Horizon Zero Dawn was an explosive introduction to Guerilla Games' RPG series, and 2022's Horizon Forbidden West was a fitting sequel. With its fascinating new world overrun with mechanical creatures and dripping with unique lore, the Horizon franchise quickly made a name for itself among Sony's more memorable properties, with Horizon Forbidden West's success cementing its status. Fans were immediately drawn to Aloy's story as she battled her way across a post-apocalyptic landscape and took on numerous threats, but some are hoping the next installment scales things back a bit when it comes to its systems and features.
As a sequel to the hugely successful Horizon Zero Dawn, it makes sense that Horizon Forbidden West looked at how it could build on the foundation of the first game and make things bigger and better. In many ways, players can expect iterative installments to add new layers to the world and the gameplay, with bigger maps to explore, more abilities and skills to unlock, and a wider array of enemies to fight. But there is also an argument for taking the next entry in a franchise back to basics in some respects and letting the story speak for itself, which is something Horizon Forbidden West's sequel could consider.
The Horizon Forbidden West Sequel
Horizon Zero Dawn was well-received by both fans and critics alike and was an exciting new IP that introduced gamers to a captivating world. It wasn't just the narrative and the worldbuilding that drew players in though – Horizon Zero Dawn's multifaceted combat systems and creative use of enemy types and varied weaponry felt fresh as well as fun. The first game may have been a hit, but that only increased fan expectations when it came to the sequel. Topping Horizon Zero Dawn was a tall order, but Horizon Forbidden West still managed to deliver. Now the eyes of the gaming community are on the next installment and what the third game in the franchise might bring.
It's still very early days for the third Horizon entry, so the upcoming game remains a mystery for the most part. Guerilla Games confirmed that the Horizon series would be a trilogy, and after the cliffhanger at the end of Horizon Forbidden West regarding Nemesis, it's clear that Aloy's story is far from over. While the story will be finishing off Aloy's narrative, other elements are still up for debate. Some players think the third Horizon game should be shorter and focus on delivering narrative payoffs rather than packing its runtime full of activities. While there's a case for both continuing to expand the scope of the game or scaling things back, stripping down Horizon Forbidden West's sequel to make a simpler, slicker game could be a good option.
Taking The Horizon Series Back To Basics
Players obviously want to get their money's worth with any release, and there's definitely a trend with sequels to try and top everything that came before in the previous game. This makes sense, but sometimes sequels forget the 'less is more' rule and pile on the content, regardless of if the formula needs it or not. Horizon Forbidden West did make improvements, and it was exciting to explore a massively expanded map full of new areas, but if the next Horizon game follows in its footsteps things might get a little out of control.
In addition to its ambitious open world and increased stakes, Horizon Forbidden West added more enemies, weapons, damage types, and branching skill trees. These additional elements served the game well, but in some instances, Horizon Forbidden West did start to feel a little overcrowded and not quite as well-thought-out as it could have been. Instead of looking to add to these elements yet again, the next Horizon game could strip things back a bit and focus on the story and the characters as Aloy's arc comes to an end, while still keeping the combat and exploratory aspects engaging and challenging.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.