Fun fact: The lore reason the Utaru landgods are named after the Arpeggio sounds is because one of the engineers who worked on the disks programmed the dishes to "sing" as tourist gimmick for fun and named the dishes as such. This also explains why it's called Plainsong. If I remember correctly there's a lore collectable East of Plainsong that explains it. I think it was near an activity but it was years ago when I found it.
Exactly! The Zenith's have had a thousand years to keep upgrading their phones and come up with some pretty intense toys. This was the only part of the video that I disagreed with...I think the Zenith fit well into the story and give a glimpse of "what could have been" had earth not been destroyed.
Exactly, the Zeniths are so well-designed in this game in terms of visuals and technology, they just look so incredibly elegant, exactly what you'd imagine people would choose to look if they could do anything. It's clear that they have fully artificial bodies and are only keeping their organic heads. Like you said, the gold dust thing is clearly meant to be nanomachines that can be used to print out anything. My only real problem with the Zeniths is their weapons are overly fancy and not all that effective. The plasma guns often don't kill people even in the cutscenes, they'd be better off just printing out some ancient 20th century firearms, which will easily insta-kill Aloy.
Not only love, Aloy also had certain amount of freedom, contact with nature and a personal purpose that lead to a passion when learning and training. Beta was confined in a space ship forced into a life in which there was no personal purpose, no passion or entertainment, only the dutty to learn so she could be an adecuate tool for an external, bigger purpose, basically brainwashed since birth. The tragedy of Beta goes even further from the simple lack of love, it was also a lack of many more things that make a person whole and life worth-living. It's honestly admiring how emotionally stable and brave she is during the story, despite her upbringing and lack of physical skills.
You can tell how conflicted he was to raise her to a point where she can compete and win the proving but the heartbreak it was would cause him to lose her
Only a non-parent can think Rost can do everything he did for Aloy without loving her. Raising her, protecting, teaching, being prepared to disappear from her life for her sake - and finally sacrificing himself to save her life. Giving though love and not showing affection is not the same thing as not loving someone. He was 100% her surrogate father, and exactly the kind of father a heroine destined to face though challenges alone throughout her needed.
The Zennith's gold dust is presumably a form of nanomachines (son) that either combines itself into whatever the Zenniths want or as aromatically deployed 3D printing device. I think it works as an expression of how advanced Zennith tech is compared to the more mechanical Cauldron tech, while bringing to mind the famous sci-fi quote "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." It also sets up Nemesis as a threat as it being Zennith tech means it potentially has all this tech at its disposal and potential ramifications if it allies with Hephestus to combine their technology to make better hunter killer machines. Imagine a Thunderjaw with the weapons and agility of a Specter.
I think that the whole Nemesis plotline was poorly handled honestly, for one its too similiar to the Faro plague story contained in the same overarching setting, imo it would have worked better if the far Zenith population died while making it and then failed to download into biological life, they then see that Zero dawn worked and hate it etc. Frankly the idea that they manage to figure out immortality within the lifespan of the original colonizers is kind of absurd given their limited resources.
Aloy's override device is a radio transmitter. She stabs the flowers to break the shielding to transmit code into it. Corrupters did that using metalburn acid to remove shields and insert override code. Aloy just punches a hole
My theory re: the sudden appearance of metal flowers as an environmental block in HFW is that DEMETER, hidden as it was in the processor that housed the Adamantine Wreath project, detected the temporary re-activation of the Swarm at the end of HZD. In turn, it re-activated the AW project as a means to slow a perceived new threat.
I'm so sad about Lance Reddick's death. It's going to massively hurt the 3rd & final game, he deserved to be a large part of it. Despite things, I hope they recast his part. The character shouldn't be denied just because the voice actor is no longer with us.
Something to note about Kotallo, the Tenakth tattoo themselves with evidence of their victories and great deeds. Kotallo losing his arm also essentially erases part of his resume so to speak, which may be another reason being "maimed" seems like such a big deal.
Bro I was more broken by the thought of Zelda scrificing herself in ToTk until of course she was resurrected as a light dragon. The woke was in this game took me out of the game
There is no way aloy would be who she is without rost. The game wouldn't even work without that. Character wise for someone with so little time I'd say he was just so well done. That first part with him while she is growing up you can just see how powerful he was at one time and what a great mentor and father figure he was. Even when he is blessing her you can see how those elder women are mad he is there but know who he is and respect it enough to let him finish they don't stop him or call guards or nothing. Whatever he was banished for wasn't enough to diminish his character and what he's done not even from the elders who banished him. He is and was someone who not many people would mess with and to top it off he does for aloy
He was banished for wanting to take revenge on the people who killed his daughter. So the Nora Elders gave him a title that allowed him to seek his vegence but as an outcast. He chose to put that aside to raise Alloy.
They made him a death seeker. He set out to revenge his daughter and shouldn’t have made it back to the sacred lands. He did though, barely as he collapsed across the line of the sacred lands and hunters found his body and he was nursed back to health. He didn’t ask for to be nursed back to health, so the best the ladies could do is let him live as an outcast. It is only later that they brought aloy baby to him to be raised bc she was born motherless.
So, I just saw this and in an hour in and this is by far the best video on this game I've ever seen. And there have been some contenders. My friend, we do not know each other, we will likely never meet, but this is incredible work. Please keep doing these videos, please keep creating this because this has been an ugly day. A terrible day. And for a few minutes, I forgot about everything and just got to think about a stunning game. Thank you, sir.
For the next game, I would love to be visiting Elysium as a location where some data can be recovered. This could be a major plot point in the story of the next game, or a one off mission where we see how the crew lived their last days, but I think it should make an appearance in the main quest line
i even guess elysium is still functional and people still live there in kind of a "silo" story for 1000 years. Also that they will use elysium in the upcomming netflix series makes my think that it plays a bigger role in part 3. Maybe we will see why they disconnected Elysium 30 years after zero day from the gaya network. Of course they didnt say that they use elysium in the series, but part of the netflix story will be set in a Bunker somewhat after zero day.
@@000jimbojones000 I'm sure it will be a center piece of the third game, a way to show that not everything was doom and gloom in the last days of humankind. Since Elysium ceased to transmit after about 30 years I'm more enclined to think that not everyone got sterlized (which was the essential condition to sustain the population of the bunker for 100 year). Because they were already doomed anyway and because children are a community's sign to the future that life is worthwhile, I think those people just decided to continue to live as normally as possible, after Zero day, for as long as they had. I'm also pretty sure that Elysium, which was "only miles away" from Gaia Prime (King's Peak), is in Oseram territory considering that the Claim starts near Utah border and extends over Idaho. A bunker for 2'000 people should be massive, like a burried city, with all the amenities, vertical farms, etc. something which could be really interesting to explore and lots of lore to absorb. There's also the fact that In the game all the tribes are depicted having positive and negative attributes to their way of life/customs, but we've not seen the "dark side" of the Oseram clan life yet, so it would be great to get more insight about this tribe. Plus if you add the fact that the potential "weapons" to use against Nemesis are all located in the north west of the US, up to Canada. All those reasons would make it a real shame if we don't get to visit the Claim and find Elysium next time.
@@njavedhamilton6215do you find RSQ tone condescending? Idk if it’s just me… like I understand being knowledgeable but it just comes off pretentious and smug to me. I love Arktix’s videos a lot.
This game is utter trash and insanely woke especially with the dlc where they turn aloy into a gross lesbain for ESG and DEI points. Also Aloy is sooo ugly in this game
I like how open minded you are toward stories, and overall give the writers the benefit of the doubt, recognizing their hard work and accomplishments and still respecting them when things don’t pay off or work well. It’s refreshing and very pleasant to watch as someone who approaches narratives similar
Holy cow what a monster of a video this is. Must have been a heck of a journey writing, recording and editing this. Even thought it's so long, you kept the quality of it very high throughout. You mention this being a labour of love and it really shows. Really good stuff. Looking forward to the Burning Shores video! Big love
Man this game story surprised me in a great way, loved the plot and really liked many of the characters, specially Kotallo, I think the game would have been even better if we could take the other characters to explore the world with, deepen their connections, I think the open world is daunting at times too much to do, but in the end I really liked it
Idk if you've stated it somewhere else already, but I'm looking forward to your reflection on Burning Shores. You don't "fail miserably" for taking the time you need to make the point you want to make. I'm two burrowers (Shock Canister Burrower and Apex Acid Canister Burrower) away from 100%-ing my first playthrough of the game. While looking for those two, I binged all three of your Horizon videos and it brought me much joy. Thank you
In regards to Nemesis. The issue about the efficacy of the ‘plot twist’ is redundant. It’s not so much of a twist than it is expanding and unveiling some of the history and potential for the future. I have sat for 8 1/2 hours straight (I think) watching all 3 of these videos on Horizon and I have never been so enthralled on UA-cam. Excellent contribution to mankind. I am glad you and these videos exist.
On Hepahestus remaining printing from the matrix I thought it was pretty clear Hephaestus would also want the Zeniths stopped because they are a threat to the terraforming system, it seems semi-aware of what is going on, and it seems likely Beta could've given some information, even if it has free will. I would likely even go to say this is foreshadowing an uneasy alliance we may see between Hephaestus and GAIA in the 3rd game in an attempt to hold back Nemesis.
Having just finished playing the PC port on this game I felt I needed a video just like this to help round things out and bring it all into context for me. Fantastic job I really enjoyed watching this. I look forward to the day you come back to the series with a possible video on burning shores. Subscribed.
I think the reason Erend waves away his beef with Aloy is because he adores her. He sees her as a sister in a way but I think he also fancies her quite a bit too.
Which is still a great reason why i dont like the new DLC, it just forces us onto a relationship none of us wanted, if it atleast give us a choice in some way, nut no
This isn't one of those games, where you can choose the role of your character. Aloy very much has her role already assigned, you're just playing her story.@@filipbitala2624
My guess is once Hephaestus was scrubbed of its malicious code, it was less homicidal and more of an ally, on my first play through I assumed it was Hephaestus as controlled by GAIA now, as she would now control its building system.
Your labor of love is so greatly appreciated by a fellow fan as invested and as in love with this world that Guerilla has created. Thank you, 🙏, for sharing your passion in a communal way that the fans can celebrate. I’ve watched all three of your videos back to back. Can’t wait for you burning shores video and what you decide to create for the future games
You’ve got a very “Joseph Anderson” vibe. Wish there was a bit more analysis and critique rather than just a detailed summary, but I do appreciate the content! Keep it up dude, very well done.
My theory about the difference between the metal flowers in ZD and FW is that after they failed to hinder the swarm, they were repurposed as indestructable memorials by the people of elysium, maybe even Alquino herself, for the zero dawn team and the hope they had for the future.
Rost contributed significantly to the difference between Aloy and Beta in their personalities and way of thinking. How Rost influenced Aloy growing up, and how she thinks and acts was beautifully shown in Zero Down when Aloy speaks to Rost at his grave. I recommend visiting it: Aloy puts the focus aside and there are very intimate moments where she tells him about her experiences. Especially on the last visit before the final battle, she tells him she still follows what he taught her. Yet even he couldn't have imagined that (Aloy) would become a part of events that would transcend their home valley. Since Aloy always puts her focus aside during these "visits to Rost's grave", there is no record of them on it and Beta couldn't see them.
i expected all of the side quests to be canonized from the start because of one detail: Aloy’s armor at the start of the game is the shield armor you get in hzd if you can find all the power cells and choose to use them. the fact that she has it on kind of establishes that at some point all the side quests are completed by her
God i have to comment on chapter 1 with Erend being irritated with Aloy's disappearance. I was really fed up with him with that entire exchange but I believe i understand why now. Aloy has been an outcast all her life, which is why Varl most likely didn't take it personal with Aloy constantly shoving him away and instead just making an effort to be by her side in any for so she starts getting the idea she can depend on someone. Varl has the context that Aloy is gonna struggle getting close to anyone. Hell she saw Varl's sister die Aloy is rightfully hesistant. Because of who she is, she is a danger to others around her if she becomes a target. However Erend does not have that context and its been fairly apparent that Erend is still processing his sister's grief, and for me, his anger was not coming purely out of concern for Aloy but also his dependency of basing his self worth on his involvement with Aloy's quest as Aloy reminds him heavily of his sister. It is also possible Erend is irritated by Aloy just marching off because of his sisters death not wanting the same thing to happen to her. That makes it that Erend has a bit of a sore spot when it comes to Aloy's more abrasive personality mind you Aloy i believe is younger than both men by like 5+ years just about (Varl is probably like...27-29 while Erend is within that range or early 30s and Aloy is 20. Aloy is acting like a 20 year old. LOL) Both of them are mentor like figures or should be for Aloy but she ends up being their protector/mentor in many things (until later on where finally Varl gets to shine with Beta). Aloy is consistently searching for a mentor like figure in the game since the lost of Rost is still very fresh for her thus her relationship with those two is a bit strained. (This effects her relationship with Sylens but not so much Kotallo who is very dependable) However we see this dynamic change heavily when she interacts with Talanah. She is vulnerable with Talanah, that is because Talanah properly took Aloy under her wing and against some of the biggest/baddest machines Aloy know she can handle herself. Talanah has always treated her as an equal and as just a hunter, which means Aloy can really let her guard down. Talanah was not perturbed by Aloy heading off to her next quest without telling anyone because she probably does it herself being she's busy as hell now. Just, every time im reminded of salty erend i'm just have ot divulge into all the complex emotions going on with that scene. I'll probably edit this once I'm done listening cause I can go over Aloys relationships with different characters for a long time. xD
Y'know, one plausible way to improve foreshadowing Nemesis is if Sylens cryptically suggested that Tilda and the other Zeniths were cowards who always ran away and suggesting they were still running away.
you mentioned multiple times that side characters from zero dawn make an appearance in forbidden west. I think that guerilla considers all side missions canon events because there is no way to decline them.
You gotta admit Sylens is a certified bad ass. Dude stared down a chick who he knows that she knows that he knows shes invincible and has an insane technology advantage, and Sylens is staring her down like "yeah but I'm not so incapable that i have to live within a shield all my life, and I'm still alive having confronted more danger and impossible odds than you. I'm so damn condifent in my ability to survive that even your crap doesn't miff me."
The device Aloy is carrying around is not the root kernel but the device it was stored on. Like a memory stick. GAIAs root kernel was installed at the base and subsequently wiped from the stick so her subfunctiions would fit on it. Also: those who didn't care enough about the story of ZD to complete all side quests deserve to be baffled.
Facts. Fuck those people. I love to play every single thing the developers put out in their game. Becuase of that, seeing all the fruits of my labor go crazy in this game was beautiful, especially how the side quests tie into the story way more than the original. Love this game
I'll also say that given the real life time difference between ZD / Frozen Wilds and Forbidden west, I did not mind the tutorial section. If you played them back to back or did repeated runs of Zero Dawn in the lead up to Forbidden West I can understand why it would be jarring. But having not played Forbidden West for a while, it did take me a while to get used to the controls again when I did my play through of Burning Shores. And the same was said when it came to Forbidden west following Zero Dawn.
It's 10 months too late, but I have explanation for Hephastus staying in Zenith printing facility. Hephastus being able to come and go in and out of Cauldrons means he can be at many places at the same time, and both the dynos and printing machines are autonomous, driven by directive set by Heph. So I imagine that Heph was like: "Fuck yeah! I am again free, lets scorch these mofos with my machines and in the meantime I will upload to the network!"
It took a week or two for me to make it through your Horizon series of videos, but I'm so grateful for them!! I'm someone who doesn't have a device that can play these games (I will be able to play the LEGO game... 😅 actually looking forward to that!) but the themes intrigued me when I saw a friend playing them, and getting to watch your videos has been so satisfying. Sad to see you don't have a Burning Shores video up at this point, but needing to move onto other things is totally fair. Again, super grateful for the hours and hours of content!
I, too have played the games many times because like you said it is such a masterpiece and I still absolutely loved this video because it was so well constructed. Well done
Some points I would raise: (if parts are unfinished it's because I accidentally posted the comment before it was ready) Regarding characters unknown to new players, I consider that since it doesn't significantly kill the uninitiated player's experience, the developers have a greater obligation to players who have engaged with their prior stories, they are the ones with the most invested and giving them more to like is more important. The long beginning is also important for setting up the narrative and making sure that they onboard players, one cannot just assume that the new game works exactly the same as the previous when that's not the case. For Aloy's disappearance, the reason anyone would be permissive or her reclusion or apologetic about calling her out for it are due to something you brought up of course, the fact that no one truly understands how much pressure and stress she's under. That pressure and the short fuse it causes explains her interactions with Beta quite handily. As with Zero Dawn, I think the pacing thing with the available free-roam at a time-sensitive moment is a non-issue because it is up to the player's choice and they can decide the pacing they like. Regalla's motivations are an insight into the character. But one cannot just assume that because a character explains where they're coming from that the game is trying to illicit sympathy from the player, character complexity doesn't necessarily have to exist to make you care about them. The choice itself is like the other flashpoint a roleplay expression of Aloy's personality, in this case justice vs pragmatism. I don't think Gerard needs any explanation and I can't see what's actually lost. He's just another rich narcissistic asswipe, we know enough, like you said, we have plenty others. Hades didn't exactly need to be a deep sympathetic character either. I agree about the Nemesis twist though, there should have been earlier setup for it for sure and there were opportunities for it, but in my opinion, the narrative implications, both plot-wise and thematically more than make up for it. The talk about grounding kind of felt like a big miss tbh, you simultaneously correctly identify the term as one about character and perspective and then go on to justify the nonsense technology of the rest of the game and act like it's somehow more plausible than the Zenith tech, including such things as "consuming biomass by sucking it up like a puff of smoke", "magic repairing floating nanotech towers" and even lumping in the Zenith's literal immortality as being grounded, but not impenetrable shields, flight tech (possessed by about a half dozen machine types so far) and nanotech weapons-morphing abilities. And what? 3D printing, something we can do now is implausible at that scale despite being literally over 1000 years into the future?... Is this something that would have been made better by the addition of some science-fiction jargon datapoint? No, it's really just because one side of the game's aesthetic LOOKS more futuristic than the other. Even Nemesis doesn't become part of this strange rant. You're well within your rights to just not be a big fan of their aesthetic design compared to the rest of Horizon's machines and technology, it is a big contrast, but that's all I think it is and this odd rant ended up just feeling like a poorly concieved post-hoc justification for your eyes looking at it and going "ewww", I myself vastly prefer the look of the game's more mechanical-looking machinery, but that's what it is to me, an aesthetic preference that stands due to other factors that I acknowledge are superficial and which I am ultimately okay with, because unlike the Spectres, you're SUPPOSED to find the machines designed by GAIA and HEPHAESTUS beautiful in a way, explicitly so, with GAIA drawing inspiration from Earth's lost fauna and megafauna due to her being saddened by their extinction, with there being incredible beauty in animalistic robots being stewards of the Earth and looking familiar to us, whereas the Spectres are pretentious, otherworldly and off-putting, hence why I cheer as they get torn to shreds by robot dinosaurs.
One of my favorite parts about this game is not even just the main story (I actually loved it as much as the first and thought it was an excellent progression in story) but how the sequel looks at culture and knowledge. The first one had a lot of culture, how the people created religion and such around the old technology, it does so again here in the sequel with Quan, Tenak etc. But also like how Aloy is now sharing knowledge more, and its cool to see people have to learn using the tech, and the interesting parts of the Quen having held back certain knowledge. (not to mention the seed that started with Faro in the first game with him restricting Apollo knowledge) Its all just very good and interesting and I love it. Its wonderful story telling that is a great foundation to hold up the central 'in your face' plot.
Thank you so much for this labor of love. HZD was my first PS game and has since been my benchmark for all other games. I was so excited for HFW, I bought the PS5 just for it, and while I definitely enjoyed it there was always this weird feeling lingering after completing it. You put everything I was thinking and feeling into words so perfectly. Overall, I really enjoyed how you focused on the storyline with a sprinkle of game play, the organizational flow was so good, and emotional topics discussed beautifully. I even cried watching the segment on saying goodbye to Varl. While I still prefer HZD I am probably going to charge my controller and dust off the console to play Forbidden West again soon, so having this added narrative context will be helpful. Thank you again, you more than did the game justice.
Question to a Star Trek writer : "How do the inertia dampen work?" "Very well, thanks for asking." As I expect technology two millennia's in the future appear like magic to us, I am happy that I (as a physicist) am not bothered with pseudo-science.
Great video but there were multiple mentions of Nanomachines in some Data so the magic gold dust isn't off, it fits with the shield and immortality projects as the next logical step for evolution from "create machines/AI to do almost everything" the next step would be, how do we perpetually create these machines and or tools/weapons without having to rely on caldrons and constantly seeking raw material. Like how the machines operate
I like playing the game in Carja armour. It just makes acts of hostility and kindness towards Aloy funnier when she's dressed like the Red Raids never stopped.
I'm maining the Carja Blazon armor, not for any story reason, but because it's probably one of the best looking pieces of armor in the game. It looks so good on Aloy. I'm only about 63% of the way through the PC port but I've made it a mission to purchase (and upgrade) every armor and weapon.
@@PlebNC I find the weak points on a stormbird much harder to hit, personally. I don't tend to use slings or ropecasters, purely bow, unless a story quest calls for an alternate weapon. As far as the invisibility is concerned, Stalkers also suck way more in my opinion. The Dreadwing may be flying but Stalkers are so much faster and harder to keep track of
I'm really glad you highlighted the issue of the Zeniths, I'm really frustrated with the direction they took the game and as soon as we saw them at Latopolis I was just thinking to myself "please dear god don't have pursued the FZ arc", I wanted the game to be grounded as you said, and kept to the setting we already had. I'm incredibly fearful of what they're doing with the next game because it feels like it takes it even further out of that, for a moment before Beta said Nemesis was likely AI / robots I was genuinely concerned they'd introduced aliens (which honestly would've been better foreshadowed because it's still akin to a natural disaster and Tilda was clearly being decceptive when she mentioned the planet being unstable (I can't remember the exact line)). I really think they definitely could've stuck to the more grounded setting too, they could've had Faro's reveal & Thebes be more involved and a far larger part of the story. In addition they could've preserved much more of the mystery, exploration and "investigation" aspects of HZD had they gone down this route where you gradually explore old world sites, culminating in finding Thebes, where Ted has been found to be linked to the Extinction Signal somehow; in addition we may have finally gotten an explanation for why he had Omega clearance. And whilst I recognise that may have been too formulaic and not different enough from HZD there's easily other aspects that could've been followed up, things like what happened to Elysium, or even with what people are speculating about Vast Silver. This alongside rebuilding Gaia I think could've been made into a better story. Personally I liked what information we already had about the Odyssey and what our information from HZD was saying about the hubris of wealth and power to flea natural disaster they are responsible for, and we were robbed of that and I feel like many of the points in HFW even undermine many of those in HZD. I'm quite upset about what they did. And that I'll never have quite the same experience in HZD again.
Would love your opinions and review on the DLC Burning Shores. You have a keen eye that picks out things most people would not notice. I would love to see if the DLC stays loyal to the points you provided on the main story. Hopefully you release that video soon, I'm wanting it real bad.
Very comprehensive breakdown of the whole story. Really enjoyed the 4 hours and 32 minutes of it. I'm still waiting for the DLC video, although we know how that turned out.
I just played through the main story of Forbidden West and watched your video. I really enjoyed your thorough and in-depth analysis, and I agree with most if not all points you raised. Thank you!
I'd never actually considered the possibility that Tilda survived, but it could genuinely be possible. She may have been outside of Sylens' EMP range, so her shield could be up. The Specter Prime fight could have been an attempt to remove her from the forefront without killing her, and without Aloy and Co. being aware.
This video helped me a lot with getting back on track with the story after taking a 1 year pause in the middle of the game. Also, it helped me clear out some bits of the story that I didn't understand. Thank you! :)
Kind of disagree with his complaint about Far Zenith. The means by which machines "ate" life looked, based on the that we witness, like some sort of nanotechnology. We see people with primitive shields in game. Faro himself was trying, even if it failed, to have someone engineer immortality. If we presume that this last one Far Zenith had a better version of, which didn't result in out of control mutations, then they had hundreds of years to develop personal shields, and modify a variation of the nanotechnology members of their companies came up with into something that could manufacture whole machines, without all the complicated pre-cataclysm technology. Their priorities where, after all, to run, and use their technology to keep improving themselves along the same self serving path that created the disaster in the first place, not to use technology that would never be improved on by the machines themselves to remake a world. They already had the seeds to everything we saw them doing, and endless time to improve beyond it, unlike Earth, which is stuck with no comprehension of the technology it already sees every day, due to the loss of Apollo.
I love how Aloy is wearing the Carja face paint & outfit throughout the vid. That’s always been my favorite look for her as well, although I can never decide which color I like best.
I finished the main story of Forbidden West yesterday, had your video on my watch later list for a few weeks. After watching it now, I must say it is a great video, it was an awesome way to reflect on the long story I just played through, thank you for your work on this essay. Gonna dive into the Burning Shores now!
Near the end when you were criticizing some plot points related to Hephaestus during the attack on Zenith, you described Beta as still working on integrating Hephaestus with Gaia, and expressed that this didn't make sense. I interpreted the scene differently from you, I saw it as Beta being tortured while the Zeniths were away, and this is why Aloy had to physically unshackle her. The Hephaestus merge into Gaia was likely already finished and Beta may have been hiding it from the Zeniths somehow, and this can also explain how she was able to safely give Hephaestus access to the Zenith's more advanced printer. This is probably also why Aloy in an earlier scene asked Beta to continue working on the merge. Once the Zeniths realized what Beta had done they started the torture process on her, and then Aloy finally freed her in that scene you talked about.
Im only about 60ish percent through the PC port, so ive stopped watching the video at points until I play more and continue the story. But it's hard for me to put into words just how much I love this game series. It truly is a piece of art. This video is amazing so far and I look forward to finishing it!
I just finished the game and then immediately went and watched a 4 and a half hour essay on it. I have no regrets. I loved this game, and this video was really well done.
I'd imagine this took you an incredibly long time to make and as such missing the context of burning shores and of course the shocking loss of Lance Reddick are understandable. On the whole I think you did a great job in your commentary. Thanks for making this. Oh, but the magic zenith stuff is nano tech. Totally plausible after a thousand years of development without the setbacks of having to pass down knowledge through generations. 😁
True... being immortal would probably speed up some scientific developments considerably, since the same people could keep working on them for centuries...
I was just about to post something similar. I'm actually surprised the Zenith tech isn't more advanced although this might be just due to a lot of their tech being lost when Nemesis broke containment.
@@bellissimo4520 Immortality would also _slow down_ the rate of progression, especially when no one's struggling for resources, as you'd have an unlimited amount of time to say "I'll do it tomorrow".
Not to mention nanotech already existed in the Faroh robots for their refuelling process. FZ having more advanced nanotech after 1000 years makes sense, even if I think it doesn't fit with the rest of the game
That one moment between Aloy and Beta where we don't get to hear what was said is one I find very immersion breaking every time. We're playing as Aloy, knowing all she knows, hearing all she hears, except that one moment. I wish they'd found a better way.
Fantastic video. I’ve seen many on the horizon series and put this on for interesting background noise…. I was fully invested the entire time and watched it in one sitting. Thank you
Thank you so much for making this. I watched your HZD movie and then this one as I played Forbidden West. I also watched your Plague Tale videos and am kind of tempted to pick those games up now. Looking forward to the other content you create! Thank you again!
What a wonderful set of three videos going into so much depth about the Horizon series - the only game that has ever managed to make me weep. Thank you!
I am just so happy that I found such an amazing video. Your video is just amazing, I couldn't stop watching it. I can't wait to watch more of your videos, honestly keep up the amazing work!
Thank you for this video, Adam!! As a super fan of the game like many of the viewers, I’m really impressed by your dedication and specifically from how detailed and deep your narrative goes. The horizon universe is so amazing and I didn’t thought that seeing the story again would bring tears to my eyes - but it did! Can wait for you to drop some Burning Shores content! Kisses~
I love the Sly Cooper 3 helping someone, them recruiting them as part of your team. Seeing them and how they grow personally at the home base is great. The story and motivation for it is.... something
UA-cam has recommended me your analysis on HFW and am very happy for it. Great work on it! I agree with most of your thoughts on the game, i have also caught myself being totally lost in the world of Horizon for hours on end, finishing three playthroughs so far. (Yes after TW3 only game that has charmed me as much, which i finished 9+ times), it is an utterly beautifully crafted experience with such an attention to detail you see only in the masterpieces of the industry. It has it's narrative flaws like everything does and you are doing great job pointing them out here. I command you for such an effort to put such a comprehensive video together! You'll get views on it as the time goes and more people will have time to sit through it. More people will get to play the game. This sort of deep analyses is mostly for people who has beaten the game. But it will also serve as a great retelling of the base game!s story for those that don't wish to spend 100+ hours on a single run. Great work man! You deserve to take a break from the game, beating it 9 times its an achievement on it's own! I am curious about your impression of the DLC given how much i have enjoyed this Vid. But everything has it's time. Have a great day!
You cant imagine the smile on my face when u said witcher 3 is the goat. Love this game to death, and i totally agree, the horizon series is an easy second place regarding story games
The Zenith tech (assuming I spelled it right), seems fine to me. I imagine eventually matter manipulation will one day be able to remotely construct things via some combination of teleportation, gravity manipulation, and/or magnetic fields (especially for metals). Even if this is an absurd sci-fi level of that, I figure mechanical replicators will be the first wave (like better versions of today's 3D printers), and eventually it'll reach full Star Trek just reverse vaporizes into existence. And if they had a 1000 years to advance, and given how fast things are advancing now, it even seems ridiculous they've only gotten that far. I've watched your two videos about these games' stories, and it makes me wish I did get around to playing them on my own. I don't bother playing much on consoles these days, and heard of issues of the PC version of Zero Dawn. I'm surprised how good these stories seem to be in a lot of ways. Even not having seen the story myself directly it feels like they've managed to not screw it up with "but this is the ACTUAL and SHOCKING cause of everything that you WOULDN'T BELIEVE possible" that so often happens in other stories.
I have played through HZD and HFW both on pc. I've never encountered more than minor issues. I don't know what these issues are what you are talking about.
Great video this is the 2nd time going through your horizon series. I look forward to your next Video of Burning Shores. Please keep up your excellent work.
im 7 month late to this video but i really enjoyed it. I cant wait to check out your other videos. Thank you for doing this video. You've earned my sub sir. RIP Mr. Lance. Cant wait for your burning shores video but also yeah dont burn yourself out on what you love. Ive been there and its not fun.
I dropped almost 100 hrs into this game and not once was I ever bored with it. I just kinda got lost in the world and gameplay. The best looking and performing open world game on the market. Can't wait to see how the story plays out after that epic Burning Shores finale!
1:37:40 Erend is a character that they just didn’t handle well in this game in general in my opinion, like he’s fine in the Daunt, but while in the first game he was going through a character arc of growing to fit in his sister’s footsteps, in this one he is more often than not just treated as the dumb brute or comic relief of the group and devalues himself or remarks on his own worthlessness at every other opportunity
This game is Indeed a MASTERPEICE. Stunning world, amazing story and plot. Lastly the Graphics (Espesally characters faces in cutscenes) Are AMAZING too. The amount of Mimic and facial impressions on the characters are so damm good. It makes the characters seem more real and alive. It's something I rarely see in orther games now a days🤩🤩
As for the "Nemesis foreshadowing" (or lack thereof), I think there is a rather UNIQUE form of foreshadowing present, you just failed to recognize it as such: The fact that no-one is willing to specify what 'disaster' forced the Zeniths to flee Sirius. You speak about it with Beta, and she says that she did not have access to that information. You speak about it with Tilda in her house, and she gives the vaguest of answers - and, while we're at it, her answer isn't scientifically plausible at all, given the state of the Zeniths' technology.
I think the criticism was more about how nemesis itself was never mentioned or hinted at rather than the cause of the disaster not completely adding up
Well written! Hope you continue to do these when and as you can. Love your breakdowns of story in games, that's the main reason I play these games, for the story. I hope you do one for the Witcher series, as that's also my favourite game of all time.
I actually wonder where Artemis fled to since we are given no clues as to where in the story. It ultimately doesn't matter since Far Zenith got to it first but I am curious. Given that the others fled to areas that match the theme of their purpose. HADES seeking refuge in a Horas, HEPH going to into cauldron network. AETHER going to a memorial for a jointed US air force and navy unit. POSEIDON going to the ruins of Las Vegas, which thanks to Stanley Chen, houses a massive water network underneath. DEMETER going to the Faro Greenhouse and ELEUTHIA heading to the Far Zenith Ninmah research lab. Using this, I wonder if Artemis fled to a place themed around animals that a processor that could support it. The only thing I think of that could fit this that is in the Forbidden West or nearby is Pangea Park. A dinosaur theme park created by Walter Londra. Although there does not seem to be any evidence of this when we explore the park in the Burning Shores DLC.
Artemis went to Yellowstone to be with the animal holos in the museum that Enjuk curated. BROUGHT TO YOU BY MONTANA RECREATIONS!! ( i made that up but it'd be pretty cool)
Fun fact: The lore reason the Utaru landgods are named after the Arpeggio sounds is because one of the engineers who worked on the disks programmed the dishes to "sing" as tourist gimmick for fun and named the dishes as such. This also explains why it's called Plainsong.
If I remember correctly there's a lore collectable East of Plainsong that explains it. I think it was near an activity but it was years ago when I found it.
It's part of the Plainsong Tallneck dish.
Solfège, not arpeggio
"Golden... magical... dust...?"
NANOMACHINES, SON
Exactly! The Zenith's have had a thousand years to keep upgrading their phones and come up with some pretty intense toys. This was the only part of the video that I disagreed with...I think the Zenith fit well into the story and give a glimpse of "what could have been" had earth not been destroyed.
Exactly, the Zeniths are so well-designed in this game in terms of visuals and technology, they just look so incredibly elegant, exactly what you'd imagine people would choose to look if they could do anything. It's clear that they have fully artificial bodies and are only keeping their organic heads. Like you said, the gold dust thing is clearly meant to be nanomachines that can be used to print out anything.
My only real problem with the Zeniths is their weapons are overly fancy and not all that effective. The plasma guns often don't kill people even in the cutscenes, they'd be better off just printing out some ancient 20th century firearms, which will easily insta-kill Aloy.
Nanobots
@@chengong388hbbbo
The difference between Aloy and Beta is that Aloy had someone who loved her. Not just guidance and affection, but love. That makes a huge difference.
@don__clemenzahe literally sacrificed himself to save her life
Not only love, Aloy also had certain amount of freedom, contact with nature and a personal purpose that lead to a passion when learning and training. Beta was confined in a space ship forced into a life in which there was no personal purpose, no passion or entertainment, only the dutty to learn so she could be an adecuate tool for an external, bigger purpose, basically brainwashed since birth.
The tragedy of Beta goes even further from the simple lack of love, it was also a lack of many more things that make a person whole and life worth-living.
It's honestly admiring how emotionally stable and brave she is during the story, despite her upbringing and lack of physical skills.
@don__clemenzatiny oversight haha
You can tell how conflicted he was to raise her to a point where she can compete and win the proving but the heartbreak it was would cause him to lose her
Only a non-parent can think Rost can do everything he did for Aloy without loving her. Raising her, protecting, teaching, being prepared to disappear from her life for her sake - and finally sacrificing himself to save her life. Giving though love and not showing affection is not the same thing as not loving someone. He was 100% her surrogate father, and exactly the kind of father a heroine destined to face though challenges alone throughout her needed.
The Zennith's gold dust is presumably a form of nanomachines (son) that either combines itself into whatever the Zenniths want or as aromatically deployed 3D printing device.
I think it works as an expression of how advanced Zennith tech is compared to the more mechanical Cauldron tech, while bringing to mind the famous sci-fi quote "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
It also sets up Nemesis as a threat as it being Zennith tech means it potentially has all this tech at its disposal and potential ramifications if it allies with Hephestus to combine their technology to make better hunter killer machines. Imagine a Thunderjaw with the weapons and agility of a Specter.
Nanomachines son they harden in response to physical trauma
Shouts out to Arthur C. Clarke
Zenith. One N. It's an actual word, homie.
@@bobsonny Bruh.
I think that the whole Nemesis plotline was poorly handled honestly, for one its too similiar to the Faro plague story contained in the same overarching setting, imo it would have worked better if the far Zenith population died while making it and then failed to download into biological life, they then see that Zero dawn worked and hate it etc. Frankly the idea that they manage to figure out immortality within the lifespan of the original colonizers is kind of absurd given their limited resources.
Aloy's override device is a radio transmitter. She stabs the flowers to break the shielding to transmit code into it. Corrupters did that using metalburn acid to remove shields and insert override code. Aloy just punches a hole
Well not radio transmission but the general idea is the same.
@Needler13 so, electro-magnetic transmission then.
My theory re: the sudden appearance of metal flowers as an environmental block in HFW is that DEMETER, hidden as it was in the processor that housed the Adamantine Wreath project, detected the temporary re-activation of the Swarm at the end of HZD. In turn, it re-activated the AW project as a means to slow a perceived new threat.
I like this theory
I'm so sad about Lance Reddick's death. It's going to massively hurt the 3rd & final game, he deserved to be a large part of it.
Despite things, I hope they recast his part. The character shouldn't be denied just because the voice actor is no longer with us.
Typically I take a fairly dim view on AI voices but, in this instance, I think I'd probably accept it. 😅
Something to note about Kotallo, the Tenakth tattoo themselves with evidence of their victories and great deeds. Kotallo losing his arm also essentially erases part of his resume so to speak, which may be another reason being "maimed" seems like such a big deal.
Varl imo was a crucial character of the game. And his death still hurts so badly
Bro I was more broken by the thought of Zelda scrificing herself in ToTk until of course she was resurrected as a light dragon.
The woke was in this game took me out of the game
@@Spanluver-the “woke” in the game? Oh for fucks sake 😬🙄
he was basically rost in disguise
@@Spanluver More proof that the anti-woke crowd are the biggest cry babies AND the most triggered xD don't be so sensitive babes.
Who cares?
Terrible character.
Even Alva, who only appears much later in the story, is much more charismatic and beloved.
There is no way aloy would be who she is without rost. The game wouldn't even work without that. Character wise for someone with so little time I'd say he was just so well done. That first part with him while she is growing up you can just see how powerful he was at one time and what a great mentor and father figure he was. Even when he is blessing her you can see how those elder women are mad he is there but know who he is and respect it enough to let him finish they don't stop him or call guards or nothing. Whatever he was banished for wasn't enough to diminish his character and what he's done not even from the elders who banished him. He is and was someone who not many people would mess with and to top it off he does for aloy
Dies*
He was banished for wanting to take revenge on the people who killed his daughter. So the Nora Elders gave him a title that allowed him to seek his vegence but as an outcast. He chose to put that aside to raise Alloy.
They made him a death seeker. He set out to revenge his daughter and shouldn’t have made it back to the sacred lands. He did though, barely as he collapsed across the line of the sacred lands and hunters found his body and he was nursed back to health. He didn’t ask for to be nursed back to health, so the best the ladies could do is let him live as an outcast. It is only later that they brought aloy baby to him to be raised bc she was born motherless.
So, I just saw this and in an hour in and this is by far the best video on this game I've ever seen. And there have been some contenders. My friend, we do not know each other, we will likely never meet, but this is incredible work. Please keep doing these videos, please keep creating this because this has been an ugly day. A terrible day. And for a few minutes, I forgot about everything and just got to think about a stunning game. Thank you, sir.
I love this game and the last game I really enjoy was the elders scroll series and Witcher 3 😊
For the next game, I would love to be visiting Elysium as a location where some data can be recovered. This could be a major plot point in the story of the next game, or a one off mission where we see how the crew lived their last days, but I think it should make an appearance in the main quest line
i even guess elysium is still functional and people still live there in kind of a "silo" story for 1000 years. Also that they will use elysium in the upcomming netflix series makes my think that it plays a bigger role in part 3. Maybe we will see why they disconnected Elysium 30 years after zero day from the gaya network. Of course they didnt say that they use elysium in the series, but part of the netflix story will be set in a Bunker somewhat after zero day.
@@000jimbojones000 I'm sure it will be a center piece of the third game, a way to show that not everything was doom and gloom in the last days of humankind. Since Elysium ceased to transmit after about 30 years I'm more enclined to think that not everyone got sterlized (which was the essential condition to sustain the population of the bunker for 100 year). Because they were already doomed anyway and because children are a community's sign to the future that life is worthwhile, I think those people just decided to continue to live as normally as possible, after Zero day, for as long as they had.
I'm also pretty sure that Elysium, which was "only miles away" from Gaia Prime (King's Peak), is in Oseram territory considering that the Claim starts near Utah border and extends over Idaho. A bunker for 2'000 people should be massive, like a burried city, with all the amenities, vertical farms, etc. something which could be really interesting to explore and lots of lore to absorb.
There's also the fact that In the game all the tribes are depicted having positive and negative attributes to their way of life/customs, but we've not seen the "dark side" of the Oseram clan life yet, so it would be great to get more insight about this tribe. Plus if you add the fact that the potential "weapons" to use against Nemesis are all located in the north west of the US, up to Canada. All those reasons would make it a real shame if we don't get to visit the Claim and find Elysium next time.
Really need more content creators like you who are passionate about this game
Fr bro like this game is so slept on
Random side quests does an amazing job at telling the story and lore of horizon
@@njavedhamilton6215 absolutely
@@njavedhamilton6215do you find RSQ tone condescending? Idk if it’s just me… like I understand being knowledgeable but it just comes off pretentious and smug to me. I love Arktix’s videos a lot.
This game is utter trash and insanely woke especially with the dlc where they turn aloy into a gross lesbain for ESG and DEI points.
Also Aloy is sooo ugly in this game
You missed an opportunity to call the part of the main quest where you capture Poseidon "Viva Las Vegas"
Or "(Un)Viva Las Vegas"
I like how open minded you are toward stories, and overall give the writers the benefit of the doubt, recognizing their hard work and accomplishments and still respecting them when things don’t pay off or work well. It’s refreshing and very pleasant to watch as someone who approaches narratives similar
Holy cow what a monster of a video this is. Must have been a heck of a journey writing, recording and editing this. Even thought it's so long, you kept the quality of it very high throughout. You mention this being a labour of love and it really shows. Really good stuff. Looking forward to the Burning Shores video!
Big love
If someone states "video game is not a form of art" I would tell them to play Horizon. Theres no other way around it, it's a piece of fine art.
Absolutely agreed
You mean elden ring right?
@bringforthtruth
Fuck Elden Ring lmao. Absolute fucking horse shit
@@Bearlytherely Nope
Man this game story surprised me in a great way, loved the plot and really liked many of the characters, specially Kotallo, I think the game would have been even better if we could take the other characters to explore the world with, deepen their connections, I think the open world is daunting at times too much to do, but in the end I really liked it
Idk if you've stated it somewhere else already, but I'm looking forward to your reflection on Burning Shores. You don't "fail miserably" for taking the time you need to make the point you want to make. I'm two burrowers (Shock Canister Burrower and Apex Acid Canister Burrower) away from 100%-ing my first playthrough of the game. While looking for those two, I binged all three of your Horizon videos and it brought me much joy. Thank you
In regards to Nemesis. The issue about the efficacy of the ‘plot twist’ is redundant. It’s not so much of a twist than it is expanding and unveiling some of the history and potential for the future.
I have sat for 8 1/2 hours straight (I think) watching all 3 of these videos on Horizon and I have never been so enthralled on UA-cam.
Excellent contribution to mankind. I am glad you and these videos exist.
On seeing Ted, i more wanted him to see Aloy and know exactly who she was having no idea how Liz found him 1000 years later
On Hepahestus remaining printing from the matrix I thought it was pretty clear Hephaestus would also want the Zeniths stopped because they are a threat to the terraforming system, it seems semi-aware of what is going on, and it seems likely Beta could've given some information, even if it has free will. I would likely even go to say this is foreshadowing an uneasy alliance we may see between Hephaestus and GAIA in the 3rd game in an attempt to hold back Nemesis.
Having just finished playing the PC port on this game I felt I needed a video just like this to help round things out and bring it all into context for me. Fantastic job I really enjoyed watching this. I look forward to the day you come back to the series with a possible video on burning shores. Subscribed.
I think the reason Erend waves away his beef with Aloy is because he adores her. He sees her as a sister in a way but I think he also fancies her quite a bit too.
Which is still a great reason why i dont like the new DLC, it just forces us onto a relationship none of us wanted, if it atleast give us a choice in some way, nut no
@@filipbitala2624Alloy isnt you, Alloy is alloy
@@markedone494 i hope so, i am a 198cm guy, alloy should be whoever i choose alloy to be, it shouldnt be chosen for me
This isn't one of those games, where you can choose the role of your character. Aloy very much has her role already assigned, you're just playing her story.@@filipbitala2624
@@filipbitala2624the player doesn’t have a choice in how Aloy feels about any other character so idk why this case would be any different.
My guess is once Hephaestus was scrubbed of its malicious code, it was less homicidal and more of an ally, on my first play through I assumed it was Hephaestus as controlled by GAIA now, as she would now control its building system.
Your labor of love is so greatly appreciated by a fellow fan as invested and as in love with this world that Guerilla has created. Thank you, 🙏, for sharing your passion in a communal way that the fans can celebrate. I’ve watched all three of your videos back to back. Can’t wait for you burning shores video and what you decide to create for the future games
You’ve got a very “Joseph Anderson” vibe. Wish there was a bit more analysis and critique rather than just a detailed summary, but I do appreciate the content! Keep it up dude, very well done.
My theory about the difference between the metal flowers in ZD and FW is that after they failed to hinder the swarm, they were repurposed as indestructable memorials by the people of elysium, maybe even Alquino herself, for the zero dawn team and the hope they had for the future.
Rost contributed significantly to the difference between Aloy and Beta in their personalities and way of thinking.
How Rost influenced Aloy growing up, and how she thinks and acts was beautifully shown in Zero Down when Aloy speaks to Rost at his grave. I recommend visiting it: Aloy puts the focus aside and there are very intimate moments where she tells him about her experiences. Especially on the last visit before the final battle, she tells him she still follows what he taught her. Yet even he couldn't have imagined that (Aloy) would become a part of events that would transcend their home valley.
Since Aloy always puts her focus aside during these "visits to Rost's grave", there is no record of them on it and Beta couldn't see them.
i expected all of the side quests to be canonized from the start because of one detail: Aloy’s armor at the start of the game is the shield armor you get in hzd if you can find all the power cells and choose to use them. the fact that she has it on kind of establishes that at some point all the side quests are completed by her
God i have to comment on chapter 1 with Erend being irritated with Aloy's disappearance. I was really fed up with him with that entire exchange but I believe i understand why now. Aloy has been an outcast all her life, which is why Varl most likely didn't take it personal with Aloy constantly shoving him away and instead just making an effort to be by her side in any for so she starts getting the idea she can depend on someone. Varl has the context that Aloy is gonna struggle getting close to anyone. Hell she saw Varl's sister die Aloy is rightfully hesistant. Because of who she is, she is a danger to others around her if she becomes a target.
However Erend does not have that context and its been fairly apparent that Erend is still processing his sister's grief, and for me, his anger was not coming purely out of concern for Aloy but also his dependency of basing his self worth on his involvement with Aloy's quest as Aloy reminds him heavily of his sister. It is also possible Erend is irritated by Aloy just marching off because of his sisters death not wanting the same thing to happen to her.
That makes it that Erend has a bit of a sore spot when it comes to Aloy's more abrasive personality mind you Aloy i believe is younger than both men by like 5+ years just about (Varl is probably like...27-29 while Erend is within that range or early 30s and Aloy is 20. Aloy is acting like a 20 year old. LOL) Both of them are mentor like figures or should be for Aloy but she ends up being their protector/mentor in many things (until later on where finally Varl gets to shine with Beta). Aloy is consistently searching for a mentor like figure in the game since the lost of Rost is still very fresh for her thus her relationship with those two is a bit strained. (This effects her relationship with Sylens but not so much Kotallo who is very dependable)
However we see this dynamic change heavily when she interacts with Talanah. She is vulnerable with Talanah, that is because Talanah properly took Aloy under her wing and against some of the biggest/baddest machines Aloy know she can handle herself. Talanah has always treated her as an equal and as just a hunter, which means Aloy can really let her guard down. Talanah was not perturbed by Aloy heading off to her next quest without telling anyone because she probably does it herself being she's busy as hell now. Just, every time im reminded of salty erend i'm just have ot divulge into all the complex emotions going on with that scene.
I'll probably edit this once I'm done listening cause I can go over Aloys relationships with different characters for a long time. xD
Y'know, one plausible way to improve foreshadowing Nemesis is if Sylens cryptically suggested that Tilda and the other Zeniths were cowards who always ran away and suggesting they were still running away.
you mentioned multiple times that side characters from zero dawn make an appearance in forbidden west. I think that guerilla considers all side missions canon events because there is no way to decline them.
I love Vanasha and Uthid's flirting and dynamic. Stoic soldier and mischievous spy, it's so fun to listen to!
You gotta admit Sylens is a certified bad ass. Dude stared down a chick who he knows that she knows that he knows shes invincible and has an insane technology advantage, and Sylens is staring her down like "yeah but I'm not so incapable that i have to live within a shield all my life, and I'm still alive having confronted more danger and impossible odds than you. I'm so damn condifent in my ability to survive that even your crap doesn't miff me."
The device Aloy is carrying around is not the root kernel but the device it was stored on.
Like a memory stick.
GAIAs root kernel was installed at the base and subsequently wiped from the stick so her subfunctiions would fit on it.
Also: those who didn't care enough about the story of ZD to complete all side quests deserve to be baffled.
Facts. Fuck those people. I love to play every single thing the developers put out in their game. Becuase of that, seeing all the fruits of my labor go crazy in this game was beautiful, especially how the side quests tie into the story way more than the original. Love this game
I'll also say that given the real life time difference between ZD / Frozen Wilds and Forbidden west, I did not mind the tutorial section. If you played them back to back or did repeated runs of Zero Dawn in the lead up to Forbidden West I can understand why it would be jarring. But having not played Forbidden West for a while, it did take me a while to get used to the controls again when I did my play through of Burning Shores. And the same was said when it came to Forbidden west following Zero Dawn.
It's 10 months too late, but I have explanation for Hephastus staying in Zenith printing facility. Hephastus being able to come and go in and out of Cauldrons means he can be at many places at the same time, and both the dynos and printing machines are autonomous, driven by directive set by Heph.
So I imagine that Heph was like: "Fuck yeah! I am again free, lets scorch these mofos with my machines and in the meantime I will upload to the network!"
It took a week or two for me to make it through your Horizon series of videos, but I'm so grateful for them!! I'm someone who doesn't have a device that can play these games (I will be able to play the LEGO game... 😅 actually looking forward to that!) but the themes intrigued me when I saw a friend playing them, and getting to watch your videos has been so satisfying.
Sad to see you don't have a Burning Shores video up at this point, but needing to move onto other things is totally fair. Again, super grateful for the hours and hours of content!
I, too have played the games many times because like you said it is such a masterpiece and I still absolutely loved this video because it was so well constructed. Well done
Some points I would raise: (if parts are unfinished it's because I accidentally posted the comment before it was ready)
Regarding characters unknown to new players, I consider that since it doesn't significantly kill the uninitiated player's experience, the developers have a greater obligation to players who have engaged with their prior stories, they are the ones with the most invested and giving them more to like is more important.
The long beginning is also important for setting up the narrative and making sure that they onboard players, one cannot just assume that the new game works exactly the same as the previous when that's not the case.
For Aloy's disappearance, the reason anyone would be permissive or her reclusion or apologetic about calling her out for it are due to something you brought up of course, the fact that no one truly understands how much pressure and stress she's under. That pressure and the short fuse it causes explains her interactions with Beta quite handily.
As with Zero Dawn, I think the pacing thing with the available free-roam at a time-sensitive moment is a non-issue because it is up to the player's choice and they can decide the pacing they like.
Regalla's motivations are an insight into the character. But one cannot just assume that because a character explains where they're coming from that the game is trying to illicit sympathy from the player, character complexity doesn't necessarily have to exist to make you care about them. The choice itself is like the other flashpoint a roleplay expression of Aloy's personality, in this case justice vs pragmatism.
I don't think Gerard needs any explanation and I can't see what's actually lost. He's just another rich narcissistic asswipe, we know enough, like you said, we have plenty others. Hades didn't exactly need to be a deep sympathetic character either.
I agree about the Nemesis twist though, there should have been earlier setup for it for sure and there were opportunities for it, but in my opinion, the narrative implications, both plot-wise and thematically more than make up for it.
The talk about grounding kind of felt like a big miss tbh, you simultaneously correctly identify the term as one about character and perspective and then go on to justify the nonsense technology of the rest of the game and act like it's somehow more plausible than the Zenith tech, including such things as "consuming biomass by sucking it up like a puff of smoke", "magic repairing floating nanotech towers" and even lumping in the Zenith's literal immortality as being grounded, but not impenetrable shields, flight tech (possessed by about a half dozen machine types so far) and nanotech weapons-morphing abilities. And what? 3D printing, something we can do now is implausible at that scale despite being literally over 1000 years into the future?... Is this something that would have been made better by the addition of some science-fiction jargon datapoint?
No, it's really just because one side of the game's aesthetic LOOKS more futuristic than the other. Even Nemesis doesn't become part of this strange rant. You're well within your rights to just not be a big fan of their aesthetic design compared to the rest of Horizon's machines and technology, it is a big contrast, but that's all I think it is and this odd rant ended up just feeling like a poorly concieved post-hoc justification for your eyes looking at it and going "ewww", I myself vastly prefer the look of the game's more mechanical-looking machinery, but that's what it is to me, an aesthetic preference that stands due to other factors that I acknowledge are superficial and which I am ultimately okay with, because unlike the Spectres, you're SUPPOSED to find the machines designed by GAIA and HEPHAESTUS beautiful in a way, explicitly so, with GAIA drawing inspiration from Earth's lost fauna and megafauna due to her being saddened by their extinction, with there being incredible beauty in animalistic robots being stewards of the Earth and looking familiar to us, whereas the Spectres are pretentious, otherworldly and off-putting, hence why I cheer as they get torn to shreds by robot dinosaurs.
One of my favorite parts about this game is not even just the main story (I actually loved it as much as the first and thought it was an excellent progression in story) but how the sequel looks at culture and knowledge.
The first one had a lot of culture, how the people created religion and such around the old technology, it does so again here in the sequel with Quan, Tenak etc. But also like how Aloy is now sharing knowledge more, and its cool to see people have to learn using the tech, and the interesting parts of the Quen having held back certain knowledge. (not to mention the seed that started with Faro in the first game with him restricting Apollo knowledge)
Its all just very good and interesting and I love it. Its wonderful story telling that is a great foundation to hold up the central 'in your face' plot.
Thank you so much for this labor of love. HZD was my first PS game and has since been my benchmark for all other games. I was so excited for HFW, I bought the PS5 just for it, and while I definitely enjoyed it there was always this weird feeling lingering after completing it. You put everything I was thinking and feeling into words so perfectly.
Overall, I really enjoyed how you focused on the storyline with a sprinkle of game play, the organizational flow was so good, and emotional topics discussed beautifully. I even cried watching the segment on saying goodbye to Varl. While I still prefer HZD I am probably going to charge my controller and dust off the console to play Forbidden West again soon, so having this added narrative context will be helpful. Thank you again, you more than did the game justice.
To be fair to anyone into sci fi its obvious that the golden dust is just nanotech, but that doesnt excuse the game from explaining it
Question to a Star Trek writer : "How do the inertia dampen work?" "Very well, thanks for asking." As I expect technology two millennia's in the future appear like magic to us, I am happy that I (as a physicist) am not bothered with pseudo-science.
Great video but there were multiple mentions of Nanomachines in some Data so the magic gold dust isn't off, it fits with the shield and immortality projects as the next logical step for evolution from "create machines/AI to do almost everything" the next step would be, how do we perpetually create these machines and or tools/weapons without having to rely on caldrons and constantly seeking raw material. Like how the machines operate
I like playing the game in Carja armour. It just makes acts of hostility and kindness towards Aloy funnier when she's dressed like the Red Raids never stopped.
I'm maining the Carja Blazon armor, not for any story reason, but because it's probably one of the best looking pieces of armor in the game. It looks so good on Aloy. I'm only about 63% of the way through the PC port but I've made it a mission to purchase (and upgrade) every armor and weapon.
@@TG-nd9rj I hope you like fighting Dreadwings then. Damn near every endgame upgrade needs parts from them.
@@PlebNC I'll be honest, I don't mind the dreadwings so much. Stormbirds though? Still horrible.
@@TG-nd9rj But a Dreadwing is basically a Stormbird that turns invisible and inflicts plasma. How is the Stormbird harder?
@@PlebNC I find the weak points on a stormbird much harder to hit, personally. I don't tend to use slings or ropecasters, purely bow, unless a story quest calls for an alternate weapon. As far as the invisibility is concerned, Stalkers also suck way more in my opinion. The Dreadwing may be flying but Stalkers are so much faster and harder to keep track of
Rest In Power Lance Reddick.
Beautiful! Your retelling of this game made me love it all the more! Thank you!
I'm really glad you highlighted the issue of the Zeniths, I'm really frustrated with the direction they took the game and as soon as we saw them at Latopolis I was just thinking to myself "please dear god don't have pursued the FZ arc", I wanted the game to be grounded as you said, and kept to the setting we already had. I'm incredibly fearful of what they're doing with the next game because it feels like it takes it even further out of that, for a moment before Beta said Nemesis was likely AI / robots I was genuinely concerned they'd introduced aliens (which honestly would've been better foreshadowed because it's still akin to a natural disaster and Tilda was clearly being decceptive when she mentioned the planet being unstable (I can't remember the exact line)).
I really think they definitely could've stuck to the more grounded setting too, they could've had Faro's reveal & Thebes be more involved and a far larger part of the story. In addition they could've preserved much more of the mystery, exploration and "investigation" aspects of HZD had they gone down this route where you gradually explore old world sites, culminating in finding Thebes, where Ted has been found to be linked to the Extinction Signal somehow; in addition we may have finally gotten an explanation for why he had Omega clearance. And whilst I recognise that may have been too formulaic and not different enough from HZD there's easily other aspects that could've been followed up, things like what happened to Elysium, or even with what people are speculating about Vast Silver. This alongside rebuilding Gaia I think could've been made into a better story.
Personally I liked what information we already had about the Odyssey and what our information from HZD was saying about the hubris of wealth and power to flea natural disaster they are responsible for, and we were robbed of that and I feel like many of the points in HFW even undermine many of those in HZD. I'm quite upset about what they did. And that I'll never have quite the same experience in HZD again.
Would love your opinions and review on the DLC Burning Shores. You have a keen eye that picks out things most people would not notice. I would love to see if the DLC stays loyal to the points you provided on the main story. Hopefully you release that video soon, I'm wanting it real bad.
Very comprehensive breakdown of the whole story. Really enjoyed the 4 hours and 32 minutes of it. I'm still waiting for the DLC video, although we know how that turned out.
I just played through the main story of Forbidden West and watched your video. I really enjoyed your thorough and in-depth analysis, and I agree with most if not all points you raised. Thank you!
I'd never actually considered the possibility that Tilda survived, but it could genuinely be possible. She may have been outside of Sylens' EMP range, so her shield could be up. The Specter Prime fight could have been an attempt to remove her from the forefront without killing her, and without Aloy and Co. being aware.
This video helped me a lot with getting back on track with the story after taking a 1 year pause in the middle of the game. Also, it helped me clear out some bits of the story that I didn't understand. Thank you! :)
Kind of disagree with his complaint about Far Zenith. The means by which machines "ate" life looked, based on the that we witness, like some sort of nanotechnology. We see people with primitive shields in game. Faro himself was trying, even if it failed, to have someone engineer immortality. If we presume that this last one Far Zenith had a better version of, which didn't result in out of control mutations, then they had hundreds of years to develop personal shields, and modify a variation of the nanotechnology members of their companies came up with into something that could manufacture whole machines, without all the complicated pre-cataclysm technology. Their priorities where, after all, to run, and use their technology to keep improving themselves along the same self serving path that created the disaster in the first place, not to use technology that would never be improved on by the machines themselves to remake a world. They already had the seeds to everything we saw them doing, and endless time to improve beyond it, unlike Earth, which is stuck with no comprehension of the technology it already sees every day, due to the loss of Apollo.
4 hour video on my favorite game? Perfection
I love how Aloy is wearing the Carja face paint & outfit throughout the vid. That’s always been my favorite look for her as well, although I can never decide which color I like best.
I finished the main story of Forbidden West yesterday, had your video on my watch later list for a few weeks. After watching it now, I must say it is a great video, it was an awesome way to reflect on the long story I just played through, thank you for your work on this essay. Gonna dive into the Burning Shores now!
This channel is SO underrated.
Amazing videos so far man! Can't wait for your Burning Shores analysis and the eventual 3rd game's.
Near the end when you were criticizing some plot points related to Hephaestus during the attack on Zenith, you described Beta as still working on integrating Hephaestus with Gaia, and expressed that this didn't make sense. I interpreted the scene differently from you, I saw it as Beta being tortured while the Zeniths were away, and this is why Aloy had to physically unshackle her. The Hephaestus merge into Gaia was likely already finished and Beta may have been hiding it from the Zeniths somehow, and this can also explain how she was able to safely give Hephaestus access to the Zenith's more advanced printer. This is probably also why Aloy in an earlier scene asked Beta to continue working on the merge. Once the Zeniths realized what Beta had done they started the torture process on her, and then Aloy finally freed her in that scene you talked about.
Your channel deserver a lot more attention! Great video!
Im only about 60ish percent through the PC port, so ive stopped watching the video at points until I play more and continue the story. But it's hard for me to put into words just how much I love this game series. It truly is a piece of art. This video is amazing so far and I look forward to finishing it!
I just finished the game and then immediately went and watched a 4 and a half hour essay on it. I have no regrets. I loved this game, and this video was really well done.
The proposed quest with Tilda and Sylens is so awesome that it's now my headcanon. Thank you!
I'd imagine this took you an incredibly long time to make and as such missing the context of burning shores and of course the shocking loss of Lance Reddick are understandable.
On the whole I think you did a great job in your commentary. Thanks for making this.
Oh, but the magic zenith stuff is nano tech. Totally plausible after a thousand years of development without the setbacks of having to pass down knowledge through generations.
😁
True... being immortal would probably speed up some scientific developments considerably, since the same people could keep working on them for centuries...
I was just about to post something similar. I'm actually surprised the Zenith tech isn't more advanced although this might be just due to a lot of their tech being lost when Nemesis broke containment.
@@bellissimo4520 Immortality would also _slow down_ the rate of progression, especially when no one's struggling for resources, as you'd have an unlimited amount of time to say "I'll do it tomorrow".
@@Jackson-ub1uv Fair point... immortals could be the ultimate procrastinators!
Not to mention nanotech already existed in the Faroh robots for their refuelling process. FZ having more advanced nanotech after 1000 years makes sense, even if I think it doesn't fit with the rest of the game
That one moment between Aloy and Beta where we don't get to hear what was said is one I find very immersion breaking every time. We're playing as Aloy, knowing all she knows, hearing all she hears, except that one moment. I wish they'd found a better way.
Fantastic video. I’ve seen many on the horizon series and put this on for interesting background noise…. I was fully invested the entire time and watched it in one sitting. Thank you
No one gonna talk about how the ceo actually looks like he could be a clone of ted faro
Thank you so much for making this. I watched your HZD movie and then this one as I played Forbidden West. I also watched your Plague Tale videos and am kind of tempted to pick those games up now. Looking forward to the other content you create! Thank you again!
FANTASTIC review and analysis. keep up the great work!
You do an awesome job with these videos. It is a joy to watch after playing as a fitting epilogue putting everything in perspective
What a wonderful set of three videos going into so much depth about the Horizon series - the only game that has ever managed to make me weep. Thank you!
I really appreciated this commentary. It was thorough, throughout and really enjoyable
The comment about the block button sounds so personal and I couldn’t agree more
Great video! ❤thanks I’m looking forward for the burning shores one, whenever you are ready 😊
I am just so happy that I found such an amazing video. Your video is just amazing, I couldn't stop watching it. I can't wait to watch more of your videos, honestly keep up the amazing work!
Thank you for this video, Adam!! As a super fan of the game like many of the viewers, I’m really impressed by your dedication and specifically from how detailed and deep your narrative goes. The horizon universe is so amazing and I didn’t thought that seeing the story again would bring tears to my eyes - but it did! Can wait for you to drop some Burning Shores content! Kisses~
You have very few subscribers for the extent of your work, you deserve more, well done.
Damn was really hoping for another hour-long DLC overview. Watched this one straight through as I did my hair. Keep up the grat work!
I love the Sly Cooper 3 helping someone, them recruiting them as part of your team. Seeing them and how they grow personally at the home base is great. The story and motivation for it is.... something
UA-cam has recommended me your analysis on HFW and am very happy for it. Great work on it! I agree with most of your thoughts on the game, i have also caught myself being totally lost in the world of Horizon for hours on end, finishing three playthroughs so far. (Yes after TW3 only game that has charmed me as much, which i finished 9+ times), it is an utterly beautifully crafted experience with such an attention to detail you see only in the masterpieces of the industry. It has it's narrative flaws like everything does and you are doing great job pointing them out here.
I command you for such an effort to put such a comprehensive video together! You'll get views on it as the time goes and more people will have time to sit through it. More people will get to play the game. This sort of deep analyses is mostly for people who has beaten the game. But it will also serve as a great retelling of the base game!s story for those that don't wish to spend 100+ hours on a single run.
Great work man! You deserve to take a break from the game, beating it 9 times its an achievement on it's own! I am curious about your impression of the DLC given how much i have enjoyed this Vid. But everything has it's time. Have a great day!
Spent months and 120 hours on my 1st playthrough of Forbidden West. Great job, broski.
You cant imagine the smile on my face when u said witcher 3 is the goat.
Love this game to death, and i totally agree, the horizon series is an easy second place regarding story games
The Zenith tech (assuming I spelled it right), seems fine to me. I imagine eventually matter manipulation will one day be able to remotely construct things via some combination of teleportation, gravity manipulation, and/or magnetic fields (especially for metals). Even if this is an absurd sci-fi level of that, I figure mechanical replicators will be the first wave (like better versions of today's 3D printers), and eventually it'll reach full Star Trek just reverse vaporizes into existence. And if they had a 1000 years to advance, and given how fast things are advancing now, it even seems ridiculous they've only gotten that far.
I've watched your two videos about these games' stories, and it makes me wish I did get around to playing them on my own. I don't bother playing much on consoles these days, and heard of issues of the PC version of Zero Dawn. I'm surprised how good these stories seem to be in a lot of ways. Even not having seen the story myself directly it feels like they've managed to not screw it up with "but this is the ACTUAL and SHOCKING cause of everything that you WOULDN'T BELIEVE possible" that so often happens in other stories.
I have played through HZD and HFW both on pc. I've never encountered more than minor issues. I don't know what these issues are what you are talking about.
Great video this is the 2nd time going through your horizon series.
I look forward to your next Video of Burning Shores.
Please keep up your excellent work.
im 7 month late to this video but i really enjoyed it. I cant wait to check out your other videos. Thank you for doing this video. You've earned my sub sir. RIP Mr. Lance.
Cant wait for your burning shores video but also yeah dont burn yourself out on what you love. Ive been there and its not fun.
My hypothetical hat off to making a 4.5 hour video analysis on a singular game.
Als didn't expect Goth Aloy to be a thing, but I'm ok with this.
4.5 is nothing compared to the 20 hour one on Skyrim
I dropped almost 100 hrs into this game and not once was I ever bored with it. I just kinda got lost in the world and gameplay.
The best looking and performing open world game on the market.
Can't wait to see how the story plays out after that epic Burning Shores finale!
1:37:40 Erend is a character that they just didn’t handle well in this game in general in my opinion, like he’s fine in the Daunt, but while in the first game he was going through a character arc of growing to fit in his sister’s footsteps, in this one he is more often than not just treated as the dumb brute or comic relief of the group and devalues himself or remarks on his own worthlessness at every other opportunity
Best.Game.EVER. The only game I have played through more than twice.
I've played this game so many times and I swear I've learned so much from this video
This game is Indeed a MASTERPEICE. Stunning world, amazing story and plot. Lastly the Graphics (Espesally characters faces in cutscenes) Are AMAZING too. The amount of Mimic and facial impressions on the characters are so damm good. It makes the characters seem more real and alive. It's something I rarely see in orther games now a days🤩🤩
Wow! Amazing video, this is a beautifully crafted well throughout review! Thank you for putting it all together. 😊
Wow, what a great video. I was 1 hour in when I realized how long the video actually is... And it did not even feel like one hour at that point.
this was awesome. looking forward to more videos by you
Wow. I was settling over dinner to watch the video when I saw the near five hour length! Guess I won't be finishing this tonight! lol
As for the "Nemesis foreshadowing" (or lack thereof), I think there is a rather UNIQUE form of foreshadowing present, you just failed to recognize it as such:
The fact that no-one is willing to specify what 'disaster' forced the Zeniths to flee Sirius. You speak about it with Beta, and she says that she did not have access to that information. You speak about it with Tilda in her house, and she gives the vaguest of answers - and, while we're at it, her answer isn't scientifically plausible at all, given the state of the Zeniths' technology.
I think the criticism was more about how nemesis itself was never mentioned or hinted at rather than the cause of the disaster not completely adding up
Well written! Hope you continue to do these when and as you can. Love your breakdowns of story in games, that's the main reason I play these games, for the story. I hope you do one for the Witcher series, as that's also my favourite game of all time.
I actually wonder where Artemis fled to since we are given no clues as to where in the story. It ultimately doesn't matter since Far Zenith got to it first but I am curious. Given that the others fled to areas that match the theme of their purpose. HADES seeking refuge in a Horas, HEPH going to into cauldron network. AETHER going to a memorial for a jointed US air force and navy unit. POSEIDON going to the ruins of Las Vegas, which thanks to Stanley Chen, houses a massive water network underneath. DEMETER going to the Faro Greenhouse and ELEUTHIA heading to the Far Zenith Ninmah research lab. Using this, I wonder if Artemis fled to a place themed around animals that a processor that could support it. The only thing I think of that could fit this that is in the Forbidden West or nearby is Pangea Park. A dinosaur theme park created by Walter Londra. Although there does not seem to be any evidence of this when we explore the park in the Burning Shores DLC.
Artemis went to Yellowstone to be with the animal holos in the museum that Enjuk curated. BROUGHT TO YOU BY MONTANA RECREATIONS!!
( i made that up but it'd be pretty cool)