Horizon Zero Dawn

- Reviewed on PS4 -

Horizon Zero Dawn released on February 28th, 2017.

Guerrilla Games outdid themselves with this title as Horizon Zero Dawn is one of my all time favorite games to revisit and play!

Horizon Zero Dawn has great replayability as you can play different styles (stealth, force, etc.) each playthrough using the many different weapons, suits, upgrades, and so on. 

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

You can tell (at least I can) when a developer truly cares about their main protagonist (and at times their antagonist) when they give so much back story relating to those / that character(s).

The story of Horizon Zero Dawn surrounds an outcast named Aloy who (SPOILER) unfortunately losses her childhood trainer / father figure / guardian, Rost to one of the main antagonists Helis. 

Beginning the game as a young Aloy and learning the basics of the game's mechanics is / was a brilliant way to introduce not only the concept of Horizon Zero Dawn but immediately attach the player(s) to Aloy as a human being. 

Ashly Burch has coincidentally voiced many game characters in lots of my all-time favorite games, and this is (in my opinion) one of her best works! 

Her voice acting for Aloy was amazing beginning to end and you can tell when an actor truly believes in her / his role, that a masterpiece of media (art) is the outcome / end result. 

Moving on to the gameplay aspect of Horizon Zero Dawn, this game has one of the most fluent and smooth controls / movement I ever experienced and this is one of the reasons why I always end up coming back to this title as it is a joy to play.

If you think about a hobby / game that you know will have a negative aspect to it, whether that be bad voice acting, lighting, controls, etc. your mind always tends (at least for me) to keep away from that piece of work. 

Speaking of controls though, I unfortunately have to bring up the swimming and riding controls as they are absolutely terrible. 

Not specifically the controls themselves, but the long animations that aren't skippable while playing can get annoying and makes me not want to swim or ride machines at times. 

When I say ride machines, this is an option because (if you don't already know) the world of Horizon Zero Dawn is filled with dinosaur / animal like robots that Aloy (the player) can hunt, ride, override, scrap, etc. 

Modifications are crucial to your (Aloy) survival in this world taken over by machines. 

These modifications can have fire, ice, shock, and corruption (and more) qualities to them. 

Making sure to collect these modifications is important and not that hard at all to achieve as they are included in reward boxes, machine loot, and much more. 

These modifications also have rarity types like common, rare, super rare, etc. 

Music in Horizon Zero Dawn has that great tribe like, hollow chant feel that truly blends in with the world Aloy lives in. 

One big aspect to the game I love is the photo mode that Guerilla Games actually put in, after the launch of the game. 

Using many different features like Depth of Field, Hiding, Frames, Greetings, Body Poses, Facial Expressions, etc. users of this feature can create masterpieces of art that I am glad to be apart of.

I am actually really impressed with the fact that there are no replica humans (NPCs) in such a huge, open world like Horizon Zero Dawn.

Previous games that are open world and have long plots would normally (not all the time) use similar character (NPC) models but just change little features like clothes or hair. 

In Horizon Zero Dawn everyone is different and unique and that is truly special while playing the game as it immerses you further into Aloy's point of view. 

Loading times for this game can be a bit of trouble (be annoying) while first loading the game or fast traveling (at least for me on PS4).

But besides the loading times and the swimming / riding controls, this game is a huge success in my eyes, as this was my introduction to Guerilla Games and they did not disappoint in making a great introduction!

Pros: 

    - Outstanding Story Telling / Plot
    - Well Thought Out, Character Back Story (for Aloy)
    - Perfect Music for Genre of Game
    - Voice Acting on Point with All Interactions 
    - Wonderful Game Mechanics (Photo Mode, Modifications, Combat, etc.)
    - Great Graphics 

Cons:

    - Bad Riding / Swimming Controls
    - Long Loading Times (at least on my PS4)

My Rating for Horizon Zero Dawn (on PS4):

5 / 5


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All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



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