10 Video Game Betrayals That Came Out Of Nowhere
1. Sylens - Horizon Zero Dawn
Aloy's journey through a dystopian United States is one of the PlayStation 4's best games. The gameplay is superb and the storytelling feels unique, but the characters that litter the story are also worthy of praise.
In particular, Lance Reddick's performance as Sylens, a wandering traveller of the Banuk tribe is perhaps the best of all.
Sylens makes it known to Aloy that his goal is always the pursuit of knowledge and learning about the old ones. It's easy for the player to believe that the pair had built a rapport, but it's clear from the post credits scene that Sylens' plans always took precedent above his 'friendship' with Aloy.
As one of Aloy's only positive relationships throughout Horizon Zero Dawn, his lack of empathy towards her is noticeable when the second game arrives. Sylens' betrayal feels out of the blue not because of bad writing, but because he relied on the protagonist for so much of the main campaign. Using HADES to find who originally sent out the signal to activate it is equal parts brave and naïve.
A character that is a big question mark throughout Horizon Zero Dawn, Sylens' retreat to villainy was still a shock.