Sylens, the mysterious and elusive character introduced in Horizon Zero Dawn, has been brought to life in an exceptionally skillful cosplay. Portrayed by the esteemed Lance Reddick through motion capture and voice work, Sylens acts as a mentor and ally to protagonist Aloy on her quest to prevent the second end of the world. The upcoming sequel Horizon Forbidden West promises to improve upon the first title’s open world, while also taking the first game’s story in exciting new directions.
Horizon Zero Dawn takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that has been repopulated by tribes of humans who live alongside animal-like robots. The game’s world was destroyed by a wave of powerful machines, but advanced artificial intelligence was designed to repopulate the world after humanity’s extinction. When an AI called HADES threatens to destroy mankind once again, a young Nora tribeswoman named Aloy embarks on a quest to stop it. The secretive Sylens helps Aloy on her quest, acting as a sort of mentor, but his motivations and goals remain ambiguous through the adventure. The ending of Horizon Zero Dawn‘s story sees Sylens take possession of the powerful HADES system, with the intent to locate the person who activated it, which potentially gives him the means to control the fate of the world.
An extremely accurate Sylens cosplay, created by Twitter user Hollyster Burris, has been commended by Horizon Zero Dawn developer Guerrilla Games. Sylens possesses an extremely unique look even within the game’s primitive sci-fi world, and Hollyster Burris has recreated it flawlessly. Vivid blue wires crisscross in and out of the figure’s body, and he carries a massive spear which he uses to both fight and tame machines. Both of these visual flairs are brought to life, with the bright blue wires being a particularly thrilling part of the cosplay. The iconic Lance Reddick character’s unique attire is brought to life with great care as well, with accessories such as straps and an earpiece which do not exist in the real world.
The fascinating world and complex characters of Horizon Zero Dawn have inspired plenty of skillful cosplay, especially recreations of beloved protagonist Aloy. However, one truly unique cosplay has combined the open-world adventures Horizon Zero Dawn and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild into a single distinct outfit. The cosplay gives Aloy a Bokogoblin head, with the quality of both the Aloy outfit and the Bokogoblin head making the humorous cosplay idea into an impressive final product. Fans have long awaited sequels to both open-world adventure games, and their wishes will soon come true with the February 18 release of Horizon Forbidden West.
Since its launch in 2017, Horizon Zero Dawn has left an unmistakable mark on the open-world genre. The title introduced players to a truly unique world to explore and fascinating enemies to dismantle, and characters like Sylens add even more depth to Guerrilla Games’ post-apocalyptic universe. Hollyster Burris’ commendable cosplay of the elusive Sylens manages to bring every single detail to life, including Sylens’ blue wires and eternal skepticism, ahead of the character’s impending return.
Horizon Forbidden West will release on February 18, 2022, for PS4 and PS5.
Sources: Guerrilla Games/Twitter, Hollyster Burris/Twitter
