With 2017’sHorizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games did a remarkable job getting its sci-fi universe off the ground. While Aloy’s coming-of-age story and quest to save the biosphere understandably took center stage, plenty of other narrative threads were woven into the fringes of the game’s story. Thanks to the recent release ofHorizon Forbidden WestonPS4 and more powerful PS5 hardware, the studio has taken the opportunity to dig deeper while exploring a different corner of its post-apocalyptic world.
Most ofHorizon Forbidden West’s references to the first game are more than just nostalgic callbacks. Between the reintroduction of fan-favorite characters and deeper examinations of the universe’s villains, it’s fair to say that the majority have significant impacts on the trajectory of its campaign. Despite this success, Guerrilla has decided to downplay some ofZero Dawn’s more compelling story beats. Arguably the biggest entity that should have gotten a bigger part in the sequel is the AI CYAN, who was introduced during the first game’sThe Frozen WildsDLC expansion.
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CYAN in The Frozen Wilds
Looking atHorizon Zero Dawnin its entirety, the CYAN AI was a relatively late arrival. Introduced duringThe Frozen Wildsexpansion, which came out nine months after the main game’s February 2017 release, there was little opportunity for the entity to directly interact with Aloy’s main adventures. Keeping this in mind, it’s remarkable that CYAN was still able to become such a prominent figure.
CYAN began as unwitting villain under the control of HEPHAESTUS, before eventually switching sides to become an ally ofAloy and the local Banuk tribe. Over the course of the DLC, the player and Aloy gradually learned more about CYAN’s backstory while attempting to free it from servitude. In the process, they come to realize that the entity is far more complex than its initial corrupted status would suggest.
Beforethe Faro Plague stripped the worldof all life, CYAN had been created to tackle the Earth’s runaway climate crisis during the mid-21st Century. With the super volcano under Yellowstone National Park threatening to erupt, Ted Faro stepped in with a solution. Utilizing the minds of the world’s best scientists, CYAN was brought to life to stabilize and manage Yellowstone’s caldera. This mission is where the entity’s full designation, the Caldera of Yellowstone Analytic Nexus, comes from.
As an artificial intelligence capable of emotion and empathy, CYAN effectively laid thefoundation for GAIA’s creationseveral in-game decades later. Thanks to the Turing Act of 2044, and the destructive sentient AIs that predated both entities, Faro Automated Solutions' decision to create CYAN was illegal. It’s partly for this reason that the AI spent 800 years in total isolation from the rest of the world, cut off from outside networks, before it was eventually discovered by the Banuk Shaman Ourea and HEPHAESTUS.
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CYAN in Horizon Forbidden West
ConsideringGuerrilla Games’ desire to create a believable universe, it makes sense the studio hasn’t forgotten about CYAN entirely. InHorizon Forbidden West,Aloy can mention the independent AI to GAIA while the pair are coming up with strategies to stop the Far Zenith colonists. In typical forward-thinking fashion, it’s revealed that GAIA has already attempted to reach out to CYAN. Yet, due to HEPHAESTUS’ schemes, it’s inferred that the AI is fearful of acknowledging unexpected invites. Beyond this brief Easter egg callback to the first game’s DLC, CYAN is never mentioned again.
Even though there’s likely some sound mechanical and narrative reasons behind Guerrilla Games’ decision to leave CYAN out ofHorizon Forbidden West, the AI’s physical absence is a big missed opportunity. This becomes readily apparent when examining GAIA’s subroutine DEMETER, and its love for foliage and poetry - two things that,thanks toThe Frozen WildsDLC, it has been established the AI has in common with CYAN.
Back duringHorizon Zero Dawn, Aloy could collect30 strange Metal Flowersthroughout the game’s map. Beyond being a quirky twist on a classic collectible trope, there wasn’t any backstory as to their creation. Thanks toThe Frozen Wilds,players had the opportunity to question CYAN on the subject. It’s revealed through a dialogue option that DEMETER is the GAIA subroutine behind their creation, related to its dominion over the Earth’s floral biosphere.
Having teased an eventual encounter with DEMETER, it’s surprising that CYAN doesn’t feature inHorizon Forbidden Westto see the plot through to its conclusion. While it’s true that the flowers Aloy encounters duringher quest through the Greenhouseare built by Faro Automated Solutions, there’s little evidence of this initially. Calling CYAN for advice on the subject through Aloy’s Focus, or to ask it to act as an intermediary to DEMETER, would have likely been a rewarding story beat for those who played the DLC.
CYAN’s Future in Horizon
Thanks to Aloy’s endeavors duringThe Frozen WildsDLC, CYAN is still an active player in the geological landscape of the post-apocalypse. As the AI in charge of Project Firebreak, it will likely have an active part to play in preventing the Yellowstone Caldera from exploding for years to come. It’s for this reason that it’s possible that CYAN could still reappear down the line. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a future DLC forForbidden Westmight re-introduce it, in a manner that would fittinglyparallelZero Dawn’s own post-launch support.
Zero Dawn’s DLC left CYAN’s story on something of a cliffhanger. From a character development perspective there was still a lot of room for the AI to develop, with it having recently experienced enslavement under HEPHAESTUS and the death of its human friend, Ourea. Considering the similarities it shares with GAIA, and the fact that it expressed a desire to meet her, there’s an outside chance thatForbidden West’s Easter eggdialogue could still develop into something more fulfilling in the future.
Horizon Forbidden Westis available now on PS4 and PS5.
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