Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla revealed which character from the sequel was the most challenging to create.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, narrative director Ben McCaw and senior writer Annie Kitain discussed several of Horizon Forbidden West’s key story points and revealed that, in one case, "getting that [character] right took many drafts and revisions and rethinking."
If you haven’t yet played Horizon Forbidden West and really don’t want to know anything ahead of time, we suggest you don’t read the original interview or this news story for now.
- Horizon Zero Dawn's Aloy is the star of Sony's leaked AI-powered character prototype, which allows users to ask questions to an unsettling, emotionless version of the protagonist
- As Sony trots out an AI-powered Aloy, Horizon Zero Dawn fans revel in the irony: "The entire game is a warning against this kind of nonsense"
**Horizon Forbidden West spoilers below**
We asked how hard it was to balance the relationship between Aloy and clone Beta, to which McCaw responded: "This was the most difficult one [to write]. Getting that right took many drafts and revisions and rethinking. But it was critical. It's the emotional core of the game.
"It's also, so to speak, the alpha example of the problem that Aloy faces, which is that she wants to love the world, but she doesn't necessarily love everyone in it," McCaw continued. "Including this kind of reflection of herself."
Kitain then added: "Beta represents all of Aloy's conflicts about wanting to be like Elisabet, wanting to connect to others, but feeling isolated. All of that coming together into one person. It's Aloy trying to deal with that."
The team sometimes referred to Beta early in the game as a dark mirror for Aloy: "Where you look in the mirror, and you just don't like what you see."
"Mostly because Beta's essentially frightened, and abused," McCaw went on. "And those are things that Aloy wants to bury in herself; her upbringing, her fear. So we wanted that to hurt a little bit, to sting to have to see that, but then to have her accept those things as well."
Horizon Forbidden West tips | Horizon Forbidden West map | Horizon Forbidden West Greenshine | Horizon Forbidden West red crystal growths | Horizon Forbidden West Diving mask | Horizon Forbidden West best armor | Horizon Forbidden West power armor | How to fly in Horizon Forbidden West | Horizon Forbidden West best weapons | Horizon Forbidden West Metal Flowers | Horizon Forbidden West Explorer or guided mode | Horizon Forbidden West lenses | Horizon Forbidden West Tallnecks | Horizon Forbidden West Vistas | Horizon Forbidden West drones | Horizon Forbidden West Cauldrons
Horizon Zero Dawn star Ashly Burch responds to Sony's controversial AI Aloy by pushing for actor protections: "You have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you're using this AI"
Horizon Zero Dawn's Aloy is the star of Sony's leaked AI-powered character prototype, which allows users to ask questions to an unsettling, emotionless version of the protagonist
