Aloy’s journey in the Horizon franchise has already taken her through a huge portion of the post-apocalyptic United States, from the snowy mountain ranges of the north to the sunken ruins of Los Angeles, California. Throughout the series, each entry — including Forbidden West‘s Burning Shores expansion — has stretched those boundaries and allowed Aloy to explore even more territory. However, with the next step now being Horizon 3, it’s worth pondering where the heroine could go next, and whether it still needs to be America. That’s where Death Stranding 2: On the Beach offers a compelling foot forward.
Both Horizon and Death Stranding 2 utilize Guerrilla Games’ Decima engine to deliver stunning visuals across their post-apocalyptic terrain, but where Hideo Kojima’s highly anticipated sequel differs from the Horizon series is that it takes players beyond the confines of America. Beginning in Mexico and then moving to Australia shortly after, Death Stranding 2 offers players something Horizon never has: not just a change in scenery, but one that is also accompanied by the distinct tone of non-American civilizations that have collapsed and geography that can’t be found within the States. Perhaps Horizon 3 could take a cue from its cousin and also take Aloy somewhere other than America.
Guerrilla Games’ expected Horizon 3 should be inspired by Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 to introduce a classic RPG mechanic to the series.
Why Horizon 3 Could Benefit From Following Death Stranding 2’s Southern Route
New Regions Could Offer Horizon 3 Unexplored Cultures and Unique Machine Threats
While taking players somewhere other than the United States in Horizon 3 would offer distinct visuals, it’s not the graphics alone that would make the journey worth it. Rather, moving Horizon 3 to a region like Mexico or Australia would potentially introduce new biomes and cultural backdrops the series hasn’t yet explored. Perhaps tribes and civilizations in different regions would have unique relationships with machines than those in America, and even different technologies or other ways of surviving that give Aloy new tools and perspectives on navigating the machine-ridden world.
With the threat of Nemesis, who was introduced at the end of Horizon Forbidden West, not being bound to a specific region and instead being a global threat, there is more than enough reason to believe that Horizon 3 could take Aloy beyond America.
New, non-American regions in Horizon 3 would also potentially allow for fresh machine designs that are inspired by local wildlife. And since a major part of the appeal of Horizon‘s gameplay is its varied machines, that would make the new locations all the more worth visiting. Machine types that resemble boxing kangaroos or giant reptiles the series hasn’t explored so far would challenge players who have become familiar with the series’ combat up to this point, making Horizon 3‘s gameplay feel like more than just a repeat of the past.
A Cross-Continental Journey Would Push the Franchise Into Exciting Gameplay Territory
Apart from new machines, biomes, and cultures, Horizon 3 moving beyond the United States would also potentially present players with unique traversal challenges to overcome. Similarly to how Death Stranding 2‘s Mexico starts players out at the top of a mountain and tasks them with making it down the rough terrain safely, if Horizon 3 were set in a non-American region, players might need to reorient their muscle memory to accommodate the changes in geography. A cross-continental journey would also give the sequel room to grow in scale, much like Death Stranding 2 did after what its predecessor introduced.
Moving Horizon 3 to a region like Mexico or Australia would potentially introduce new biomes and cultural backdrops the series hasn’t yet explored.
While it hasn’t been confirmed yet where Horizon 3 might see Aloy and her companions landing in terms of location, it wouldn’t be a bad idea at all for the game to follow in Death Stranding 2‘s footsteps and travel outside the borders of the United States for once. With the potential there is for it to introduce new biomes, cultures, machines, and unique gameplay opportunities, there’s just too much to pass up. Plus, it could make Horizon 3 feel less iterative and more transformative.
