killzone, but they completely scrapped the feel of that with KZ3, which tried to be a COD clone.
You really can't win sometimes though. If a series takes ages between installments people complain this is 2 in 5 years, I don't consider that bad. We got GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas within 3 years, I don't remember anyone complaining then
Development times back then compared to now are completely different
You could wait years for a sequel but there still might not e that many improvements that REALLY sets it apart
Forbidden West was pushing it, it had a few new things but by the end of the game it didn’t really have enough to really set it apart from the first game in terms of features (not graphics, visuals etc).
If we get a third game even if it takes 4 years I don’t know what else they could add in that games setting. They are better off doing a new IP for now and keep the sequel for later.
I'm all for more great content. But don't be pulling a Yu Suzuki "Shenmue." And I love Shenmue. Still waiting for chapters. Lol.
Games, maybe a movie, TV show.... anime?? a novel, various merchandise, collaborations with franchises like Genshin Impact
near perfect score... this game deserves it..........
"Not counting multiplayer"
really. The beta cemented my faith in the multiplayer part but I was concerned about the single player. Good to hear
Excellent.
This does look like a great game but you can't really go by a review from a PlayStation magazine without some bias.
We will soon see the beta is fantastic even if it is one map.
i already knew this. god sent me the answer last night in a dream...amen