Horizon Forbidden West is a big improvement on the first game in storytelling, level design, and presentation. Taking Aloy to the Pacific Ocean was a smart move from developer Guerrilla, as it offers a new playground and the opportunity to fight new machines, explore new areas, and engage in a familiar, but evolved combat loop. The setting is fantastic, and the new settlements in the Horizon series make the landscape feel more populated, which lends itself to interesting encounters and moral situations that players and Aloy are put in.
Of those characters, there are plenty who are not friendly, as Aloy sometimes encroaches in a way that is unwanted or meddles with others' schemes. The Utaru and Tenakth welcome her, but Regalla's rebel forces and the machines themselves are far more hostile. However, the smaller, less significant adversaries that litter the land could add an interesting narrative wrinkle in the next game, as they are as doomed as the heroes should Nemesis be successful. Making characters like Ulvund and Dervahl play a redemptive role in the story could do well to make the tale feel connected while reusing characters whose impact would otherwise have been fleeting.
There are Bigger Threats In Horizon
The threat in Horizon Forbidden West is larger than the heroes could have anticipated, and at its conclusion it shows a force that Aloy and company are unequipped to handle. Nemesis is coming, and the Far Zeniths who were believed to be the main antagonists are a secondary threat desperately to escape their past mistakes. This could provoke more people in the world to abandon the smaller stuff in favor of looking to the more pressing threat. Ulvund is not a good man, abusing his power at the expense of Chainscrape's residents, but learning what he did when forced to leave Chainscrape could be a compelling lead, as it could be an opportunity to have him redeem himself when Nemesis arrives.
With humans in tribes and globalization slowed to a halt, it's easy for people to become increasingly insular, and convincing them of the threats that they face on a larger scale can be difficult. This could be an interesting way to provide an obstacle that Aloy has to overcome that doesn't play to her strengths: trying to reason with people to rally around a common cause. Horizon Forbidden West's base shows that she can make friends, but trying to make something new out of her former enemies could help develop her as a character while also placing further emphasis on the bigger threats present in Horizon.
Horizon's Smaller Characters Could Get More Attention
Introducing new characters can do wonders for a game setting's scale, as it illustrates how populated a place is, and how many diverse voices can be heard. However, Horizon only has a few consistent characters, including Aloy, Sylens, Erend, and Varl, so bringing more familiar faces back to reprise their role would do well to make the next game feel connected to the first two. Showing that the unsavory ways of Ulvund, Dervahl, and others could be redeemed would not only be a good narrative thread, but would also make the setting and its people feel more complex.
It's clear that the Horizon series is gearing towards a bigger threat, and if Aloy's desperate bid to save the world after the Burning Shores DLC is going to be successful, it'll take more than just her and her friends to make that impact. She needs the help of people all over the land, and recruiting smaller antagonists that have had a detrimental impact on the setting to repent for their deeds is an inviting story beat that Guerrilla could explore.
Horizon Forbidden West is available for PS4 and PS5.
