9 Predictions For Horizon Forbidden West
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Brown
Hopefully Horizon Forbidden West will take everything that made Zero Dawn great and ramp it up! For this video, we'll be looking at improvements to the gameplay we'd love to see in the sequel and where we think the story could lead us in the next chapter of Aloy's journey into the Forbidden West. Our list includes Decima Engine Improvements, New Tribes, Real World Locations, Hades' Return and more!
Script written by Aaron Brown
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at 10 Predictions For Horizon Forbidden West
For this video, we’ll be looking at improvements to the gameplay we’d love to see in the sequel and where we think the story could lead us in the next chapter of Aloy’s journey into the Forbidden West. Be warned, there will be spoilers ahead for Horizon Zero Dawn!
What changes would you like to see in Guerilla’s new game in the Horizon universe? Let us know down in the comments.
Guerilla Games’ Decima Engine was already an impressive piece of tech in the first Horizon game but there is always room for improvement and innovation. Death Stranding also used Guerilla’s proprietary game engine and even with just a couple years between the release of Horizon and Death Stranding, the improvements to the engine were already apparent. With the sequel we’d love to see not only detail in characters and environments improve and show off what the engine is capable of in glorious 4K and HDR, but an overall more cinematic experience in general. The world and lore of Horizon is wonderfully detailed but some character models just didn’t hold up alongside the main characters and the game’s cinematics suffered from more than a few awkward transitions that we’d like to see smoothed out in Forbidden West.
Co-Op play was an early concept design that almost made it into Horizon Zero Dawn as demonstrated in the Noclip documentary about the making of the original game. While the feature was eventually scrapped, it is entirely possible it could make a return in the sequel. It’s not hard to imagine playing with a group of friends or co-op partners from one of the new tribes in the Forbidden West and teaming up together to hunt down rogue or corrupted machines. While we wouldn’t want this to interfere with Aloy’s overall story, it could be a nice side content drop similar to what Naughty Dog did with its Factions multiplayer for The Last of Us. As we get closer to the game’s eventual release, here’s hoping we’ll learn much more about the new features and modes the game will be bringing with it.
In Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy is sent into the world to discover not only her past, but also what was causing the corruption of the machines that were becoming increasingly more aggressive to the world’s inhabitants. While Aloy seemingly stopped the corruption for the time being, the new threat demonstrated in the trailer could end up being one not from Hades corruption but from Mother Nature itself. With the new threat of the Red Weed that seems to be attacking all organic life, this could be a problem that Aloy can't simply override. Given Aloy’s genetic ties to the original Zero Dawn Protocol, it’s possible that she could end up having to enact a new countermeasure herself to combat this new environmental disaster. This could lead to all new machines roaming the world specifically designed to rid the world of the Red Weed and its effects on the environment.
Aloy’s greatest advantage in Horizon Zero Dawn besides her natural hunting abilities was undoubtedly her Focus. With the ability to track targets both human and machine, and mark out landmarks and points of interest, the Focus was essential in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. In Forbidden West, we’d like to see the focus improved upon with more features than simply analyzing machine patterns and parts and use it to fully interact with the world itself. We’ve seen glimpses of this in the trailer with the holographic dragon dancing around Aloy. Also given how Aloy no longer has her spear to override machines, having symbolically left it in the remnants of Hades, some new powers have clearly been unlocked with her focus as Aloy is seen riding an overridden machine despite not having the tech on hand to do so.
With new territories comes new perspectives of the world. While Aloy is most familiar with the Nora and their customs, she also came to know much more about the Carja, the Banuk, and the Oseram tribes throughout her journey in Zero Dawn. The few snippets we get of new tribes within the Forbidden West trailer show off only two possible new tribes both with wildly different characteristics to one another. Sylens appears to be assisting a new tribe similar to the Shadow Carja, who seek to control the machines by any means necessary, while the only other tribe seems to be more a simple farming settlement. Aloy will most likely end up protecting one from the other and their differing beliefs but this could simply be only a glimpse of the many new religions and cultures Aloy will need to learn to navigate in her quest through the Forbidden West.
Throughout the entirety of Horizon Zero Dawn, both Aloy and the player were never quite sure what Sylen’s true intentions were. Claiming himself to be a seeker of knowledge, Sylens always seemed to have an underlying motive in his aid throughout Aloy’s quest. Given how predominantly he is featured within the Forbidden West trailer, it seems unlikely that Sylens and Aloy won’t be crossing paths once again. However, given only the player knows of Sylens capturing the rogue AI Hades at the close of the first game, Aloy could still view Sylens as an ally of sorts in her new adventure. Sylens clearly has motivations of his own as we see him assisting new tribes in overriding machines, but come the close of Forbidden West, his thirst for knowledge could allow Hades to get the upper hand over him.
While most of Horizon Zero Dawn is presumed to take place in Colorado and the surrounding areas, Forbidden West is most definitely taking place along the United States Western Coast. Landmarks such as the Golden Gate bridge are clearly visible in the Forbidden West trailer as well as other real world locations such as the Ferry Building and the Transamerica Pyramid. Given the aerial view of the landscape in the trailer, it’s clear that gamers and Aloy will be exploring a much more urban area than the first game. While it’s unlikely all the buildings will be fully explorable, it would be a welcome change of pace to be stalked by various machines in cramped corridors and forced to use new variations of stealth to deal with them.
While Aloy will undoubtedly meet many new characters in her journey to stop the new growing threat, it would still be nice to possibly not only have her cross paths with some of her former allies but even team up with them for specific areas of the game. Aloy’s journey in Horizon Zero Dawn was greatly shaped by the other characters she interacted with, and in most cases she wouldn’t have gotten as far in her journey as she did without their help. Characters like Erend and Talanah seem like the most likely candidates to follow Aloy on her new quest but we wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of Nil, Varl, or even Teb made the journey in one form of another. Teb especially, given his puppy dog-like admiration for Aloy.
Aloy more than proved herself a capable hunter and fighter throughout the course of the first title. Her people skills however were in dire need of some adjustment. Being raised as an outcast from society well into her teen years, her animosity towards others is understandable given her circumstances. Despite this, she still had much compassion for her fellow tribes and many companions naturally gravitated to her simply due to her confidence and caring nature. With the sequel clearly advancing a few years into Aloy’s journey, we’d like to see how Aloy has adjusted to no longer being treated as an outcast and how her journey helping others has shaped her even further.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Hades revealed itself to be the shadow behind the curtain pulling the strings of the machines towards the end of Horizon Zero Dawn. With Gaia and her safety protocols that protected the human race from Hades and the wrath of the machines failing to stop the demonic AI, Hades was a daunting threat. Aloy seemingly put an end to Hades at the climax of the first game but it was later revealed that Sylens had captured Hades and is now out in the world with his “old friend”. Given the enormous environmental threat posed in the trailer for Forbidden West, it’s unlikely Hades will be the big bad of the series second outing but expect to still hear from him at some point throughout the game with the ending most likely setting up for his climactic return in the inevitable third game.
10 Predictions For Horizon Forbidden West
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at 10 Predictions For Horizon Forbidden West
For this video, we’ll be looking at improvements to the gameplay we’d love to see in the sequel and where we think the story could lead us in the next chapter of Aloy’s journey into the Forbidden West. Be warned, there will be spoilers ahead for Horizon Zero Dawn!
What changes would you like to see in Guerilla’s new game in the Horizon universe? Let us know down in the comments.
Decima Engine Improvements
Guerilla Games’ Decima Engine was already an impressive piece of tech in the first Horizon game but there is always room for improvement and innovation. Death Stranding also used Guerilla’s proprietary game engine and even with just a couple years between the release of Horizon and Death Stranding, the improvements to the engine were already apparent. With the sequel we’d love to see not only detail in characters and environments improve and show off what the engine is capable of in glorious 4K and HDR, but an overall more cinematic experience in general. The world and lore of Horizon is wonderfully detailed but some character models just didn’t hold up alongside the main characters and the game’s cinematics suffered from more than a few awkward transitions that we’d like to see smoothed out in Forbidden West.
Co-Op
Co-Op play was an early concept design that almost made it into Horizon Zero Dawn as demonstrated in the Noclip documentary about the making of the original game. While the feature was eventually scrapped, it is entirely possible it could make a return in the sequel. It’s not hard to imagine playing with a group of friends or co-op partners from one of the new tribes in the Forbidden West and teaming up together to hunt down rogue or corrupted machines. While we wouldn’t want this to interfere with Aloy’s overall story, it could be a nice side content drop similar to what Naughty Dog did with its Factions multiplayer for The Last of Us. As we get closer to the game’s eventual release, here’s hoping we’ll learn much more about the new features and modes the game will be bringing with it.
A Natural Threat
In Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy is sent into the world to discover not only her past, but also what was causing the corruption of the machines that were becoming increasingly more aggressive to the world’s inhabitants. While Aloy seemingly stopped the corruption for the time being, the new threat demonstrated in the trailer could end up being one not from Hades corruption but from Mother Nature itself. With the new threat of the Red Weed that seems to be attacking all organic life, this could be a problem that Aloy can't simply override. Given Aloy’s genetic ties to the original Zero Dawn Protocol, it’s possible that she could end up having to enact a new countermeasure herself to combat this new environmental disaster. This could lead to all new machines roaming the world specifically designed to rid the world of the Red Weed and its effects on the environment.
Old & New Tech
Aloy’s greatest advantage in Horizon Zero Dawn besides her natural hunting abilities was undoubtedly her Focus. With the ability to track targets both human and machine, and mark out landmarks and points of interest, the Focus was essential in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. In Forbidden West, we’d like to see the focus improved upon with more features than simply analyzing machine patterns and parts and use it to fully interact with the world itself. We’ve seen glimpses of this in the trailer with the holographic dragon dancing around Aloy. Also given how Aloy no longer has her spear to override machines, having symbolically left it in the remnants of Hades, some new powers have clearly been unlocked with her focus as Aloy is seen riding an overridden machine despite not having the tech on hand to do so.
New Tribes
With new territories comes new perspectives of the world. While Aloy is most familiar with the Nora and their customs, she also came to know much more about the Carja, the Banuk, and the Oseram tribes throughout her journey in Zero Dawn. The few snippets we get of new tribes within the Forbidden West trailer show off only two possible new tribes both with wildly different characteristics to one another. Sylens appears to be assisting a new tribe similar to the Shadow Carja, who seek to control the machines by any means necessary, while the only other tribe seems to be more a simple farming settlement. Aloy will most likely end up protecting one from the other and their differing beliefs but this could simply be only a glimpse of the many new religions and cultures Aloy will need to learn to navigate in her quest through the Forbidden West.
Sylens Will Still Be an Uneasy Ally
Throughout the entirety of Horizon Zero Dawn, both Aloy and the player were never quite sure what Sylen’s true intentions were. Claiming himself to be a seeker of knowledge, Sylens always seemed to have an underlying motive in his aid throughout Aloy’s quest. Given how predominantly he is featured within the Forbidden West trailer, it seems unlikely that Sylens and Aloy won’t be crossing paths once again. However, given only the player knows of Sylens capturing the rogue AI Hades at the close of the first game, Aloy could still view Sylens as an ally of sorts in her new adventure. Sylens clearly has motivations of his own as we see him assisting new tribes in overriding machines, but come the close of Forbidden West, his thirst for knowledge could allow Hades to get the upper hand over him.
Real World Locations
While most of Horizon Zero Dawn is presumed to take place in Colorado and the surrounding areas, Forbidden West is most definitely taking place along the United States Western Coast. Landmarks such as the Golden Gate bridge are clearly visible in the Forbidden West trailer as well as other real world locations such as the Ferry Building and the Transamerica Pyramid. Given the aerial view of the landscape in the trailer, it’s clear that gamers and Aloy will be exploring a much more urban area than the first game. While it’s unlikely all the buildings will be fully explorable, it would be a welcome change of pace to be stalked by various machines in cramped corridors and forced to use new variations of stealth to deal with them.
Familiar Characters
While Aloy will undoubtedly meet many new characters in her journey to stop the new growing threat, it would still be nice to possibly not only have her cross paths with some of her former allies but even team up with them for specific areas of the game. Aloy’s journey in Horizon Zero Dawn was greatly shaped by the other characters she interacted with, and in most cases she wouldn’t have gotten as far in her journey as she did without their help. Characters like Erend and Talanah seem like the most likely candidates to follow Aloy on her new quest but we wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of Nil, Varl, or even Teb made the journey in one form of another. Teb especially, given his puppy dog-like admiration for Aloy.
Aloy Grows Up
Aloy more than proved herself a capable hunter and fighter throughout the course of the first title. Her people skills however were in dire need of some adjustment. Being raised as an outcast from society well into her teen years, her animosity towards others is understandable given her circumstances. Despite this, she still had much compassion for her fellow tribes and many companions naturally gravitated to her simply due to her confidence and caring nature. With the sequel clearly advancing a few years into Aloy’s journey, we’d like to see how Aloy has adjusted to no longer being treated as an outcast and how her journey helping others has shaped her even further.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
New Game+ at Launch
Should Always Be a Day 1 Option for Added Replay ValueThe Forbidden West
If We’re Lucky We Could End Up Exploring the Entirety of the West CoastBetter Climbing
Maybe Not Breath of the Wild Levels of Climbing but More Freedom Would Be an ImprovementHades Return
Hades revealed itself to be the shadow behind the curtain pulling the strings of the machines towards the end of Horizon Zero Dawn. With Gaia and her safety protocols that protected the human race from Hades and the wrath of the machines failing to stop the demonic AI, Hades was a daunting threat. Aloy seemingly put an end to Hades at the climax of the first game but it was later revealed that Sylens had captured Hades and is now out in the world with his “old friend”. Given the enormous environmental threat posed in the trailer for Forbidden West, it’s unlikely Hades will be the big bad of the series second outing but expect to still hear from him at some point throughout the game with the ending most likely setting up for his climactic return in the inevitable third game.
