Flying is not unlocked until one of Horizon: Forbidden West’s final story missions, and it does not play a huge role in the larger narrative. It is vital for finishing some side missions, but Aloy initially only uses it as a means to take out Regalla’s army. It feels like a fun mechanic that was added as an afterthought, but the third game has the chance to make flight an integral part of the narrative.
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Horizon 3 Could Introduce a Skybound Tribe
At the end of Horizon: Forbidden West, Aloy has the power of flight and her allies are preparing for the fight against Nemesis. The fight against Nemesis will most likely be the focus of Horizon 3, and it seems like Aloy will need all the help that she can get. There is no reason she will just forget about the power of flight, and it would be compelling to learn that she isn’t the only one on Earth that knows how to ride flying machines. Flight should be an integral part of Horizon 3’s story, and there are many ways that could happen.
One of the ways that Guerrilla could make flight integral to the plot of Horizon 3 is if it introduced a skybound tribe of humans. Aloy does not know what tribes exist outside the areas she has explored, and that leaves a vast world where anything is possible. While it may seem a bit far-fetched that there is a group of people who spend their days flying across the skies on Sunwings, crazier things have happened in the Horizon franchise.
A skybound civilization would be very different from all the Horizon tribes that Aloy has met, and it could lead to some interesting new story threads. This tribe would most likely live high up on mountaintops, and they would use all sorts of different flying machines during their day-to-day operations. They may use the flow of the wind to their advantage, and would probably know various flying tricks that they could teach Aloy. Their soldiers would also be skybound, and that could lead to the introduction of flight combat, serving as Horizon’s version of the Na’vi from Avatar.
Flight Needs to be Expanded in Horizon 3
Aloy has shared a lot of knowledge about ancient technology with her allies, and she could grant them flight as well. They will need to use every resource at their disposal if they want any chance at beating Nemesis in Horizon 3, and that means they may want to know how to fly. Every single one of her allies could be riding a Sunwing into battle, and it could be glorious. Horizon: Forbidden West’s flight is also limited to one type of machine, but Horizon 3 could expand the roster a bit. Players could tame three different ground mounts, and they should be allowed to tame more than one flying mount.
There are numerous flying machines out there in the wild, and it would be pretty cool if Aloy was able to fly across the skies on them. Glinthawks and Skydrifters seem like perfect additions to the roster, and Guerrilla could create brand-new ones as well. Guerrilla opened the floodgates when it introduced flying to the franchise, and it needs to expand it greatly in the third entry. Not only do the controls need to feel more natural, but flying should feel like an important part of Aloy’s fight against Nemesis. This fight will be her greatest challenge, and the power of flight should be one of her most valuable tools.
Horizon: Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5
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