ATTENTION SPOILERS: This post contains details about the ending of Horizon Forbidden West.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the 77+ hours I’ve enjoyed with Horizon Forbidden West, it’s that I love Aloy’s world. I’m well aware that the franchise Guerrilla Games It’s not perfect and it has a few shortcomings under its belt, but it manages to connect with me in a way that rarely happens.
Tribes, social organizations, backgrounds and other secondary contexts for building the world don’t always end up winning me over, but in the case of open-world adventures it’s quite the opposite. The Tenakth, the Zenith, the Carja or the Oseram I am captivated by them and love learning more about their way of life, not to mention that the gameplay is really satisfying.
These are components that I value enough for me to resist saying goodbye, to end a story that has not yet told its final chapter, but it is a very marked turning point. What I could not have expected in any way was that the new threat against Gaia would arrive from outer space.
Once I had the map properly cleared, I knew it was time to embark on the last few missions available. Poseidon, Demeter and the rest of the brutal AI subfunctions were already in my possession, so I had to activate the OMEGA permit to capture Hephaestus once and for all in the Gemini cauldron. And everything would have gone wonderfully if it weren’t for the idiots Erik, Gerard and Tilda who decided to break into the place.
Beta is captured, which I could care less about if it weren’t for Varl’s murder. It’s… cold. Horizon Forbidden West doesn’t dwell too much on the death of the secondary character who has accompanied Aloy the longest since the beginning of her journey with the Nora. Yes, Zo is pregnant with his child and in some way his legacy will remain, but it is a loss that is quickly diluted by the sheer imposition of a more important event.
Tilda van der Meer gives her companions the slip and takes the protagonist with her to her practically ruined 1,000-year-old house. A place that exudes beauty and contains it in the form of countless works of art whose value has been lost in time. The fact that Guerrilla Games chooses to focus on the character played by Carrie-Anne Moss removes Varl from the equation, since his importance in the plot is much less.
Perhaps her death during the true final battle would have been felt more, but this is no time for regrets. Tilda reveals that she is fed up with all the Zenith and that her purpose is to separate from them in order to reclaim Elisabet Sobeck’s dream of restoring the Earth. And it makes sense, because It turns out that both women were lovers centuries agowhich explains Tilda’s obsession with Beta treating her kindly.
Could she betray Aloy? Yes, though I must confess that I ate her words and did not anticipate the backstabbing she carries out later. At least Aloy gets an alliance with her, which brings Sylens back to the path of sanity. Tilda will be the final villain as a representation of the Zenith, but she pales in comparison to the old fox. Sylens appears very rarely, but His dialogues are sharp, with bite and it is evident that he is several steps ahead of the heroes.
I love that he’s involved alongside Erend, Kotallo, Zo, Alva, Tilda, and Regalla herself. I actually decided to spare the leader of the Sons of Prometheus after she tried to cut Hekarro’s throat, because that’s how magnanimous I am. If there’s one thing missing from the game, I’d rather have a Horizon Forbidden West
In any case, I hope he helps me in the fight against so many Specters, although his death is honorable enough to know that he was a person with an unbreakable commitment. I wish the fight at the Zenith base had been more spectacular. with me at the controls, since the most epic moments are only enjoyed in cinematics. Having to travel through an open field full of Zenith and Spectres fighting against all kinds of machines would have been brutal.
However, the main targets are still Erik and Gerard, who perish without pain or glory, beyond Zo taking revenge for Varl. The surprise jumps in the Condomina when Tilda reveals herself as the true antagonist, willing to take Gaia and Aloy with her to a new planet to terraform it to her liking. Of course, it is necessary to put a stop to her plans by shooting down the Prime Spectre she has climbed onto, which is not too difficult.
So with Tilda dead, everyone lived happily ever after, right? Well, the truth is, no, and this is when Horizon Forbidden West left me absolutely baffled
There is not a single Zenith left alive, so any evidence of what the world was like before the apocalypse has disappeared. The group will have to fend for itself to defend itself and to do so They will have the invaluable help of SylensIt’s a common trope in entertainment, but I love that this techno-scamp joins forces with us. Not just for his own self-interest, but the gesture of returning to meet others instead of walking away shows that he is truly committed to the cause.
He has managed to redirect his own ambition in favor of others, which I am very glad for. Hephaestus, who was awakened by Nemesis himself in Horizon Zero Dawn, has now escaped and will have to be re-imprisoned, which has been the main dynamic of the two existing works. However, he will now be little more than a subordinate function of Nemesis himself. Zo, Alva, Erend and Kotallo head out to the horizon to spread the news of what is coming, and so I say goodbye to this journey.
Despite the narrative ups and downs and a clear lack of charisma on Aloy’s part, I can’t deny that Horizon Forbidden West has left me wanting more. With a third installment due in a few years, I want to let the experience settle before diving into Burning Shores. If the DLC lives up to Frozen Wilds, it will have been worth the wait.
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