Horizon Forbidden West Villains and Heroes, Who is the Most Powerful?

Horizon Zero Dawn introduced an amazing foundation to Guerrilla Games’ post-post-apocalyptic world, one overrun with robotic creatures as stunning as seeing a brachiosaurus for the first time in Jurassic Park, centered around an instant PlayStation icon in Aloy, and layered with a surprising level of mystery, lore, and history. Following it up is no small feat, but after four hours of hands-on time with early portions of its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West is shaping up to be a fulfillment of all the promises made by its predecessor.

Horizon Forbidden West villains and heroes

Currently, 13 named characters have been confirmed to appear in Horizon Forbidden West, seven of which are returning characters from Horizon Zero Dawn.

What is the story?

Aloy will travel to mysterious regions in Horizon Forbidden West, but as a direct sequel to Zero Dawn, there will be plenty of returning characters. Horizon Forbidden West’s new weapons and combat mechanics will give players some fresh gameplay as they explore the area that spans from what was once Utah to the Pacific coast. New tribes and machines have already been teased, but Aloy’s story can’t properly continue without further exploration of the relationships she made in Horizon Zero Dawn.

When Forbidden West launches on February 18, it will have been nearly five years since Zero Dawn released. Guerrilla Games’ first attempt at an open-world title was well received, making a sequel practically inevitable. Aloy has quickly entered the ranks of PlayStation’s beloved characters, and her second outing has been used heavily to promote Sony’s latest console, the PlayStation 5, even though Forbidden West will land on the PS4 too. With a PSVR 2 game – Horizon Call of the Mountain – on the way as well, Sony has apparently put a lot of stock in Guerrilla’s franchise, and Forbidden West is being touted as a major step forward from its predecessor.

How is the setting?

The setting of Horizon Forbidden West’s improved open world is largely unexplored by the people players encountered in Zero Dawn. The Forbidden West was given its name by the Carja, the first game’s largest tribe. While expanding its kingdom, known as the Sundom, the Carja staged multiple expeditions into the region that would become known as the Forbidden West. The sixth Sun-King of the Carja, Iriv, and his entire army vanished on the fourth expedition.

All Horizon Forbidden West Confirmed Returning Characters

Horizon Forbidden West Marks Aloy’s Return

Aloy is reprising her role as Horizon Forbidden West’s protagonist
It’s no surprise that Aloy is returning with some new weapons in Horizon Forbidden West following the events of its predecessor. The first game answered plenty of questions on its own but left a lot of threads for Aloy to follow, and Forbidden West has some new narrative arcs as well.

The voice of Aloy is being reprised by Ashly Burch, who has been a cast member in dozens of other games, including fellow PlayStation exclusives The Last of Us Part II and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Aloy’s model is based on Dutch actress Hannah Hoekstra, whose only video game credit is Zero Dawn. Aloy is drawn to the dangerous regions west of her home to search for the sources of the Red Blight, a mysterious plague that is ravaging the fledgling human populations alongside violent weather patterns.

Sylens Is A Returning Antagonist In Horizon Forbidden West

Sylens returns as a primary antagonist in Horizon Forbidden West
Sylens is a major component in how Horizon Forbidden West’s story connects to the first game, and he returns as a primary antagonist. He is once again modeled after and voiced by Lance Reddick, who also plays Commander Zavala in Destiny 2, but is most popularly known for his role in The Wire.

Sylens spent most of Zero Dawn as a puppet master attempting to reignite the Faro Plague and once again rid the earth of organic life. Sylens was in league with the ancient AI known as HADES before it was destroyed by Aloy and company, and his exact motivations in Forbidden West are unknown. Trailers have revealed that he is aiding Regalla’s Rebels, a splinter group of Tenakth, one of the Forbidden West’s native tribes.

Horizon Forbidden West Shows Erend Is Coming Back

Erend goes to the Forbidden West to help Aloy
Though born into an Oseram tribe, Erend becomes the leader of Sun-King Avad’s Vanguard during the events of Zero Dawn. He is played by John Hopkins, who revealed in a new YouTube video from PlayStation about Forbidden West’s cast that Erend refused to be left behind by Aloy when she journeyed to the unknown regions. Erend was suffering a descent into alcoholism after his sister’s death when he met Aloy in Zero Dawn.

The two became close when Aloy helped Erend solve the mysteries surrounding his sister’s murder, and their partnership extended to the destruction of HADES. Erend was a major subject of Horizon Forbidden West’s gameplay reveal video, where he and other Oseram Vanguard members appear to be in a fight against the Tenakth. Erend is likely to once again be a key character during the game’s story.

Varl Is A Returning Character In Horizon Forbidden West

Fellow Nora Varl returns to help Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West
Alongside Erend, Varl is another major side character that will reappear in Horizon Forbidden West. Varl is a Nora Brave, like Aloy, and eventually matches her Seeker status when he is granted permission to help defend Meridian from HADES and the Eclipse.

Varl once shared many Nora’s discomfort at traveling outside of the Sacred Lands, but began a friendship with Erend at the end of Horizon Zero Dawn. That friendship will flourish in Forbidden West, according to Varl’s voice actor, John MacMillan (Varl is modeled after Amron Adams). With Aloy’s status as the Anointed among the Nora, Varl has a certain reverence for her, but his admiration pushes him to respect Aloy’s wishes to not be treated as some holy figure.

Talanah Will Have A Bigger Role In Horizon Forbidden West

Talanah, voiced by Freya Parker and modeled after Levy Tran, is Sunhawk of the Carja Hunters Lodge, a title that makes her its highest-ranking member. She achieved this position with Aloy’s help by felling the fiercest of Horizon’s animal-inspired machines, a Thunderjaw known as Redmaw. From a long line of Hunters Lodge Hawks, Talanah is a proud warrior who not only becomes a valuable hunting partner for Aloy but also fights in the battle against HADES.

Talanah’s role in Horizon Forbidden West is largely a mystery, but in an interview with Game Informer, narrative director Benjamin McCaw lists her next to Varl and Erend as character players might want “to brush up on” before jumping into the sequel. Talanah’s story has greatly expanded thanks to recent comics, but senior writer Anna Kitten told Game Informer that Horizon Forbidden West would bring players up to speed on those events.

Who is the most powerful?

Horizon Zero Dawn was one of Sony’s most successful games of the previous gen. Guerrila Games’ tale of Aloy and a post-apocalyptic world has sold well over 10 million copies, and its soon-to-be released sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, is eagerly anticipated. But how many people actually saw the first game through to its end? And how many players went to the trouble to secure the game-changing Shield Weaver?

An average of 43 percent of players completed Zero Dawn’s story, according to PSN Profiles, which is actually not too bad for an open-world game, but apparently even more players took the time to get the shield weaver armour. Around 45 percent of Horizon players took on the challenge of retrieving five power cells to open up the door leading to the armour. We have a handy guide should you want to scout for the power cells if you haven’t already.

The shield weaver outfit is extremely powerful, allowing Aloy to soak up much more damage, without affecting her health, and so massively tilting combat in her favour. The expansion Frozen Wilds, where there are new and powerful beasties, is quite transformed when players don the shield weaver, making the DLC a lot breezier.

Horizon Forbidden West Has Single Ending With Some Surprises
It’s no wonder then that for the sequel, Guerrilla appears to have depowered the armour, returning the challenge to players. Although it’s not yet known whether Forbidden West will continue players’ save data from Zero Dawn, we do know that the upcoming game is set six months after the final events of its predecessor. And from the looks of a recent gameplay video, Guerrilla isn’t taking any chances with the shield weaver.

As spotted by Pushsquare, a screenshot from IGN’s hands-on with the game seems to confirm that the special armour has lost “its power source” and been “modified to augment ranged combat”. The armour still looks the same, with its black-ish colour and vivid belt, but the glowing aspect of the shield weaver is now faded. This would make sense if the shield weaver has now been powered down.

It’s a smart move by Guerrilla to ensure that the powerful armour would be depowered once players headed to the Forbidden West, but players will have the chance to find out for themselves soon. Horizon Forbidden West is due to launch on PS4 and PS5 on February 18.

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