Summary
Horizon Forbidden Westand theHorizonfranchise in general have proven to be one of PlayStation’s premier first-party offerings, as two exceptional games and a couple of DLC add-ons have shown that it can go toe-to-toe with any other open-world RPG. Even alongsideSpider-Man, The Last of Us, andGod of War, Aloy’s journey feels so ambitious with a sprawling map and hours of side content to engage with. Guerrilla Games switched seamlessly from the first-person shooters ofKillzone, and now that it has achieved critical and commercial success with Aloy’s world-saving efforts, all eyes are on where it will go next.
The conclusion ofHorizon Forbidden Westleft threads that the developer will surely look to explore. Before Aloy gets the best of Tilda in the final fight, the revelation that the Far Zeniths' mistakes are catching up to them means the band of good guys has a mountain of a challenge to overcome in the third game. The impending arrival of Nemesis means the heroes are on the clock, but the fight could take them to all manner of places, be it on Earth or elsewhere. Theories are aplenty, and time will tell how Guerrilla will continue the excellent tale.
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The USA Has Been Kind to Horizon
Horizon Zero Dawntakes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, and uses the mountainous terrain and gorgeous landscapes to its advantage. The sequel pushes Aloy further West and has her fight for the planet’s survival on the coast in and around San Francisco, and later Los Angeles thanks to theBurning Shores DLC.
It’s not a stretch to theorize that thethird game in theHorizonseriescould stick to the comfy confines of the USA, not only because it can reuse a lot of the textures, but also because the vast environmental diversity of America means there is still the potential to show new places and curiosities. Switching gears to the east coast or heading south could be fun, and serve to explore somewhere that is new, but not completely unfamiliar.
Horizon Could Cross the Pacific
Though the first two games take place in fundamentally different areas of a distant United States,Horizon Forbidden Westalludes to different communities and culturessurviving in other parts of the world. Alva is a Diviner of the Quen tribe that is presumed to be from mainland China, showing that the impressive scope of the map is barely scratching the surface.
Crossing the Pacific and taking Aloy to somewhere genuinely newcould give the third game the chance to show off unique environments, machines, and people. It could feel somewhat restrictive to keep the franchise within the borders of the United States, andForbidden Westmakes it clear that there are intriguing breadcrumbs that could be followed across the world’s largest ocean.
Horizon Taking to the Stars Could Be a Welcome Change
The Far Zenithscreated a colony in the Sirius system and came to Earth to serve as a pit stop in their attempt to avoid Nemesis. That realization makes theHorizonseries feel closer than ever to its science-fiction setting and does well to show that the threats that Aloy has to face are far beyond the landscapes she’s traversed on her home planet.
The story so far has reached a point where Earth has become a small part of a far wider-reaching narrative and going to space, in some form, would now feel like a natural progression, especially asthe antagonist Nemesisis not from this world. It’s not to say that Aloy would have to command her own ship or plot the stars to be of use, but putting her in a truly unfamiliar scenario could be a good opportunity for new character development in a truly fresh setting.
Horizon Forbidden Westis available now on PS4 and PS5.
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