Horizon 3 Can Address One Unpopular Forbidden West Change by Pulling From an Unlikely Genre

Horizon: Forbidden West introduced several mechanic overhauls that were designed to make the combat feel more intense, but one change in particular – the dodge roll limitation – left a portion of the community frustrated. In Zero Dawn, dodging had no stamina cap, so players could chain multiple rolls to get away from enemies without worry. In Forbidden West, though, players can only dodge three times in a row before Aloy staggers, which leaves her open to attacks. Even with the Tenakth Vanquisher armor, which granted one extra dodge roll by default and two more when upgraded to Level 4, the mechanic felt restrictive. Instead of making fights harder through smarter enemies or tougher environments, it just made movement feel unfairly punished.

For Horizon 3, instead of going back to unlimited rolls like Zero Dawn had, the game could refine the system by borrowing from the Soulslike genre. In games like Elden Ring and Dark Souls, attacking, dodging, blocking, and sprinting use up a visible stamina bar. Every action takes away some stamina, so players have to think before they move, but they still have freedom. A similar mechanic would allow Horizon 3 to create deeper decision layers by letting players dodge as much as they want, but with consequences.

One Massive Horizon 3 Change Would Be a Risk Worth Taking

A key element of the Horizon franchise, expanded in Horizon Forbidden West, could be the albatross around its neck, and a third game could scrap it.

Lessons from Soulslike Systems That Could Translate Well to Horizon 3

In Dark Souls, a lot of factors affect stamina consumption. If players perform a panic roll, which is a dodge executed immediately after another action, it drains a larger chunk of stamina than a normal roll. If players roll several times in a row, each roll costs more stamina than the last. Equipment weight plays a role as well. If the player’s inventory exceeds 50% of the total capacity, they can only do a fat roll. This has a slower animation, reduced distance, and delays stamina regeneration. Right now, Horizon: Forbidden West already uses a stamina bar, but only for Weapon Techniques. Horizon 3 could extend this stamina to core combat actions like melee swings, rolls, bow-holding duration, and sprinting.

In Soulslike games, stamina grows with player progression through character leveling. Forbidden West already includes a system where stamina is influenced by gear and skill tree choices. Outfits like Nora Thunder Warrior, Nora Sentinel, Nora Valiant, and Oseram Forester all provide stamina-related bonuses. The Hunter skill tree also includes faster regeneration and increased capacity upgrades for the stamina bar. Horizon 3 could expand this system further by adding armor weight that affects dodge speed and stamina use, Perfect Dodge windows that refund stamina when timed right, and unique stamina costs for each weapon type.

A Stamina System Could Perfectly Fit Horizon’s Combat Philosophy

Horizon’s combat is already built on resource and timing management. Bows have charge levels, traps take time to set, and even overriding machines requires positioning and patience. A stamina system would be a natural extension of Horizon‘s design philosophy. For example, light attacks could cost minimal stamina, while heavy attacks or charged spear combos could consume more. Instead of mashing roll to escape a Ravager’s charge, players would need to time a single, well-spaced dodge to conserve energy for a potential follow-up strike. Even sprinting toward a downed machine for a critical strike could carry risk if the stamina bar is near empty. This could help introduce new tension in what were once routine moments.

Horizon 3 Has to Be the Toughest Game in the Series

Forbidden West ramped up the difficulty far beyond Zero Dawn. Alongside the dodge roll cap, major stealth tools from Zero Dawn were also removed. There was no stealth visibility indicator in tall grass, and the whistle mechanic to lure enemies was also missing. Players who tried brute-force approaches were quickly overwhelmed by smarter AI using elemental combos and relentless AoE attacks. Some Forbidden West‘s Acid Clamberjaws could one-shot under-leveled players with a single move, too.

One Reddit user even claimed that Normal difficulty in Forbidden West felt like Ultra Hard in Zero Dawn. Naturally, the third entry in the franchise has to raise the skill level even more. A full-fledged stamina bar would be a reasonable next step to creating high-risk, high-reward moments that separate tactical players from button mashers.