Sony reveals Horizon Hunters Gathering, and fans are split over the new look

Horizon Hunters Gathering; cartoon characters and monsters

(Image credit: Sony)

Guerrilla Games has revealed a new game in the Horizon series, of sorts, and as expected, fans are split. While we wait for a sequel to Horizon Forbidden West, the new game in the series is not what fans expected. Horizon Hunters Gathering, announced this week on the PlayStation Blog, is an offshoot game set in the same universe but takes the series in a bold new direction – and the internet is buzzing.

Before I dig into one big change – the game's visual design – let's first get the game pitch: instead of the sprawling single-player adventures the franchise is known for, Hunters Gathering focuses on three-player co-op. You pick a Hunter with a unique combat style and dive into tight, repeatable missions that remix the classic machine-creature battles into something faster and more tactical. It’s a big shift: progression, replayability, and teamwork are now front and centre.

The game kicks off with two main mission types. There’s a wave-based mode where machines keep coming at your team, and a longer dungeon-style mode that forces you to weigh risk and reward while facing bigger bosses. Between missions, players meet up in a hub to upgrade gear, swap builds, and plan the next hunt. Guerrilla has confirmed a story still lives in Horizon’s timeline, with new characters and conflicts expanding the world beyond Aloy.

A big visual shift

Part of what’s got fans talking is the art direction. Horizon has always been a visual benchmark, from the readable, plausible machines to environments that feel alive; it set a new standard for world-building and invention. Under Jan-Bart van Beek, Misja Baas, Benjamin Sprout, and Arno Schmitz, the franchise defined a striking identity, setting trends rather than following them.

Hunters Gathering, by contrast, goes for a brighter, more stylised approach. Think Fortnite or Monster Hunter Stories: clear, readable, and punchy for co-op combat. It’s polished, yes, but the cartoon stylisation is a noticeable shift from the cinematic realism long associated with Horizon. And, remember, this is 'canon' to the mainline Aloy games.

Online, reactions are all over the place. Some hardcore fans aren’t thrilled: “Hunters Gathering adopts the dime-a-dozen Fortnite/Clash-of-Clans-advert graphics. This is a step down," began Reddit user TheDonnARK, adding that from font choice to character design, "It just looks childish."

On the PS Blog, a fan, Spooky_x_Scary, reacted: "I love Horizon, but this looks awful," and another, fudgenasty21, joined in the hate, adding: "Wow, this looks horrible. We don’t need yet another cartoonish live service game."

PS Blog's KazeEternal doesn't hold back and raises the specter of Sony's rush for Live Service gaming, like the ill-fated Concord: "I feel like your art director forgot their audience, or your producers are too busy chasing trends. Why does this not look like a Horizon game, and instead it looks more like Fortnite ate Horizon, then vomited it back out, and thena unicorn violated it."

But it's not all bad. Another fan on Reddit, CreamyVinegar, offers a more balanced view: "I think people are just a little too shocked that they made it so different, and I get that, but there is no need to worry about the main game or franchise."

On the PS Blog, michael_mer1 adds: "The visuals are gorgeous, but read more like an animated show than a Horizon game."

Another fan, secourt, offers Guerilla an olive branch: "This looks great, great art style, gameplay looks fun. The hatred of anything Live Service, just because it’s LS is ridiculous, same goes for anything in an existing franchise, that happens to try something different visually."

More than an art change

At the heart of the debate isn’t just a change in colour palettes, animation style or machine proportions. Horizon fans have always celebrated the thought put into its world. Now, seeing the series take on co-op and a more stylised visual design makes some wonder whether this offshoot can do what other Sony games haven't managed, and make the 'Live Service' format work.

Hunters Gathering packs systems that reward experimentation: distinct Hunter roles, progression loops, and a social hub for gearing up and strategising. Whether players end up loving the visuals, once machines are charging at full speed, might make or break this new take on Horizon. It could even see new gamers come to a series they've often felt wasn't for them.

It's odd, Monster Hunter manages to spin off into the anime-casual design of Stories and it's loved and embraced, but Sony struggles to bring its fans on board for a similar move. Time will tell if the shock of Hunters Gathering's new look will win over old fans or carve out a new audience.

Horizon Hunters Gathering will release on PS5 and PC this year, and you can apply to playtest now.

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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.

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