Horizon Zero Dawn review: An early contender for game of the year
The PS4 continues its video game dominance with its latest entry, Horizon Zero Dawn. The game is beautiful, action-packed and full of life.
Guerilla Games has been around for quite some time now. They’ve made a name for themselves with the Killzone series and have been successful for years. With Horizon Zero Dawn, they’ve decided to leave Killzone behind (for now) and experiment with something entirely new. This game isn’t simply a hit, it’s a home run.
We can’t begin to explain just how incredible this game is. It’s almost impossible to encounter some sort of flaw or detail that we’re annoyed with. In almost every aspect, it excels. That’s extremely rare in today’s gaming industry. Somehow, Guerilla pulled it off.
Before we start discussing the game, we want to let you know that this review is mostly spoiler-free. However, there are certain plot points that we may discuss to explain some of our thoughts more clearly.
The beautiful world and what’s inside of it
What’s immediately noticeable is the vast and gorgeous open-world. Since it’s an open-world action RPG, Horizon Zero Dawn takes a lot of the standard gaming mechanics from other games and makes them its own.
If there’s one thing the PS4 can pride itself on, it’s the visually stunning games that are associated with it. When you think of games like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Ratchet & Clank, those in-game worlds are beautiful. It’s a bold statement, but Horizon Zero Dawn is arguably the best looking game on the PS4 yet.
From the moment you pop in the game, it’s evident. The clear blue sky, the vibrant colors of the grass and the trees, and so on, everything pops out. There are certain shades and shadows scattered around that complement the world tremendously. It’s all very realistic and it’s easy to get lost in it all. A visual spectacle in every sense of the word.
The cutscenes are very cinematic. Usually, we try to skip cutscenes and jump straight into the gameplay, but these are a treat to watch. The character details are amazing and the dialogue is very interesting.
Visuals aren’t the only aspects that make the world so unique and beautiful. It’s also what’s included inside of that world. As you progress through the game, you’ll meet a variety of unique and interesting individuals. The best part is how each person you meet feels completely different.
The perfect example is the main character, Aloy. She is someone who’s full of life, has a sense of adventure and is extremely courageous. Because she’s so brave, she’ll stop at nothing to find what she wants and what her purpose really is.
When meeting others, they may share the same desire’s that Aloy has. However, some don’t. There are even some who admire your bravery and what you’ve done for those around you. That’s just a taste of what to expect. The attention to detail is uncanny.
Some games suffer from lack of attention to detail. Whether it be the world itself, or the people you meet, that’s a major turn-off for the player. That isn’t the case with Horizon Zero Dawn, though. You won’t feel like you’re meeting the same person over and over again like they’re some sort of robot. Each person, whether they’re a hunter, a traveler, a merchant, etc., is a fully realized character, and that’s an amazing achievement in a video game.
Humans aren’t the only beings inhabiting the world. There are also machines. At first, after looking at some gameplay trailers, we believed these machines were simply robotic dinosaurs. Although some are definitely inspired by dinosaurs, some are inspired by other kinds of wildlife as well.
To be more specific, let’s talk about a particular type of machine known as a Watcher. In our opinion, these resemble raptors. On the other hand, there’s another type called Striders that resemble horses.
One more we’ll talk about is the Sawtooth. Basically, these are huge lions. As you can see, they’re all machines, but they all look different and have unique traits. For example, the Watcher strolls around and from time to time, it stops and starts scanning. If it spots you, it will charge.
That goes for every type of machine. While they do have different physical appearances and characteristics, they have one thing in common: aggressiveness. The world may be a marvel to look at, but don’t let it distract you, especially in certain areas. If any machine spots you, they will try to kill you, plain and simple.
What to do in the world
Open-world action RPGs consists of many quests and missions. That’s no different in this game, and you have plenty of options when it comes to quests. You can cut straight through the game and complete the main story. We highly recommend you to do complete some of the side quests, though.
Not only are most of them extremely fun, but some are very important to the development of your character. The stronger Aloy is, the better it is for you as the player. Things become much easier, such as hunting machines, taking out bandits and other enemies, and so on.
What’s surprising is how different these missions are from each other. In other games, you just complete the same mission over and over again in a different area and maybe with a different person/ being. In this game, every mission feels fresh and new. It’s very refreshing and it always gives you something new to do, such as kill a different type of machine, meet new people or visit new locations.
One side mission we’d like to talk about is taking out bandit camps. Bandit camps are bases or camps of innocent and good hunters/ people that were overrun by bandits. Your job is to eliminate all the bandits and restore the order. You’re usually rewarded, which makes it worthwhile. Let’s not forget to mention that it’s extremely fun to do.
Another type of quests is known as a Cauldron. In the game, without spoiling much, you’ll obtain a weapon enhancement that helps you override machines. What this means is you can take control of them now. So instead of them attacking you, they attack other machines and protect you.
This part can be a bit tedious since they’re mostly reckless and attack everything around them except you. The positives are that they can kill enemies for you and also create diversions. It’s a great tactic to stay stealthy and out of sight.
Cauldrons are dungeon-like. You walk in through a mysterious door and make your way through it. When you first receive the override upgrade, you can only take control of certain machines. The point of the Cauldrons is so that you can learn how to control other types of machines.
At first, you can only override Watchers and Striders. But after completing the first Cauldron, you can move on up to Sawtooths and other types of machines. The Cauldrons are very fun and definitely worth it. The more you do, the better it is for you. Eventually, you can have your own machine army.
At the end of the day, it’s an open-world game and you have a lot of freedom. If you don’t feel like doing quests, you can go around and take down machines all you want. It’s great if you’re trying to blow time.
The combat
By far, the most fun is in the combat. Looking at the trailers, you would think that it’s very difficult and that it would take a while to get used to. That’s not the case at all, though. The combat is extremely fluid, smooth and easy to learn.
The controls are simple. You shoot, you can roll out of the way and you can crouch to stay stealthy. As stated above, it’s very easy to pick up, and we believe you won’t have a difficult time learning all of this.
Your primary weapon throughout the game is a bow and arrow. You can use basic arrows, fire arrows, and so on. Depending on the type of machine you’re fighting, it’s important to switch back and forth with the arrows since some are weaker to a specific element. There are different types of arrows as well.
For example, the first arrow you receive, which is called a Carja Hunter Bow, is fast and charges up quickly. It may not do the most damage, though, without some necessary upgrades. You can either upgrade it or just buy other weapons. There’s another bow known as the Sharpshot Bow.
This one is a lot slower to release, but it’s more accurate and it does more damage. With your weapon wheel, it’s easy to cycle through your weapons. Depending on the situation, you choose the weapon that’s the most appropriate and the one that will guarantee you the most success.
Other than the long-range weapons (bows, guns, etc.), there are other kinds. To be more specific, the Tripcaster. You will learn to love this one because of how awesome it is. Basically, it’s an electric trap that immobilizes machines for a solid period of time. Once that happens, you can sneak up on them and deliver devastating melee strikes to do some decent damage.
Melee strikes can be very effective if used the right way. They can leave you vulnerable if you miss or don’t do enough damage. The best way to utilize the melee/ close-range strikes if by being stealthy. You can one-shot almost anything if you sneak up behind it. It’s very satisfying and it isn’t stressful.
It’s fun to mix up your attacking arsenal in this game, and you’ll find many ways to approach certain situations.
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Verdict
It’s still very early in the year, but Horizon Zero Dawn may be the game of the year. We know, we know. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a day away, and there are many other games to look forward to. This game is just that good.
Visually, it’s incredible, the world is vibrant, vast and full of life, and the combat is extremely fluid and fun. Overall, it’s a very well-rounded game with almost no flaws. We haven’t had this much fun in awhile, and the people at Guerilla Games have outdone themselves.