Horizon forbidden west arrived on the shelves during the month of February 2022, particularly crowded as regards the major releases, but still ready to give space to a saga branded Sony she was born on PlayStation which was now ready to return with a new chapter. It's been almost 5 years in our world since in 2017 Aloy showed up with her bow and her charisma and has managed to take a prominent place among the most successful characters in the video game scene, especially as regards the Japanese giant. Since then she has passed a lot of water under the bridge and thanks to Guerrilla Games, even the aforementioned character has had the opportunity to evolve considerably, thanks to a DLC designed to further deepen some aspects of the fascinating game world and thanks to the new chapter (here our review), from start to finish.
This time, the protagonist was able to give vent to all her charisma, character, succeeding in a short time to (re) confirm herself as a female icon not to be underestimated, which has actually raised the qualitative bar for what concerns this. I wait in the medium. Thanks to the Horizon Forbidden West ending, we know it's not over, and that more insights into the game will come, whether it's a new DLC (recently anticipated), a new chapter or both, and in this article , after having explored the salient moments of the final part of the game, we want to talk about how Guerrilla Games could continue to support its narrative universe after this second arrow that hit the target.
We would like to point out that this article regarding Horizon Forbidden West contains major spoilers regarding the plot of the game, including the ending, and we therefore advise you to continue carefully in case you have not concluded the campaign of the title, in order to ruin the game. experience with anticipations of all kinds.
Aloy is no longer alone
During the last few hours of the game, at least as far as the campaign is concerned, users find themselves at having to deal with an avalanche of information regarding the game world, which at certain moments almost end up overshadowing the protagonist's personal growth and her changes in the light of all the events she experienced. Users, it is difficult to say whether this is a positive or negative aspect, have little way of impacting the unfolding of the main events, other than the possible killing of Regalla, a totally useless gesture given how the events continue, which however allows users to lead the main character in a more or less good direction.
Outside of this event, not really that major, as the clash with Far Zenith, together with the protagonist who by now - thanks to Tilda, Beta and a million documents - he knows everything about this people of space, we see how Aloy and his group find themselves more and more united, and decide not to leave any survivors despite their ideals. So here we end up exterminating one by one (also thanks to the machines) what remains of the note colony returned to Earth, for a single reason which is the only doubt left to the player up to that moment.
Let's see how after the death of exist, in honor of the latter, the group is more united and also Sylens, even if in the last moments you still falter, understand that a real task force has formed in this post-apocalyptic tribal world. Luckily, as we get closer to the finale, fewer and fewer doubts plague the player, and the group continues steadfastly with the twist of the newly named scientist, who decides to fight the greatest enemy the whole world has ever seen. Just before the credits roll, we see how Aloy finds herself making a choice that is as good as it is selfish, that characterizes her even more as a charismatic character, which does not let events slip on him. Let this world die, to let its seed live elsewhere, thus giving life back to the known universe after the disappearance of the Earth, or risk everything in order not to abandon one's roots, with one's own life and that of all other tribes included? As sweet as it is "wrong", the second is the choice of the protagonist, who he decides he wants to hunt down Nemesis to restore the natural order of things, just the beginning of the next adventures that will concern her.
So, what was Far Zenith running from, and what is coming towards Earth with merciless fury? Apparently, Ade he was the only one who knew more, but not even the knowledge provided to Sylens was able to shed light on the mystery. Perhaps intentionally, the game decides not to show what it is, not to give shape to what seems to be the AI ready to disintegrate the entire universe, as it is more evolved and bad than even the worst version of GAIA itself. This then opens the door to a series of literally infinite possibilities, given that even the way events went up to the Horizon Forbidden West finale after the anticipations seen with Horizon Zero Dawn in the final phase of the game.
Aloy won't be alone anymore?
After the Horizon Zero Dawn finale, Forbidden West went in directions that fans could hardly have imagined. In fact, there were no major hints about Far Zenith, and it was a real one surprise, since it was thought, between the last game and the opening bars, that everything would only show itself as a pursuit of heroin towards ADE and her new revolt, after Sylens's betrayal. In reality, despite the fact that the most multifaceted "antagonist" ever shows up only in the final stages, it is only a matter of a small part of the game, with the developer who was able to amaze users with unexpected content.
It therefore goes without saying that being able to predict with certainty how the saga will continue with a hypothetical (but very necessary) Horizon 3 (VR spin-off aside), it is almost impossible, given that the premises then have the opportunity to develop in unexpected directions. However, it must be said that we can already imagine that, despite new betrayals and planned twists, this time Aloy "is no longer alone", and indeed she has the opportunity to interact and get help from several friends from all over the post-apocalyptic world of the Horizon universe.
It is therefore not difficult to imagine the presence of cooperation mechanics that invade the adventures of the next chapter more frequently, whether it is the possibility of really get help from other pad users, or simply that characters from the game world come onto the scene to fight new dangers and collaborate. Considering that in this chapter we have seen this type of situations repeat themselves quite frequently, between well-prepared planning and staging, it is not difficult to imagine that the developer still points for this type of approach with his next work linked to the world of Horizon.
New technologies alongside our heroes
From the knowledge of Sylens (who now knows all the secrets of GAIA, and is a fundamental piece of the puzzle), to the qualities and wisdom of all the others, as well as from the love of the various peoples towards the red-haired heroine, it is It is easy to deduce that we will no longer see Aloy facing the whole world as it has been until today, and that the protagonist will be able to receive support to face the new terrifying danger that looms.
The technologies with which the prehistoric but highly evolved people will now be able to face should not be neglected Nemesis, whatever this is. From technologies Far Zenith, now analysable and contrasts thanks to the knowledge of Sylens (or GAIA, actually), to the possibility of traveling with the Solcasole to reunite the world, spawning new cars and dominating them with all Overrides, we are facing a real stance on the planet, which will now have the opportunity to no longer be a hostile territory with its own resources, but a world of opportunities.
It should also not be overlooked that the Far Zenith presented themselves with new machines to conquer the Earth, albeit not many, and that therefore the protagonists could spend the following months and years after the Horizon Forbidden West finale thinking about how to adapt the cauldrons. to be able to further strengthen their ranks, evolving the species already present and creating new ones, why not, also exploiting the secrets discovered in Aloy's journey in search of information on the ancient world.
Nemesis: what could it be
The enemy from which the antagonists of this second chapter were escaping, however cruel they too turn out to be prey, seems ruthless and ready to do anything to reclaim the entire universe, expanding thanks to its potential. But what is it actually about? The most plausible option is that the protagonists find themselves dealing with an AI much more powerful than GAIA, as well as much more dangerous. We have seen Let Zenith seek the latter thanks to Beta in the course of the new game, which underlines that they too have failed to reproduce it.
This means that even the potential of GAIA was "too much" for the colony, and therefore it is not said that Nemesis really has such unimaginable strength compared to the AI of the Selfish, although the fact that Zenith's information allows them to recognize the enemy as invincible is certainly worrying. It is also not to be excluded that it is really impossible to be able to defeat this entity, and that the plan rejected by Aloy on the lines of the Horizon Forbidden West finale does not really become the only option.
How will it be possible to face Nemesis? In fact, at the moment we don't even know where a possible confrontation will take place, and there is in fact the real possibility that in reality the team's potential is reduced due to the need to travel to space, thus not receiving support from the machines of the Earth over which the AI now has full control. In this sense we could still see big improvements thanks to Far Zenith technologies.
Gameplay: What if the new weapons changed it
As for the actual use of Far Zenith technologies, we have seen the Alopy group juggle only with prototypes created by Sylens, designed to cope with the armor of the invaders. What will happen, however, once the inhabitants of the Earth have had the opportunity to realize them and put their potential into practice?
While in-game we will talk about the possibility of being able to face Nemesis starting from an advanced technology and with further evolutions, pad in hand this could lead to major changes. Certainly, in one way or another the developer will not distort the qualities of the experience, which made its fortune thanks to tribal weapons such as bows, but we can expect some surprises.
Except for a few sequences with turrets or the like, we have never in fact seen the Horizon saga offer major gameplay changes, and the next game could be the perfect field in this sense, between the use of new weapons created on the basis of new technologies, and also passing through fights with spacecraft, although it would most likely be quite limited sequences.
Horizon 3: when could it arrive?
We have seen arrive Horizon Zero Dawn in March 2017, with a new chapter that should have made its debut before the end of last year, but between a postponement and another has however seen the month of February 2022 as a new stage. Looking at the cold numbers, one could talk about how the next game should actually hit the shelves at the beginning of the 2027, but there are factors to consider.
First of all, the developer, also thanks to the work of Kojima Productions, now has much more dexterity with his Decima Engine, and already has among other things a successful IP that will surely call for sufficient funds for production. It should also be considered that Covid-19 was involved, as well as one new generation of consoles to adapt to (provided that the situations do not repeat themselves in a similar way for the next game). We can therefore imagine that at best the early 2027 period is brought forward, but except in exceptional cases, exceeding the same seems rather unlikely, at least nowadays.
