Okay, so we’re diving straight into spoiler territory for “Horizon Zero Dawn” and “Horizon Forbidden West,” right? If you haven’t played these yet, maybe wait to read this. You good? Alright, let’s roll.
“Horizon Forbidden West” kind of tosses everything upside down compared to the first game. Remember Aloy? The whole messiah thing? Yeah, so now there’s Beta. Imagine discovering you have a clone, who, by the way, looks just like you but has a completely different vibe. Turns Aloy’s world on its head. Her mission, her sense of self—everything goes sideways. She has to learn to see Beta not as herself, but as a sister. It’s all a bit deep, really.
Now, about Beta – something’s brewing for her in Horizon 3 too. Clones and twins come with their own set of clichés, and this sequel could easily step onto that slippery slope of cheesy-ville. Trope city. So, fingers crossed they handle this with some care, right?
By the way, speaking of tropes, let’s talk about how “Horizon Forbidden West” uses them to sketch out Aloy and Beta’s relationship. They’re both clones of this woman, Elisabet. So, you’d see loads of clone stories sprinkled all over. But as the plot unravels, they’re more like sisters. Twins, but not. You get it?
A quick note here, just to be clear about this trope and cliché thing—tropes are like these recurring story bits, everywhere in media. Clichés? They’re the tired ones that everyone rolls their eyes at because they’ve been overdone. Not necessarily bad, but you better handle them right if you want people to actually feel something.
According to TV Tropes (kind of the Bible for this stuff), there’s all sorts of familiar narrative devices in “Horizon.” Like, there’s the whole Clone Angst with Beta living under the shadow of her original, and the classic Clones Are People, Too moment. Aloy and Beta? They’ve got that Polar Opposite Twins thing going on, but they sure know how to bring it home with some top-notch teamwork when it counts.
So here’s the looming question—will both Aloy and Beta make it through Horizon 3 alive? With all these tropes dancing around, there’s a strong vibe that not both of them will last. Like, maybe one does a heroic sacrificial move, echoing that Messianic Archetype (yup, our Aloy’s dealt with this before). Elisabet did this back in the first game, sealing her fate with the Zero Dawn plan. Heavy stuff.
But plot twist—they’ve got two clones now. So, maybe just one bites the dust. How? Perhaps some classic Twin Switcheroo leading to a tragic identity mix-up, or even a head-turner Fake-Out Twist to keep players guessing.
Then again, maybe it’s Aloy in a noble save-the-day scenario for Beta. That’d leave Beta to pick up the pieces and carry on. Who knows?
Or here’s a thought—what if they both make it? Maybe both don’t. This setup’s got Angsty Surviving Twin written all over it. Guerrilla Games has got to tread lightly, or else we’ll end up rolling our eyes instead of shedding a tear.
Ultimately, whatever happens, I’ll be here, munching on popcorn, watching it all unfold.
