Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In Horizon Forbidden West, you wake up in a bunker full of famous Dutch art right after one of the most dramatic scenes in the game. I think it's the weirdest moment in the whole game -- but I also think it's one of the best.
All of the art was brought in as part of a collaboration between Guerrilla Games and the Rijksmuseum Art Museum in Amsterdam -- but that isn't the only real-life history influencing the scene. Let's take a closer look at Tilda's Mansion, AKA the bunker, and the ruinous vestiges of its actual counterpart in Big Sur, CA.
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Follow me or support the channel if you're able!
-- Patreon: patreon.com/SolidArf
-- Buy Me a Coffee: ko-fi.com/solidarf
-- BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/solidarf.bsky.social
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REFERENCES:
-- Admin. (2024, September 24). Julia Pfeiffer burns state park. Highway One. highway-one.com/julia-pfeiffer-burns-state-park
-- Garrido, Ric (2013). The People’s Mansion at Julia Pfeiffer Burn State Park, Big Sur California. LoyaltyTraveler. loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2013/09/23/the-peoples-mansion-at-julia-pfeiffer-burns-state-park-big-sur-california
-- Grossman, P. C. (2013, November 17). Lathrop Brown, long after Harvard. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation. fdrfoundation.org/lathrop-brown-long-after-harvard
-- Guerrilla (2022). Horizon Forbidden West | A Creative Collaboration with the Rijksmuseum [Video]. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=Lbqfsjm-OlA
-- Guerrilla (2021). Horizon GAIA Cast | Episode 4 - Exploring the Tribes [Video]. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=eEII0BOt7cM
-- Swackhamer, B. (2013, September 5). House with a view historical marker. The Historical Marker Database. web.archive.org/web/20160825181913/http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=68633
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BEHIND THE SCENES:
-- Correction in the video: Tilda asks Aloy to breakfast, not lunch. Doesn't really matter because these people barely touch their food!
-- Big Sur was an incredibly cool trip to make. We were up there for a wedding, so shout out to my now-wed buds -- and we had almost zero internet while up there. It was really cool to get to learn so much through trail markers, books, and just talking to people. I'd recently finished HFW, so it was also the perfect time to find out about Waterfall House.
In Horizon Forbidden West, you wake up in a bunker full of famous Dutch art right after one of the most dramatic scenes in the game. I think it's the weirdest moment in the whole game -- but I also think it's one of the best.
All of the art was brought in as part of a collaboration between Guerrilla Games and the Rijksmuseum Art Museum in Amsterdam -- but that isn't the only real-life history influencing the scene. Let's take a closer look at Tilda's Mansion, AKA the bunker, and the ruinous vestiges of its actual counterpart in Big Sur, CA.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow me or support the channel if you're able!
-- Patreon: patreon.com/SolidArf
-- Buy Me a Coffee: ko-fi.com/solidarf
-- BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/solidarf.bsky.social
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REFERENCES:
-- Admin. (2024, September 24). Julia Pfeiffer burns state park. Highway One. highway-one.com/julia-pfeiffer-burns-state-park
-- Garrido, Ric (2013). The People’s Mansion at Julia Pfeiffer Burn State Park, Big Sur California. LoyaltyTraveler. loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2013/09/23/the-peoples-mansion-at-julia-pfeiffer-burns-state-park-big-sur-california
-- Grossman, P. C. (2013, November 17). Lathrop Brown, long after Harvard. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation. fdrfoundation.org/lathrop-brown-long-after-harvard
-- Guerrilla (2022). Horizon Forbidden West | A Creative Collaboration with the Rijksmuseum [Video]. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=Lbqfsjm-OlA
-- Guerrilla (2021). Horizon GAIA Cast | Episode 4 - Exploring the Tribes [Video]. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=eEII0BOt7cM
-- Swackhamer, B. (2013, September 5). House with a view historical marker. The Historical Marker Database. web.archive.org/web/20160825181913/http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=68633
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEHIND THE SCENES:
-- Correction in the video: Tilda asks Aloy to breakfast, not lunch. Doesn't really matter because these people barely touch their food!
-- Big Sur was an incredibly cool trip to make. We were up there for a wedding, so shout out to my now-wed buds -- and we had almost zero internet while up there. It was really cool to get to learn so much through trail markers, books, and just talking to people. I'd recently finished HFW, so it was also the perfect time to find out about Waterfall House.
