There's so much more left to discover before the world ends... Let's Play Horizon Zero Dawn

Also, I’m not ignoring your responses in this thread, but I’m just hesitant to suggest at anything since you may be a little closer to the truth than you might think…

Oh, I’m fine with stumbling around in the dark. I have no foreknowledge of this game, I’m just guessing based on previous knowledge how openworld games usually work.

I also want to engage with the thread!

Today’s the day we run the Proving to… prove that we’re good enough for the Nora, but we want to win if we’re ever going to get answers about our mother.

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Well that went differently than I expected, which was Vala turning on you after you both smoke everyone else in the Proving.

I also wonder why Rost was there, after he said he’d never see Aloy again. Was he watching?

There’s an optional scene I get to in a few videos that kind of explains it, but as for Rost’s motivation, we just have to assume that he was looking out for Aloy during the Proving. I mean, obviously, we can’t ask him at this point, though…

And this one’s a big one!

Alright, so. There’s a lot to unpack here, but now we’re finally got our answers and a (albeit vague) direction on what to do.

Light spoilers below until you watch the video!

So, now we’ve seen a woman who looks suspiciously like, and old enough to be, Aloy’s mom. So, here’s some questions for you to speculate over:

  1. Who is that woman we saw in the hologram?
  2. Why did the attackers want to kill Aloy?
  3. Who (or what) is behind that huge vault door?
  4. How are the attackers using machines to fight for them?
  5. Why is Resh such a huge, HUGE asshole?

All of these questions will be answered in the game (except 5, because screw Resh), but I’d like to hear what you all think.

Also, a little oversight in the game that you probably missed (that I only caught in editing), but did you notice that the Corruptor module was already on Aloy’s spear when she retrieved it in All-Mother mountain, just before the fight?


And one more thing!

In between editing and recording episodes, Horizon Zero Dawn got an update that includes a New Game+ mode. I haven’t had the time to look into how it looks or plays, but I’ll do a little video on it when that time comes. In the meantime, here’s a screenshot of the main menu right after the update:

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Since this is in Colorado and the tribe is called the Nora, I’m already pretty sure that whatever is beyond that gate is the remains of the NORAD.

There is a non zero chance that Aloy is a clone (or engineered being) of hologram lady although the percentage matches for DNA measured by a laser, somehow, are pretty low all things considered.

Hologram lady was probably an officer or scientist with NORAD. From the way she talked to the gate, it’s possible that the gatekeeper voice is more than a noisy authentication screen and might be a full AI but then again I swear at completely dumb rocks and plenty of other people do so who knows.

Resh is a dick because the writers wanted a bit more conflict, I guess?

The one thing that really stuck with me from this video was Aloy’s tech reliance. When she woke up in pain, her first thought isn’t about Rost or any of her goals until now, it’s “I need my focus”.
That’s a pretty big leap from the Nora’s whole metal devil/faithless/whispering of machines thing. I wonder how well Aloy would’ve been able to live with the Nora if the proving hadn’t gone so wrong.

Teb is such a fanboy.

Aloy’s been working with her focus for at least six years, maybe ten. Even when it was new she really took to it, and found use for it immediately. Rost only saw it as a toy, not a temptation from the Metal World.

I think we can assume that the focus provides Aloy with more information than we, the viewer, are given (her physical stats, rudimentary GPS and mapping functionality, and so forth). It’s like losing part of yourself at that point, and retrieving it must have been paramount. This also means that living with the Nora if the Proving hadn’t been such a Charlie Foxtrot would have been tiresome. Aloy is a curious explorer, not a religious hunter or brave (who’d never go snooping around the forbidden areas no sir).

  1. I also think Aloy is her clone. She clearly isn’t wearing this summer’s fashion, and she looks too much like Aloy to be a relative. It looks like they’re using the same facemodel.
  2. They appear to have figured out that Aloy is a clone. They’re working with Olin, clearly, so maybe he’s a spy, who goes into Dwemer ruins to find awesome shit for them to use.
  3. I like the idea that it’s NORAD, or at least the computers. Maybe there’s a battery-powered AI in there, Winter Soldier-style, and it’s forgotten everything except “don’t let anyone in”.
  4. They use Corruptor modules, like we are clearly about to do.
  5. He thinks Aloy is hot, but he hasn’t progressed beyond the middle-school style of flirting, where you insult the person you like instead of kissing them.

I have always equated her reaction to that of an addict, because she winces in pain from her wounds, but then ignores that and panics when she doesn’t feel her Focus. It’s really telling of how much she’s come to rely on it.


Teb seems to like us, but maybe only because he makes us things and praises our smarts and is nice to us. Hmm.


I mean more of how are they using Corruptors? Machines like that don’t seem like they could be tamed very easily. Do the attackers have the kind of technology to create machines that can take over other machines?


What is… quick google search oh ohhhh haha, I hadn’t heard it referred to like that before.

I don’t think we have enough data to verify how the attackers are using the Corruptor modules. The minigun bad guy was wearing a Focus, so they’re more gung-ho about using old world tech.

Hell, maybe they don’t use them and just make friends with the machines.

With the ability to make friends out of machines, we venture forth to see just what we can do. Quick shout-out to someone who basically called this pretty early on in the thread.

Not quite a Watcher, but Striders are still pretty cool!

For the last part about Photo Mode, feel free to request something at just about any time in the thread, since most places can be trekked back to.


But here’s an important question:

What should we name our new horse buddy?

Leave your suggestions here, and don’t be afraid to leave multiple suggestions if you’d like!

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following the standards set in ancient times, Aloy should know that any horse should be given the worst name possible. accordingly i recommend either of the following
Outran tha Metal Devil
Fresh Metal Shards

It’s a strider? The name should be Aragorn.

Edit: I have a photo request! The machines in this game look awesome, you should try to take a photo of each new one you encounter! Think of it as Horizon Snap.

I am down with all of this.

And I was right! Riding a robot horse seems rude as hell.

E: Hang on a second. If Nora is a corrupted old-world word, why wouldn’t Carja be the same way? Are they descended from a group of carjackers?

Already got you covered in an upcoming video! After we go after the War-Chief, I’m planning on doing the first bestiary video where we cover a few of the machines we’ve encountered, and I had to get some close-up shots to show off a minor detail that’s so hard to see in motion.

Online discussion is 99% sure that Nora comes from NORAD, but no one really has a good idea as to where Carja comes from. Maybe it’s an acronym, like:

Colorado Anti-Robot Joyriding Alliance

Okay, it could use a little workshopping.

We’re finally going after the War-Chief and the remnants of the War Party. We also test out our new mount until something tragic happens.

I’m also going to put a scrapbook-type thing together of stuff I take pictures of in the game, including all the different types of Machines we encounter, like the Pokemon Snap suggestion from Mansedan.

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poor Outran, off to the metallic glue factory in the sky.

I was quite impressed with the impression Sona left as War-Chief compared to Resh. Her willingness to acknowledge Aloy’s usefulness was secondary to me, to the fact she was willing to take all the blame for leading the War Party onto forbidden ground.

With extra bonus content!

And, now, for your regularly semi-scheduled content! The next few videos are side quests only, we don’t head for the edge of Nora lands until we’ve done just about everything possible.

Let’s meet back up with our buddy Nil, who seems to be a bit too enthusiastic about killing. Then, we’ll go off for some more side quests and I lament not being able to take Aragorn anywhere…

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