Horizon Forbidden West: Language and Representation

Language

Introduction

Read this review of Horizon Forbidden West in the Financial Times (should be non-paywalled but you can read the text of article here if needed). Answer the following questions:

1) Why does Guerrilla Games have 'a serious case of bad timing'?

The release of Horizon Forbidden West coincided with Elden Ring, a game that overshadowed it in terms of cultural buzz and reception, despite both being strong entries in their genres​.

2) What is the narrative for the original game Horizon Zero Dawn? 

The original game follows Aloy, a young hunter, as she uncovers the mysteries of a post-apocalyptic Earth dominated by robotic creatures. She discovers the truth about humanity's downfall and her role in stopping another potential catastrophe​.

3) How is the central character Aloy described? 

Aloy is portrayed as a resourceful and determined protagonist who takes on the responsibility of saving her world. She is depicted as a strong and complex heroine, emphasising her courage and intellect​.

4) What is the narrative and setting for sequel Horizon Forbidden West?

In Forbidden West, Aloy ventures into a new frontier to prevent societal collapse. The setting is expansive, featuring lush environments, futuristic ruins, and diverse tribes, all enriched by advanced world-building​.

5) What does the review say about animation and graphics?

The graphics are praised as some of the most impressive on the PS5, with detailed landscapes and lifelike motion capture. However, repetitive character animations slightly detract from the overall experience​.

6) What do we learn about the gameplay and activities in Horizon Forbidden West? 

The gameplay is highly diverse, combining combat with exploration, crafting, and side quests that add depth to the story. Players can spend dozens of hours exploring the expansive open world.

Close textual analysis

Watch the trailer for Horizon Forbidden West:

1) How is narrative, character and setting introduced in the trailer?

The trailer establishes Aloy as the main protagonist on a mission to save her world. It showcases the game's setting—a mix of natural beauty and futuristic ruins—and highlights the stakes through action-packed scenes and confrontations with robotic creatures​.

2) How is the game's open world / sandbox genre shown in the trailer? 

The trailer emphasizes exploration, with Aloy traversing diverse landscapes such as jungles, deserts, and underwater areas. It also highlights the freedom to engage in various activities, like fighting robotic enemies or interacting with different tribes​.

3) What representations can you find in the trailer?

The trailer features a diverse cast of characters, including various ethnic groups and tribes. Aloy’s role as a strong female lead is central, and the environments reflect different cultural and geographical influences​.

 AQA recommends watching the following gameplay trailer in their CSP booklet:

1) How does the game use media language to communicate ideas about narrative and genre?

The trailer uses dynamic visuals, action sequences, and emotional character interactions to reinforce its post-apocalyptic and action-adventure themes. Narrative elements like Aloy's heroism and conflicts with robotic enemies are emphasised through cinematic techniques​.

2) What representations of people, places or groups can you find in the gameplay video?

The video includes representations of diverse tribes, indigenous themes, and strong female characters. The settings are rich with cultural influences, highlighting varied human communities within the game’s world​.

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by this gameplay trailer?

The game offers escapism through its immersive world, emotional engagement with characters, and the satisfaction of mastering combat and exploration. It also provides opportunities for personal connection and identity through its narrative themes​.

Narrative and genre

Read this excellent Den of Geek article that addresses elements of narrative and genre. You can find the article text here if the link is blocked. Answer the following questions: 

1) Read the opening to the article. How can we apply Steve Neale's genre theory to Horizon Forbidden West?

Forbidden West still feels surprisingly similar to Zero Dawn in many ways. That revelation has inspired some to call Forbidden West “formulaic” and even suggest that it’s not the game we should have gotten after all this time this refers to repetition of things in both games. 

2) How many copies did the Horizon Zero Dawn sell and why did this influence the design of the sequel?

Horizon Zero Dawn has reportedly now sold over 20 million copies. From a business standpoint, it makes all the sense in the world that Forbidden West sticks fairly close to its predecessor in terms of most of its basic design decisions. 

3) How does the article criticise the story in Horizon Forbidden West? 

“More story” doesn’t necessarily translate to “better story,” though. Much like Zero Dawn, Forbidden West’s greatest narrative strengths are the quality of its world and mythology. Some of the best storytelling moments in the game happen when you take a little time to look around and really think about how and why this somewhat primitive world was built upon the ashes of a high-tech “advanced” society.

4) What do we learn about the gameplay? 

So far as its moment-to-moment gameplay goes, there’s very little doubt that Horizon Forbidden West is a better game than Zero Dawn. 

5) What is the article's overall summary of the game?

Games like Forbidden West and Ghost of Tsushima belong to this new breed of open-world titles that don’t necessarily revolutionize the genre but rather find ways to make the entire concept feel fresh again by using that genre’s conventions to support ambitious artistic ideas that would crumble under their own weight if they weren’t supported by such a tested structure. Forbidden West sometimes sticks to a beaten path, but it goes further than so many other games in this genre and manages to plant a new signpost that I can only hope Guerrilla Games and other developers aspire to reach and surpass in the future. 

Representations

Race representations in Horizon Forbidden West

Read this fascinating Polygon feature on why Horizon Forbidden West isn't post-racial and answer the following questions: 

1) How does Horizon Forbidden West use narrative to create a fully diverse cast of characters?

The 31st-century world of Horizon Forbidden West is supposed to be post-racial. After human civilization was fully wiped out by a plague of self-replicating machines, a terraforming AI named GAIA rebuilt life on Earth, with the genetic diversity of humanity, but without the history and societal structures that underpinned racism in the 21st century. 

This is all well and good, and makes sense within the context of the story. That is, until a plethora of racist tropes begin to emerge within Forbidden West’s world. There’s a stereotypical angry Black woman named Regalla, for example, who leads a rebel army and would rather die than seek peace. There’s also constant belittling between tribes, who call each other “savage” or “uncivilized” — terms loaded with racial undertones. There’s also plenty of Orientalism.

2) What is orientalism? 

Orientalism is a type of racism in which “the West” — generally understood as Europe and North America — projects savagery and beauty onto “the East,” or the Orient. This allows Western imagination to see “Eastern” cultures and people as both alluring and a threat to Western civilization. 

3) How does the article suggest orientalism applies to Horizon Forbidden West? 

Orientalism is embedded at the core of Forbidden West’s narrative of exploring exotic lands. Protagonist Aloy’s Orient is the “Forbidden West” itself: the present-day southwestern U.S. and California, filled as they are with foreign tribes, religions, and customs. In this morass, Aloy is both an explorer and a (white) savior. Only she understands what is at stake in the world, and she has to spend time in the petty politics of a bunch of tribes in order to convince them that the problems she’s facing are more severe than theirs.

Orientalism is also strewn throughout Forbidden West’s world-building. Take the “Golden Pagoda” that Aloy discovers in “The Sea of Sands” quest in the main campaign. When she’s rebuilding GAIA’s system, she must recover several sub-AIs that have fled and hidden across the Western U.S. Aloy explores the ruins of the Las Vegas Strip, complete with the remnants of the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and, strangely, a pagoda.

4) Who is the player encouraged to identify with in the game and how does this influence how representations are constructed?  

Players are encouraged to identify with Aloy, whose perspective as a white protagonist can shape how tribal and diverse cultures are viewed within the narrative​.

5) Finally, what did the writer of the article (an Asian American) feel when playing the game?

"When I played Horizon Forbidden West, the game asked me to identify with Aloy and support her mission to save the planet. But to progress in the game, I ended up role-playing different kinds of cultural violence, including Orientalism, which founds and fuels a lot of the racism I experience as an Asian American. Even though Aloy’s world is supposedly post-racial, its developers still repeat Orientalist tropes in their design choices, which paint Asian cultures, and therefore people, as perpetually foreign, mysterious, and threatening."

Gender and videogames

Focusing on Aloy and the representation of women in videogames, read this Forbes feature on the topic. Answer the following questions:

1) What is the debate regarding Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West? 

Some debates focus on her perceived attractiveness, challenging traditional portrayals of female protagonists in games.

2) What examples are provided of other female characters and representations in videogames?

Characters like Lara Croft and Bayonetta are cited for their sexualised designs, contrasting with Aloy’s more realistic representation.

3) What are the issues facing the videogame industry in terms of gender?

The industry struggles with sexism, both in its portrayal of women and workplace dynamics. Female characters often cater to the male gaze, and gender discrimination persists in studios like PlayStation​.