In celebration of the recent release of Horizon Forbidden West, Sony has erected several life-size replicas of one of the game’s robotic dinosaur machines in a handful of cities across the globe.
The Clawstrider is a new machine introduced in Forbidden West that's based broadly on the look of a velociraptor, complete with feather-like neck plumes and a retracted toe held off the ground.
A total of 15 1:1 scale statues of the robo dinos appeared in several cities on the game’s launch day, February 18, to promote and celebrate its release. You can spot them across the globe, including outside the Sydney Opera House in Australia, in Madrid’s Plaza Del Callo in Spain, London’s Waterloo Station in the UK, Moscow’s Depo FoodMall in Russia, Seoul’s Lotte World Tower in South Korea, as well as San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza and New Yorks’ Time Square in the US.
Each one stands about 3.5m tall and will be sticking around until February 24. There’s some variation between them, too, with the Clawstriders posed in different positions. The replicas in New York, San Francisco, and Sydney were even set up alongside an Aloy cosplayer dressed in a full Nora outfit and carrying a bow.
The Clawstriders aren’t the only statues Sony has been erecting. In Florence, Italy, a white statue of Aloy was revealed around the game’s launch. Titled ‘The Placeholder’ its plaque says the statue is intended to be an icon celebrating the courage of strong women across history.
The best kind of marketing gimmick
The ferocious Clawstrider has been spotted in the Wilds. Last sighting: Times Square, New York City. #HorizonForbiddenWest pic.twitter.com/hQlTdnoZBRFebruary 18, 2022
Intricately detailed robotic dinosaurs from a major triple-A release are exciting at the best of times, even if these Clawstrider replicas are simply a marketing gimmick. But they’re the best kind of marketing gimmick; one that’s not only visually impressive, but also comes with some extra goodies for you to win.
The small plaque at the base of each replica is engraved with a string of buttons as part of Sony’s PS5 Treat Codes giveaway. Over the next couple of weeks, 14 codes will be appearing across PlayStation promotional material, which can be entered online for a chance to win a free PS5.
To enter, you’ll need to head to the PS5 Treat Codes homepage in your browser, enter the code (which on these statues is triangle, circle, L1, right, X, left, R1, square, L2, right), and answer a question. Do that, and you’ll be in the giveaway.
If you’re nearby Sydney, you can also share a picture of the city’s Clawstrider statue on Twitter for a chance to win a replica of Aloy’s Spear or a copy of Horizon Forbidden West Collector’s Edition.
