Sony has added roguelike modes to several games to extend their lifespan years after release. A ComicBook author recently suggested that Horizon Forbidden West's machine hunting and crafting systems are well-suited for this type of gameplay, proposing a mode centered around collecting parts and crafting ammunition.
These updates attract lapsed players back by adding replayable gameplay modes. God of War Ragnarök introduced "Valhalla," The Last of Us Part II Remastered added "No Return," and Ghost of Yōtei will also feature a roguelike mode titled "Most Wanted" (tentative translation).
"Valhalla" was released for free in December 2023, allowing Kratos to advance an independent storyline while repeatedly tackling trials, with players able to experiment with different weapons and combat combinations. "No Return" randomly combines encounters, objectives, and gameplay modifiers, offering different playable characters; weapons and upgrades reset between runs, while rewards like character unlocks provide long-term progression.
The author highlights the existing combat foundation of Horizon Forbidden West. Machines have different components, elemental weaknesses, and behaviors, allowing players to tear off weapons, aim at weak points, and choose different ammunition types. In the author's view, these mechanics could be transformed into consecutive hunts with increasing difficulty, making resource retention and upgrade choices the focus of each run.
In this concept, players start with limited arrows, traps, and healing items, hunting weaker machines first to collect parts before taking on targets that offer rare materials. Between battles, players can visit temporary workbenches to craft ammunition and select modifiers that affect the next encounter. Gear is no longer fully equipped from the start but is gradually improved during a hunt. These are all part of the author's gameplay concepts.
The author also believes that since the game was released four years ago and Guerrilla has moved on to other projects, it is unlikely that a major new mode will be added. There is another design challenge: progression and exploration in Horizon Forbidden West are closely tied to quests, crafting, and gear upgrades. Adapting this into short, repeatable challenges would require deciding which systems to keep and which processes to simplify.