Horizon Forbidden West and its predecessor Zero Dawn are known for their graphics, story, and red-headed protagonist Aloy, yet one aspect that can be overlooked is their featured locations. Situated throughout the West and Southwestern United States, both games encompass broad geographical areas with well-known mountains, national parks, historical landmarks, rivers, and cities - down to individual streets. These real-world features help enhance the series' lore about the world's end in the 21st Century, and exploring them brings players a sense of wonder as they traverse through ruins reclaimed by nature.
While the sites featured in Horizon Forbidden West and Zero Dawn do a great job of recreating the real world, physical distances have been shortened to make their maps traversable. As a result, these areas are not fully representative of actual geographical locations, and in-game lore changes the purposes of some sites given Horizon's backstory covers events up through the mid-2060s. Whether they be actively used by the cultures of Horizon's present peoples or ruins of the ancient past, Aloy has plenty to explore across her adventures.
Colorado
Featured heavily during the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, Colorado is home to the Nora Tribe, which is the culture from which Aloy was outcast at birth. The Nora are heavily Matriarchal, worshipping their Goddess the All-Mother, which turns out to be the door to the ELEUTHIA-9 Cradle Facility: a part of GAIA that oversaw the restoration of the human species through stored embryos. The following sites in Colorado are present throughout the game:
- Cheyenne Mountain
- Pikes Peak
- Denver
- Colorado Springs
- Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
- Colorado River
- Mesa Laboratory
- Garden of the Gods
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- Empower Field
- Mile High
- Hallet Peak
- Top Mountain
- Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Power Plant
- Maroon Bells
- Daniels & Fisher Tower
- Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
- St. Mary's Cathedral
- Colorado Springs City Hall
- Pikes Peak Range Memorial Statue
- Wells Fargo Tower
- United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
- Glen Eyrie
- Maroon Peak
Utah
Predominantly Carja territory, the Carja tribe hail from the same ELEUTHIA-9 Cradle Facility in All-Mother Mountain as the Nora. Carja legend states Araman discovered ancient documents within Old World ruins that detailed observations of the Sun, which led to the Carja forming their society and religion around the star and what they call Sun-Kings. Years before the start of Horizon, the thirteenth Sun-King (also called the Mad King) began a bloody campaign against other tribes called the Red Raids, which saw countless people sacrificed in the Sun Ring to appease the Machines. Places within Utah that Aloy visits include:
- Lake Powell
- Kings Peak
- Arches National Park
- Colorado River
- Eagle Canyon
- Provo Utah Temple
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Canyonlands National Park Needles District
- Goblin Valley State Park
- Monument Valley
- The Three Sisters
- Double Arch
- Delicate Arch
- The Windows
- Navajo Mountain
- Zion Human History Museum
- Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel
- Zion National Park
- Zion Lodges
Wyoming
Centered around large swaths of Yellowstone National Park, Horizon Zero Dawn's The Frozen Wilds DLC introduced players to The Cut - Banuk territory. While little is known about Banuk history due to their oral traditions, it is assumed they come from the same ELEUTHIA-9 Cradle Facility as the other tribes featured in the first Horizon title. Aloy visits numerous spots throughout Wyoming, including:
- Old Faithful Visitor Education Center
- Old Faithful Inn
- Teton Range
- Mammoth Hot Springs
- Grand Teton National Park
- Yellowstone National Park
- John Moultan Barn
- Morning Glory Pool
- Grand Prismatic Spring
- Excelsior Glacier
- Yellowstone Falls
Nevada
As the series unfolds and Aloy makes her way west throughout Horizon Forbidden West, new locations are added that range from Utah and Nevada to the San Francisco coast. These geographical landmarks house the Utaru and Tenakth tribes, and like other societies featured in the series, they are believed to have come from the Cradle Facility at ELEUTHIA-9.
The Utaru, while capable of solid defenses, are primarily an agrarian culture that worships the Earth and its cycle of birth, growth, death, and decay. Meanwhile, Tenakth dominate the Forbidden West as fierce warriors who value strength, honor, and courage. The Tenakth are divided into three warring clans: Desert, Sky, and Lowland. Throughout Horizon Forbidden West, visits various parts of Nevada, particularly around the Las Vegas area:
- Las Vegas Strip
- Las Vegas
- Lake Mead
- Kawich Peak
- Hayford Peak
- Caliente Station
- The Forum Shops at Caesars
- Arc de Triomphe
- Paris Las Vegas
- Paris Balloon
- Bellagio
- High Roller
- The Strat
- Hoover Dam
California
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While the Tenakth extends into what is modern-day California, Horizon Forbidden West also introduces the Quen tribe from across the water. As tribes on the mainland are advancing their technologies, the Quen are vastly superior in their understanding of and access to Old-World technology. Using outdated Focuses, their search for relics has brought them to San Francisco at a location they call Landfall. Aloy, in her dealings with the Quen, explores areas of across the California coastline and beyond:
- Yosemite Valley
- Big Sur
- Santa Lucia Range
- Interstate 5
- San Francisco
- San Francisco City Hall
- San Francisco Ferry Building
- Mammoth Lakes Lutheran Church
- Sierra Crest
- Fox Theater
- Mojave National Preserve
- Sequoia National Park
- Bixby Creek Bridge
- Golden Gate Bride
- Sutro Tower
- Transamerica Pyramid
- Coit Tower
- Grace Cathedral
- Union Square
- Lombard Street
- National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi
- Alcatraz Island
- Jackson Street
- Oracle Park
- Los Angeles Aqueduct
- McWay Cove
- Mono Lake
- Palace of Fine Arts
- Oakland
While these games are home to ruins and tribal societies, their beauty also houses dangers like Machines that have become deranged. Aloy explores fearlessly in her never-ending quest to learn the truth of the Old World, her birth, and how to restore GAIA so she can save the world. Fans will have to wait and see what places Guerrilla explores in the next entry.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
