Some Words on “Horizon: Zero Dawn”
I recently finished “Horizon: Zero Dawn”, and it instantly became one my favourite gaming experiences of all-time, let alone 2017.
Everything meshes together so well; gameplay, story, every bit of design. It amounts to each aspect having an almost addictive quality. Nooooo, not in the evil lootbox way, but in the sense that is just pure gaming fun. So here are some words:
Gameplay
The majority of gameplay revolves around combating machines, naturally, though there are small puzzles, detective elements, and a somewhat dated feeling climbing system sprinkled throughout. These sections don’t necessarily make or break the game, but it leaves some room for improvement in the future.
But onto the main attraction: hunting robo-dinosaurs and the like!
The combat provides a fun challenge and unpredictability that always left me wanting more. The enemies are varied and numerous, while the progression in robot-types inspires awe and fear in first instances. Seeing a monstrous Thunderjaw stomp towards you for the first time is both thrilling and terrifying.
“How do you expect me to kill THAT?!”
Of course, the bulk of the fun is learning patterns, weak spots and other vulnerabilities and using them to your advantage. Not to mention the endless joy that is taking control of robots and letting them do the fighting… wait, I might be proving a point made in the story… I’ll get back to that.
There is a crafting system for health, potions, various ammunition types and upgrading carrying capacity, it does its job, though certain aspects feel underutilized. I don’t think I crafted any type of resistance potion in my playthrough, simply didn’t feel the need.
Likewise, weapons and outfits can be modified, but it comes down to a game of using your highest percentage upgrades rather than true customisation of gameplay style. Combined with an abundance of mods given to you, it lacks any weight or strategy. As with some of the other small elements of gameplay, it doesn’t make or break the game, but there’s room to improve.
Story
Beyond the glory of toppling massive robots with just a bow and arrow and the superhuman ability to dodge-roll infinitely, where Horizon shines brightest is its story.
You play as Aloy, an outcast of a tribal society within a world overrun with machines. Throughout, there is an air of mystery: from Aloy’s origins, the state of the world and how it came to be, and the unknown threats posed to the New World.
Unraveling the answers to each mystery is compelling, and like a good book is a real page-turner, I’d call this game a good quest-burner. Each new piece of information leaves you itching for another, whether it comes through dialogue, audio logs or text logs, every bit of lore feels beautifully crafted and necessary to this world.
From the get-go, Horizon gave me the feeling that it wore its influences on its sleeves and for the better. Where it could have tried to just be those influences, it instead became something unique and very much its own. Even commenting on humanity’s relationship with technology can be a balancing act between a shade of realism and being hokey or clichéd, but it manages to be the former.
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Influences I got the feel of (mostly movie franchises, but the first to pop to mind):
- Terminator
- Alien/s
- Jurassic Park
- Life After People (a show looking at how the world would react if all disappeared at once. Nature reclaiming Earth over many years.)
- Far Cry / Ubisoft open-worlds
While it still can have moments of feeling formulaic, or that it might fall into a trope or two over the course of the narrative, there’s plenty of freshness to outweigh those moments.
If I had one criticism of the story, it’s more on the decision to reset the game world to just prior to the final quest after you’ve beaten it. It could’ve been technical limitations, I can easily see the changes to the world in the final act simply being set-pieces, but there’s a finality missing.
That said, it leaves some threads that will be interesting to explore in the inevitable sequel, or The Frozen Wilds DLC which I’ve yet to play.
Design
I’ve saved design for last, because as much as the gameplay and story can be wide in scope, compelling and thrilling, the design makes it whole.
Horizon is widely praised for being an absolutely stunning game visually and even that feels like an understatement. But the voice acting, music and ambient sound design is right up there with the visuals.
Walking through tall grass next to a rumbling stream, hearing the mechanical chatter of Grazers and Watchers in a nearby field. The sound of an arrow being drawn and released from the bow, striking metal as the chatter turns aggressive, the music swells, a battle begins.
It is immersive. That’s simply the best way to put it. Each biome, settlement, ruin, everything feels lovingly crafted. And that’s without even mentioning the creature design!
Without going into any spoilers, the animalistic (in some cases prehistoric) design of the machines flows well with the story, in addition to being a real sight to behold. Learning their origins intertwines with the narrative and therefore best left to the game to explain.
There are plenty of still moments where you’ll simply take in the view, listen to the ‘nature’, then rejoice when you remember there’s a Photo Mode. That’s an experience I love.
Those were some words on “Horizon: Zero Dawn”, just an impromptu review of a game I enjoyed immensely. If you’re a PS4 owner, put this on your must-play lists if you had put it off for a while like me.
Thanks for reading!
