Horizon 3 Can Fix a Forbidden West Problem by Copying…

Guerrilla’s Horizon franchise seems to have nestled comfortably into its core gameplay loop of elaborate, strategic machine hunts cloaked in a remarkably unique science-fiction story. It’s regrettably easy to forget that Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West aren’t action-adventure games, though, due to their adherence to contemporary PlayStation blockbuster trends. Both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West are terrific games in their own right, but they do suggest that the Horizon series’ mainline trajectory isn’t going to be as astronomical as its narrative ambitions.

For instance, Horizon Forbidden West’s Sunwing flying mount isn’t unlocked until nearly the end of the game. This will surely force Guerrilla to reconsider how the open world will be designed in Horizon 3, especially considering how spectacularly breathtaking underwater vistas are. Plus, there may not be much more room for ideation, let alone profound features as wonderful as flying mounts, if Horizon 3 does intend to be the third game in a bookended trilogy. Nonetheless, Horizon could look to its PlayStation neighbor and unabashedly ‘steal’ a dazzling feature that affects its open-world traversal greatly: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s instantaneous fast travel.

Thanks to Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Horizon 3 is Unlikely to Inherit One PlayStation Trend

If Zero Dawn and Forbidden West paint a portrait of the series' future, Horizon 3 may not be the threequel to move many mountains.

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By Jared Stewart

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Somehow Made Extraordinary Traversal Even Better

Web-swinging and overall traversal in open-world Spider-Man games are hotly debated. Some corners of the Spider-Man fandom will stand stalwartly by Spider-Man 2 (2004), Ultimate Spider-Man, or Spider-Man: Web of Shadows as having the best web-swinging, for example, while that of Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise has proven incredibly intuitive for modern-day sensibilities. For the sake of its simplicity and fluidity, Marvel’s Spider-Man’s web-swinging is fantastic and is hoisted quite highly by a rich, open-world New York City that is designed to be the perfect sandbox for players to maneuver through.

Then, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales expanded on the original game’s traversal slightly by introducing Miles-specific traversal options via his bioelectricity powers, as well as his own unique movement animations.

If Insomniac wanted to, it probably could’ve stuck with the traversal mechanics it had established and merely fleshed out its New York City as it does in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Instead, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 debuts web-wing gliding and a fast travel feature that lets players appear anywhere they’d like to on the map, wherein the player will almost immediately be thrown into gameplay wherever they’ve chosen to spawn as their selected Spider-Man.

Horizon 3 Can’t Afford a Misstep Following Forbidden West’s Traversal

There’s no confirmation or indication that Horizon Forbidden West’s sequel will end Aloy’s story. Trilogies are commonplace in a lot of media, sure, but The Last of Us Part 2 may well be the series’ swan song, and God of War may be poised to conclude its Norse mythology saga after only two installments. That said, with Nemesis looming, it wouldn’t be surprising if Horizon 3 does try to close the book on the central narrative it’s been telling.

If so, there’s no guarantee at all that Guerrilla will bother flooding Horizon 3 with a bunch of new mechanics and features if it doesn’t see itself employing them elsewhere thereafter. It seems fair to expect that flying mounts should play a big role in how players maneuver the open world in Horizon 3, for example, and the sky may literally be the limit after all.

Horizon could look to its PlayStation neighbor and unabashedly ‘steal’ a dazzling feature that affects its open-world traversal greatly: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s instantaneous fast travel.

Horizon 3 could borrow Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s fast travel feature and allow players to be hurled into gameplay astride a Sunwing wherever they’ve chosen to spawn. Aloy is unable to web-swing across the landscape, after all, and even if Cauldrons needed to be activated prior, it would be a stunning quality-of-life feature for the series to add to its arsenal if players could soar wherever they wanted whenever they wanted.

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