Summary
Guerrilla Games’Horizon Forbidden Westexpanded on almost every aspect of its preceding debut title,Horizon Zero Dawn, garnering much praise from players and critics, and becoming a blockbuster Sony/PlayStation (later ported to PC) franchise.Horizon Forbidden Westwas hailed as an excellent sequel and addition to the AAA action-adventure titles that have composed a significant part of PlayStation’s catalog, and its rich story, characters, setting, and gameplay enthralled audiences.
WithinHorizon’s lore and history,most of the action and plot stems from the situation that occurred on the series' version of Earth in the distant past. The present trials and tribulations of protagonist Aloy and her band of companions centers around healing the damage done to the planet due to a technological-based apocalypse, where rogue military AI robots went rampant and devastated its ecosystem. While searching for answers, Aloy uncovers deep truths about herself, her origins, and her place in the world. This is quite apparent in her relation to GAIA–Horizon’s powerful and advanced AI matrix that Aloy has an intimate relationship with, with her serving a particular role within GAIA’s greater vision and purpose.
AHorizonmultiplayer titlehas previously been announced, with other spin-offs being possible and an eventual third full game being highly rumored/assumed.
Aloy is GAIA’s Ares in Horizon’s World
Horizon’s GAIA and Its Ultimate Goal
Horizon’s Aloy is actually a clone of scientist Elisabeth Sobeck, who originally envisioned and designed GAIA as a complex, extremely advanced AI personality construct in her attempts to restore the planet after the fact. GAIA was essentially Sobeck’s last ditch effort to reverse the devastation the robotic plague unleashed on Earth, and was planned as a fail-safe to restart the planet’s ecosystem after the machine swarm exhausted itself by harvesting all available natural resources as biofuel.
GAIA is composed of a number of subroutines, each with their own distinct personalities and specialties tailored towards a specific area of Earth’s biosphere, like water purification and weather regulation. Named after Greek/Roman deities and figures, GAIA’s known subroutines are:
Horizon Forbidden Westsees Aloy having to track down, contain, and rebootGAIA’s various functionswhich have strayed from their original programming and are either inadvertently or purposefully causing more harm in their chaotic state. During her quest to reunite and restore the AI to its full power and potential and halt the haywire this fracturing is enabling, it becomes apparent that Aloy herself seems to perfectly fit one of GAIA’s sub-roles that is not present in its makeup.
How Aloy Acts as GAIA’s Ares Functionality in Horizon Forbidden West
Astute fans may notice that there is one recognizable Greek pantheon member who is suspiciously absent from the above list - Ares. It seems natural that this function would be a part of GAIA’s utility, as the god of battle and courageous acts would surely be a needed component in the struggle to retake the planet from the machines. As players explore and fight throughHorizon Forbidden West’s world,they may eventually realize that, for all intents and purposes, as Aloy they are serving the role that an Ares routine likely would.
SinceAloy is a highly skilled, trained warriorand brilliant strategist, battling through the roaming hordes of robots, hostile tribes and bandits to reign in the threat the other rogue programs pose to the planet’s environmental stability is precisely the task she was made for. Aloy fits the role of heroic warrior-protector inHorizon Forbidden West,leading her allies to victory against their foes, and bringing the wayward personalities of GAIA together in order to make her whole again and fulfill the purpose she was created for. By acting as the avatar of Ares in this way, Aloy’s relationship with GAIA is strengthened, and the two form a powerful bond and friendship once all the pieces have been put back in place. This is an excellent detail and touch from Guerilla, and shows how interconnected the world and characters ofHorizonare within the greater narrative.
