WithHorizon Forbidden Westturning three years old in 2025, it’s worth pondering what the next entry in theHorizonfranchise will look like.Horizon Forbidden West’s ending is anything but conclusive, and in many ways, the threats facing humanity are greater than ever. As Aloy and her allies brace for what could be the final battle of this human-machine war, so too must Guerrilla Games focus on what will work best forHorizon 3, and what elements ought to be left on the cutting room floor.
Major spoilers ahead forHorizon Forbidden WestandHorizon Zero Dawn.
Horizon Forbidden West’s endingis revelatory and transformative. Not only does Aloy discover the truth behind the Far Zeniths' origins, but she also learns of Nemesis, a massively powerful, human-hating AI whose wrath led the Zeniths to Earth in the first place. It was Nemesis who activated Hades in the first game, suggesting that it is more powerful than that already-formidable foe. Moreover, Nemesis killed most of the Far Zeniths, a civilization that is ostensibly much more advanced than the tribal societies of the post-apocalyptic Earth. With Nemesis presumably headed towards Earth, Aloy could lead the charge against the greatest enemy humanity has ever known, and this is bound to have major knock-on effects on the broader narrative experience.
Horizon 3’s Story Might Mean a Reduction in Side Content
With Higher Stakes Than Ever, Horizon 3 Probably Won’t Have the Bandwidth for Small-Scale Side Quests
One of the greatest improvements betweenHorizon Zero DawnandHorizon Forbidden Westis the quality of side content. Much likeThe Witcher 3—a clearinspiration for theHorizonfranchise—Forbidden Westcenters many of its optional missions on relatively trivial problems, using them as an opportunity to flesh out the more intimate elements of the game world. For instance, many of the game’s early side quests are written around the politics of Chainscrape, a small settlement near the entrance to the Forbidden West. On balance, these issues are hardly a top priority, but working to solve them allowsHorizon Forbidden Westto draw back the curtain on its fantastical world. In short, these side quests make it clear whyForbidden West’s world is worth fighting for.
But while they pale in comparison to existential issues like the Blight andthe Faro Plague, these quests aren’t at odds with Aloy’s goals. In fact, spreading her influence and gaining allies can be seen as a shrewd move on her part, as she will likely need to call in favors from time to time; she can’t solve all the world’s problems on her own. This makes it easy forHorizon Forbidden Westplayers to accept these small-scale missions despite the potential apocalypse being near—it doesn’t seem totally ridiculous for Aloy to spend time on these low-stakes tasks. But Nemesis is shaping up to be a threat unlike any that has come before, so Aloy won’t have time to dawdle. This could translate to fewer side quests, specifically those of the intimate, everyday variety.
This particular flavor of ludonarrative dissonance is a common problem in manyAAA open-world games, which allow the player to dilly-dally while the fate of the world is ostensibly at stake.
Fewer Side Quests Might Not Be the Worst Thing for Horizon 3
There’s a rather common notion in the AAA games space: bigger is better, especially for sequels. A lot of gamers feel the same way, since a sequel should be a step up from its predecessor; many consumers have a desire to be blown away by a successor to something they already like. ButHorizon 3might actually be better offgoing in the opposite direction. Indeed, one of the biggest criticisms ofHorizon Forbidden Westis how it falls victim to the boilerplate, tired tropes of open-world game design, so perhaps a more narrow focus would benefit the third game.
