Spoilers for Horizon: Forbidden West Below
Horizon Forbidden West is filled with lore, artifacts, and even weapons of the old world. While Zero Dawn focused on the creations of the machines and the artificial intelligence systems of GAIA and HADES, Forbidden West has taken it a step further by introducing the Far Zenith, Project Odyssey, and the survivors who returned to Earth.
Project Odyssey was an effort to save humans by colonizing an Earth-like planet in the Sirius System. In the first game, players learn that the ship had crashed, but in Horizon Forbidden West, that story is proven to be a fabrication to cover up the success of the mission. A thousand years after its launch, Aloy meets a group of these survivors who have returned to gather the GAIA initiative and all the subordinate tasks associated with her.
The group that Aloy first encounters has four members, Tilda van der Meer, Erik Visser, Gerard Bieri, and Beta. Beta is another clone of Elisabet Sobeck, just like Aloy herself. They are accompanied by Specters, highly advanced versions of the machines that Aloy fights throughout the game. Later in the story, Aloy learns that the Far Zeniths are not descendants of the passengers of the Odyssey but are the same people who first embarked on the Odyssey over a millennium ago.
The Zeniths' Appearance, Personality, and History
At first glance, the Zeniths appear to almost be godlike from their personality to the technology they wear. When Aloy first fights Erik Visser, she quickly finds out that his armor is invulnerable to any of her attacks. This shield is seemingly attached to the body as well, which means it cannot be dropped. He also seems to possess near super-human strength as he is able to inflict a lot of damage each time he hits Aloy.
The Zeniths resemble the old ones Aloy has encountered through holograms and data points scattered throughout the world. Because of their vast knowledge and the need to find the perfect planet to live on, many of the Zeniths are arrogant and overconfident in everything they do. This is most apparent in Verbena, a Zenith introduced in the main quest, “Cradle of Echoes” as she constantly speaks down to the rebels before ultimately being killed by them.
The Zeniths' History
The Zeniths are old ones that boarded the Project Odyssey ship to the Sirius System in hopes of setting up a new colony to ensure that humans survive the Faro Plague. The Far Zenith was a think tank organization made up of the richest people in the world, with the sole purpose of finding a way to colonize another planet using their power and wealth. Through the efforts of their leader, Osvald Dalgaard, they managed to create the Odyssey ship that would ultimately carry them to their new home.
Dalgaard worked alongside Sobeck in the creation of the GAIA protocol, but while Sobeck wanted GAIA to save Earth, Dalgaard secretly intended to steal GAIA and use it to terraform another planet. While in the Sirius system, the Zeniths created the NEMESIS system that was a collective consciousness of certain Far Zenith members who wished to live eternally in paradise. The NEMESIS system eventually turned rogue and destroyed the Zenith's colony as it aimed to destroy human life, forcing the Zeniths to head toward Earth to find a GAIA kernel during the events of Horizon Forbidden West.
The Zeniths' Involvement in The Forbidden West
In Horizon Forbidden West, the Zenith's main goal is to take GAIA and leave Earth before the NEMESIS system catches up to them. Their hopes are to use GAIA to restore another planet for them to live on. However, they are stopped by Aloy and her allies who are attempting to use GAIA to save Earth from the Red Blight that is infecting the planet and killing all life.
At the end of the game, the Far Zenith threat is killed once and for all, but the looming danger of NEMESIS still looms large. After gaining knowledge of NEMESIS and defeating the Far Zeniths that hoped to escape Earth, Aloy and her allies must now prepare for a difficult battle ahead.
While the Far Zeniths have been wiped out, their effects are constantly felt throughout the world as Aloy explores the ancient ruins. Many of the data points in the game have related some way to the Far Zenith initiative, mainly through their leader and founder Dalgaard. Nonetheless, their presence helped build the story in Horizon Forbidden West and leaves players with a sense that there are more games to follow this latest iteration in the Horizon franchise.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
