Main Quest Walkthrough - A Gift from the Past [Horizon Zero Dawn]

Horizon Zero Dawn’s first Main Quest A Gift from the Past begins with the young Aloy as she stumbles upon a peculiar location hidden underground.

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Main Quest Walkthrough – A Gift from the Past

Objective # 1 – Go into the Cave

When you have control of Aloy, proceed to the path to your right, following the faint beam of light in the area ahead. Waves of bats will swarm at you once in a while, but they are nothing to be worried about. When you get to the part where the path starts to incline a bit, the path will split. The one on the left is quite narrow, so you’ll need to crouch to squeeze yourself in (ignore the path on the right as it will only lead back to the area where you fell from).

You’ll soon come out of the narrow tunnel path and come to an open platform. You can take the time to look around. To proceed further, go down the stairs to the left of the tunnel you came from. Then, head for the path on the left wall where a beam of light is shining. You’ll then come up to an area that looks like it might a have been a a research lab or office room. You can do some more exploring, then head for the next room ahead.

In the next room, head for the path up ahead (marked by the faint light) and go up the two sets of stairs. As you come up from the last set of stairs, you’ll bee swarmed by bats again. Proceed onto the path and follow it until it bends to the right. Continue further straight ahead to the mysterious object shone by the beam of light. Drop down and approach it. A cutscene will ensue.

Find a Way Out

The entire room will light up with what looks like holographic images of the lost technology of the area. You’ll also be able to toggle the Focus from here, which examines the composition of any machine you encounter in an area. Follow the quest marker up the staircase and towards the metal door up ahead.

Use the Device to Scan the Room

The metal door will be locked since you need to activate the device to open it. You can take the time to scan all the machines in the area, then head for the path to the lower right from the metal door (just before the set of stairs).

You’ll come up to another room with various colored circular holograms on the right wall. Proceed to the next room on the left and use the scan to identify the Holo Lock device. It will be unavailable, but right next to it to the right is the Code Nexus. Lock on the Focus to the circular hologram in the center of the Code Nexus which should allow you to use the Holo Lock.

Use the Holo Lock and turn it counter-clockwise twice so that the red mark is facing downwards.

Return to the Door.

Head back to the metal bunker door and open it. Then, proceed to make your way out of the area again.

Find a Way Out

In the next room, follow the quest marker and down two sets of stairs. Continue along the path towards the marker which will lead you to something faintly humanoid lying on the ground in the next room. You’ll collect 1 of 22 Datapoints called Happy Birthday Issac! Watch the hologram to find out more information about the Datapoint.

Afterwards, continue following the quest marker to a metal door that you need to squeeze through. In the next room, follow the quest marker again up the stairs. Resume following the marker and you’ll come up to a room with five corpses, each of which has a Datapoint that can be collected. The first (Connor Chasson) is lying on a bed immediately to your left as you enter the room. Another is also on a bed (Skylar Rivera) as you pass the first to your right. The other is on the floor leaning on the wall to the far left of the room (Mia Sayied). From the third corpse, follow the quest marker ahead and you’ll come up to another corpse on a bed to your left (Ella Pontes). Continue following the quest marker ahead and head into the next room. Before proceeding to the door ahead, look to your right and there will be another corpse lying on the couch with a Datapoint (Jackson Frye).