System seller.
PS4 exclusive.
Horizon Zero Dawn is an action adventure game published by Sony and developed by Guerrilla Games for the Playstation 4.
This game seems to have gone down the Star Trek route of naming hence the lack of a colon between Horizon and Zero Dawn.
GAMEPLAY
If you've ever played an open-world game before then this game probably has something you recognise from it. From the compass and stealth mode from Skyrim to the clearing of bandit camps like Far Cry and the detective style quests from the the Witcher 3, this game seems to have crammed in any idea the developers could think of. Don't let the fact that there are some Ubisoft elements put you off though, this world manages to stay far more engaging and interesting with some of the best world building I've seen in a video game.
I absolutely loved how explorable the world was, the only game I can think of where you can climb every mountain and hill in the distance was Skyrim but this game can join it on the list. One of my favourite moments was when I saw a beautiful ridge full of waterfalls and realised I could actually climb up them. It was so refreshing to be able to do something like that rather than just have them be there to be nice to look at. Very little of the world is off limits and you can climb up many different places and get amazing views, something I even found myself often stumbling across by accident. I just really enjoyed the freedom this game offers.
The create a job mechanic for gathering particular materials or similar things was a nice touch, meaning you could easily keep track of things you were aiming for, rather than having to pull up and shift through menus all the time.
There are some really nice small touches put in the game too, such as they way Aloy scrabbles up steep surfaces (including stairs) and using both her feet and hands, the way she reacts to her environment, such as rubbing her arms to keep warm in colder places and the absolute attention to details on the machines, such as what you need to override them and even simpler things, I paused the game while battling a Thunderjaw and saw the insane detail on its tail with small stems of water streaming across it. NPC's can actually be helpful in battles too.
Combat is really satisfying and well made, the ways you can approach encounters and the tools you have to deal with it have clearly been well thought out and designed. Fighting the bigger machines and having to pick off its weapons or find ground where it won't be able to use its best moves effectively was really great, or if you were going to try and go Shadow of the Colossus style and circle around your opponent on a mount. One of my favourite features was being able to knock a machines' weapon off of its back and being able to pick it up and use it against its former wielder.
Not only are you given the option of strategy when approaching enemies through where you position yourself or if you're going to go in loud or try and stealth it out but there is also a huge variety of weapons to use. Different types of bow for closer or further combat, ammo that can be crafted to make use of a certain weakness, trip wires and traps to prepare ambushes, tearblasters to destroy armour, and more - it's quite Monster Hunter-esque. The options presented and the thrill of some of the encounters makes the combat so much fun to play and must be among of the most impressive in a while.
Sometimes close range combat with your spear against enemies on steep terrain doesn't really work as it should and you're left swatting at thin air. This is one of the only flaws I could find amongst the really wonderful combat this game otherwise has. Another would be that very occasionally arrows would go through enemies rather than hitting them, perhaps the hit boxes could have done with a little tweaking?
You may often find yourself having to follow a trail quite often where it can probably get a little repetitive with some of the errands. Doing these the first few times in both games is fine but I can't help but feel that there could have been a bit more to some of quests, I know you're a hunter and these things weren't so common in the main or side quests, such as how often the Witcher 3 required it, but a little more variety would have been nice.
It's not a major gripe, but I'd have preferred for armour to be more customisable, since all armours are one set pieces, so if you don't like the hat on one set, or dislike the boots on another, you can't really do anything about it. I actually just wore the set you can see on the box art for almost the whole thing as any other armour I saw that I kind of liked had a feature I didn't like (some outfits for example have masks that are worn as hats, you can't actually wear them properly). Having the option to mix and match seems to be something becoming less common in games now and it really seems like a backwards step.
STORY
I was a little bit disappointed to hear that the game was set on a future Earth, but I was pleasantly surprised with all the lore and world building they did that actually made the whole premise really interesting. As the pieces are put together on how the world is like it is, the whole thing just becomes really intriguing and creates a really compelling narrative. Assuming Guerrilla want to make this a franchise this game has built up some really great foundations for a really interesting world.
The point really needs emphasising though, the world building really is some of the best in any video game. You will find yourself powering through the story missions once the mysterious begin to slowly unravel and I won't spoil it because it's worth experiencing it all unfold. The main story isn't the only part brimming with ideas and imagination though, the tribes and cultures of the world have had plenty of thought put into them as well, from the kind of society each have as well as things like what they worship, such as machines or the Sun.
Outside of Aloy, Rost, Sylens and maybe one or two others, I didn't really find many characters that interesting. One good example of this I feel is Sun King Avad, his father was apparently one of the worst people ever and yet for some reason his son seems to be trying his best to do well for the world. Why are the two so radically different? His character just didn't feel that developed. If Guerrilla can carry over their outstanding world building skills to developing even better characters they could have a masterpiece on their hands.
GRAPHICS
I really love the way the camera pans sometimes pushing Aloy to the side of the screen to show off the world, just like Wander and his horse in Shadow of the Colossus. Ever since I saw that I really wished more games would pick up on it but sadly very few did, so it was nice to see that. It's really worth it too as the game feels handcrafted and it really feels like Guerrilla Games put so much effort into creating a stunning world that will even occasionally make you stop just to look at it in awe. I would try to be clearer on what they did so well, from the hazy rain forests to the dense woodland and stunning mountain ranges, but every kind of biome and environment was so well done. Fantastic job.
The game performs really well and never seems to lag or drop in FPS, which is really nice as the draw distance is really impressive, as well as just how much can happen on the screen at once. Seeing light beaming past mountains or through forests looks very impressive as did looking down on the world below you from a distance with the rolling fog. The fact that this all works seemingly flawlessly on a standard PS4 just makes it even better. A lot of effort seems to have gone into creating a very technically impressive game here.
SOUND
The soundtrack is really excellent. The more orchestral epic style mixed is often mixed with sci-fi synths to create some really great tracks. Certain tracks that also stand out, such as "Colossal" bring a Hans Zimmer vibe to the table and further pump you up for encounters with big machines but other tracks that serve a more ambient purpose will often complement the experience of simply exploring the world.
The sound effects are on point too, the thunderous sound of some machines, characters with leather armour that squeaked as they moved. It's probably got some of the best sound direction I've heard since 2015's Star Wars Battlefront.
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
To put it one way, this probably would have won my vote for game of the year for any year after 2013. Perhaps frustratingly for the developers though with the likes of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other hugely anticipated games coming out it probably won't receive as many plaudits as it probably deserves.
It may have some flaws here and there but the technical prowess, beautifully crafted environments, riveting world building and excellent combat makes this game a joy to play. Imagine a world where someone mixed Skyrim, the Witcher 3, Far Cry, Monster Hunter, Tomb Raider, Red Dead Redemption and probably more together with its own unique premise - that's this game. If you're a fan of anything captivating or fun, you owe it to yourself to find the time for this wonderful experience.
THE FROZEN WILDS EXPANSION
Greatly improved animations is the standout thing really. It seems that Guerrilla really took that complaint about the main game on board and the hard work they must have put into improving that area of the game so drastically has paid off. There are other great touches too, the way Aloy actually wades through snow rather than just running through it is one such nice idea.
The main story is interesting and continues that splendid world building of the main game. Some of the NPCs also improved in terms of character depth, even if they're not among the most memorable in gaming or anything there did seem to be something more to some of them. Another nice thing was the new parts of the soundtrack which are yet again well done.
Nicely put together new area, new machines are interesting and a new challenge, probably adds around 15 hours of content to fully complete everything - that's around the length of some games these days. Some interactions during the main quest can be effected by the expansion and at least one character even shows up for part of the main quest too. The character showing up is a nice touch but it seems many developers wouldn't go to the extra effort of changing a few lines of dialogue for parts of the main quest that many people may not even to play through again to hear, or even recognise had changed.
I really wanted some more of Horizon Zero Dawn and the Frozen Wilds really delivered. Outside of the animations and a couple of new skills it may not have improved upon the main game so much but I was just happy to revisit the fantastically crafted world. Major enhancements can hopefully be done for a potential sequel. Overall the Frozen Wilds will probably go down as one of my favourite expansions. If you have the game then it's certainly worth your time, and if you don't have the base game, do yourself a favour, and go out and buy it.
