Uncovering the world’s secrets is an integral part of theHorizongames. The series primarily follows Aloy, an outcast, as she attempts to discover what pushed humanity into near-extinction and how to prevent it from happening again. Given that theHorizonlore details events that occurred over the course of a millennium, it’s clear that there is still a range of unanswered questions and mysteries.
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Thoughsome in-game collectiblesdescribe the advancement, decline, and eventual rebirth ofHorizon’s civilizations, there are huge swathes of lore that are still unknown. Below are some of the franchise’s biggest mysteries.
7Why Did The Twelve Outlanders Attack Mother’s Vigil?
Several years before the events ofHorizon: Zero Dawn, twelve outlanders launched a deadly attack on the Nora village of Mother’s Vigil, taking several hostages in the process. Althoughthe fate of these outlandersis known, the purpose of their attack is not. It’s possible that the outlanders were simply ransacking the village, but some in-game dialogue suggests that there could be more to the story.
High Matriarch Teersa reveals that the outlanders later headed past an old-world ruin, where “strange noises” could be heard coming from their camp.One interesting theorysuggests that the outlanders were actually after some sort of old-world technology, possibly the Shield-Weaver armor, but ultimately, the reasons for the attack and the events that followed are never explained.
6Where Are The Other Cradle Facilities?
The Eleuthia cradle facilities were responsiblefor repopulating Earthafter the Faro swarm had wiped out all organic life. Eleuthia-9, a cradle facility in Colorado, plays a significant role in the series' story. All of the tribes encountered, with the possible exception of the Quen, are likely descended from the people born in Eleuthia-9. A data point found in the Zero Dawn Project Facility reveals that there are two other Eleuthia cradle facilities in China and Mozambique respectively.
However, the exact number of cradle facilities and their locations is never revealed. Since these locations could provide insight into where other tribes may be, this question could be answered in a future game.
5What Happened To Elysium?
Some of Project Zero Dawn’s personnel and their families were grantedaccess to Elysium, a sealed facility where they could live out the rest of their lives away from the Faro Plague. Elysium was not seen as a long-term habitat to ensure humanity’s survival, with only enough resources to last around 100 years. Interestingly, inHorizon: Forbidden West, Gaia explains that all transmissions coming from the facility ceased years earlier than anticipated.
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This abrupt end of communication suggests some kind of catastrophic failure inside Elysium. Though the Faro swarm likely destroyed the facility, there is never any solid confirmation if this is indeed the case. Presently, the fate of Elysium’s inhabitants remains a mystery.
4Is Vast Silver Still Out There?
Vast Silver was an advanced environmental-monitoring AI that supposedly went rogue sometime in the 2040s. The AI’s escape led to the creation of The Turing Act, a piece of legislation regulating the creation of sentient AIs.
Though the fate of Vast Silver is currently unknown,multiple data pointsseem to hint that the AI is still around somewhere. Given the recurrence of Rogue AIs in the Horizon games, Aloy could cross paths with Vast Silver at some point in the future.
3Is There More To The Faro Glitch?
In 2064, a glitch caused a swarm of Faro Automated Solutions machines to begin behaving erratically. The swarm, capable of converting biomass into fuel, quickly began to harvest and eradicate all life on Earth. Despite the fact that this is one of the most significant events inHorizon’s lore, little is known about what, if anything, caused the glitch.
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While it’s likely thatTed Faro was to blame, it’s also possible that the glitch was an act of sabotage by someone else. Considering that the glitch is directly responsible for the events of the games, not knowing what caused it makes for an intriguing mystery.
2Who Were The Hunters With The Same Faces?
In the first game,Zero Dawn,players can find a glyph written by a Carja healer, Considerate Udain. The glyph suggests that there are a group of hunters out in the Forbidden West, all sharing the same face. However, in the second game, a data point implies that Udain was often prone to embellishment.
While it’s probable that the text was likely just ahyperbolic description of the Tenakth, it’s important to remember that cloning is possible inHorizon’s universe, so Udain’s elaborate anecdote may still be true.
1Who Is Sylens?
Even though Sylens has an important role in the series, players are given very littleinformation about his past. The blue cables in his skin seem to indicate that he once was part of the Banuk tribe, butThe Frozen WildsDLC hints that his appearance was likely part of an elaborate ruse to gain information from the tribe’s shamans.
Ironically, the only thing about Sylens that can be said with any certainty is that he’s on a relentless quest for knowledge. However, with a third game in development, this question could be answered at a later date.
