Top 5 Reasons Why the Sequel for Horizon Forbidden West Might Be Totally Different From the Original

Horizon Forbidden West is possibly one of the best sequels a game could have got. It takes everything good from Horizon Zero Dawn and amplifies it to another level. This 2022-released game featured many new elements. If it was missing anything, the developers added that with the latest DLC, Burning Shores.

The audience loved both the games and all of the DLCs. There is no doubt why both installments were such strong contenders for “Game of the Year” in their respective release years. Building up on this, there is already a lot of hype around the next Horizon sequel. But it might have some changes from the original game.

Aloy’s next adventure after Horizon Forbidden West

After playing both Horizon games, players know that the next installment always picks up from where the previous one left off. So, the next Horizon game will start where its predecessor ended. However, it won’t continue after the event of Forbidden West, but from where its DLC, Burning Shores concluded.

Burning Shores’ post-credit scene revealed that Sylens found some lead to defeat the approaching threat, Nemesis. He found traces of 21st-century weapons that might be able to fight this approaching enemy. So this game might revolve around Aloy going across the earth discovering and collecting these lost weapons to defeat Nemesis.

What will happen with Sylens?

One of the biggest questions that fans have in their heads is related to Sylens. He is a major character in the series, first appearing in Horizon Zero Dawn. He even played a vital role in Horizon Forbidden West. From the Brurning Shores’ post-credit scene, Sylens hinted that he would be possibly working alongside Aloy.

There were speculations that Sylens would carry the plot forward. But it would still be Aloy leading the game with Sylens playing a major role. However, Lance Reddick, the actor who played this iconic character, recently passed away. So, there are multiple ways they can move forward with this. The developers can either end the character early on or limit his role. There is even a possibility that the late Lance Reddick might have already recorded everything as the same has been done for Commander Zavala in Destiny, which was confirmed by Bungie.

There is a change in management

Guerrilla Studios made a major announcement about their management recently. The Studio Director and Executive Producer Angie Smets left the Dutch studio after working there for over 20 years. She is now the Head of Development Strategy at PlayStation Studios.

Guerrilla Studios also had to restructure its management to fill Smets’ void. There would be a team of Studio Directors, consisting of the Production Director Joel Eschler, the General Manager Hella Schmidt, and also the Art Director Jan-Bart van Beek. But the question now is would it affect the game in any manner?

READ MORE: 10 Must-Have Skills in Horizon Forbidden West for an Early OP Gameplay

It doesn’t seem the next Horizon game would have many changes because of the new management. The new team is formed of people who worked on the previous two games. But still, Angie Smets’ absence might be felt in some manner. After all, she was an integral part of the franchise.

A better Decima Engine to create the next Horizon

Guerrilla Studios have its own game development tool, the Decima Engine. With each year, they kept improving their engine to create a better game. Guerrilla announced that their Technical Director Michiel van der Leeuw is working on improving the strategy.

The Dutch game developers would use the improved Decima Engine to expand the world of Horizon with the next installment and an online project. So, the next game might feature even better visuals and game mechanics than the available two Horizon games.

The Horizon Forbidden West sequel will be a PS5 exclusive

Horizon Forbidden West was released on the latest PlayStation 5. Later, it was released on the previous generation console, PlayStation 4. However, the DLC Burning Shores ended up being a PlayStation 5 exclusive. So fans should expect a similar treatment for the next Horizon game too.

However, being a PlayStation 5 exclusive, this game would take advantage of the most advanced technology Sony has to offer. So the next game would not only use an improved engine but also all of the resources of the PS5 to provide the finest visual and gameplay experience possible.

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Fans might have to wait quite a while to hear official announcements related to the much-awaited sequel to Horizon Forbidden West. However, what are your expectations about it?