Highlights
- Side quests in RPGs like Horizon Zero Dawn can offer more than just XP boosts, with the first game tying them into the main plot by letting Aloy recruit allies for the final battle.
- The mechanic of using side quest characters as allies in battles against powerful enemies would be idea for Horizon 3, as Aloy can build an army to fight Nemesis.
- However, this time around the allies should be more useful in the final fight, influencing the final battle in significant ways and rewarding players for putting the work in to gather more allies.
Side quests in RPGs are often viewed as little more than XP boosters, as gamers tend to focus on completing the main story as quickly as possible. Crafting side missions can be a headscratcher for developers since players usually have few incentives to play through these diverging plotlines – although newer titles are finding creative ways to engage their audiences in this regard. Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War Ragnarok are two games with innovative strategies that come to mind, as Guerrilla Games and Santa Monica each found ways to tie their side quest stories into the main plot, albeit in different forms. Horizon Zero Dawn‘s approach included allies from such missions joining the final boss fight, and given Horizon 3‘s Nemesis premise, Guerrilla reprising the feature makes a lot of sense.
A formula applied by RPGs to the side quest problem is to try to attract players with lucrative collector’s items as rewards, but games often run into a practicality barrier with this method. These rewards are typically weaker or on the same level as most other items in a gamer’s inventory; gotten by progressing through the main story. Hence, most players only bother completing side quests to gain XP for improving their character’s level or to attain the coveted 100% completion. However, for Horizon‘s much-awaited showdown with Nemesis, side quests could suddenly prove as essential as the main plot with a few tweaks to Zero Dawn‘s innovative companion feature.
The Pros and Cons of Guerrilla’s Horizon Franchise Leaving Earth
The Horizon franchise has explored Earth, but its story suggests that things may expand past the planet, which may or may not be good.
Aloy Needs All the Help She Can Get to Face Off With Nemesis
The road to the Horizon franchise’s endgame has been long and winding, but the end is firmly in sight as earth is set to suffer due to the result of the Far Zenith’s costly mistakes. The series protagonist, Aloy, has faced tough obstacles in the series thus far, but no enemy has posed as big of a threat to the heroine and the rest of the human race as Nemesis.
Horizon Zero Dawn’s Ally Technique Could Be the Answer to Horizon 3’s Endgame
Fans expect Aloy to pull out all the stops to face this foe, but given the lore surrounding Nemesis, her resourcefulness may not be enough to survive the showdown by herself. Luckily, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel if allies can help Aloy in her fight once again.
Horizon Zero Dawn‘s final mission featured character-recruiting mechanisms to assist in Aloy’s battle with HADES, and judging from Nemesis’ preceding reputation, this might be the only feasible path to triumph in Horizon 3‘s perceived endgame. In Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games allowed Aloy to collect side quest characters like Aluki and Elida as allies for use in the final fight – even offering the All Allies Joined trophy for collecting all 11 helpers. Admittedly, these figures didn’t have much say in the battle, with Aloy carrying the lion’s share of damage responsibility, but the concept could be explored more thoroughly if it were to return.
Nemesis Demands a Concerted Effort for Humanity to Stand a Chance
While the allies could be seen as little more than moral support, their presence in combating HADES was a distraction for enemies like Watchers, allowing Aloy precious time to heal and craft. Regarding Horizon 3, the mechanic could play a role again, although allies would need to play an expanded part in the fight against Nemesis to have any impact. Zero Dawn barely let the 11 supporting characters register meaningful damage, and to defeat Nemesis, Horizon 3 would need to let these figures put a dent in the AI’s armor.
Some further changes to the mechanism are also needed. Allies couldn’t die in Zero Dawn, and Horizon 3‘s endgame requires increased stakes. Every character taking part in the battle against Nemesis should face the risk of mortality, as the threat of dying companions would only bring the Horizon tale full circle. Aloy started her journey as a loner; born an outcast and fending for herself, then slowly growing friendships and even gaining a newfound sister in Beta. Seeing the scale of her growth, which culminates in trusting her friends in a battle for the future of humanity, neatly ties up her character arc.
