Horizon Hunters Gathering lines up a second playtest for this month with better onboarding and tougher challenges

This one's closed too, I should note

Horizon Hunters Gathering continues to be a game with a name that has quite odd mouthfeel (I want to say it like Horizon Hunters: Gathering when it should be like Horizon: Hunters Gathering (Guerilla Games this is my request to start using colons in the Horizon series, please and thank you)). It also continues to be a game that isn't out yet, but you will have another opportunity to try it out later this month.

As shared over on the PlayStation Blog, this next playtest will take place between May 22nd and 25th. It'll once again be a closed playtest, so there's no guarantee you'll actually get a chance to try it out, but if you want to you'll just need to sign up via PlayStation's Beta Programme. So, what's different this time? The hunters from the first test, Rem, Sun, and Axle ("who have each received improvements"), are back for this one, and are also being joined by two more: "Ensa; a charismatic Oseram smuggler with a mercenary past. Or the mysterious Shadow, a Carja covert operative who commands a fearsome Stalker machine."

There's a full episode to try out too, little morsels of story that apparently "play a central role in the game’s narrative campaign by introducing new mysteries, characters, and mechanics." Details are slim on what this will actually be like, however. Machine Incursion, one of game modes, will now have two more difficulty modes, hard and merciless, and Cauldron Descent is getting "even more challenging rooms to explore."

Breakers' Bounty, a new region, will be available to explore this time around, "featuring dense jungles and ravaged ruins bordering a scorching desert home to dangerous machines, in order to save the Oseram and stop the incursion." The region from the first test, Devil's Thirst, will still be available to jump into, as well as the social hub area the Gathering. There's some useful sounding onboarding bits too, like training modules and the addition of Hunter NPCs that join you in solo mode.

Still no word on any kind of release date, but Guerilla were keen to stress that Horizon Hunters Gathering "is a game in development; we choose to playtest early and with small numbers to focus on the core experience and implement player feedback before opening to bigger groups of players. We learn a lot from each playtest and this second one is no different; we appreciate each of you who take the time to leave us your honest thoughts." Be nice, now!