Horizon Forbidden West is one of the most beautiful, open-world games ever made, and every corner of its incredible map is filled with gorgeous vistas and sweeping landscapes just waiting to be explored. From the forests of the Daunt to the snow-capped peaks near the Bulwark, Horizon Forbidden West often feels like a painting come to life.

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But while just about every inch of the world is filled with vibrant colors, extraordinary views, and picturesque environments, some corners of the Forbidden West stand out even among all this splendor. Here are the most breathtaking locations players can encounter on their journeys throughout Horizon Forbidden West.

10 Carja Watchtower Overlooking Chainscrape

a landscape shot of a town with circular buildings in a valley with foggy mountains on either side

As players make their way toward the Forbidden West and out into a new world and a new adventure, they'll first have to travel through a town called Chainscrape in the Daunt. Chainscrape is a bustling, Oseram village filled with charming architecture and colorful inhabitants. But the true beauty of Chainscrape can't be experienced from within.

On a nearby mountain, players can find an abandoned Carja watchtower that overlooks Chainscrape and beyond toward the Barren Light fortress. The view is astonishing, especially at sunset, and captures a pastoral majesty that could inspire poets.

9 No Man's Land

aloy gliding under a glowing blue shield past a series of waterfalls

Just after leaving the Daunt, Aloy will take her first steps into the Forbidden West. After an eventful meeting with the three different Tanakth tribes that reside in the Forbidden West, Aloy will venture out into No Man's Land, a picturesque plot of land that separates the Carja Sundom from the Utaru and Tanakth domains.

No Man's Land has a stunning bit of scenery right from the start, with cascading waterfalls spilling over into a blue-green pool down below. Aloy can leap from the top of these cliffs and glide down amid the beauty on the handy Shieldwing she looted from a fallen enemy soldier.

8 Plainsong

a building made entire of plant material, with green, woven roofs and a wooden walkway leading up to it

As Aloy makes her way through the Forbidden West, she'll find herself in the lands of the Utaru tribe, a peaceful people who spend most of their time communing with the land and worshipping powerful machines. The Utaru have a particular, architectural aesthetic that is on full display in their capital, Plainsong.

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Plainsong is a stunning city that evokes the natural world in every step. Plantlife blooms everywhere, the streets and walkways are made of lashed-together logs, and the roofs are made from woven reeds. At night, the city comes to life by way of glittering, bioluminescent lamps that line the streets and hang down from overhead.

7 The Drumroot

aloy sitting by the side of a shallow lake with a natural stone arch at the other end

During a mission to help save the town of Riverhymn, Aloy must venture up to a secluded plateau called the Drumroot to recover a special machine part. The side quest doesn't require players to fight any of the machines that live at the Drumroot, but clearing them out will allow Aloy to appreciate the beauty that exists in this quiet place.

The Drumroot has a peacefulness that can be hard to find in Horizon Forbidden West's world. It's largely taken up by a shallow pool of water with an island in the middle. The island has a natural arch on it that makes the entire location feel like one of those pools at a really fancy hotel.

6 Riverhymn

a large, green tree with various crystalline lanterns hanging from its branches

Riverhymn is the second Utaru city Aloy comes across, and the Utaru style of architecture is no less impressive here than it is at Plainsong. Riverhymn is built around a giant tree that fills the sky in a way not unlike the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The same, nature-infused buildings surround the base of the tree, with reeds and logs lashed together to make walkways and structures. The tree itself is hung with large, crystalline lanterns that evoke a sense of fantasy in what can oftentimes be a very pragmatic game.

5 The Cauldrons

aloy standing in a large, metal structure with slanted pillars holding up the roof and a metal arm pouring lava into a pit in the distance

Horizon Forbidden West has a plethora of new machines for Aloy to encounter and override, but in order to do so, she'll need to plumb the depths of several Cauldrons scattered throughout the Forbidden West. These Cauldrons are massive machine factories filled with brutalist architecture reminiscent of Remedy Games' Control.

Many of these locations are stunningly beautiful, especially when they contrast their inherently dark color palette with a spot of brightness. Their grand scale and sharp difference from the natural world outside make the Cauldrons one of the most breathtaking locales Aloy visits during Horizon Forbidden West.

4 The Memorial Grove

a fighter jet sit on the ground in front of a ruined building with ivy growing on the walls and tribal paint and carving over the doorway

The Memorial Grove is a location Aloy will visit during one of Horizon Forbidden West's main quest lines. While in pursuit of one of Gaia's subordinate functions, Aloy must meet with the chief of the Tanakth tribe, Hekkaro, in his stronghold at what is known by the Tanakth as the Memorial Grove.

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The building is a beautiful relic of a forgotten world, as the Memorial Grove was once a museum dedicated to the exploits of a renowned team of fighter pilots. The natural world has overtaken much of the ruin, and the building's facade has been spattered with the bright colors of the Tanakth.

3 The Northern Mountains

Aloy gliding on with a glowing, translucent over a snowy mountain range

The Sky clan of the Tanakth live in a secluded corner of the Forbidden West behind a formidable rock wall known as the Bulwark. Their town is built into the face of a mountain, but their mountain is only one of a range that rings a valley filled with snow.

These mountains afford some of the most beautiful vistas in all of Horizon Forbidden West. From certain angles, these mountains can seem to stretch on forever, shrouded in fog as they are. Aloy can even scale one of these mountains and leap from its peak for a stunning view of the entire valley.

2 Scalding Spear

a dimly lit city at night made up of sharp rooftops and a dark spire with a light at the top in the middle

The Tanakth tribe is a warlike race that has held dominion over the Forbidden West since they drove the Carja invaders out many years ago. Since then, they've split into three distinct tribes and have managed to maintain a fragile peace between each tribe.

The Desert clan of the Tanakth live, fittingly, in the desert region of the Forbidden West. Their capital is a city known as Scalding Spear, a stark location in the center of a sandpit that centers around an imposing spire rising to the sky. When seen from a distance, Scalding Spear is simultaneously imposing and breathtaking.

1 Fall's Edge

aloy standing in the entrance of a small town with sharp, wooden buildings and twin waterfalls flanking the entrance

Fall's Edge is a small town in the Forbidden West that lies to the west of the desert and Utaru plains. It is a quaint Tanakth village that features that tribe's penchant for colorful adornment and sharp architecture, but its true beauty comes from where it was built.

Fall's Edge was built directly over a river and designed in such a way that it doesn't block the flow of water. As such, Fall's Edge not only overlooks a stunning, roaring waterfall but also features several, smaller falls spilling out of the town itself. With such dedication to the preservation of the natural world, it's a surprise Fall's Edge isn't an Utaru homestead.

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