The Monster Hunter fan in me is really eyeballing the new content in the second playtest for PlayStation's own co-op monster game, Horizon Hunters Gathering

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Guerrilla Games has confirmed another playtest for its Monster Hunter-like co-op Horizon game Hunters Gathering, but the developer warns you probably won't be making it into this playtest, either.

The second batch of Horizon Hunters Gathering playtests are set to take place between May 22 and May 25 on PS5 and PC. Over on the PlayStation Blog, Guerilla detailed what to expect, promising "implemented player feedback" set to be revealed at a later date. There's also more to play with this time.

There will be two new Hunter characters: Ensa – "a charismatic Oseram smuggler with a mercenary past" and Shadow – sadly not the hedgehog, but "a Carja covert operative who commands a fearsome Stalker machine." Plus, another Monster Hunter staple (well, in Sunbreak and Wilds, anyway) is joining the game in the form of Hunter NPCs during Episodes or Machine Incursion modes – the latter of which sounds like a take on Rise's Rampage missions.

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Aside from all of that, there's going to be a new Episode added to the game's narrative campaign, as well as new difficulty modes for the Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent missions found in the previous playtest, and a training mode to help you tackle them. Finally, there's a new area called Breakers' Bounty, which features "dense jungles and ravaged ruins bordering a scorching desert home to dangerous machines."

However, Guerrilla doesn't seem to be adding a significant amount of players this time around, saying, "We want to emphasize again: 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."

When Hunters Gathering was announced a Horizon lead said "we absolutely love making single-player games, and we're going to keep making them," although reports soon surfaced that Horizon 3 is probably not coming for a long time, as "most of the studio" is reportedly working on Hunters Gathering. I'm as skeptical about Sony's live-service ambitions as any, but the Monster Hunter-like genre is woefully underutilized, and if it can result in a Horizon game that I actually like, I may be down.

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Scott McCraeContributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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