Summary
Across two entries, Guerrilla Games' acclaimedHorizonseries has seen fans embark on an epic adventure in a gorgeously realized post-apocalyptic Earth, confronting threats both human and artificial after the latter caused a cataclysmic extinction event a millennium before the events of the game.Horizon Zero Dawnestablished much of the franchise’s unique lore and world building, and the sequel,Horizon Forbidden West, took things even further, introducing a host of new elements and characters into its ongoing saga, and upping the stakes in a cliffhanger conclusion.
Horizon Zero Dawn’s main antagonist was HADES, a malevolent AI that was part ofthe GAIA collective of functionscreated as a last desperate solution to the rogue machine crisis that occurred long beforeHorizon’s heroine, Aloy, was born. During the course of the first title, Aloy and her companions are eventually able to thwart HADES' plans to destroy human civilization again. In the follow-up, it’s revealed that HADES itself was merely a pawn in a greater scheme, and an even greater threat known as Nemesis was responsible for activating HADES. Given both their natures, it’s possible that Nemesis could revive HADES in some way for the third entry.
Guerrilla has also announced plans for aHorizonmultiplayer experience as well as an upcomingHorizonLEGO game.
Nemesis Could be the Key to Reviving HADES in Horizon 3
HADES and the Extinction Signal in Horizon Zero Dawn
As Aloy works towards uncovering the secrets of humanity’s past and discovering her true purpose and nature inHorizon Zero Dawn, she gains insight into what caused the machines roaming Earth to go rampant and ravage its ecosystem. HADES was the catalyst, a subroutine programmed intoGAIA’s greater systems. Its purpose was to reset GAIA’s terraforming efforts in the event that they did not pan out, essentially acting as a reset failsafe measure.
HADES was only intended to be utilized in extreme cases. However, once Nemesis began transmitting its own signal from deep space intended to reactivate HADES and remove its containment safeguards, it was able to break free of its limiting parameters and begin enacting Nemesis' goal of turningHorizon’s machineshostile once more in order to eliminate humanity. Though HADES was defeated at the end ofZero Dawn, there is reason to suspect that Aloy, and players, may not have seen the last of it.
How Nemesis Might Resurrect HADES in Horizon 3
During the events ofHorizon Forbidden West, it’s revealed that anotherAI entity known as Nemesisis now heading towards Earth, bent on destroying it after its previous machinations failed. Nemesis is composed of a consortium of digitized consciousnesses of the Far Zeniths, technologically advanced elite members of Old Earth’s society who fled to the Sirius System to escape the original calamity. Nemesis turned against the Zeniths and is the true culprit behind sending the signal beamed to Earth that awakened HADES. As Nemesis' powers far exceed HADES', this could explain why HADES reappears.
A key piece of lore is that the Zeniths stole most of humanity’s records and collective knowledge, depriving those left on Earth of it and hoarding it for their own purposes. This includes data on GAIA and HADES, and thus Nemesis, combined with its own extensive abilities, could create a sort of 2.0 version of HADES, forcing Aloy and her allies to confront it yet again, perhaps in an even worse iteration than previously encountered, on top of Nemesis itself.
As Aloy is a genetic clone of Dr. Elisabet Sobeck, the visionary responsible for designing and implementing the Zero Dawn program meant to revitalize the planet, it would be a kind offull circle moment forHorizon, should Nemesis be able to recreate HADES. It would mirror the situations of the forces set on saving and preserving Earth against the ones seeking to destroy it, and set up a narratively appropriate climatic confrontation to close off the trilogy.
Horizon Forbidden West
WHERE TO PLAY
Join Aloy as she braves a majestic but dangerous new frontier that holds mysterious new threats. This Complete Edition allows you to enjoy the critically acclaimed Horizon Forbidden West on PC in its entirety with bonus content, including the Burning Shores story expansion that picks up after the main game.Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as you return to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon.The land is dying. Vicious storms and an unstoppable blight ravage the scattered remnants of humanity while fearsome new machines prowl their borders, and life on Earth is hurtling toward another extinction.It’s up to Aloy to uncover the secrets behind these threats and restore order and balance to the world. Along the way, she must reunite with old friends, forge alliances with warring new factions and unravel the legacy of the ancient past.
