Horizon Zero Dawn (Review)

By: Mithrandiel[yasr_multiset setid=2] Fighting against the bitter cold winds of the mountain, a rugged survivalist makes his way up to the peak. His task: to grant the child entrusted to his care some 6 months earlier a name in accordance with his tribes tradition. Though they do not share the same blood, they are both outcasts - shunned from the village for reasons unknown at the start. After an arduous journey, your caregiver hoists you into the air and shouts your name into the unforgiving wilderness:Aloy

Story

As the game begins, you are blissfully unaware of the threats that await you in the vast, beautiful world that Horizon Zero Dawn has created. The tutorial, which adeptly incorporates storytelling and character development with evenly-paced world-building, clues you in by introducing you to the machines: a dangerous remnant of a ruined civilization known as the Metal World.  As the game progresses you discover that your tribe (The Nora) are far from being the only civilization left on earth, and so of course you'll be confronting fellow humans as well. Amidst your thrilling battles against man and machine is the story of where you came from. Why were you outcast as a newborn? What is the meaning of the ruins of the Metal World? These questions and many more drive an engaging and vivid story across a wondrous and beautiful landscape.Horizon Zero Dawn has a huge world that begs to be explored, but it succeeds where many other open-world games fail in its management and control of the central plot.  Often I find myself wandering around in open world games because I'm not particularly interested in advancing the main plot. A strong storyline and expansive world with plenty of things to do are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and Horizon Zero Dawn is a great example of that; it deftly balances your curiosity in the larger world while also drawing you into the story on a broader scale.

Gameplay

I've commented before on my distaste for what many consider to be the greatest thing in gaming in the last few years - Witcher 3. With fantastic visuals, a compelling plot and staggeringly large world, it had similar success in balancing its open-world elements with its central plot. There was only one glaring flaw: the combat was terrible*. Thankfully, Horizon Zero Dawn offers a fantastic blend of action, strategy and speed as you take down enemies with your bow, spear, and an assortment of dangerous traps.Something that makes Aloy very different from her fellow Braves is her possession and mastery over a relic of the Metal World known as a Focus. By using this tool you can track machines movements and identify their weak spots. As the game progresses and the machines you face grow more and more dangerous, your reliance on this tool will be essential.The difficulty in this game is not to be underestimated. From early on, Horizon Zero Dawn will punish you if you fail to account for the types of enemies you are confronting. While early enemies such as the Watchers and Striders will be fairly easy to take down, it doesn't take long for larger packs to begin appearing. Charge in without a plan and you'll often find yourself on a fast-track to death.  The threat of the wilds is a real thing, and the hard-won victories in combat are more thrilling as a result.Besides your vast arsenal of weaponry, a key element of survival in the wilds is your ability to craft your own ammunition, as well as traps, potions and remedies of varying types. Each machine you destroy will yield valuable components or modifications that you can later use to enhance your own equipment, slowly transforming you into a lean, mean, machine-killing...machine. Right.As you level up, skill points can be used to acquire useful and/or deadly techniques, such as taking out a small machine or patrol silently from tall grass, or slowing time when you slide and aim your bow. The skill tree provides enough variety as to encourage experimentation of builds without overwhelming you with a needlessly complex system.

Graphics

I hate to beat a dead horse, but I'll take one more swing and confirm that Horizon Zero Dawn is indeed a gorgeous game. The forests, plains, lakes...even the cold and expansive ruins of the Metal World are all wonderfully brought to life. Furthermore, the movements of the various machines and animals you find in the wild help to draw you into the environment and lend to theIf you have the honor of playing this game on a 4K TV with a PS4 Pro, relish it.The terrific environments and overall beauty of the game make my major gripe even that much more frustrating: the character models are disappointingly (and creepily) stale.Faces are strangely immobile and incompatible with the heartfelt voice acting - another strong element of the game unfortunately impacted by the character models. In time you grow accustomed to it, but it still hamstrings the delivery of an otherwise strong plot.

Overall

If you're looking for a fantastic adventure that captures the wonder of Shadow of the Colossus, mixes in an open-world as wide and rich as Witcher 3 and tops it off with stimulating 3rd person combat that is sure to leave you breathless, Horizon Zero Dawn is the game you're looking for. It's an experience that is not to be missed, and is one of the strongest arguments for owning a PS4 Pro to date.