The world of Horizon Forbidden West is overrun with dangerous machines; on a quest to save the world from ecological disaster, series protagonist Aloy must face some of the most fearsome predators that this new world has to offer. As the threat of rogue AI and futuristic fantasists runs rampant, Aloy has little chance to take a breather in Horizon Forbidden West. What rest she does get is usually spent dealing with her emotions and processing the sacrifices made to help her build a better world.All across the Forbidden West bandit camps need clearing, deadly machines need felling, and people need helping. Despite Forbidden West's sunny tropics and iconic tourist locales, Aloy's experience is far from a holiday. Regardless, this hasn’t stopped fans from creating some stunning fan art of Aloy taking a much-needed break. On Reddit, user ladyvile_ shows off their creative capabilities in their art of Aloy on the beach. Donned in the difficultly obtained Oseram Artificer gear, Aloy sits with a smile on her face before the smoking remains of a Tideripper, one of Horizon Forbidden West’s new machines. Stylized to look like a weathered postcard with faded off-white borders, written above her in light blue cursive is “Wish you were Here!”
LadyVile’s eloquent detailing fully realizes the texture of the game’s graphics while still retaining a charming cartoonish quality. The sharp yellow spikes, ominous red lighting and smoke emitting from the Tideripper contrast wonderfully with Aloy's soft smile and Forbidden West's tropical beach. Observant fans can even see the specific Oseram Artificer face paint that Aloy can wear.
The way in which ladyvile_ captures the vignette makes it easy to recreate in-game by taking out the Tideripper on the peninsula south of Thornmarsh. Using Horizon Forbidden West’s excellent photo mode, players can even find the exact time of day and match Aloy’s Picnic pose.
On their Twitter, @LadyVile_ gives an inside look at their creative process, including showing close-ups of Aloy's fine details, their reference photo, and a TikTok of them drawing the finished product. In the video, fans can see ladyvile_ sketching the scene, working hard to map out the detail of Aloy’s beautiful armor, before moving on to adding color and depth. LadyVile can be seen drawing the individual strands of Aloy’s voluminous red hair and showing off the spatter of freckles on her face. Here, fans can see just how much detail and hard work goes into creating this piece of art which demonstrates how even Aloy needs a rest from saving the world every now and then.
Horizon Forbidden West is currently available for PS4 and PS5.