into battle Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West is not for everyone. Anyone who has an affinity with Monster Hunter games may love it for the intense strategies and lengthy battles that ensue as players try to rip away machine parts, but those that don’t may not be interested. The Horizon the franchise’s armament is intriguing enough with their own ammunition and different efficiencies in a hunt, though they all suffer from the same aesthetic that isn’t quite tied to some of the Horizonthe world.
Bows and other weapons seem rudimentary, perhaps to give them a deliberate contrast to the Old World technology Aloy wears on her temple. But none are intrinsically rooted in Horizon‘s atmosphere beyond their primitive appearance and functionalities, which can stifle their creative potential. If we look at other games that cleverly incorporate weapons as part of their worlds, there is a recent example in Splatoon 3 that shows perfectly how weapons can be both recognizable and designed to make sense in the game’s environment.
Splatoon’s weapon design is a blueprint Horizon should follow
splatoonThe ink-sloping weapons are known for their creativity. Mainly, Splatoon 3The new Splatana weapon has raised the bar when it comes to immersing a weapon in the game’s world. Splatanas are essentially freestanding windshield wipers equipped to fling ink, and as simple as that sounds on paper, it makes for an ingenious splatoon tool that can also be instantly recognized as a sword.
That’s essential, because the windshield wiper design wouldn’t land if it weren’t a bit like a katana it’s named after. It is not a sword per se, although it is technically used as a sword due to its design as a percussion instrument.
This is similar to how the other splatoon weapons like Splat Rollers, Inkbrushes, or Sloshers are integrated, but while those weapons are invariably the items they resemble, Splatanas are composed as a hybrid katana and wiper. For example, splatoon could not introduce a real sword; it had to be designed so that the actual weapon is still an item that players can still identify as something that would fit into its world.
A windshield wiper doesn’t have as much to do with ink as other weapons, but its cleansing properties still give it the ability to hurl ink. This keeps it in line with its plethora of ink-related weapons while branching out in a creative way. Splatoon 3 adds its own bow weapon and shares more similarities with the Horizon franchise, but Horizon should look at splatoon‘s weapons – and especially the Splatana – when new weapons are introduced in a future sequel.
How Horizon can get creative with its weapons in the future
Horizon Forbidden WestIts armament is indicative of the relatively underdeveloped state of the world, with primitive tools serving tribes across the country. Aloy’s primary weapons are bows with elemental or otherwise enhanced arrows, and the rest of her inventory is an eclectic lineup, including Tripcasters, Shredder Gauntlets, and Boltblasters. While various machine parts are used in the creation of new weapons, these weapons are hardly indicative of the machines players fell to make them. Take a look at splatoon‘s Splatana, the weapon is creative in that it still blends in perfectly with the world and environment it is in while being a fun take on a windshield wiper.
Horizon does not have a weapon specifically resembling a machine’s scale or appendages, although there are some detachable turrets that Aloy can equip with limited ammunition. The Specters of the Far Zeniths had been destroyed, and it would be great to see Aloy and her company be able to craft new weapons from their technologically advanced chaff.
Anyway, Horizon‘s weapons would be inventively ingrained in the world if they resembled a detached or salvaged part. Bows and other trick weapons aren’t necessarily uninspired, but if they were more like the machines they’re made of, there would be more noticeable connective tissue. This could play well in melee combat like Horizon decides to give Aloy more close-range weapons, or it can just play into other long-range weapons, as long as they creatively hybridize the part of a machine as an unconventional weapon.
Horizon Forbidden West is now available on PS4 and PS5.
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