Highlights
- The future of the Horizon series hinges on maintaining and surpassing the high expectations set by Forbidden West.
- Horizon 3 has the opportunity to create a definitive conclusion for Aloy's journey, satisfying fans and setting up the next chapter.
- Letting the world-altering Nemesis partially succeed and destroy the world could lead to a reset for the next saga with a bold new setting, and Aloy's journey could essentially be part of the new era's history.
Horizon Zero Dawn introduced players to a beautiful and diverse open-world that provided hours of entertainment. Its sequel, Forbidden West, expanded to include a world with a far larger scale, more impressive environments, and a deeper sense of identity thanks to an abundance of interesting tribes, people, and cultures. It's a trajectory that will surely be hard to maintain for developer Guerrilla, as now there are sky-high expectations for the future.
The next game in the Horizon series has some big decisions to make regarding the direction of its story. The gameplay has been fine-tuned over two mainline entries to be something constantly engaging, but as Aloy's quest hurtles toward a conclusion, fans' narrative expectations are only rising. Horizon 3 could be best served by being ambitious with its ending to alter the very fabric of its setting, creating something new for the next chapter in the story to flourish.
Project Zero Dawn Could Be an Omen for Horizon Forbidden West's Sequel
Horizon Zero Dawn introduced players to Project Zero Dawn, and the fate of the project could be an omen for Horizon Forbidden West's sequel.
Horizon 3 Needs to be a Definitive Conclusion
Though there is always the potential for more in the Horizon universe, Aloy's journey has to come to a close at some point, and capping it off with the last game in a trilogy could be the best way to serve the character. The third game has not been formally announced, but it's clear from the conclusion of Forbidden West that there is more to come. There has to be a definitive endpoint for the story to keep fans happy, and also to keep Aloy's story feel self-contained, and thus easy to justify returning to.
Nemesis Could Bring about the End of Horizon's World
Nemesis will be the biggest test for Aloy to date, as the mistakes of the Far Zeniths come back to haunt her and the rest of Earth's remaining civilizations. Guerrilla has crafted an antagonist that genuinely feels like an impossible challenge to overcome, and though it may transpire that the good guys win and Earth is saved, it could also be an interesting plot twist if the world is destroyed, terraformed, or otherwise irreparably changed. It's an idea that worked for the likes of Final Fantasy 6's world of balance vs its world of ruin, as it provokes a tonal shift as well as a narrative one.
There's more to come from the Horizon IP in the future, including a Netflix TV series and a multiplayer game on top of the inevitable third game.
Not only would an ending of this nature subvert expectations and make it feel as though Horizon isn't conforming to the 'save the world' trope, but it would also provide fresh ground for a new story, characters, and world-building for future games. Having Nemesis leave a widespread, lasting impact on the world of Horizon could be the best way to set up the franchise to succeed with new, fresh ideas.
Tribes in Horizon Could Use the Change
A world-altering conclusion could provoke an interesting sense of history for Horizon if there were to be another chapter in that game's timeline. Players know that the series is set in a distant future and hearkens back to the 21st century, and having a world-levelling event happen at the close of Horizon 3 could make Aloy's efforts seem like another part of its history. Some tribes like the Quen or Banuk who are from different parts of the world could survive an apocalypse event and be woven into a new landscape of tribes and communities, adding even more depth to the franchise's already-impressive lore.
