The Impact of Horizon Zero Dawn, Part One: A Visionary Tale Shaping Our Reality

Within the realm of futurism we often rely on works of fiction to shape our ideas and thoughts. From Jules Verne to Gene Roddenberry, science fiction writers have influenced the world we live in.

The medium with which these tales have been told has always moved with the times. Just as cautionary literature gave way to utopian TV, so have near-future movies now moved aside for the dominant cultural entertainment of our time: video games.

Released in 2017 to a strong reception, PlayStation 4 title Horizon Zero Dawn charts the adventures of a tribal outcast amongst the ruins of a post-apocalyptic future. In this world, mankind has regressed into a tribal society and large robotic beasts roam the land. The protagonist, Aloy must search the land for clues of the past to help save her future….

(What follows are some pretty heavy spoilers. You have been warned!)

The autonomous beasts that are hunted and feared by the human tribesfolk are actually an intrinsic part of a global terraforming system designed to rebuild the biosphere after its apocalyptic collapse. In the late 21st Century a wealthy industrialist, Ted Faro, pivots his robotics company from environmental cleanup to military applications and in his hubris inadvertently triggers the end of all life on earth.

A swarm of his robotic warriors, in the employ of a foreign power goes rogue. Equipped with sophisticated…