0:00
The Horizon MMO looks amazing, but the
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biggest detail isn't in the trailer.
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It's that it's not coming to
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The incredible looking Horizon Steel
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Frontiers has just been announced by
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NCOFT at the G Star event. It's
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officially licensed under Sony, built
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with support from the original Horizon
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team, and designed as a full MMO RPG set
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in that universe. On the surface, it
0:32
looks fantastic, but there are a few
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details in this trailer that really
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stood out for me. Here are five major
0:38
things you may have missed. This is the
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biggest shock by far. Steel Frontiers is
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built specifically for mobile with PC
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listed as a secondary platform. And
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currently there's no console version
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planned at all. That is worrying. We've
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all seen how mobile MMO RPGs usually go.
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Bloated UIs, autoplay systems,
1:00
aggressive monetization, and PC ports
1:03
that barely resemble the trailer. And
1:06
the fact a franchise born on PlayStation
1:08
isn't releasing on PlayStation raises a
1:11
lot of questions. It also makes the
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trailer's visuals harder to trust.
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Mobile first games rarely look this
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polished once they hit real devices. It
1:20
makes you wonder whether the priority
1:21
here is gameplay or revenue. If you've
1:24
ever wanted Monster Hunter as an MMO,
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this is the closest anyone has come. The
1:29
trailer shows glowing weak points,
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breakable armor and limbs, weapons
1:33
falling off enemies, and precise dodging
1:36
and positioning. This is an extremely
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ambitious system for an MMO.
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Synchronizing this level of accuracy
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across large servers is notoriously
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difficult. If NCOFT can actually make
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this work smoothly, it could be one of
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the most impressive combat systems the
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genre has seen in a long time. Grapples,
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creature hopping, and living mounts.
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Movement plays a huge role in this game.
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You can grapple onto creatures, climb
2:01
towers midfight, zipline across areas,
2:05
and even leap onto monsters to tame them
2:07
on the spot. At one point, a player
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jumps from a massive walking creature
2:11
straight onto a flying one and gets
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carried across the map. Instead of a
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traditional summon your mount system,
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this looks like a fluid chain of
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temporary creature rides and
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transitions. It's far more dynamic than
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anything we usually see in MMO RPGs.
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Another thing that stands out is the
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perceived lack of traditional tank
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healer DPS structure. There's no
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taunting, no targeted healing, and no
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sign of fixed group roles. Combat looks
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much closer to Monster Hunter, everyone
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dodging, hitting weak points, and
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handling their own survival. That could
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make encounters faster and more
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engaging, but it also risks becoming
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chaotic in large groups unless enemy
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mechanics are extremely clear and well
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tuned. The open world looks tribal and
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primitive. cloth armor, simple camps,
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natural environments. Yet, every enemy
3:00
is a mechanical creature, and the boss
3:03
arenas suddenly shift into full sci-fi
3:05
territory. It's a strange mix that feels
3:07
like Horizon meets Avatar meets Monster
3:09
Hunter, creating a very distinct visual
3:12
identity. NCoFT are experts at building
3:16
hype, and this footage is pre-alpha
3:18
promotional material, so I am cautious.
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It's exciting to finally see a big new
3:24
MMO RPG reveal during a year filled with
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closures and cancellations, but a mobile
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first Horizon MMO raises a lot of
3:32
questions. If they get it right, it
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could be incredible. If they don't,
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it'll probably end up like most mobile
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MMOs. Time will definitely tell.
