How to fly in Horizon Forbidden West and unlock the Sunwing override

How to fly in Horizon Forbidden West sunwing override — (Image credit: PlayStation)

If you want to know how to fly in Horizon Forbidden West, then you'll need to get hold of a Sunwing override which is available during the quest called The Wings of the Ten. Obviously this is a game-changing development, so if you just want to discover it on your own then you can stop reading here as you'll eventually unlock it through natural story progression. However, if you're keen to take to the skies as soon as possible and want to understand how this all comes about, then we have an explanation outlining when and how you can start flying.

We won't spoil anything other than the ability to fly here in Horizon Forbidden West, but it's safe to say that when you unlock this power, via the ability to override Sunwings, it's a total paradigm shift. You can get around faster and reach previously inaccessible areas, to explore and find collectibles. Once you have the override ability and use it, you can summon your Sunwings like any other mount - they'll scoop you off the ground or, if they're circling around overhead, you can just use the Pullcaster to reach them.

How unlock the Sunwing override and fly in Horizon Forbidden West

To fly in Horizon Forbidden West you're going to need to complete a main mission called Gemini. I'm not going to explain what that is to avoid spoilers, but it's a level 30 mission that takes place quite far into the story. It's not quite the end game but it's getting close and this mission will take some time, features several stages and an interlude you'll be locked into, before you can return to your base. So be prepared for a journey.

When you do get back to your base, there's still a few Gemini loose ends to tie up before can start the Wings of the Ten mission. Depending on the side missions you already discovered, you might recognise this name as a prerequisite to some quests.

The start of this mission will see you crafting a Sunwing override:

You're not locked into this quest in quite the same way as the previous Gemini quest, so if you wanted you could break off now and enjoy the gift of flight - we immediately went and sorted out a locked Tallneck flying let us reach, for example. However, hacking the Sunwing does lead nicely into the rest of the mission and involves a big chunk of flying so it's not the worst thing to see it through to the end.

You'll find the Sunwing acts like any other mount, although it occupies a separate slot so you can have both a ground and air option at once. If you whistle it'll scoop you up off the ground and you can jump off with square at any time. It'll usually be hovering around above you once you leave it behind and you can Pullcaster up when the prompt appears.

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.