As the second game in the franchise, Horizon Forbidden West introduces dozens of new and Apex machines for Aloy to encounter. All are equally difficult to fight when confronted, particularly the Shellsnapper and the Slaughterspine. But with so many new machines, it's easy to ignore some of the coolest designs. The same happened with the Frozen Wilds DLC, which featured robots based on bears like the Frostclaw and Fireclaw, and the Scorcher, which carries a lupine-like appearance. Thankfully, these three machines return in Forbidden West, but they are again overshadowed by some of Guerilla Games' most ambitious designs to date.
There are plenty of new machines to top the likes of the Thunderjaw and Stormbird, and even new robots like the Slaughterspine, Tremortusk, and Bristleback. On top of that, these new designs are based on some fantastic animals, including dinosaurs.
10 Grimhorn
A beefed-up version of the Plowhorn, this midweight combat machine packs a punch with Cluster Launchers to protect itself. Both the Plowhorn and the Grimhorn resembled Triceratops, referring back to GAIA's longing for the extinct creatures of the prehistoric period. The Grimhorn and Plowhorn are love letters from the AI to the Mesozoic Era, making sure to highlight the head plate and horns of the Triceratops in its design.
Plowhorns also served as machines that would change the ecosystem during the terraforming process by using their massive tails as rakes. Grimhorns follow the same design, with added defense and combat from humans hunting them down. Grimhorns and Plowhorns are so crucial to the world of Horizon that they are considered land gods by the Utaru tribe.
9 Widemaw
Like Snapmaws, it's easy to identify what this water-based robot is based on. The Widemaw takes its shape from the mighty hippopotamus, the world's most dangerous mammal according to Discover Wildlife, thanks to an aggressive disposition and an enormous mouth and jaw. The same goes for Widemaws in Forbidden West. But instead of clamping down on its opponents, the Widemaw uses its massive mouth and tusks to vacuum debris.
The rear of the Widemaw is equally dangerous, but cleverly designed so that the machine can reverse and utilize the vacuum component from both sides. When not in battle, the midweight acquisition robot uses this capability to consume flora and terrain to transform the nutrients into pods.
8 Spikesnout
At first glance, this lightweight acquisition machine resembles an anteater with its long snout, stocky appearance, and bushy tail. But unlike the creature it's inspired by, the Spikesnout can emit a mist from its tail like a skunk by storing fluid in a sack during combat, much like a skunk can from its glands.
The Spikesnout is the perfect mix between the two animals, combined with an incredibly fluid and versatile design accentuated by its bulky armor plates. Despite having many different elemental sacs and canisters attached to its body, they don't take away from its distinctive design.
7 Clamberjaw
Despite being the smallest robot in the game, the Clamberjaw has so much packed into it. While it serves its purpose as a midweight acquisition machine, it has a territorial disposition like its animal counterparts. Seemingly inspired by the tailed baboon and the mandrill, these machines showcase their aggressiveness in their design.
Like its simian counterparts, the Clamberjaw has incredibly sharp teeth, and their mouths perfectly resemble that of a baboon or mandrill. This robot is very compact, but is distinguishable through its ability to leap through trees like a monkey.
6 Rollerback
A mixture of a pangolin and armadillo, this midweight transport machine is mainly quadruped but can roll just like its animal counterparts. However, among all the new machines in Forbidden West’s map, the Rollerback is one of the most unique thanks to its capability to roll and reattach its armor plates.
Despite being based on such a small animal, the Rollerback is a formidable foe to those that come across it. It's hard not to want to watch it roll around and smack its hammer-like tail, rather than hunt it for parts. There's also a possibility that the Rollerback and Spikesnout share a connection, as pangolins are often referred to as "scaly anteaters."
5 Tideripper
The Tideripper is the latest amphibious robot to debut in the Horizon franchise, but this monster is more like the Stormbird of the sea. Its design resembles a Plesiosaur, a prehistoric creature that lived in the ocean using different parts of its body to propel itself as the Tideripper does with its whale-like tail and pectoral fins.
The beauty of this machine is how it highlights Guerilla's ability to take direct inspiration from these prehistoric animals, but change them to the point that makes them unique to the Horizon franchise. Adding a menacing rotating disc that shoots out purgewater is an added bonus, and makes the Tideripper even more distinctive.
4 Leapleasher
Based on the kangaroo, the Leapleasher is one of the most acrobatic robots in the Horizon franchise. Design-wise, the lightweight transport machine takes on the biology of the marsupial so well. The pouch has been transformed into an area where a retractable claw holds different types of resource pods, which can also be whipped out as a weapon.
But like their biological counterpart, most of the Leapleasher's power comes from its large, spring-coiled hind legs that it uses to catapult itself across its habitat in the Forbidden West. The Leapleasher also has a muscular tail that can be used as a weapon and stand on, taking all the unique qualities of a kangaroo and making it into an expertly designed machine.
3 Dreadwing
As beautiful as the Sunwing is, it has nothing on the Dreadwing. Based on a vampire bat, this heavyweight combat machine can fly, cloak itself like a Stalker, and drain destroyed robots for extra might in a fight. The Dreadwing's design is so detailed that they follow the actual patterns of bats by being nocturnal and hanging from ceilings during the day. But if players disturb them during their sleep, they will attack on sight.
There are many little details with the Dreadwing, in addition to its stunning angular design, that makes this one of the best new machines in Forbidden West. It's just sad that players don't get to see them as much as Sunwings or Glinthawks, or even use them as mounts.
2 Slitherfang
The Slitherfang is a horrifyingly intimidating robot that's mind-blowing at the same time. It resembles the perfect mix between a cobra and a rattlesnake, but at the same time, the Slitherfang is so far apart from its natural inspirations due to its size, machine muscle, and armor.
The best detail of the Slitherfang is its rattling tail, in addition to each segment of its body having the capability to rotate, so the robot can coil around anything. On top of that, it utilizes metalbite to attack like a snake's venom. Guerilla hit it out of the park with the Slitherfang, creating one of the franchise's most versatile machines players will simultaneously want to find and avoid.
1 Clawstrider
Anything based on a Dromaeosauridae (otherwise known as a raptor) is immediately cool, but the way Guerrilla Games has adapted its primeval design to Forbidden West is even better. The prehistoric creature looks even more formidable as a combat machine, with razor-sharp armor surrounding its tail and neck, emulating feathers.
Replacing the raptor's sharp incisors with chainsaws make it deadlier, coupled with the iconic talons on its hind legs, which are even more prominent on the Elemental Clawstrider. It even has sharp claws and blades on its arms too. But the best part of the Clawstrider's design is that it's a mountable machine. Being able to ride the coolest robot in Horizon? What a win.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4 and PS5.