I have a sneaking suspicion Guerrilla Games knows that a lot of people didn’t finish Horizon

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The Frozen Wilds is an estimated 15-hour chunk of extra material, set in a bowling ball of new territory in the far north of the main game’s map. Its story runs concurrently with the main game, centering around the mystery of the so-called Daemon, a hidden force which is frenzying machines, setting up tentacular control towers that can repair and buff enemies, and making gorgeous blue smoke billow from the Death Mountain-like volcano at the center of this new area. It’ll also offer a more focused look at the nomadic Banuk tribe, who we bumped into only briefly during the core game.

Guerrilla makes clear that there’s a lot more to it than just the core story, however. The new area is typically gorgeous - aside from that volcano, it’s a sun-dappled vista of mountains and valleys peppered with stranger sights, from the Banuk’s rainbow-hued dye pools to a frozen, windswept tallneck. Sidequests will apparently offer more meaningful rewards than the core game, from the electricity-spewing new Stormslinger gun to the ability to make new modifications to Aloy’s spear.

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The Frozen Wilds makes some more subtle changes, too. The developers stress that conversations now feature better mo-cap and more dynamic camera work - although this only applies to the expansion’s chats, sadly. The snow in the new area looks better too, emulating something of the bewitching sparkle of Journey’s sand.

One addition does carry over to the core game, however. A new skill tree, Traveler, is essentially a web of unlocks that make your life in the world slightly easier. It’s an odd choice - expanding your inventory and allowing you to pick items while mounted are definitely welcome changes, but making you spend hard-earned skill points on them feels a little miserly.

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According to the developers, the area’s “tuned for the mid to late game” - around level 30. What that means for those who leveled all the way up to 50 remains to be seen, but it certainly looks challenging - the new Scorcher enemy mixes up brutal melee attacks with the ability to rain floating mines into your path. Those who finished Horizon certainly look to be getting a sizeable extra section, and the new story is at least intriguing, but the bulk of the changes here aren’t necessarily pitched at those in the endgame.

Guerrilla has said previously that this will be Horizon’s only expansion, and it does feel as though the developer’s interest is in a sequel rather than making more of the same. If this is the last we get of Aloy in her current form, it promises to be a slightly strange swansong, but at least there’ll be a lot of it.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and "Banuk" is a very satisfying thing to say. Follow him on Twitter.