The post-apocalyptical open world of Horizon Forbidden West hides numerous secrets and stories for players to discover, including a few Easter eggs to capture some great moments.
Easter Eggs in Horizon Forbidden West
There are countless things to do and discover while traveling across the massive open world, there are easter eggs that refer to different things. Some of them refer to Sony’s other PlayStation titles, some are memorials, and some refer to great games of history.
Here’s a list of Easter Eggs in Horizon Forbidden West.
The Legend of Zelda Tower
There’s a tower at the lower levels of CHI Cauldron that has a locked door. You’ll find a Triforce Symbol above the tower that Alloy points out once she gets near it.
God of War Totems
There is an entire side quest in Horizon Forbidden West that pays tribute to the new God of War game. Aloy is tasked to travel to different locations on the map to collect three God of War-themed totems.
Totems of the Dwarf blacksmith brothers, Brok and Sindri, can be found near a lake south of Plainsong. The Kratos totem can be found on top of a mountain, southwest of Bulwark.
The final totem is near the ruins of San Francisco located to the south of the Golden Gate bridge. In an old, wrecked bus, you’ll find the find Arteus totem. After getting the final totem, Aloy will unlock the Mark of War face paint.
Ghost of Tsushima Shrines
Unfortunately, there are no Ghost of Tsushima-themed side quests in the game. What players can do is keep an eye on a fox as they journey through the game. It will be hard to miss because the fox is much larger in size than normal.
When you spot the fox, follow it to a Ghost of Tsushima shrine easter egg. This will not result in any reward, but it seems to be a fun thing to do.
Memorial of Patrick Munnik
Developer Guerrilla Games remembers an old friend in the game by paying him tribute. This Easter egg is located on a small island on the western corner of the map.
The area is lined with candles and paint. There will be a note nearby that can be interacted with to start a cutscene.
Aloy will sit on the hilltop and 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.”
At the end of the cutscene, it is intimated that “ In the loving Memory of Patrick Munnik”. Patrick died in 2019 at the age of 44 and was a lead producer at Guerrilla Games.
Excalibur
When headed to the far northern part of the map, there’s a huge sword stuck in a rock. You actually cannot interact with the sword in any way, however, when Aloy approaches it, she says “A stone in a rock reminds me of a story I read in an ancient data point”.
This sword in a rock is clearly a reference to the legend of King Arthur and his sword, Excalibur. Either that or Link pulling out his Master Sword.
Donkey Kong Country
When you get to the Rebel Camp: First Forge, you’ll see a derailed mine cart that is surrounded by bananas, barrels, and a red baseball cap. This refers to Donkey Kong Country.
Killzone’s Main Weapon
There’s a rack that is found inside Latopolis. The rack is teeming with guns that are similar to the LSR 44 Spoor. It is the main weapon that is used in the Killzone Shadow Fall campaign.
Dennis Micka
The acronym MICK has been generated from the names of four optional cauldrons i.e. MU, IOTA, CHI, KAPPA. The developer Dennis Micka choose these cauldrons to spell his name Micka with the last ‘A’ being generated from the dropped cauldron that was to be named ALPHA.
All Real-World Locations
When it came to creating the world of Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games went ahead to take inspiration from real-world locations.
The Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts for example made their way into the game. The bridge is pretty obvious the first time players see it. As for the palace, it’s sunk underwater.
Oracle Park, Telegraph Hill, Lombard Street, Transamerica Pyramid, and Sutro Tower are some of the other San Francisco landmarks in the game.
There are also a lot of Las Vegas landmarks to be found. These include the remains of the High Roller Ferris Wheel, the Stratosphere, the remains of Bellagio, and the big Paris Balloon Sign.
One of the best real-world recreational spots in the game includes the forum shots at Caesar’s Palace. It is an entire Roman Themed mall that has been recreated magnificently.
