What is Sylens' role in Horizon Forbidden West?

Sylens played an important role in Horizon Zero Dawn and players are hopeful to see an equally crucial influence in Horizon Forbidden West.

Sylens and his group of cultists known as Eclipse insisted on helping HADES create an extinction-level event. In a post-credits scene, it is shown that HADES survived its destruction at the hands of Aloy.

From there, Sylens imprisons it with the hopes that interrogations will provide more information regarding the Old World. That implies he is up to no good once more in Horizon Forbidden West as he controls HADES and has aligned himself with Regalla.

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Sylens has news followers and still possesses HADES in Horizon Forbidden West

After the events of Zero Dawn, Sylens left the known lands and traveled to the Forbidden West. This is what players will see the main character, Aloy, do in the sequel.

In the story trailer for Horizon Forbidden West, the Tenakth are introduced. This is a rebel faction that knows only war, led by a woman named Regalla who wishes to destroy all who oppose her.

In the trailer, she can be seen answering to a higher power. This higher power provides weapons, troops, and even machines that can be controlled and used to wage war.

At that point, the trailer shows Sylens overseeing a group learning to control and ride on a set of machines. It clearly foreshadows a twist in the narrative, unless Sony is throwing everyone for a loop.

It appears that Sylens may have left behind his hopes of causing human extinction once and for all, but that could easily be a secondary goal of his, considering he still has HADES locked away.

In Horizon Forbidden West, he has decided to take on the role of a cult leader once more. His true intentions are unknown, but it is obvious that he will play the role of a villain again.

Even though he was an ally at times in Zero Dawn, he ultimately was the main antagonistic force that Aloy had to deal with. It doesn't seem like much of that has changed in the sequel.