Many fans assumed that Horizon: Zero Dawn would receive a sequel eventually, and for good reason. Pair its cliffhanger end-credits scene with the game's great success, and it makes a lot of sense. Now with the PS5 and its slew of upcoming games announced, Horizon: Forbidden West is the official sequel coming to PS5 in 2021, and with a new game comes a completely new threat. Although it may not be completely new per se; in fact, it may very well be related to a certain other malevolent force from the first game.

Even though it was left particularly vague, there was a hint at the end of Horizon: Zero Dawn that a potential sequel would be coming to the series. Now this new "red blight" that is infecting the lands in Horizon: Forbidden West seems to be the new threat that Aloy must stop. While the identity or source of the red blight is currently unknown, it may have a peculiar connection with Horizon: Zero Dawn's story. Note: Spoilers for Horizon: Zero Dawn ahead.

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The Red Blight

horizon forbidden west red blight storm

Horizon: Forbidden West's latest trailer gave fans a quick glimpse into what's in store for Aloy's next adventure. Despite how brief the reveal was, the game kept hinting at a new threat to the world that Aloy needed to stop. In particular, it seems to be some kind of plague-like disease or infectious growth that's taking over plants and animals across the former American West Coast. Known only as the "red blight," this vine-looking organism seems to infect and kill anything around it over time like a virus. There also seems to be a red storm that can be seen in the distance in some shots of the trailer, hinting at a force of destruction even greater than just a virus.

In fact, there's several references of red throughout the whole trailer in reference to threats throughout the game world of Horizon: Forbidden West. Along with the tempest in the background and the red vines, there's also several bestial machines throughout the world that have red eyes and circuitry while some do not. Some of these machines even have those red vines growing on them, presumably tainting them with this "red blight." There's also several enemy tribes that proudly display red tattoos and red clothing on their physical appearance, who can be seen attacking Aloy in the trailer.

Horizon Zero Dawn and the Color Red

While the "red blight" itself is a completely new threat, a villainous force embodied by the color red is something fans of Horizon may recognize from Zero Dawn. HADES, a subsidiary of the GAIA artificial intelligence, was the portion of the supercomputer designed to destroy all human life if it proved to be too dangerous for the repopulating and rebirth of the Earth. HADES was originally created as a failsafe in case GAIA did not accomplish its mission to repopulate and replenish the Earth with life. During Horizon: Zero Dawn, a nefarious transmission from an unknown source seemingly activated HADES improperly.

Because of this, many "Faro" machines from Horizon's lore were activated to complete HADES' primary directive: destroy a harmful humanity. Of course, Aloy was able to stop Helis and the Eclipse Network tribe that supposedly summoned HADES, and deactivates GAIA's Zero Dawn program. All is well in the world, until players learn that Sylens (the original founder of Eclipse) has captured a fleeing HADES into some kind of containment device. Granted the color matching could be a coincidence, but Sylens does show up towards the end of Forbidden West's most recent trailer, so he may have a hand in this plague that's ravaging the West Coast as well. Aloy's relationship with Sylens was tentative at best, so knowing he was originally the founder of the tribe that tried to utilize HADES in Horizon: Zero Dawn means he could be up to something.

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Sylens' Connection to the Red Blight

horizon zero dawn secret ending sylens hades

It's very possible that Sylens may be the person who's unleashed this "red blight" along the coast, as he's clearly working with the tribe that attacks Aloy in the trailer. Sylens and the tribesman all seem to have equipped the same staff he had in Horizon: Zero Dawn, capable of reprogramming the bestial machines to do their bidding. Plus, with HADES at his disposal, its original protocol to enact destruction on the world may have been artificially activated by Sylens somehow. Only now it seems HADES has enacted some kind of bio-threat, completely different from the Horus machines in Horizon lore.

There was an incident that occurred thousands of years before Aloy's story called the "Faro Plague," the the actual use of the world "plague" is metaphorical. The Faro Plague/Swarm was the extinction event that wiped out all of humanity prior to the Zero Dawn initiative, but it was caused by rogue Chariot machines that "glitched" and developed minds of their own. These machines are what led to the creation of the Zero Dawn project and the extinction of humanity, but it was the machines alone, not a bio-threat. The Forbidden West trailer seems to depict nature and machines infected by an organic plant-like being, subsequently destroying them.

That's the biggest mystery so far: how this "red blight" is connected to HADES' protocol and Sylens. It's clear these extinction-level events were orchestrated by Sylens or HADES in some form, but how it was able to manifest into an organic being is curious. Sylens may have gotten into contact with the true source of the rogue transmission that activated HADES remotely in Horizon: Zero Dawn. If true, this organization's capabilities seem to exceed any of the tribes on Earth that Aloy has encountered.

Horizon: Forbidden West is coming to PS5 in 2021.

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