Developer Guerrilla Games struck gold with 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, an open-world action-RPG in a post-apocalyptic setting, with predatory machines based on real animals. It sold more than 20 million copies as of November 2021, leading to a sequel that released for PlayStation 4 and 5 this month. One offshoot of its success was a Kickstarter for Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game in 2018, that raised nearly $2 million USD. The Steamforged Games product is an adaptation of the original title’s gameplay loop, but Horizon Forbidden West introduces players to an in-universe game called Machine Strike, with just as much potential.
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How Horizon Forbidden West’s Machine Strike Works
Aloy first encounters Machine Strike in The Daunt, a location on the border of the Forbidden West. A tutorial for the board game can be found in a tavern at the town of Chainscrape, when players meet with returning character Petra Forgewoman. Machine Strike is visually reminiscent of chess, but with some key differences.
Each Strike board is unique, designed by whichever NPC is hosting the game. The playable grid is made from interchangeable tiles that represent different terrain types; lower terrains like marshland lower a piece’s attack power, and higher terrains like mountains raise it.
Another key difference from chess is that players do not begin with a set number or placement of pieces. Every Machine Strike piece is based on a machine found in the world of Horizon, split into six archetypes like the ranged Gunner Type, and boasts different attack power, defense, and weak points in at least one cardinal direction. Aloy can collect pieces by purchasing new ones or defeating other Strike players, and creates sets to bring into each match. Some pieces have unique attributes like higher power levels on certain terrain, making them better on given boards.
The ultimate goal in Machine Strike is to either wipe out an opponent’s entire armada or be the first to receive seven victory points (rewarded upon defeating a machine). Only two pieces can be moved during a turn, but players have the choice to move a piece beyond its range at the cost of its attack, or even attack twice at the cost of HP. Given the different way each piece moves and attacks, there’s a lot of strategic possibilities to consider each turn.
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Machine Strike Would Fit a Trend of Video Game Tabletop Adaptations
The idea that Machine Strike could be turned into a real board game has been seeded by Guerrilla Games. Horizon Forbidden West’s Regalla Edition box set included replica Sunwing and Clawstrider Machine Strike pieces to display alongside a Tremortusk statue. It’s easy to imagine Guerrilla — or a partner like Steamforged Games — designing the rest of the Machine Strike pieces and sets of tiles that can be arranged into a myriad of board designs. Expansions could even be released based on new machines.
Machine Strike would be comparatively easy to develop next to Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game, and it wouldn’t be the first time an in-universe experience became a playable title in the real world. Borderlands’ Bunkers & Badasses RPG has been adapted into a real tabletop game by Gearbox, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s card game Gwent is available to play in a digital format.
Real-world board games based on video games are also becoming common. Crowdfunding campaigns for board games based on Monster Hunter World, Rainbow Six Siege, multiple Resident Evil titles, and more have debuted in recent years, with indie games such as Deep Rock Galactic also getting in on the miniature craze via a Kickstarter that launched on February 10, 2022. As tabletop fans have demonstrated their willingness to learn games far more complicated than old-school experiences like Chutes and Ladders, Machine Strike would fit a fun niche.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
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