Horizon Forbidden Westis a game rich with detail. As a showcase game for the PlayStation 5, Guerrilla’s clearly spent a significant amount of time ensuring that the game’s visuals impress players in any number of ways. Aloy’s model is perhaps the best example of this, becauseHorizon Forbidden Westplayers can directly compare her to the last generation version of herself inHorizon Zero Dawn. There’s one example that players especially appreciate, given it’s a key reference to the events ofHorizon Zero Dawnand a unique comparison between the games.
InHorizon Zero Dawn, Aloy’s journey begins with a catalyst event that’s incredibly tragic. Without getting into detail, it involves a young Aloy having her life threatened and nearly dying. She’s grabbed by an enemy who draws a knife to slit her throat. Only, at the last second, the enemy is hit with an arrow and drops Aloy down a cliff. Aloy lives through the fall, but is slashed across the throat. It’s not deep enough to prove a mortal wound, but it’s a nasty cut that leaves a frightening scar.
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The detail that fans have noticed inHorizon Forbidden Westis, obviously, the scar that Aloy retains from this traumatic event. Aloy carried it with her throughout the events ofHorizon Zero DawnandGuerrilla Gamesmade sure that it remained visually recognizable inHorizon Forbidden West.
The events ofHorizon Forbidden Westbegin just six months after the conclusion ofHorizon Zero Dawn, which itself isn’t much past when the events of the Proving occur and Aloy got her scar. As such, it makes sense for Aloy’s scar to be clearly visible. The scar onAloy’s neck inHorizon Forbidden Westis clearly identical to the scar in the first game, though it does look different. The difference could be attributed to the scarred skin healing over the six months, or it’s just an improve level of visual fidelity and artistic license.
While Aloy’s neck scar is easily noticeable and thus draws a lot of attention, it’s not the only scar that she bears from the events of the first game. When Aloy was very young, the children of the village she lives near threw rocks at her for being “motherless.” This leaves a scar on her forehead above her eye, which can also be seen inHorizon ForbiddenWest despite it happening years prior to the game. It’s another great detail that can becompared betweenHorizon Forbidden WestandHorizon Zero Dawn.
It may be a detail that Guerrilla Games should be expected to include. It’s a serious scar on the protagonist of their massivefirst-party PlayStation franchise, after all. Still, it’s well-executed and just one example of many, many incredibly details fromHorizon Forbidden Westworth acknowledging.
Horizon Forbidden Westis available now on PS4 and PS5.
