Horizon Zero Dawn was not blessed with great characters. In fact, when Horizon Forbidden West decided to open with a reunion of Zero Dawn’s supporting characters, I was left scratching my head trying to remember who they were and why Guerrilla deemed them important. I’ve beaten Zero Dawn twice and have over 100 hours in Meridian et al, so it’s not like I didn’t give myself every chance to remember this incredibly unmemorable cast.
In Forbidden West, things are slightly better. Some of the supporting cast, like Alva and Varl, are worth paying attention to, and even the smaller characters are far more interesting to talk to than they were in Zero Dawn. In general though, narrative remains a weak point, and that’s often because the main quest revolves around the world ending, and for many of the side characters, the world is ending in its own way.
There is a fascinating world in Horizon, but Aloy is not equipped to deal with it. Partly, that’s because she’s rather dull, but mostly it’s because every single person she meets wants her to save the world, all while she’s already busy trying to save the world. It’s a bit much.
That's where Talanah comes in. While a lot of old characters are thrown at you in the opening exchanges, they disappear from the game as quickly as they once disappeared from your memory. Only a few stick around. One of these is Erend, whose name sounds a little bit like the sigh I made when I realised he was in this game too. There's nothing especially wrong with Erend, except the way he looks, the way he talks, the things he does, and the things he says. Thankfully, another returning character is Talanah.
Talanah might be the best evidence of how well Horizon can write characters and how poorly it seems to understand them. Talanah is an optional character in both games, which makes her a welcome surprise, but also shows how the game plays its cards too close to its chest. In the initial game, you meet Talanah at the Hunter's Lodge. She was the first woman to be inducted, and as a result is not afforded respect by her male colleagues. Aloy, a kindred spirit, joins forces with her. Interestingly, even though both are women, it's not their gender which connects them, but the fact they are both outcasts for being different. Talanah's questline in Zero Dawn is all about hunting the most impressive monsters with technical precision. She needs to go above and beyond the hunter's around her in order to gain the same respect.
This is a very small story. The fate of the world is not at stake. Her tribe is not about to face extinction. Aloy is not her last, great hope. They are just two characters who see themselves in each other, and as a result manage to bring out the best in each other. The gameplay is fairly straightforward – it's just killing machines, as you've done all game – but it's elevated by the story around it. Most of the other quests are the opposite – their fantastic gameplay is sometimes let down by the ever-present high stakes that demand Aloy always save the world.
When she comes back in Forbidden West, it again is a much smaller story than the rest of the game tries to tell. Help her enough and she will join your main endeavour, but that's not why she's there. In fact, even as part of the main story, she dips in and out, making it clear that she has bigger priorities. That's what makes Talanah so interesting – her big priorities are the small priorities. Sure, she'll help Aloy out with saving the world, but only so long as it doesn't interfere with her training her new recruits. In a game where every other character holds the fate of the world, Talanah is a breath of fresh air.
Talanah didn’t seem to lodge herself in everyone's collective memories the first time around. That's not saying much for a character from Horizon Zero Dawn I know, but I hope people take the time to find her and work through her story, even if it doesn't matter much. That's what makes it so important.
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