Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the PS4's most renowned titles, holding itself among the likes of Bloodborne, God of War and Uncharted as the standouts of this generation. So what did I think of it?
The game follows Aloy, a young outcast from the Nora tribe set in an uncertain future when robotic animals roam the earth, and ruins of an ancient civilisation. Her origins are a mystery, and yet they are the reason she was outcast from birth. So, when she comes of age, she journeys away from her protector to join her people who dismissed her for so long, but in doing so finds herself caught up in a conspiracy that takes her from the snowy summits of the north and the deserts of the west, and ties the strange state of the world, the machines, the different factions and Aloy's past together.
What really sells this game for me is the combination of world detail, graphics and combat - there are numerous outposts, villages, watchtowers and bases for each of the different groups, creating a clear sense of world for you to explore. The trees, rivers and plants all look fantastic, making it a pleasure to explore the open world.
But the combat is what most comes to mind - each of the robots has its own mechanical parts to it, which can be exploited for damage, be removed for looting or shot off to expose the vulnerable circuitry underneath. This style is fantastic, and can be used for the common roaming types you find early on, to the enormous monsters that serve as tough but rewarding challenges to test your prowess. Combat as entertaining and varied as this is hard to find anywhere else, so for this alone I'd recommend the game.
The story isn't too shabby either, with a deep and complex journey that slowly unravels the mysteries of this world, all while remaining as a strong character journey of Aloy, who is a likeable underdog in the tale, and a perfect protagonist for such a game.
One criticism I would give for the game is the dialogue of many side characters - they all have unique voices and appearances, but a lot of them feel a little one-dimensional - like they have no edge to them other than the single one that we see, save for about a dozen which I'll get to later- there is little growth or development on those around Aloy, making a lot of them feel more like tools to serve Aloy's narrative, and not fully fleshed individuals in their own right. Additionally, the human versus human combat doesn't have the same weight and care given to the machines - they lack much of the appeal and challenge of them, and as such the human bosses feel a bit too dull and easy.
Luckily, the game capitalises on the robot fights far more than the human ones, leading to some awesome creatures simply roaming around in the world as well as scripted encounters in the story, making set pieces out of the environment, the creatures and you, making it feel fantastic to simply come across them, let alone fight and win against them, and with the range of weapons and ammo types at your disposal, you can really personalise how you want to play.
By the time you reach the end of the game, you are well and truly satisfied with all the twists and turns. It is the kind of game that really benefits from the player doing a lot of the optional content, as it provides you with all sorts of additional weapons, memorable encounters and helps to flesh out the different factions you can find throughout the world.
The roughly dozen entertaining characters you find along the way are certainly memorable, and often endearing, so I won't paint each and every character in the game in the same bland light. It's also rewarding to see people you haven't seen for the last dozen hours or so come in and out of the story.
What does annoys me specifically are the villains, who lack any sort of nuance. They are just there to do bad things because that's what they do. They aren't even interesting to watch in how they do it, they just serve their purpose to the story or side quest they happen to be in, and that is it.
The Frozen Wastes DLC is a welcome change of scene, giving new enemy types, weapons, the toughest challenges yet and a story that expands on the main game without overshadowing it. It isn't vital, but it is certainly worth getting if you are a huge fan of the main game, or would simply like a greater challenge.
From this, it is very clear that the game is sold to audiences as a fascinating world to explore, with machine creatures to hunt and a mystery of what happened to civilisation to unravel. It succeeds to do what it set out to do is spectacular fashion, but that isn't to say that every aspect of it is polished to perfection, which is a shame to me as I feel it really deserves the praise it gets, but could just do with a little more extra depth to make it a true masterpiece. I give Horizon Zero Dawn an 8.75/10, narrowly missing a 9.
SPOILER SECTION
To be honest, there were a lot of tropes this game fell for that I could see coming from a mile away - the first and perhaps most noticeable example would have to be the death of the mentor Rost. As soon as I saw him, I knew he'd bite the dust. I know it is a common trope, but when you're introduced to a character you can see dying from a mile away, it gets hard to feel bad about it, as he got reduced in my mind to a walking target. Ted Faros was a bland businessman type who could do no good, nor did he have any reasonable motivation, simply being there to screw over humanity, whereas Elizabet Sobeck could do no wrong, leaving no room for conflict or intricacy. Likewise, the cultists didn't ever seem conflicted about their ideals or have any defining personalities. The more interesting villains, if you could call them that, would be the computer intelligences that went rogue, causing the problems the world faces. In fact, the best aspects are this mystery and Aloy discovering how she is connected to it, so I'd have preferred if the narrative focused on that more than the bland human enemies, which would have perhaps streamlined the game.
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