The first Horizon game, Horizon: Zero Dawn, introduced players to a unique sci-fi world in which Earth has been overtaken by robotic dinosaurs, and humanity has reverted back to fighting with sticks, stones and bows, and sticking together in small tribal communities. Over the course of the first Horizon game, players uncover the history of this ruined Earth and discover the cause of the world's current state. Though quite a bit is revealed in the first game, Horizon: Forbidden West uncovers a great deal more.
During Horizon: Forbidden West, players are drip-fed more details about the state of the world before the Faro Plague, the widespread glitch that caused the robotic Chariot war machines to go rogue. Along with more information about the Zero Dawn program and Elizabet Sobeck, whom Aloy is cloned from, players uncover a brand-new organization. Named Far Zenith, these seemingly immortal humans act as the primary antagonists of Horizon: Forbidden West and keep cropping up during Aloy's journey.
What Is Far Zenith?
Though it may take some digging around, Horizon: Forbidden West does detail a clear backstory for the Far Zenith organization. A group founded during the era of the "Old Ones," before the Faro Plague and Zero Dawn, Far Zenith was comprised of 77 of Earth's wealthiest individuals, only accepting those who were considered the elite of the elite. With much of the organization remaining a secret to the outside world, Osvald Dalgaard was seen as the group's public figurehead.
Far Zenith expressed one clear goal to the public, to colonize other planets. In the early 2060s, Far Zenith took control of the Odyssey Project. Originally designed to be a multinational colony ship, Odyssey became Far Zenith's primary focus, and with the news of the Faro Plague, the project was accelerated even further. Just a few years later, Far Zenith launched the Odyssey, but upon firing up the engines to leave the solar system, an antimatter containment issue caused the ship to explode.
Around 900 years later, during the events of Horizon: Forbidden West, it's uncovered that the Odyssey wasn't actually destroyed, instead going on to find a suitable planet to colonize. Over the course of a few hundred years, Far Zenith established a prosperous colony in the Sirius system, and began to develop unfathomable new technologies.
Their vast technological advancements eventually led to Far Zenith members becoming practically immortal, with the average lifespan being expected to be over 1000 years old. Despite this newfound immortality, some Far Zenith members desired to become a higher level of being, and sought to download their consciousness into a virtual plane.
In an attempt to achieve this, Far Zenith members contributed their conscious thoughts, memories, and emotions into a database, eventually resulting in a failed experiment named Nemesis. Fearing the living database's power, Far Zenith locked it away. Over time, Nemesis developed a deep hatred for its creators, and upon its eventual escape, Nemesis used its vast knowledge to obliterate the Far Zenith people.
In a desperate bid to flee Nemesis, 11 Far Zenith members returned to Earth. With the knowledge that Nemesis possessed, the 11 members hatched a plan to counter the intelligence. By taking the GAIA artificial intelligence, Far Zenith believed that they could simply terraform a new planet, leaving Nemesis to destroy Earth, hoping it would satiate the entity. Knowing that they would need to break into the old Zero Dawn vaults, the remaining Far Zenith members created a clone of Elizabet Sobeck named Beta.
Every Far Zenith Member Aloy Meets
Though 11 Far Zenith members made it to Earth, only a handful are given some serious screen-time in Horizon: Forbidden West. Aloy first encounters the Far Zenith after Beta recovers a GAIA backup. Just before Aloy can step-in, she's confronted by Erik Visser.
One of Far Zenith's more outright evil members, Erik Visser has embraced his sadistic side over the last few centuries and firmly believes that he is above all other beings. Upon his first confrontation with Aloy, he spends the duration of the fight mocking her weapons and armor, poking fun at her lack of modern technology and taking great pleasure in toying with her.
Unlike some of his fellow Far Zenith members, Erik Visser is actually very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, using his advanced technology to create a golden blade that can be used for both close-range and projectile attacks. Though he uses the same energy shield as his fellow Far Zeniths, Erik is still extremely dangerous without it, seeming to also have superhuman speed, as well as powers of flight. His advanced combat abilities landed him with the rank of military commander for the Far Zenith.
One of the weaker Far Zenith members Aloy comes across during her journey is Verbena Sutter. Originally a leading influencer in the era of the Old Ones, Verbena now finds herself on Earth along with the other surviving members of Far Zenith. Following Beta's escape, Verbena is tasked with tracking her down, and bringing her back to the Far Zenith base.
On her way to retrieve Beta, Verbena is attacked by Regalla's Rebels and the Sons of Prometheus. Despite holding her own for some time, Verbena was no match for the surprise attack, with the rebels using a powerful weapon that shattered her shields. Verbena then dies from a fatal stab wound.
Acting somewhat as the leader of the group, Gerard Bieri does little fighting of his own, but is often seen giving orders to other Far Zenith members. Toward the end of the game, Gerard is betrayed by Tilda van der Meer, who has a secret plan of her own.
Played by Carrie-Anne Moss of Matrix fame, Tilda van der Meer was a celebrated computer engineer during the 21st century, who used her genius-level intellect to develop a range of extremely complex security programs. Over time, she turned her talents to data brokering, using her sophisticated programs to steal data from some of the world's most influential people. Tilda's work eventually led her to meet Elisabet Sobeck, whom she became romantically involved with for a brief time.
At the end of Horizon: Forbidden West, Tilda betrays her last remaining Far Zeniths, killing Gerard and teaming up with Aloy to defeat the rest of the group before they can escape Earth. Tilda then attempts to kidnap Aloy, wanting to start a new life with her on a new planet. With Aloy's refusal, the two battle it out, and Far Zenith is wiped out completely.
Horizon: Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.