Aloy didn’t have much time for romance during the break-neck events of Horizon Zero Dawn, but in the sequel to the post-apocalyptic open world RPG, called Forbidden West, the heroine forms many close bonds to other characters. Those relationships never went beyond the platonic level, though. Number of Burning Shores DLC, which is currently available exclusively on PlayStation 5 and is set after the events of Forbidden Westhas changed.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for the Horizon series and the Burning Shores DLC.]
Many male characters have expressed romantic interest in Aloy in the past, but she always shoots them down. However, it seems that traces of a romance system are present Forbidden West; in the conversation options with Sun-King Avad early in the game, players can choose responses from Aloy with a heart symbol next to them, similar to how romance-specific dialogue is set in BioWare games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Choosing heart options never led to a romance, however, which further led fans and critics to speculate that Aloy may not have sex.
Forbidden West also includes another hint in the storyline of Elisabet Sobeck, a scientist from the distant past of whom Aloy is an exact genetic clone. Near the end of Forbidden West, Aloy learns that Elizabet is a strange woman. Queerness has never been officially linked to a genetic marker in real life (although many scientists have researched it), but the Horizon games have always seemed to lean a little towards the magical when it comes to the strong similarities between Aloy and her ancestor. The two are considered the same person, in two different timelines. Because of that, many fans assumed that Aloy was also strange.
Burning Shoresthe new DLC for Forbidden West, confirms Aloy’s sexuality by introducing a romance between the heroine and her female companion Seyka, which is new in this new chapter. The entire scene can be seen in the video below.
Aloy has the option of rejecting Seyka’s proposal, but even if she does, that rejection does not include any implication that Aloy is straight. Aloy’s responses in the dialogue with Seyka are: “Yes, yes,” “I’m not ready for this,” or “This is too much for me.”
If Aloy reciprocates Seyka’s feelings, the two kiss, but the DLC still ends with the characters separating. Regardless, the inclusion of this new character and his feelings for Aloy opens up huge opportunities for storytelling in future Horizon games — including more romance with Seyka, or perhaps others character.
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