Horizon Forbidden West DLC contains battle that would have killed the PS4

Aloy seems to be in for an action packed fight.

Although Horizon Forbidden West has been released for PS4 and PS5, the Burning Shores DLC will only be available for PS5. Players who have not yet bought a PS5 are looking into the tube.

But there’s a specific reason why the DLC will only come out for the PS5. In an interview with Sony Game Director Mathijs de Jonge explains why the team decided against a release on PS4.

There would not have been a DLC battle on PS4

The Burning Shores DLC will contain a specific battle scene that requires a particularly large amount of memory and processing power. It will probably be action-packed here, but de Jonge did not reveal any further details. In order to implement the fight both technically and creatively, the performance of the PS5 is necessary.

Burning Shores should also visually benefit from the performance of the PS5. Because the scenery did not have to be adapted to the PS4, the ruins of Los Angeles should shine with even more detail.

As another example, de Jonge cites a specific lighting setup that could only be used on the PS4 during cinematic cutscenes. On the PS5, however, the setup is active all the time.

There will be an active settlement in the ruins that only the power of the PS5 could render in such detail. Even when flying, many details should be recognizable from the air. The same applies to other large distances.

De Jonge is also pleased that the title now runs at 60 frames per second. The power of the PS5 allowed the development team to create the quality they wanted. Another plus is that loading screens are kept to a minimum thanks to the power of the PS5.

In the trailer we see how pretty Burning Shores has become thanks to the PS5:

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Horizon Forbidden West DLC revealed and heading to Burning Shores

That’s the story of Burning Shores

In the new DLC, Aloy travels to the ruins of Los Angeles. However, the ruins are now traversed by lava flows, which is where the name Burning Shores comes from.

Aloy’s goal is to pursue an evil menace that has not yet been revealed. Anyone who has played through Horzion Forbidden West might already have a first suspicion. The city can be explored both by water and by air.

Which of the reasons do you understand that there was no PS4 version?