In just a few days, fans will embark on a whole new journey with Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West. Almost everything is new, and while Aloy has a few trusty friends by her side like Erend and Varl, she'll encounter new landscapes, machines, tribes, and enemies. Players will have to wait a little while longer to meet all of those new characters in Horizon Forbidden West, but a few of them have already been revealed and their stories hinted at.
The three new characters players can expect to encounter are Kotallo, Regalla, and Tilda. The name Regalla might sound familiar, given that the biggest Horizon Forbidden West collector's edition was named after her, but the other two may be new. Guerrilla released a few features on Tilda and Kotallo, hinting at what their involvement could be, and Regalla was heavily featured ins some of the most recent story clips. Based on the released information, there are a few things to unpack about these three new characters.
Kotallo
Kotallo is a member of the Tenakth tribe, which seems pretty similar to the Carja tribe in Horizon Zero Dawn in terms of its role in the story. Just like the Carja, the Tenakth people have a few different divisions, one of which hosts the primary human antagonist. The Tenakth are focused on military strength, and Kotallo himself is a warrior from the tribe's Sky division. Not a lot is known about the structure of the Tenakth, but the Sky people appear to live in the cold mountains, comparable to the Banuk tribe in "The Frozen Wilds" DLC.
Nashir Dalal, a popular voice actor best known for his roles as Charles in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Sekiro in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, lends his voice to Kotallo in Horizon Forbidden West. Dalal was able to share a little about his character, giving a little more detail than Tilda received. Based on Dalal's brief description of Kotallo and his story, it seems like he could have a lot in common with Aloy.
Like Aloy, Kotallo is an orphan who has a complicated relationship with his tribe. Part of his journey is finding out who he is and what his place is within his tribe and in the world. Kotallo is definitely one of Aloy's new allies, and his journey is so similar to her own in Horizon Zero Dawn that it's easy to see why. Kotallo might even be something of an outcast, which Aloy has a lot of experience with. Kotallo could also be the one to give Aloy a bit of an in with the Tenakth people, just like Erend taught her about the Oseram and Carja tribes in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Regalla
Regalla, voiced by actress Angela Bassett, is the primary human antagonist of Horizon Forbidden West, taking over from Zero Dawn's Helis. Regalla seems to have a much bigger role than Helis ever did, though, as she's been featured in a few story trailers and is the one behind things like the Tremortusk boss fight. Regalla is powerful, deadly, and ruthless, and she's driven by hatred to destroy the Carja.
It hasn't been revealed exactly why Regalla hates the Carja tribe, but that'll be revealed during the main story. So far, Regalla seems to be at the center of almost everything shown so far because Sylens, another presumed human antagonist, has teamed up with her. Horizon Forbidden West senior writer Annie Kitain confirmed that while Sylens was helping Aloy in Zero Dawn, he's very invested in his own interests rather than the greater good. He's teamed up with Regalla and is helping her build an army, though his motives are a mystery for now.
Sylens could very well be using Regalla as a means to an end, just like he used Aloy for his own means by helping her. But with his help, Regalla is building and controlling a huge army of machines to take down the Carja tribe. According to Kitain, Regalla's arc is primarily a revenge story. She was somehow wronged by the Carja and is willing to do whatever it takes to exact her revenge. Aloy, who is friendly with the Carja and close to Sun King Avad, will probably have one or two things to say about that.
Tilda
The most mysterious character revealed so far is Tilda. Players have only gotten one glimpse of her, but she made a big impression. Tilda doesn't look like anyone else in the Horizon Zero Dawn universe. Her clothing is much more sleek and modern, almost as if she didn't come from a tribal society like all the other characters.
Tilda is likely from another tribe that's hinted at in a small story clip. It's mentioned that although Regalla and the Tenakth are strong, there are rumors of another, more powerful tribe that lives on an island off the coast. The people of this mysterious tribe are even stronger than the militaristic Tenakth, and are dedicated to uncovering secrets. When Tilda is revealed in the Forbidden West story trailer, Aloy is told that she's not the only one looking for answers. Those two lines seemingly tie Tilda and the mystery tribe together.
There are a couple of possible theories about Tilda. One is that she's part of the Odyssey group that was sent to space as another way to preserve humanity. The Odyssey ship had a crew of 60-70 people, storage for thousands of zygotes, and the alpha-build for APOLLO, a sub-function of GAIA intended to preserve human knowledge. Ted Faro destroyed APOLLO, but the version on Odyssey likely survived. If the descendants somehow made it back down to Earth, that could easily explain Tilda's modern appearance.
Another popular fan theory is that Tilda could be related to, or even be a personification of VAST SILVER, an older rogue AI in the Horizon universe. Her appearance certainly fits the name. Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Tilda, described her character as having a tragic and lonely childhood that shaped who she is, but those vague details are all we know so far.
The good news is, fans only have to wait a few more days to discover the truth about Kotallo, Regalla, Tilda, and all the other mysteries of the Forbidden West.
Horizon Forbidden West releases on February 18, 2022, for PS4 and PS5.