Horizon VR: Call Of The Mountain arrives February 22nd (PS5) (PS VR2)

The one game I am looking forward to the most on Sony's new VR headset for the PlayStation 5 system is Horizon: Call of the Mountain. My sister got me into the Horizon games; Zero Dawn (available on PS and PC) and I am currently playing through Forbidden West (only available on PS4/5). We decided to split the cost of the rather pricey PS VR2 bundle that includes the new game.

The Horizon games are set in a post-apocalyptic America inhabited by primitive tribes, but dominated by machines. The machines are represented as animals that humans occasionally hunt for parts and peacefully co-exist for the most part. However, the "Derangement" phenomenon has caused the machines to become increasingly aggressive towards humans while larger and deadlier machines have appeared. There are four tribes that are prominently featured: the Nora, the Banuk, the Carja and the Oseram. The Nora are fierce matriarchal hunter-gatherers who live in the mountains and worship their deity, the "All-Mother". The Carja are an empire of desert-dwelling city builders who worship the Sun. The Banuk consist of wandering clans made up of hunters and shamans who live in snowy mountains (Montana's Yellowstone National Park) and worship the "blue light" of the machines. The Oseram are tinkerers and salvagers known for their advanced weapons, metalworking, brewing, and talent as warriors.

The past two Horizon games are played through Nora-outcast Aloy, who was responsible for putting an end to the Derangement in Zero Dawn. I am still playing Forbidden West, the sequel, so I have not gotten to finish the story on that. The Call Of The Mountain looks to be a prequel, taking place shortly after the Red Raids, a brutal campaign of attacks and ritual sacrifice inflicted by the Carja on their neighboring tribes. These raids, which devastated countless lives, were ended when the Mad Sun-King Jiran was overthrown by his son Avad. The overthrowing of Jiran split the tribe; those who were grateful for an end to his rule remained in the Sundom, while soldiers loyal to the Mad King fled to the citadel at Sunfall, reforming as the Shadow Carja. The protagonist of Horizon: Call of the Mountain, Ryas, was one such soldier. Ryas had turned himself in to be arrested and spared execution. To atone for his crimes, Ryas is recruited to investigate the growing threat of the machines.