In just a matter of weeks,Ghost of TsushimaandDeath Strandinghave started a new trend among PlayStation exclusives: the Director’s Cut. Just like Director’s Cuts or Extended Editions work in the film industry, these editions expand upon the original game from both a narrative and gameplay standpoint.Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cutis adding the Iki Island story expansion while theDeath Stranding Director’s Cutpromises new missionsand expanded storylines woven into the base game. Both are adding either new or enhanced mechanics to the existing games.
With two big PlayStation exclusives getting a Director’s Cut announcement in such a short period of time, it’s possible that even more exclusives likeHorizon Zero Dawnwill be getting the treatment soon. It’s a nice way to allow players to keep interacting with their favorite franchises while they wait on future installments and IPs from the studios involved. If more games get Director’s Cuts,Horizon Zero Dawncould be at the top of the list. But should it be?
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Horizon Zero Dawn Deserves a Director’s Cut
As one of the best open-world games of the PlayStation 4 generation,Horizon Zero Dawndefinitely seems like agood candidate for a Director’s Cut. There are several opportunities for narrative expansions and lots of ways that the gameplay could be improved upon. With such a beautiful and expansive world, it wouldn’t be difficult to convince players to explore it some more and a Director’s Cut could enhance many of the featuresHorizon Zero Dawndidn’t integrate as successfully.
The emphasis on ranged combat and overly simple climbing mechanics are some of the most heavily critiqued aspects of the first game, but with a few easy fixes, a Director’s Cut could massivelyimprove the overall combat and traversal experiences inZero Dawn.Horizonalso lacked compelling side characters and side quests; it had a lot of interesting ideas, but many of them weren’t fully realized in the game. A Director’s Cut could deepen characters like Petra, Vanasha, Nil, and Varl, all of whom deserve more character development than they got.
There are a ton of great opportunities for aHorizon Zero Dawn Director’s Cut,however, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. WithHorizon Forbidden Weststill scheduled for a late 2021 release, the timing doesn’t make much sense. As great as it might be, the stars most likely are not in alignment andHorizon Zero Dawnmight have missed its chance.
Horizon Forbidden West’s Release Date
Of course, there’s no guarantee thatHorizon Zero Dawnwon’t get a Director’s Cut. Anything is possible, and if Sony feels the venture would be profitable it may yet happen. But the timing just isn’t there. NeitherDeath StrandingnorGhost of Tsushimahave sequels in the immediate future, and it could be years before either of those IPs get a completely new game.
Forfans ofHorizon Zero Dawn,that wait is almost over. WhileHorizon Forbidden Westdoesn’t have an official release date yet, it is expected to release this year. It wouldn’t make much sense to have a Director’s Cut release after the sequel, so that would mean Guerrilla Games only has a few months to get something out forHorizon Zero Dawn.Guerrilla Games announced afterZero Dawn’slatest PC patch that its team would be exclusively focusing onForbidden Westfrom then on, which makes it seem even more unlikely.
Seeing as nothing has been announced yet and fans are eagerly awaiting any news related toForbidden West,it’s probably not going to happen. And if it did, it might be interpreted as a prelude to a delay forHorizon Forbidden Westand not be received as well.Death StrandingandGhost of Tsushimadon’t have announced sequels, so the first installments are still the most relevant.Horizon’s time in the spotlight is coming but in the form of a full-fledged new game rather than a Director’s Cut of the first.
Releasing a Director’s Cut ofHorizon Zero Dawnnow isn’t currently needed to generate hype, though it might be a strong case to keep it relevant in the future, much like the PC port. But withForbidden Westgetting closer by the day, Sony should let the sequel have the full spotlight before revisitingHorizon Zero Dawn.
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A Horizon Zero Dawn Director’s Cut Could Come After Forbidden West
While it’s unlikely thatHorizon Zero Dawnwill get the Director’s Cut treatmentbeforeForbidden Westreleases, that doesn’t mean it’s out of the picture entirely. Far from it.Horizonhas established itself as one of PlayStation’s biggest exclusive IPs, andHorizon Forbidden Westis unlikely to be the last installment in the series. There will probably be several years between the second and thirdHorizongames, but the larger time frame makes a Director’s Cut feel more likely.
ForHorizon Zero Dawn,a Director’s Cut could come in the form of an ultimate edition released afterForbidden Westhas had its time to shine. It could include a remaster of the original to bring it up to next-gen standards, extra missions, new machines, and expand the map further out towards theForbidden West.An ultimate edition, Director’s Cut, or any kind of majorHorizon Zero Dawnupdate won’t come beforeForbidden West,but there’s a good chance it might come after.
Even thoughHorizon Zero Dawnisn’t that old yet, a lot of somewhat recent games are starting to get remastered.Marvel’s Spider-Manand even last year’sFinal Fantasy 7 Remakehave already gotten visual improvementsto catapult them into next-gen, so it’s very possibleHorizoncould be somewhere in that lineup. ConsideringThe Last of Usis probably slated to get a full remake sometime soon, a remaster forHorizon Zero Dawndefinitely seems possible.
So far, nothing is on the schedule forHorizon Zero Dawnother thanForbidden West,which remains one of themost highly anticipated games of the year. The future is definitely bright for the franchise as a whole, so even if a Director’s Cut never comes forHorizon Zero Dawn,fans can expect to see a lot more of Aloy and her beautiful post-apocalyptic world.
Horizon Forbidden Westis slated to release in late 2021 on PS4 and PS5.
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