Horizon 3 Could Take Aloy Across Multiple Regions Instead of One Massive Open World

The biggest curiosity about Horizon 3 might not be when Guerrilla Games will reveal the next game, but where Aloy's adventure will take her. By the end of Horizon Forbidden West, the story sets up a threat that could shape the entire series. As Nemesis looms over Earth, Aloy can't afford to ignore one part of it while the rest is in peril. With flying machines and advanced Zenith technology, Guerrilla has plenty of options for the upcoming game's environmental design.

Maybe the finale of Burning Shores is the beginning of Aloy's next quest. Sylens starts analyzing the old-world technologies in Walter Londra's data, searching for something that can help humanity fight Nemesis. That could mean Aloy has to hunt across multiple places for helpful tech, instead of focusing on a single area.

Each mainline Horizon game has traditionally added another big region to the setting.

Horizon Zero Dawn established the series' world, and Forbidden West carried Aloy farther west. Following that pattern, Horizon 3 may add another huge map in a different area of the country. Burning Shores has already proved Guerrilla isn't afraid to push past the main game's confines by sending Aloy to Los Angeles.

That strategy may result in a different framework for Horizon 3. Instead of one huge open globe, Guerrilla may create one major central location and several large regions Aloy visits during the game. With her ability to ride flying devices and allies across the globe, this would make sense. Nemesis threatens everyone, not just one tribe; therefore, limiting the experience to a single location can feel restrictive.

The Claim, home of the Oseram, is one of the most obvious places Guerrilla might bring in. The Oseram have appeared in both mainline games, but we have not been able to explore their territory. We've seen glimpses of their civilization through characters like Erend and Petra, but their home country remains uncharted.

The Claim would also be very pertinent to Aloy's quest for ancient technologies.

The Oseram are renowned for their metalworking, machinery, and building skills. Their capacity to disassemble machines and create equipment could make them useful allies as Aloy prepares to battle Nemesis. By introducing their homeland, Guerrilla can also show how the Oseram live beyond the villages they inhabit in other tribes' territories.

Instead of making The Claim a single settlement, Guerrilla might create an entire area built around its industrial culture. With mountain communities, large foundries, and metallurgy-built cities, you could tell the area apart from places shown in past games. The Tenakth got a lot of attention in Forbidden West, and the Oseram could get the same treatment in the upcoming installment. Finally, gamers will learn more about their society by exploring their hometown.

Another possible destination is Ban-Ur, the Banuk's home. Players met the Banuk in The Frozen Wilds, the DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn, but never set foot in their homeland. Guerrilla hasn't confirmed whether Aloy will head north in Horizon 3, leaving its existence in the game up to speculation. But Ban-Ur is one of the biggest places in the series canon that we haven't seen yet.

Guerrilla might also bring in new machines on a trip inside Ban-Ur.

Its frigid landscapes and hilly terrain would offer a contrast to the areas visited in Forbidden West. New environments could also shape machine designs and encounters, letting the third game feature enemies that fit the locales Aloy travels.

But the Quen homeland may be an even more interesting place to visit. In Forbidden West and Burning Shores, characters like Alva and Seyka introduced us to the Quen, and we also learned about their fascination with old technology. Even with these introductions, players still haven't visited their hometown or fully understood their customs.

The Quen's connection to old-world knowledge makes them especially central to the story of the next game. Their culture values old-world knowledge as significant and, in many cases, sacred. Meanwhile, Aloy must find advanced technology to help her battle Nemesis. A big part of the third game's story could be merging these two worlds.

Alva could naturally bridge Aloy and the Quen.

Her understanding of their civilization could introduce players to their home planet, letting Guerrilla explore its political structure and control of information. The Quen's attitude toward information also sets them up for friction, especially if Aloy discovers that their authorities limit what commoners can learn.

Speculation suggests the Quen homeland may be in East Asia, mainly because of its connections to the Great Delta. However, Guerrilla hasn't officially revealed its location, so it's premature to say Horizon 3 will take place in China. Still, the Quen are well positioned to play a bigger role in the next game, especially given how relevant ancient technology is to Aloy's purpose.

It's a multi-region framework, and these prospective locations complement that. Aloy might ally with the Oseram in one location, enter the Quen heartland in another, and study an ancient facility in a third. Each region could have its own culture, environmental issues, and narrative purpose.

That may be more enticing for players who have already sunk dozens of hours into exploring Forbidden West than another map that's just a bigger version of the last one. Instead of expanding the planet, Guerrilla might focus on making each destination feel different.

Oseram industrial villages, frozen Banuk regions, and Quen architecture would create distinct surroundings and make Aloy's journey feel more advanced.

If Horizon 3 wraps up Aloy's present plot, it may also be the perfect moment to explore locations referenced throughout the first two games. Guerrilla may also spread the planet's geography across many large chunks without forcing every location into one contiguous open world.

That doesn't imply the series should quit its established territories. The Nora, Carja, and Tenakth will certainly stay relevant while the danger of Nemesis unites the planet. By the end of Forbidden West, Aloy's allies have started leaving to return home and prepare their people for the danger to come. Their departure hints that the next game could bring back familiar individuals and tribes as humanity fights for survival.

Meridian would be nice to return to. Communities once at each other's throats may be forced to collaborate against a common adversary. Aloy has been warning people for years about the dangers facing Earth, but Nemesis may force everyone to face the threat head-on. If Guerrilla doesn't rebuild every previously seen area in full, returning to significant cities will help show how the world has altered.

New tribes may also enter the story. The Nora, Carja, Oseram, Tenakth, and Quen are just a few of humanity's surviving societies, letting Guerrilla bring communities from across the world. If Aloy travels to many locations, adding new tribes will make those trips worth it.

These new societies don't need to become partners immediately.

The Horizon universe often investigates how individuals mythologize weird technology, religious beliefs, and sources of power. Another scenario is that a tribe views Nemesis as a god rather than a threat to humanity. Aloy prepares to battle it, but she might be trying to convince people that what's coming toward their world isn't a god. This would fit the series' themes and add another obstacle to her mission.

Along with new places and returning tribes, Horizon 3 could finally get to the bottom of some of the franchise's biggest mysteries. Elysium is one of the most important instances. The facility was built to host the workers on Project Zero Dawn and their families so they may live out the rest of their lives after the extinction event. However, contact with Elysium was lost far sooner than intended, and its ultimate destiny is unknown.

With Aloy now hunting for old-world tech, the third game could be the perfect chance to address that enigma. Horizon Zero Dawn revealed the truth behind Project Zero Dawn, while Forbidden West revealed the arrival of Far Zenith and its sophisticated technology. The next post may go in that direction, answering another major topic of the ancient world. Elysium is still a good possibility.

Another possibility is Vast Silver, although its involvement is far less certain.

Throughout the series, Guerrilla has dropped a few hints and left gamers wondering whether it will matter to the tale in the end. Adding yet another AI to the already established Nemesis, GAIA, and HEPHAESTUS would fit the franchise's concepts. However, Vast Silver's role in Horizon 3 remains unconfirmed, and its purpose is still speculative.

The finale of Burning Shores also implies that Aloy won't wait for Temenos to arrive on Earth. She must locate allies. Research ancient technologies. Discover anything that can help humanity survive. If Guerrilla builds the next game around that premise, Horizon 3 might provide a more active voyage than its predecessors.

Instead of another hundred hours exploring one large continent, Aloy might move between a few places, each featuring a different culture, peril, and ancient mystery. Players would eventually visit The Claim, Ban-Ur, and the Quen homeland, then return to familiar places where allies prepare for the coming fight. At some point, those disparate journeys could come together as Aloy hatches a plan to stop Nemesis.

While Guerrilla has yet to announce the game's scenario or world structure, the possibilities go far beyond another journey west. Horizon 3 may pick up Aloy's story with new areas that revisit familiar places and unanswered mysteries, but every region would play a part in the battle to save humanity.