Horizon Forbidden West is the sequel to the widely popular Horizon Zero Dawn. The first game released in 2017, and though a new IP at the time, it quickly proved to be a successful one for Sony. With Horizon Zero Dawn's jump to PC and surpassing a huge sales milestone, there was little doubt across the gaming community that the sequel would be highly anticipated. Especially with marketing pushing Horizon Forbidden West to be an upgrade to its predecessor.
While critics have been giving Horizon Forbidden West mostly positive reviews, there have been some cases of review bombing among users. Those that find the game disappointing are coming out in their hundreds online, citing bugs and the game's "woke ideology," as the reason for giving Horizon Forbidden West a negative review. Despite review bombing, Horizon Forbidden West's popularity and influence hasn't seemed to have taken much of a hit, as protagonist of both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West Aloy has made her way onto the cover of Vanity Fair.
The worlds of gaming and fashion collide fairly rarely, though on this occasion Aloy has been placed on the front cover of Italy's Vanity Fair magazine. Her feature is titled "Aloy e la rivoluzione," or "Aloy the revolution," covering her wide appeal as one of gaming's newest popular characters. From players to cosplayers, there are many gamers who find Aloy to be a refreshing character in gaming. Her feature in Vanity Fair considers her "freckled cheeks and her austere appearance," to separate Aloy from previous female protagonists. ""Aloy is neither mother nor spouse, nor supporting actor or helper, but a strong and courageous woman."
While there has been some controversy over the model changes for Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West and Horizon Zero Dawn, many still find the protagonist as one of the reasons why the games are as popular as they are. Developer Guerrilla Games attributes much of the young franchise's popularity not only to the original world it creates, but also the character that the player controls through that world.
Aloy's feature on Vanity Fair is not just a deep dive from a journalist into the character though. Ofmario Manca, the author of the feature, also spoke to the Horizon Forbidden West team about their feelings on the success of the character. Horizon Forbidden West's executive producer Angie Smets said: "I firmly believe that we have managed to create a character that players like regardless of whether they are male or female."
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
Source: Vanity Fair
