The highly anticipated sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, has finally been released as of February 2022, and fans of the series are already picking it apart to help piece together the timeline of the game's universe, including the age of the series' protagonist, Aloy. One key point of discussion among Horizon Forbidden West players is when exactly the game is set in relation to its predecessor. Despite the visual improvements in Horizon Forbidden West, its protagonist Aloy doesn't appear that much older than she was in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Horizon Forbidden West was officially announced in the early summer of 2020 following immense speculation from fans of Horizon Zero Dawn about a potential sequel. At the time of its reveal, little was known about the game save for the fact that it would follow Aloy in her journey to the West Coast and was scheduled for a tentative 2021 release date. Unfortunately, this didn't quite come to fruition, and by August 2021, the game had officially been delayed into 2022.
Despite the delay, the game was met with excitement upon its release. The reviews are so far generally positive, with many players praising the graphics across both the PS4 and PS5 versions of Horizon Forbidden West, improved gameplay mechanics, and of course, the ongoing narrative of the Horizon Zero Dawn universe. Horizon Forbidden West picks up almost immediately after the first game's events, with just a six-month gap in between them. This makes it fairly easy to follow the progression of Aloy's character, including her physical age, as the franchise progresses.
Horizon Zero Dawn's prologue begins when Aloy is just an infant, specifically in the year 3021. This in and of itself isn't particularly informative, but it's later made clear that Aloy is six years old when she finds her Focus. The story then progresses another twelve years through the course of the prologue, meaning Aloy is 18 when she sets off and the actual story of Horizon Zero Dawn begins. While it isn't explicitly clear just how long the game's events are intended to last in-universe, many fans speculate that it could be around a year. As such, Aloy could be anywhere from 18 to 19 by the time the story of Horizon Zero Dawn ends.
Horizon Forbidden West then jumps ahead six months or so after Zero Dawn, pushing Aloy's age up to 19 or 20. While this isn't quite set in stone, either, it does seem likely given that Aloy's physical appearance looks largely consistent across both titles. All of this speculation could reasonably be clarified further by Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla Games, but thanks to the concrete dates that have already been provided, it's unlikely that Aloy's age will stray too drastically from what fans have guessed. A minimum of 18 and a maximum of 21 or so seems like the safest range to assume, leaving plenty of time for Aloy to continue to grow and mature if the Horizon series receives more sequels later on.
There are plenty of mysteries, both past and present, that Aloy could still explore, and the future of the world is by no means certain even after the events of Forbidden West. Having a young protagonist gives developers an easy means to bring her back consistently moving forward. Perhaps future installments in the interlinked story of Horizon Forbidden West could even provide more specific points along the timeline for fans to work with, allowing for fleshed-out theories to grow.
