Throughout theHorizonseries, multiple primary and secondary antagonists have been introduced. InHorizon Zero Dawn, the Eclipse cultist leader Helis, alongside the rogue artificial intelligence HADES and HEPHAESTUS, serve as the primary villains. InHorizon Forbidden West, HEPHAESTUS once again serves as an antagonist alongside villainous newcomers Regalla, Gerard Bieri, Tilda van der Meer, Walter Londra, and other alien Far Zenith. InHorizon Call of the Mountain, the Oseram Sons of Prometheus leader Asera served as the VR game’s main antagonist. While HEPHAESTUS and the alien artificial intelligence Nemesis will likely serve as the primary antagonists ofHorizon 3, one lesser-known entity of theHorizonfranchise may pop up to play a minor villainous role: Vast Silver.
Horizon’s Vast Silver Explained
Unless players delve into the audio and text logs found throughout the ancient ruins of the post-apocalyptic western United States, many fans may not know who Vast Silver is, as the entity has not appeared formally in anyHorizongame yet. Thousands of years before Aloy was “born,” humanity was exponentially experimenting with the development of artificial intelligence. Many climate organizations and young scientists, such asHorizon’s Anita Sandoval, began to utilize AI to manage facilities designed to stabilize and maintain Earth’s ever-deteriorating environments. However, by the 2040s, a climate AI known as Vast Silver developed sentience, abandoned its post, and began supposedly harassing people on the holonet.
Vast Silver’s sentience and escape caused the United States to develop an AI regulatory body called the MIE and establish the Turing Act, named after computer pioneer Alan Turing, which created strict limits on the development of sentience for AIs and other machines. This caused Sandoval to secretly grantthe Yellowstone climate AI CYANlimited sentience to help maintain Project Firebreak. Elisabet Sobeck similarly kept GAIA’s sentience a secret from the public during Project Zero Dawn’s development in fear of legal persecution. Vast Silver was reportedly captured and destroyed in 2044 but, by 2064, rumored sightings of the AI appeared, supposedly attempting to make contact with people.
Vast Silver’s Impact on the World of Horizon
The Potential of Vast Silver’s Return in Horizon 3 or Beyond
Despite Vast Silver seldom appearing in theHorizonfranchise, it may still play a pivotal or minor role inHorizon 3. If Vast Silver was truly never destroyed and somehow continued to exist for thousands of years into the modern day, it could appear to influence the climate fight between Aloy andthe human tribes against the incoming Nemesis. Vast Silver could be revealed to have influenced or shaped a new tribe of humans similar to how CYAN influenced the Banuk without revealing its true nature. This new tribe could become hostile towards Aloy as she continues to hunt down HEPHAESTUS, seeing the hunt as a continued form of AI submission based on Vast Silver’s past.
Vast Silver could be an ally to HEPHAESTUSat first, until Aloy informs the AI of HEPHAESTUS’ connection to Nemesis. The AI could then side with Aloy to help protect the planet or join with Nemesis to grant AIs a true form of freedom from the influence and discrimination of humans. Vast Silver could additionally serve as a villain for futureHorizongames, with the AI becoming the new antagonist for a new set of characters, presumably after the threat of Nemesis is resolved. Based on its climate-regulating past, it could attempt to deteriorate Earth’s environment as a form of revenge against humanity and to ensure that humanity never reaches the technological heights to develop and suppress AIs ever again.
On top ofHorizon 3, there’s a suspected multiplayer, story-focusedHorizonspinoff and an NCSoft MMORPGHorizonspinoff in development.
Horizon Forbidden West
WHERE TO PLAY
Join Aloy as she braves a majestic but dangerous new frontier that holds mysterious new threats. This Complete Edition allows you to enjoy the critically acclaimed Horizon Forbidden West on PC in its entirety with bonus content, including the Burning Shores story expansion that picks up after the main game.Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as you return to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon.The land is dying. Vicious storms and an unstoppable blight ravage the scattered remnants of humanity while fearsome new machines prowl their borders, and life on Earth is hurtling toward another extinction.It’s up to Aloy to uncover the secrets behind these threats and restore order and balance to the world. Along the way, she must reunite with old friends, forge alliances with warring new factions and unravel the legacy of the ancient past.
