Obviously, inhabitants of the Horizon universe would likely not have the time to read a fashion magazine, let alone put one together. Still, if such a magazine did exist, it would undoubtedly feature the series’ protagonist front and center. Not only does Aloy have a unique fashion sense due to her long, braided red hair, but her role as a hero ensures that anyone in-universe would be interested in reading about her. For fans of the series, there is plenty to appreciate about the magazine cover created by Reddit user Nitrosad.
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In the cover image for the magazine, Aloy can be seen posing for a picture, facing toward the camera and smiling with her hand behind her head. The Cosmopolitan logo and a gorgeous beach are present behind her, with her body covered in Tenakth tattoos. While this would have been a fun enough idea with some generic magazine text, as the image alone shows the power of Horizon Forbidden West’s photo mode, the many jokes and references on the cover make the piece far more memorable.
For starters, this fake version of Cosmopolitan is described as only costing 20 Shards, which is the currency from the Horizon universe. Beyond that, players can enter a giveaway to win a Stormbird heart, one of the most expensive items within the Horizon universe and something that would surely be sought after by any of the tribes in the franchise. A fun date is also listed, with the magazine supposedly being released in April 3041. From there, fans can get an idea of some of the fun articles that would supposedly be featured by reading the text around Aloy.
Readers would get tips from Kotallo on arm wrestling, insight into some Utaru hymns that soothe land gods, and some tips on hair care from the “savior of Meridian.” Telanah, the Tenakth, and Shredder gauntlets are also focused on in this magazine concept, with each topic being assigned a fun article title. Unsurprisingly, the Horizon community adored this artwork, with many commenters asking for more covers and praising Nitrosad for being so clever. The post received over 3,000 upvotes, with Nitrosad even sharing some extra article headlines in the comments section.
While there has been plenty of great Horizon fan art shared online, from Machine concepts to alternate covers for Forbidden West, this piece is easily one of the most unique. Going forward, perhaps Nitrosad or other artists will be inspired to make magazine covers for other video game franchises.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
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