Most players treat them like chores. You see that purple icon on the map, climb a jagged cliff, and click a button to see a holographic "ghost" of the Old World. It's a collectible. It’s a trophy. But if you're playing Horizon Zero Dawn just to check boxes, you’re missing the actual soul of the game. The Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn system isn't just a gimmick to show off Decima Engine's draw distance; it’s a devastatingly personal diary left behind by a man named Bashar Mati. Honestly, his story hits harder than the world-ending stakes of Project Zero Dawn.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours in the Sacred Lands and the Sundom. While Aloy’s journey to discover her mother is the driving force, Bashar’s journey to say goodbye to his own mother provides the emotional texture that makes the apocalypse feel real. It’s one thing to hear about robots eating the biosphere. It's another thing entirely to read a son's regret-filled messages to a mother who won't ever see them.
The Secret Architecture of the Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn Narrative
You’ve probably noticed they come in sets. There are twelve in total, divided into three tiers. Each tier rewards you with a loot box, which is fine, but the real reward is the text file attached to each viewpoint. If you only watch the hologram and listen to the brief audio clip, you’re only getting 10% of the story. You have to open the "Collectibles" tab in your notebook and read the extended entries.
Bashar Mati was a "tourist" in a world that was literally falling apart. He wasn't a soldier or a scientist. He was a guy with a drug problem and a complicated relationship with his parents. As you find the Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn locations in the first set—places like Colorado Springs or the Air Combat Academy—you start to realize he’s retracing his life. He’s visiting the spots that defined him before the Faro Plague turned everything to dust.
It’s messy. The writing is erratic. It feels like a human wrote it, not a quest designer filling space. He talks about his "Apocashitstorm" tour. He’s cynical, but as you progress into the second and third sets, that cynicism melts into a raw, terrifying vulnerability.
Finding the Hardest Vantages
Some of these are a nightmare to find without a guide, even if you bought the map from a merchant in Meridian. The one at Kings Peak? It’s basically an invitation to fall to your death repeatedly while Glinthawks scream in your ear. But the view from the top is a perfect juxtaposition of the rusted past and the vibrant, dangerous present.
The Faro Solo vantage is another standout. It overlooks the ruins of a corporate empire. When you activate it, you see the skyline as it was—all glass, chrome, and hubris. Then the hologram fades, and you’re looking at skeletal remains covered in vines. It’s a gut punch. It forces you to realize that the "Old Ones" weren't some mystical race of gods. They were just people who worked in offices and went on vacations.
Why the "Tour de Bashar" Matters for E-E-A-T
When we talk about deep lore in gaming, we usually look at world-building. But Horizon Zero Dawn succeeds because it uses Bashar’s perspective to ground the high-concept sci-fi. Experts in narrative design often point to environmental storytelling—the art of telling a story through objects rather than cutscenes. The Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn mechanic is the gold standard for this.
Bashar’s story is a "chronicle of the end." Through his eyes, we see the transition from the "Good Times" to the "Enduring Victory" era. We hear about his mother, a doctor who worked on the front lines, and his father, who was disgraced. It’s a family drama played out against the backdrop of extinction. If you want to understand why Aloy fights so hard to save the new world, you have to understand exactly what was lost in the old one.
The Technical Execution of the Vantage System
From a technical standpoint, Guerilla Games did something clever here. These aren't just static images. The holograms are low-fidelity on purpose. They represent the degrading data of a world that’s been dead for a thousand years.
- You find the perch (usually marked by a small supply crate).
- You align your Focus with the environment.
- The "ghost" image overlays the ruins.
- Bashar’s voice crackles through the Focus.
The audio is often distorted. It’s glitchy. This isn't a mistake; it's a deliberate choice to emphasize the passage of time. The data is rotting. By the time Aloy finds these, she’s lucky they work at all.
Exploring the Colorado Springs Cluster
The first four vantages are clustered around what was once Colorado Springs. This is where the game introduces the mechanic, and it’s where the emotional hooks are set. You see the Air Combat Academy, which looks like a jagged tooth of metal in the present. In the past, it was a place of soaring ambition.
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Bashar’s commentary here is mostly about his youth. He was a bit of a screw-up. He mentions his "Record" and his struggles with "Spur," a futuristic drug. It makes him relatable. How many of us would be heroes during the apocalypse? Most of us would just be trying to find one last beautiful thing to look at. That’s what Bashar was doing.
Moving Into the Sundom
As you head toward Meridian and the desert regions, the vantages get higher. They get lonelier. The Lake Powell vantage shows a recreational area turned into a wasteland. The Monument Valley one is particularly haunting.
By this point in the text files, Bashar is starting to realize he isn’t going to survive. He’s not writing for a general audience anymore. He’s writing specifically for his mother. He wants her to know that he finally understands her. He wants her to know he’s sorry. It’s a level of intimacy you rarely see in a "collectathon" mechanic.
The Finale at Gaia Prime
The final Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn is located near the end of the game, at the Grave-Hoard and eventually Gaia Prime areas. This is where the two stories—Aloy’s and Bashar’s—finally align. Aloy is learning about the sacrifice of Elisabet Sobeck. Simultaneously, the player is reading Bashar’s final realization that his mother was a hero in her own way.
It’s a dual narrative. Sobeck saved the future; Bashar’s mother tried to save the present. Both failed to save themselves.
The final text entry is titled "12/12: The End." I won't spoil the exact wording because it deserves to be read in-game, but it’s a meditation on the concept of "home." It’s a powerful reminder that even when the world is ending, we cling to the people we love.
Common Misconceptions and Errors
A lot of players think you need the vantages to "complete" the map. Technically, you don't need them for the main quest. You can finish the game and never look at a single one. But you’ll have a hollow experience.
Another mistake: thinking the rewards are worth it. The loot boxes you get from the collectors in Meridian for these sets are... okay. They’re fine. But if you’re doing this for the Shards or the Mods, you’re wasting your time. You do the Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn run for the narrative. You do it to see the world before the metal devils arrived.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re hopping back into Horizon Zero Dawn (perhaps the Remastered version or just a replay before Forbidden West), change how you approach these.
- Turn off the music. When you reach a vantage spot, go into the settings and slider the music to zero. Listen to the wind and the mechanical groans of the world while Bashar speaks. It changes the atmosphere completely.
- Read first, watch second. Open the text file as soon as you find the vantage. Read the long-form entry. Then, activate the Focus and watch the hologram. The visual will have way more weight once you have the context of Bashar’s state of mind.
- Don't fast travel away. After the hologram fades, stay there for a minute. Look at the ruins. Try to see what Bashar saw. The game’s lighting engine is incredible at sunset; try to hit the vantages during the "golden hour" for maximum impact.
- Check the map icons carefully. Some vantages are hidden behind "climbable" yellow handholds that aren't immediately obvious. Look for the purple supply crates; they always mark the exact standing point.
The Vantage Point Horizon Zero Dawn system is a masterclass in how to make a world feel lived-in. It turns a graveyard of a civilization into a living memory. Bashar Mati wasn't a savior, but through his eyes, we get to see what was worth saving. Next time you see that purple eye on your HUD, don't just run past it. Stop. Listen. Read. It’s the closest thing to a time machine you’ll find in the 31st century.