Who is Aloy’s real-life face model in Horizon Forbidden West and Horizon Zero Dawn? We all know that Ashly Burch lent her larynx to bring the outspoken heroine to life, but one thing we weren't aware of is that the character's based upon the likeness of Dutch actress Hannah Hoekstra. Guerrilla Games revealed earlier in the year that it scanned the star's facial features in order to create the character's model.
To be honest, without the braids and tribal headdress the pair don’t look quite as alike as you may expect, but here’s the developer capturing the actress’ looks, so it must be true:
And here's a video of Hannah Hoekstra in action from a movie called App:
Did you know that Aloy was based on a real person? Can you see the similarities? Spot the difference in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 57
Aloy's face is a bit more rounded but I can see the resemblace
I think if she had the longer, redder hair, it would be easier to tell
@CloudNine Yeah, I can see the nose and lip similarities, as well as the ears. But like you say, would be more obvious with the same hair.
@verynaughtyboy Be a very good boy.
@Bliquid What are you saying mate? Aloy is hot xD
@Bliquid I'm with @AFCC here: Aloy is hot. But I do agree that it's neat how her sexuality no where near defines her character, and she's a very believable looking character with real flaws.
Has anyone else noticed how Aloy's teeth are kinda crooked? That's attention to detail!
Aloy is comely but also a great character. Props to Ashley Burch for making her so likeable.
The likeness is definitely there. You may have to stare for a bit, but I don't think that's a problem.
@get2sammyb I noticed the crooked teeth, not only hers but many other characters, love that little detail.
Huh?I thought Aloy IS a real person?how else can I be in love with her..?
Easy to see the resemblance, besides the hair.
i thought this was pretty well known. maybe it's easier to spot when she does have long brownish/red hair?. http://images3.cinema.de/imedia/0058/6030058,p2gtApEOzeGXcKlExSECihr64k6VKNoYHjd6hfOr4NdRNimrt0t9m0obcROV2zRUnu7XEkAEulWSbKR7vu15JQ==.jpg
I have always found the "girl next door" look better then the "super model" look. Aloy is my cup of tea...
@leucocyte It's old news yeah, I just didn't know until last night so thought I'd post it in case anyone else missed it.
@Bliquid they are both hot in their own way...why are we discussing hotness of polygonal babes? xD
@get2sammyb Yes I noticed since I'm a semester away from being a dentist xD but jokes aside, I really thought that it was nice detail, since they don't really have dental care in Horizon's world!
I'm not a great way into Horizon at all but I actually don't really like Ashly Burch's voice in it.
She still reminds me too much of Chloe from Life is Strange that it takes me out of Aloy's story a little, but I guess that's just a personal thing.
Didn't know about this so thanks for the heads up. She's gorgeous and I can definitely see the resemblance! Loving the game!
I knew most of the important characters had their respective actors scanned in just look at
SPOILERS!!!
Lance Reddick who lent his face and (amazing) voice to the game.
His facial capture is, funnily enough, much better than Aloy's because he lent his voice and face.
I definitely see the resemblance, however Ashly is better looking than Aloy.
I always thought it was based on Colleen Rooney. (A UK footballers wife)
I an see the similarity but I also like how Aloy feels like a real person - beautiful, sure but not picture perfect or a model. How she looks is completely incidental to her character which is a really positive step forward.
@roe I know what you mean. I love the character, but am not overly keen on the voice. I know it must be difficult reading hundreds of lines for a character, but in some of the scenes where you're talking with NPCs, she sounds quite wooden; there's often very little emotion, or what there is sounds false or fake.
That being said, I am still absolutely loving the game.
This is news how? Its public knowledge for years that Hannah Hoekstra is the face model for Aloy
@nathanSF the PR/Modelling shots makes Hannah’s face look narrower than it is on film, she’s definitely got those rounder cheeks when she isn’t pouting.
I love the attention to detail on characters in H:FW, especially the imperfections, it makes them feel more real.
@PJ5 Her name is Hannah..😉
@themightyant
Definitely. Makes it more immersive with the setting. The teeth in particular. I can imagine that a tribal society doesn’t have orthodontists around to give them braces lol.
@dimi Do you see the comments? They're from 2017
Sony made the character way uglier than she really is. Real life Aloy is MUCH prettier than the game's. It's nice to know that the real world actually contains true beauty. Kudos to Hannah Hoekstra, and her beautiful face.
Removed - inappropriate
In jowls and jowls only.
Its better then that Twitter post how she should with her perfect bleeched teeth and perfect face im happy they didnt go for that. Because all girls will look model perfect in a apocalyps.
That nose is a dead giveaway; it's incredibly distinctive (in a good way!). Both the real and virtual girls are totes cute; hope the former's out living her best life, wherever she is.
@Oscarjpc How is Aloy ugly im sorry am i missing something here?
@Flaming_Kaiser she is not ugly per se. But Aloy is indeed much less attractive than real life Hannah.
Yeah Alloy's actor is definitely better looking. And I'm seeing a few posts about how it's good, but I don't really see it. Giving her the face wouldn't have detracted. I mean I also am hearing that it doesn't define her as a reason, but to be frank, nor does anything else really. Alloy is a largely forgettable character and to be honest, I hear more about her being a girl than I do anything that's actually about her character, so I'm not sure how that is much better anyway. I never got the hype for her.
Well, in all honesty, lighting and expression aside…they haven’t really done her justice have they.
I mean it’s fine if they don’t want Aloy to look like she could be a glamour model, but then why pick this person to use as the base? Weird.
Aloy is so hot, man. And I'm glad Guerrilla Games doesn't sexualize her like most franchises tend to do so.
Her looks aside, what makes Aloy stand out is her personality. She's fierce and compassionate at the same time. It's rare to see a main character who can be soft, vulnerable and compassionate towards others while being merciless towards her enemies. She tries to avoid violence and bloodshed (even more so in HFW) but when the need arises, her spear is sharp, her arrows steady and she's prepared to take on an entire army.
I find the character faces in horizon so plastic & cheap looking. The first game when Aloy is small……. She has nearly a full size human head on a childs body……. So offputting & unrealistic…… i had to stop playing.
So im denying myself playing a couple of(apparently) good games simply because i find the character faces unrealistic🤦♂️
This girl is alot prettier than the bloated face design Guerrilla gave Aloy.
@hbkay I actually completely agree. The opening of Zero Dawn was terrible, and the child version of Aloy creeped me out as well. I got through about 10 hours of it and the cringy dialog and weird facial expressions with NPCs is what ultimately did me in with the game.
There's a vague similarity. It's not as close as say... Sasha Zotova and Jill Valentine in the Resident Evil 3 remake.
@Jaz007 I agree. I have always said that Aloy was your typical generic adventurer heroine.
Gender swap her, and you would realise how plain and boring her Character is.
The only praise I see people giving her is that she is a female character, that isn't sexualised or made to attractive(as if this is now a negative).
She feels very artificial compared to other main characters, like Kratos, Arthur Morgan, Cloud, Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and ironically Nathan Drake, the walking action movie stereotype.
Aloy funny enough, reminds me of Lara from Tomb Raider.
@bimboliquido Kudos for making a less attractive woman? Kudos to any company (mostly Japanese) who make their characters attractive!
We see ugly people every day, we want our entertainment to have attractive people unless it serves the story for them to be somehow unattractive. Elena is an attractive character without being objectified.
@roe Chloe is the worst. I like that many other actors have a range, but Ashly Birch is just using her own voice. It's fine, but is a bit grating if you played life is strange!
their faces are exact
I'm not attracted to Aloy...and that's ok. She's a badass and I'd want her in my corner anytime.
"Aloy is ugly" is a bad take.
'We need to be attracted to the main character' is a bad take.
"We see ugly people every day, we want our entertainment to have attractive people unless it serves the story for them to be somehow unattractive" - whatever this is, is the worst take.
The correct answer is that it's OK to enjoy beauty in all its forms, but to get caught up in it and complain about how an artist chose to design their character is superficial and immature.
They didn’t do Aloy any favors when the game was first announced and they had the screenshot of the closeup of her face - bloated, rounded, just not good.
Thankfully the final product looks much better, but I just can’t shake that initial image. Her face looked like a beach ball.
She is a beautiful woman and not just saying it because I am Dutch. I think also she would have strongly disagreed to be sexualized and I am pretty sure that was a condition of hers for lending her face. I am happy they didn’t. Sexualization of female characters in games is the reason why many jrpgs make me uncomfortable. I am a guy and love women, but I think it ridiculous how women are often depict in games and a little pathetic as well. The more strong female lead characters in games the better!
Personally... (and I'm sure its just me!) but I think the Aloy character model is not very good. It doesn't look real for some reason, and I don't mean because its generated - I mean something in the way the forehead and nose are shaped just looks ... wrong.
However, the actual real person looks awesome.
I had seen clips of her before, I feel like older clips of her look more like Aloy - https://youtu.be/rYLhBA-PQYE
If there is ever a Horizon movie or TV series, they already have the actress at least. The similarity is most apparent in this photo, imo:
https://www.zing.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HannahHoekstra-768x1024.jpeg
@Nepp67 true, but article was re-posted 2 days ago. Confusing
@dimi Yeah I'm in the same boat with you. First time I've seen something like this reposted
@bimboliquido Because they reposted the article. Anyway, I suppose it's still relevant.
@Oscarjpc meh. not really.
@rachetmarvel you haven't played forbidden west then.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...