Easter Eggs You Missed In Horizon Forbidden West
Guerrilla Games' highly anticipated sequel "Horizon Forbidden West" is finally here, meaning players can once again explore a massive open-world filled with savage machines. While there is plenty to discover already, like a slew of new machines, the developers went ahead and put a bunch of Easter eggs in the game, referencing other popular video games. These Easter eggs can be found out in the open world as Aloy goes on her journey. Guerilla Games also added a tangible effort to help the planet to the game, with a trophy will result in trees being planted when unlocked by a certain date.
As players run across the open world, or use the game's slightly altered fast-travel system, there are plenty of fun things to find. Some of these Easter eggs reference Sony's other PlayStation Studios titles, while some hint at some of the biggest games in history. This list will be as spoiler-free as possible, so don't worry about any story beats being ruined here. Here are some of the Easter eggs you might have missed in "Horizon Forbidden West."
God of War totems
"Horizon Forbidden West" has tons of collectibles and side quests to complete, with the "God of War" easter egg actually being its own side quest. According to GameSpot, this quest involves traveling to three different locations, where Aloy will gather "God of War" themed totems. The first location is in the southern part of the map, south of Plainsong near a lake. There lie the Brok and Sindri totems, representing the Dwarf blacksmith brothers. The second location is on top of a mountain, southwest of The Bulwark. There sits the Kratos totem. Since "God of War" (2018) is about scaling a mountain, this location seems appropriate.
The final totem is near the ruins of San Francisco, south of the Golden Gate bridge. There is an old ruined bus, which is where you will find the Atreus totem, the final of the four totems. After finding all of the totems, Aloy will unlock the Mark of War face paint, which she can equip at any face painter. As you might suspect, the face paint puts Kratos' iconic paint on Aloy's face.
Ghost of Tsushima shrines
Though it's not exactly a full-blown side quest like the "God of War" easter egg, "Horizon Forbidden West" includes a nod to "Ghost of Tsushima" that you might find naturally. Located in the open-world is an unkillable Inari fox, similar to the ones found in "Ghost of Tsushima." Just like those foxes, this Inari will lead Aloy to another location. If Aloy follows the Inari all the way through its path, she will find a "Ghost of Tsushima" shrine. There aren't any rewards or cosmetics for doing this, but anyone who played "Ghost of Tsushima" will enjoy the process.
For anyone who doesn't know, following a fox through a winding path to a shrine is one of the open-world activities in "Ghost of Tsushima," although in that game there is a reward for completing the task. For Aloy, this is just a fun nod to another popular Sony first-party title.
A Memorial for Patrick Munnik
This next item on the list is less of an Easter egg and more of a memorial for a friend and colleague of Guerrilla Games. Located on a small island located on the western edge of the map is a small path, lined with candles and paint. At the top of the hill is a note and a small memorial. Activating the note triggers a cutscene, where Aloy sits down on the hilltop and begins to read the letter. "Here, we remember our friend, with a view as calming as his voice, on stone as strong as his spirit. He was not just our rock, he was our oak, sturdy and stoic, whose presence brought us comfort and whose branches touched us all. Rest in peace," she reads.
Aloy can stay on the hilltop as the sun sets. During the end credits, there is a message that reads "in loving memory of Patrick Munnik." Munnik was a lead producer at Guerrilla Games for eight years, before he passed away at the age of 44 in 2019. The eulogy and memorial was Guerrilla Games' way of honoring him.
Zelda or King Arthur?
Located in a secluded part of the map, there is a massive stone with a sword shoved into it. This stone is located in the far north part of the map and while you can't interact with it in any way, it is very clearly a nod to something. While video game fans will want to think it's a "Legend of Zelda" reference, it seems like it might be a reference to the legend of King Arthur. When you approach the stone, Aloy makes a comment, saying, "A sword. In a stone. Reminds me of a story I read in an ancient datapoint."
This comment makes it seem like it is certainly a reference to the tale of King Arthur, especially the opening part where the future king pulls Excalibur from a rock. However, it isn't impossible that the reference is subtly about "Legend of Zelda." Since Aloy is reading data points without any context or reference points, it's possible she read something about Link's adventures and interpreted it as a historical event. Until Guerrilla Games says for certain, it's open for interpretation.