Abstract

Jacques Derrida theorizes in Specters of Marx (1993) that the possibilities of the future, which guide and shape present courses of action, are constantly haunted by the decisions and directions of the past. By analyzing the video game Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) through the theoretical lenses of hauntology, the richness of the game’s narrative and its unique approach to relations with nonhuman animals is highlighted. When faced with a possible future in which all keystone species have been replaced with biomimetic machines, Horizon Zero Dawn pushes players to reimagine futures with technology, animals, and the environment while remaining haunted by the damages done to nature in the past.