Aloy didn’t have much time for romance during the breakneck events of Horizon Zero Dawn, but in the sequel to the post-apocalyptic open-world RPG called Forbidden West, the heroine forged many close bonds with other characters. However, these relationships never went beyond the platonic level. From the Burning Shores DLC currently exclusive to PlayStation 5 and set after the events of Forbidden Westthat has changed.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for the Horizon series and the Burning Shores DLC.]
Several male characters have expressed romantic interest in Aloy in the past, but she would always shoot them down. However, it seemed as if the remnants of a romantic system were in place Forbidden West; In the dialogue options with the Sun King Avad, players could select responses from Aloy early in the game, which had a heart symbol next to them, much like romance-specific dialogue is delineated in BioWare games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. However, choosing the heart options never resulted in a romance, further leading fans and critics to speculate about it Aloy might be asexual.
Forbidden West also contained another clue in the story of Elisabet Sobeck, a scientist from the distant past of whom Aloy is an exact genetic clone. Just before the end Forbidden WestAloy learns that Elizabet was a queer woman. Queerness has never been officially linked to a genetic marker in real life (although Many scientists have researched it), but the Horizon games always seemed to veer towards the magical when it comes to the extreme similarities between Aloy and her grandmother. The two are essentially treated as the same person, just in two different timelines. Because of this, many fans have assumed that Aloy is also queer.
Burning Shoresthe new DLC for Forbidden West, confirms Aloy’s sexuality with the introduction of a romance between the heroine and her female companion Seyka, new to this new chapter. The whole scene can be seen in the video below.
Aloy has the option to turn down Seyka’s proposal, but even if she does, that refusal carries no implication that Aloy is straight. Aloy’s dialogue responses to Seyka are, “Yes, I will,” “I’m not ready for this,” or “This is too much for me.”
When Aloy reciprocates Seyka’s feelings, the two share a kiss, but the DLC still ends with the characters parting ways. No matter what, the inclusion of this new character and her feelings for Aloy opens up tremendous possibilities for storytelling in future Horizon games – including more romance with Seyka, or maybe other characters as well.
