Platinum Games bosses Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya have commented on one of the most buzzed-about topics in games lately, that being blockchain and NFT technologies. Speaking to VGC, Inaba–who is president and CEO of the Bayonetta studio–said the studio hasn’t given much thought to the blockchain/NFT space, but said the early examples have been less than idea. Vice president Kamiya reacted as well and said he wasn’t surprised to see Konami get involved in the space.

“I understand it’s a hot topic right now and it’s really starting to gain momentum, but the way that it’s gained momentum has been focused on profitability for the company, but with no positive impact on the creators or the users in any sense. So that’s frustrating to see happening,” Inaba said.

Inaba said he’s observed a trend that those wanting to get involved with NFTs are looking to make a quick buck. “The people who are trying to promote NFTs and partner with gaming companies, their conversations seem extremely one-sided. ‘Hey, you’re going to make money!’ But how does it benefit the user or the creator? If I want to spend my time on something, I want it to benefit making good games,” Inaba said.

The executive acknowledged that NFTs will likely have some place in the video game business going forward, but the early examples have left much to be desired in his eyes.

“As content gets more and more digital, I do think that NFT as a concept will gain more importance, but I think that the early adopters are just seeing it as a way to profit as much as possible. That’s not something I’m interested in being part of, to be honest,” Inaba said.

Also in the interview, Kamiya said he was not surprised to see another prominent Japanese game company, Konami, get involved with NFTs so quickly. “Not really. If it smells like money, Konami’s going to be there in a heartbeat!” he said.

“Honestly, I have zero interest in this subject. I think what Inaba-san just said really resonated with me because I consider myself a user at heart, more than a businessman. It doesn’t have any benefit for users at the moment. In the future, if it’s expanded in a way that has a positive side for users, then maybe I’ll start to be interested in what they do with it. But I’m not seeing that at the moment.”

The full VGC interview is stacked with interesting insight into the company and its future–go read it here.

NFTs, in particular, have been one of the most-discussed elements of games and the wider technology space for the past year or so. Recently, the indie games platform Itch.io slammed NFTs and the companies that support them. Check out GameSpot’s roundup to find out more on where video game companies like Ubisoft, EA, Nintendo, EA, and Xbox stand on them.

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Horizon Forbidden West has arrived, and even more than in the first game, there is a ton to unpack. Naturally, you may be wondering how long the game is, and after many hours and several weeks with the game, we can break it all down for you. Whether you’re playing just the main story, exploring side quests, or checking off every map icon in Guerrilla’s gorgeous sandbox, here’s everything you need to know about how long it takes to see Forbidden West’s credits.

How long is Horizon Forbidden West?

There are 17 main story missions in Horizon Forbidden West, and if you were to only play through those, the campaign would take you roughly 20-25 hours to finish. Because this is an open-world action-adventure game with lots of RPG elements, however, a more realistic playthrough will take considerably longer. There are settlements all over the game’s world, and each settlement has several side quests to initiate as well as activities to take part in such as hunting challenges, fighting arenas, and environmental puzzles to explore.

A player doing a typical portion of these, but not wiping the map of all of them would probably finish the game after around 40-50 hours played. For completionists, doing absolutely everything in Forbidden West, (including all Cauldrons, Tallnecks, side missions, Vista Points, and upgrading all of their equipment) would comfortably take 80-100+ hours.

The open-world setting of Forbidden West doesn’t just look lovely, it’s also very full. Next we’ll break down all story missions as well as preview all types of other activities you can do.

Horizon Forbidden West story mission list

Below is the critical path in Horizon Forbidden West, free of spoilers other than mission titles. However, do be mindful of those if you consider yourself a Horizon lore hound and think these names may tip off what’s to come in the story. We’ve also listed the suggested skill level for each mission, so you’ll know what kind of pace you need to be on in order to make it through each mission alive.

Reach For The Stars – Level 3The Point Of The Lance – Level 4To The Brink – Level 5The Embassy – Level 7Death’s Door – Level 10The Dying Lands – Level 15The Broken Sky – Level 17The Eye Of The Earth – Level 17The Kulrut – Level 18Cradle Of Echoes – Level 20The Sea Of Sands – Level 22Seeds Of The Past – Level 24Faro’s Tomb – Level 26Gemini – Level 30All That Remains – Level 31The Wings Of The Ten – Level 32Singularity – Level 35Aloy’s journey to the west will be perilous to say the least.

There are more than enough side missions and other activities to ensure you’re always at least a few levels ahead of where you should be, which will help keep Aloy fierce in the midst of battle. Next, we’ll briefly explain what all of the map markers mean and what kind of activities you can expect to find in the west.

Side quests and errands – Indicated by green exclamation points on the map and compass; errands are often shorter variations of side questsSalvage contractors – Side missions requiring players to find crafting items for merchantsHunting grounds and melee pits – Challenge modes (featuring leaderboards) found in settlementsCauldrons – Large interiors full of puzzles and combat; necessary for mounting some advanced machinesTallnecks – Non-hostile machines that act as map-revealing towers to climbRebel camps and outposts – Hostile gathering spaces for Regalla’s rebelsMachine Strike – Tabletop gameGauntlet Runs – Races performed on machine mountsVista Points – Puzzles that give Aloy glimpses of the past via hologramRelic Ruins – Old-world environmental puzzles that reward Ornaments and XP

Despite having come upon a few dozen already, there are many more side quests than we’ve found so far–simply put, there are a lot–but other activities are much lower in number. For example, there are only five Tallnecks, seven Relic Ruins, and 18 Cauldrons. These are some of the more rewarding side activities if you want to do more than quests, but other places of interest and settlements will routinely reveal their own secrets as well, such as underwater caverns.

Players are also invited to routinely upgrade their equipment by hunting animals both mechanical and organic. Sentient animals reward crafting ingredients for pouches, such as Aloy’s quiver, while machines can be torn apart for ingredients that improve Aloy’s weapons and armor.

In total, Horizon Forbidden West is in no uncertain terms the next major timesink game. It’s arguably the biggest PS5 game to date according to fan excitement, and it’s likely to finish the year as one of the best-selling games on PS5 and PS4. For more on the game, check our tips for beginners, learn about Valor Surges, the best early skills, and where to find the game’s legendary weapons.

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Cyberpunk 2077 has just gotten a huge update, adding more content, improving performance on next-gen consoles, and of course, fixing bugs. You can check out everything that the new update added here, but one of the more exciting additions is an expanded romance for Panam that sees her sending the player nude photos as part of her text chain. Warning for NSFW content and mild spoilers.

With all the new content added in Cyberpunk 2077’s patch 1.5, it’s likely players will be uncovering new interactions and hidden secrets for a while yet. One new addition that’s been discovered by a player on the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit is an addition to Panam’s romance, which sees her sending a sultry nude photo to the player.

Though it mostly escaped notice among the huge page of patch notes for patch 1.5, one item notes that the Cyberpunk devs have added “extended romances with Panam, Kerry, River, and Judy by adding new messages and interactions.” The nude photo, which we’ve embedded below, seems to just be the tip of the iceberg in terms of new romance content to be discovered in the updated Cyberpunk 2077.

In a livestream discussing the next gen update, CDPR devs expanded on the extended romances a little bit. While no major content has been added, CDPR has added little details that will make the game’s romances feel more real and intimate. As well as the extended text conversations, this includes moments like having certain love interests wake up beside the player character when you go to sleep in their apartment.

Another new conversation from the updated game has the player chatting with Judy’s grandma about your relationship, and it looks like there’s still plenty more to be discovered in the updated Cyberpunk 2077. One of Judy’s existing text conversations implies she’s taken her own lewd pictures for the player, so its possible that this conversation has been updated to actually include a photo or two.

If you’re more interested in the combat than the romance when it comes to Cyberpunk 2077, check out our guide to respeccing your perks with the game’s newly reworked talent trees.

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Developer ThinkingStars and publisher Lightning Games have released a new trailer for Anno: Mutationem, an upcoming action-adventure RPG with an incredible-looking pixelated graphic style that mixes together 2D and 3D visuals. The trailer reveals that the game is launching for PS5, PS4, and PC on March 17.

In Anno, you play as Ann Flores, a badass mercenary type who teams with her hacker buddy Ayane in search of her brother in a corporate-run, cyberpunk-inspired city. The game’s biggest draw is its pixelated aesthetic, though its stylish combo-driven combat system also looks pretty cool. When you’re not fighting, you can tackle side quests and chat with other characters via a dialogue tree.

In a press release, Lightning Games writes that Anno will feature English, Japanese, and Chinese voice over. The publisher estimates that the game will take about 12 hours to beat.

If you’re looking for more indie games to play this year, check out GameSpot’s list of 27 games you shouldn’t overlook in 2022. The year seems to be a big one for cyberpunk-inspired and futuristic dystopian settings–alongside Anno, we’re also scheduled to get games like Citizen Sleeper and Replaced in 2022.

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Horizon Forbidden West is just days away, so now is the prime time for preorders and preloading to get ready for launch. If you plan to take advantage of the $10 discount that comes with buying the PS4 version, though, things will get just a little more complicated, and you’ll have to wait for a separate download to play your upgraded PS5 version.

Sony has promised free digital upgrades from PS4 to PS5 for Forbidden West, making good on its commitment one last time for all PS5 “launch window” games. This is already a little complex, as the offer must be purchased through a browser. But then if you do purchase through a browser and set it to download, you’ll find the PS4 version installed. There’s no option to pre-download the PS5 version, through the game application your game library, or the store.

PlayStation Support addressed this confusion on Twitter with a fan, stating that players will have to wait until the game is released to claim the digital upgrade. It also forwards to a generic PS5 upgrade FAQ, which notes you’ll need to find the upgrade offer through the game hub, redeem it, and then download. If this process works as it has with other games, the PS5 version is an entirely separate download, which could be a concern for those who have data caps and unknowingly download the PS4 version first.

Reviews have been largely positive, including GameSpot’s Horizon Forbidden West review. Ahead of launch Sony has been promoting the game in other various ways, like outlining a tree-planting initiative and unveiling an upcoming Lego set. If you need a refresher on the world of Horizon ahead of Forbidden West’s release, be sure to check out our Horizon Zero Dawn plot recap.

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