Despite having two gigantic mainline games, one VR spinoff, and a newly released DLC, it still feels like Sony and Guerrilla Games are only scratching the surface of what the Horizon franchise has to offer. By its very nature as a sprawling open-world RPG, Horizon opens itself up to countless possible sequels and spinoffs, with the game having a plethora of mechanics and activities that are good enough to fill an entire side game. And one of the most intriguing ideas for a spinoff comes from an element introduced in Horizon Forbidden West.
Though it drew criticism at launch for feeling a little too similar to its predecessor, Horizon Forbidden West does make some significant improvements and additions to its gameplay, from new ridable mounts to new weapons and enemies. But one of Horizon Forbidden West's most praised additions is its slew of new side activities, with Machine Strike being the perfect blueprint for a turn-based strategy game.
Horizon Forbidden West's Machine Strike Is The Perfect Blueprint for a Turn-Based Horizon Game
Introduced in Horizon Forbidden West, Machine Strike is a chess-like board game that Aloy can play across the map in various camps and settlements. Upon walking into Chainscrape for the first time and talking to Salma, players will receive a set of basic Machine Strike pieces, with each one representing a Machine they can find in the wild.
Machine Strike is a deceptively complex game. Though it initially appears a bit like chess, with the Machine figures looking similar to pawns and knights, it's actually a lot simpler than chess, at least at first. Each Machine piece has a numbered value attached to it. This value determines the piece's health, its cost to play, and the amount of victory points the opponent receives if they defeat it. Players draw pieces up to a value of 10 and attempt to defeat as many opponent Machines as possible.
But as players progress through Horizon Forbidden West and find more scavengers willing to play Machine Strike, they'll soon learn that it isn't as easy as they might have first thought. Along with all the different Machine piece types, there are also multiple different terrain tiles players will need to worry about. Each terrain tile has a different trait, such as giving Machines -1 movement or restricting access to flying Machines only. Players will also be introduced to Machines that have armor, which require a different strategy altogether to defeat. And then, finally, players will find out that some pieces also have special moves unique to them, allowing for a powerful attack in specific circumstances. There's a lot of strategy to Machine Strike's later games, and that strategy would translate well to a turn-based game.
As mentioned up top, the Horizon franchise has near-unlimited potential when it comes to future spinoffs, and a turn-based strategy game based on Machine Strike should be at the top of that list. With Machine Strike already essentially being a mini turn-based strategy game in its own right, all a spinoff would need to do is expand upon its gameplay a bit, and give it all a more realistic coat of paint. Following a similar gameplay loop as XCOM, a Machine Strike spinoff could use a top-down perspective, similar to its appearance in Horizon Forbidden West but with actual Machine models pulled from the game as opposed to wooden pieces. Similarly, the environments would also need to be updated to look more realistic, though they would still retain their movement effects, again similar to XCOM.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
