Restoring Hope Through the Patchwork of Human History in the Post-apocalyptic Video-game Horizon Forbidden West

Abstract

In Horizon Forbidden West (2022) a sequel to the post-post-apocalyptic adventure game Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) we witness the consequences of this immeasurable loss as Aloy crosses the ruins of our civilization. Her explorations put her in contact with a tribe known as the Tenakth, fierce warriors who live for battle. This tribe built an entire mythology around fragments of information from the so-called Old Days, specifically, from a military unit called the JTF-10 which the tribe calls “The Ten” whose soldiers fell during an ancient battle against the machines responsible for the destruction of life on Earth. The member of this tribe along with Aloy and the player are engaged in a process of restoration of human history through patchwork of all the fragments scattered through the world. The player then is placed in the position of observer and quilter, observing how humanity’s loss of itself through the loss of its history while, by interacting with those fragments experiencing that loss and actively participating in the reconstruction of the past. This paper will reflect on the utopian message that emerges from the Tenakth’s engagement with the past and their ritualistic approach to the fragmented lives of their ancestors, using them to ensure their immediate survival among the ruins of a dead civilization.