Horizon 3 Should Take a Couple Pages Out of Baldur’s Gate 3’s Book

The Horizon franchise seems inspired by a wide variety of open world, science fiction, hack and slash and RPG games. Despite not working on any open world game or RPGs before Horizon, Guerrilla Games’ work reflects stellar open world and RPG titles such as Skyrim, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and Vampire: The Masquerade. While Horizon has turned into its own successful action RPG series in its own right with Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games can still build on elements from modern RPG titles for Horizon 3. One particular element Guerrilla could use from the celebrated Baldur’s Gate 3 for Horizon 3 is its party system.

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How Baldur’s Gate 3’s Companions Work

Having companions join a party is a common mechanic in many RPGs, but each RPG utilizes companions in its own way. For example, Bethesda’s Fallout games typically only allow one humanoid companion to join the player alongside a secondary animal or robotic partner, while Mass Effect typically allows two crew members of the Normandy to join the player at a time. Baldur’s Gate historically allowed up to five companions to join the player in a part back when the series was in its PC-only, pixelated isometric form. In Baldur’s Gate 3’s more modern cinematic form, gamers can have three companions or three other players join them for a total party of four.

Baldur’s Gate 3 features 10 unique companions that can be found and recruited to join players’ on their quests. While players can theoretically finish Baldur’s Gate 3 solo, companions can be crucial in combat and exploration, such as a Rogue thief helping with lock picking or a Cleric healing the player during battle. Each companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 additionally features their own exclusive Companion Quest that will showcase their character and develop their relationship with the player. Some companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 can even be romanced, resulting in various consequences that may impact other members of the party, factions, or the player, such as having Astarion turn the player into a vampire.

Horizon’s Existing History with Companions is Fertile Soil for a Party System

Most Horizon games primarily feature Aloy going about saving the post-apocalyptic United States from violent tribes and rogue machines on her own. While Aloy does make many allies throughout the Horizon series, she’ll typically face most conflicts on her own directly, save for a few quests where companions such as Erend or Varl will join her. However, Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West don’t allow players to choose who can join Aloy on certain quests, aside from LEGO Horizon Adventures, which allows a second player to control Varl, Teersa, or Erend on quests. Even when companions join Aloy in certain events, they don’t really help much in fighting off machines or groups of crazed cultists.

Horizon Forbidden West spent much of its quests focusing on Aloy opening herself up and allowing her friends to help her save the world alongside her, overcoming her lone wolf attitude. By the end of Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy had formed a strong coalition of friends and allies like:

Alva
Beta
Erend
Kotallo
Sylens
Zo

While many of these companions have gone back to their tribes to prepare them for the incoming threat of the Far Zenith AI Nemesis, they could all return in Horizon 3 to form a party with Aloy alongside new companions. To help balance combat scenarios, it may be best to limit Aloy’s party to only feature two companions at a time, to keep machine or human encounters challenging.

Potential Mechanics of Horizon 3’s Party System

If Horizon 3 were to delve deeper into its RPG influences and feature a fully-fledged party system, it could expand upon each character’s history and personality and help make combat encounters more dynamic. For example, each companion could react to certain events or actions in unique ways, such as Erend expressing bombastic joy at destroying a Thunderjaw, while Beta could comment on making future encounters less violent or intense due to her introverted nature. Companions can even help in dialogue scenarios, such as Kotallo easing tensions when encountering new Tenakth warriors or Zo offering first aid to an NPC in exchange for information.

In terms of direct combat, having companions omnipresent with Aloy in the third Horizon game could make tough encounters more dynamic and potentially easier. For example, each companion could have their own strengths or weaknesses, such as Zo being able to craft Aloy health potions or provide her with medicinal berries mid-battle. Similarly, Kotallo could be more effective against human enemies rather than machines, while Alva and Beta could help override machines and locked ruins thanks to their advanced technological knowledge. Each companion could be given their own skill tree to upgrade their abilities, such as one skill upgrading Erend’s war hammer into the Shock or Earthquake Hammer from LEGO Horizon Adventures.