PlayStation’s Horizon games have an interesting impact on gaming, with many fans reacting differently to the series. Lead character Aloy has also made for an interesting conversation piece, with some fans loving what she brings to these games and others accusing her of being an industry plant.
Despite these weird accusations, sales successes and positive reviews prove that Aloy herself isn’t an industry plant. However, her popularity has led to the character being overused by Sony, which is where these accusations stem from.
When Horizon Zero Dawn first came out, many saw it as a breath of fresh air for PlayStation IPs. Although it didn’t do anything original in the gameplay department, fans did like the relevant premise of AI taking over humanity. The open world was also fun to explore, with fans even forgiving the genre’s love of stealth mechanics, standard combat, and tower hunting.
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+ 2Because it was the first game, fans were digging Aloy as a protagonist. Her backstory of being a banished villager immediately made her sympathetic, while her quips and upbeat attitude made the character likable.
Naturally, Sony saw how Aloy was connecting with audiences and proceeded to market this character a ton. This wasn’t too bad at first, because there was restraint when using her popularity. Aloy’s use was mostly relegated to a guest spot in Genshin Impact, the only guest character to appear so far, DLC for her game, and Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition being released for free during the 2020 pandemic.
Horizon Forbidden West was the game’s sequel and received a mixed reaction from fans. While the gameplay was better than ever, with a bigger world and improved combat, Aloy’s character was criticized quite a bit.
There were plenty of bad-faith arguments about her not being attractive enough, so that should be ignored entirely. In between those arguments were also some valid criticisms of her character being reset, as the new location led to a lack of familiar faces and Aloy being incredibly quippy. It was still a popular game that sold and reviewed well, but Forbidden West did turn some fans against her.
Forbidden West’s Burning Shores DLC did restore some of Aloy’s fandom, with many enjoying this short adventure. Aloy also had a potential love interest, giving her more depth and character. Some people were also very hateful about this, but that could be ignored for the aforementioned bad-faith actors.
Unfortunately, this is where Aloy and Horizon’s popularity started to fizzle with some fans.
We got an expected Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition for PS5 and PC, which was good. That was then followed by an unnecessary Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, a version no one wanted or asked for. This “Remastered” version of the game didn’t look that much better, with fans accusing PlayStation of putting Aloy in a TikTok filter.
click to enlarge + 2The point of no return for Horizon and Aloy came when LEGO Horizon Adventures was announced for PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Despite some solid gameplay, many didn’t see the appeal of this release as it hadn’t been that long since a Horizon game came out. The triple announcement of Forbidden West on PC, Zero Dawn Remastered, and the LEGO game is what led to fans accusing Aloy of being an industry plant.
Aloy and Horizon aren’t going away, obviously, as these games have sold more than 20 million copies globally. It’s clear that this PlayStation IP has plenty of fans and they want to see more of this setting. However, with Sony relying on sequels and remakes to fuel the PS5’s library, it led to many turning on the series and PlayStation in general.
Needless to say, PlayStation and Guerrilla Games should wait a bit before releasing the next Horizon game. There should definitely be more games featuring Aloy, but Sony hasn’t done her any favors.
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