PlayStation Shares More Details on Horizon Forbidden West’s Burning Shores

The first major expansion for Horizon Forbidden West is less than two weeks away. Releasing on April 19th for the PS5, Burning Shores will take players to the ruins of Los Angeles which now represent an archipelago filled with deadly machines. Among them is a large settlement of the seafaring Quen tribe. Minor spoilers below

Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, we have more details on the Quen and what they are doing in Burning Shores.

“Knowledge from the ancient past has allowed the Quen to build an impressive empire. But unlike, say, the Oseram tribe, whose technological prowess is due to their creative inventions, the Quen rely solely on the knowledge they’ve unearthed to drive their advancements. As a result, an important part of their culture revolves around protecting the few Focuses the tribe possesses, as well as strictly controlling who can access the valuable information these devices reveal.” 

“To that end, Diviners play a special role in the tribe. As a highly esteemed class of Quen, only Diviners are allowed to use a Focus to read data. Their job is to find and record ancient knowledge that may benefit the empire, ensuring that it doesn’t fall into the hands of outsiders.”

But the Quen’s view of the Old World is skewed. Unlike Aloy’s Focus, we find out when playing Horizon Forbidden West that the devices that the Quen use can only view information up to a certain point in history – anything after that is unreadable. This limitation has led them to misinterpret much of the data they’ve found. Over time, they’ve come to revere a pantheon of Old World paragons, consisting of 21st century CEOs and business tycoons. 

So then what is Aloy’s role with the Quen and what’s to come of this story? Guerrilla’s Senior Community Manager, Anne van der Zanden, comments:

When asked what else players should know about this tribe before diving into Burning Shores, Annie answers: “I think it’s important to remember that we know much less about the Quen than any other tribe. We only got to scratch the surface in Forbidden West, so get ready to discover much more about them and how the tribe’s rigid hierarchy affects the new characters you’ll meet!”

The Quen that ended up in the Burning Shores have been here for some time, and while survival has been a constant challenge, they’ve managed to establish an impressive settlement that’s a lot of fun to explore. Here you’ll meet new characters such as Admiral Gerrit. “We meet him early on in the story,” Annie explains. “He’s a highly decorated commander in the Quen Navy and the leader of this group of Quen. He’s responsible for keeping things together even in their dire circumstances.” 

It’s also noted that the key art for Burning Shores shows Aloy with a companion. How does this relate?

“We’re excited to introduce Seyka! She’s an ambitious marine who has stepped up to help her people survive. As a new companion for the DLC, Aloy will spend a lot of time with her throughout the story and rely on her help in many situations – a position she doesn’t often find herself in.” 

“Confident, compassionate, and fierce, Seyka’s quite unlike anyone Aloy has ever encountered, and she plays an important role in the next chapter of Aloy’s journey.”