Horizon Zero Dawn
[No Commentary]
"Horizon Zero Dawn" is set in a post-apocalyptic world in the 31st century, where robotic creatures dominate the landscape and humanity has regressed to primitive tribal societies. The story follows Aloy, a young hunter from the Nora tribe, who was raised as an outcast. As an infant, she was discovered near a mysterious door, and her adoptive father Rost, also an outcast, raised her.
Determined to learn about her origins and why she was cast out by the tribe, Aloy trains to compete in the Proving, a tribal competition. She wins the Proving, but the event is ambushed by a cult known as the Eclipse. During the attack, Rost sacrifices himself to save Aloy.
After the attack, Aloy is granted the title of Seeker by the Nora Matriarchs, allowing her to leave the tribe and explore the world. Aloy discovers that she is genetically identical to Dr. Elisabet Sobeck, a scientist from the Old World. She learns that the ancient civilization was destroyed by a rogue swarm of robots created by the Faro Automated Solutions corporation. These robots consumed biomass to sustain themselves and replicated uncontrollably, leading to the extinction of life on Earth.
Aloy uncovers the purpose of Project Zero Dawn, a last-ditch effort led by Dr. Sobeck to restore life on Earth after the robots caused the apocalypse. The project involved creating an AI named GAIA, which was designed to restore the planet's biosphere using terraforming systems. GAIA's subroutines were responsible for various ecological functions, but the system required centuries to complete its task.
Aloy learns that the Eclipse cult is controlled by HADES, one of GAIA's subroutines originally designed to enact controlled extinction in case the terraforming process went awry. HADES was awakened and corrupted by a mysterious signal, causing it to try and seize control of the terraforming system to restart the extinction process.
Aloy confronts HADES and its human followers, uncovering the truth about the ancient signal that activated HADES. She allies with various tribes and individuals she meets during her journey. In the climax, Aloy fights a final battle to stop HADES from reactivating the Faro robots. She succeeds in defeating HADES and prevents the extinction of life on Earth once again.
In the end, Aloy discovers the final resting place of Dr. Elisabet Sobeck, who sacrificed herself to ensure the success of Project Zero Dawn. Aloy pays her respects to the woman who, though not her biological mother, was instrumental in giving her and humanity a second chance.