When I started playing Horizon Zero Dawn last year, I was struck by how powerful I felt using the bow. It’s an explosive, accurate weapon, and it’s ridiculously fun to use.
So I reached out to the devs at Guerilla Games to dig into the inner workings of Aloy’s bow. I wanted to understand the decisions that were made along the way, and the tools that they used to make sure the bow felt good to use.
Director Mathijs de Jonge and principal sound designer Anton Woldhek were able to pinpoint how players are led by sound and animation to feel like the bow makes a real impact.
Watch this video to see how they did it. And if you’re interested in peeling back the weapon curtain a little more, you can check out our video on the ax in God of War. Director Cory Barlog went in-depth on the hit-pause system that the studio invented to make the ax hits looks — and feel — more realistic.
Don’t forget to subscribe to Polygon on YouTube for more.
