Horizon Forbidden West setting will extend beyond the new location

Horizon Forbidden West may well start in the original game's location of Colorado, Guerrilla Games has teased. 

In a new interview with GamesRadar, narrative director Ben McCaw stated that "the vast, vast majority of the game takes place in the Forbidden West", alluding to the potential of small sections of the game not taking place there.

Both McCaw and game director Mathijs de Jonge explained that the recent Horizon Forbidden West State of Play demo is actually set a few hours into the game's story. 

"The demo takes place quite far into the game," explains de Jonge. "So she has already progressed for quite a few hours." 

"We start with a way smaller starting kit and over the course [of the game] as you play the quests and the activities, and as you explore, you gain all these new abilities," de Jonge added in response to questions about Aloy's new tech and weaponry. 

Aloy has spent the six months in between games trying to find a cure for the Red Blight that is a sign the planet's biosphere is malfunctioning. She's now traveled to the Forbidden West to join her allies - including best boy Erend - for the next stage of her plan. 

This suggests that the game will in fact start in the Colorado setting of the original game, Horizon Zero Dawn, with Aloy and co traveling to this new locale - which includes real-world locations such as San Francisco and Las Vegas - as part of the game's opening section. Fingers crossed for some kind of robot-back travel montage like we see in the State of Play Demo.

If you want to get a sense of what the Forbidden West will offer, de Jonge also revealed that the countdown that ran prior to the latest State of Play actually revealed nine unique locations you'll get to explore in the new game, which we'll be studying closely for clues. 

While Horizon Forbidden West doesn't have a release date quite yet, Guerrilla Games has said development is "on track" and release date news is coming "very soon".

For now, though, check out the five things we learned about Horizon Forbidden West gameplay from State of Play.