After the ending ofHorizon Forbidden Westsaw the defeat of Far Zenith and established the next game’s incoming threat, the thirdHorizongame could face a problem when characterizing and depicting this potential antagonist. BetweenHorizon Zero Dawnand its sequel,Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games has proven its ability to build mystery and intrigue around its antagonists, leading to game-changing reveals for the series' unfolding story. However, with the villain ofHorizon’s third game already teased inForbidden West’s climax, Guerrilla might have its work cut out for it when trying to do the same for Nemesis.
ThoughZero DawnandForbiddenWesthave featured a range of villains across their main stories and DLC expansions, each game has cultivated and centered their respective stories around a primary antagonist. But while players could uncover the mystery behind Hades andZero Dawn’s malfunctioning terraforming AI, or the revelation of Far Zenith’s survival and return to Earth inForbidden West,Horizon’s third game has already unveiled its antagonist, Nemesis. Unless Guerrilla is planning more last-minute reveals for itsthird and possibly finalHorizongamein a trilogy,Horizon 3faces a significant challenge for Nemesis' story.
During the high-stakes finale ofHorizon Forbidden West, it is revealed that Far Zenith didn’t plan to remake Earth in their own image but escape to another planet instead, withTilda van der Meer explaining to Aloy and Betathat they were fleeing something called “Nemesis.” Tilda further explains that Nemesis is an attempt at digital transcendence by the Far Zeniths through cloned or copied minds. The quote below from Tilda duringForbidden West’s reveal outlines who - or what - Nemesis is and why it turned against Far Zenith.
Nemesis was a failed experiment to that effect, abandoned - but never erased. An immense database of our memories, emotions, and prejudices, left to fester…
In this context, while the actualFar Zeniths are all seemingly dead afterForbidden West, their digital and potentially insane digital copies are headed to Earth for what appears to be revenge. Depending on how Guerrilla intends to portray the copied minds of Far Zenith as part of Nemesis could significantly affect howHorizon 3’s story and gameplay shape up, but knowing this reveal ahead of the third game removes the intrigue behind the character. Additionally, with Hephaestus still free afterForbidden West,Horizon 3could have trouble balancing its narrative between two or potentially more rogue AIs.
Horizon’s Best Antagonists Were Defined By Mystery and Motivation
EachHorizongame had an interesting range of primary and secondary antagonists that helped inform and drive its stories forward. InZero Dawn, the mystery behind Hades and the larger terraforming AI of Gaia built intrigue throughout the game toward its final reveal, and the morally gray characterization of Tilda inForbidden Westmade her as interesting as and even a foil to the likes of Sylens. However, while the theorized potential forTilda’s return inHorizon 3is good news for her as a deuteragonist, Nemesis might not hold the same mystery or intrigue as the previous games' antagonists.
For instance, Tilda has already explained how Nemesis was created and why it is coming to Earth, meaning players already know what to expect fromHorizon 3’s primary antagonists going into the game and its story. Despite this, Guerrilla could still salvage Nemesis' character by potentially humanizing the rogue AI, especially ifHorizon 3gives the character a distinctive voice and personality similar toHades during its final moments inForbidden West. Given that Nemesis is supposedly born out of the memories, emotions, and prejudices of Far Zenith,Horizon 3could capitalize on that humanity and allow players to empathize with Nemesis by the game’s end. Still, it won’t be easy to make Nemesis as interesting as someone like Tilda, as its backstory coupled with its AI nature makes it seem like a faceless, one-dimensional doomsday threat as of now.
