First off, let me start by saying that this has got to be one of the most gorgeous looking games out there. I am running it on the PS4 Pro (so maybe I have some advantages over the normal PS4 and PS4 slim) but wow, this game is absolutely beautiful. The main character Aloy is also extremely beautiful, but that's another discussion for another time ;-)
Gorgeous cinematography and game play aside, it's also an extremely fun game with a particularly easy combat system that rewards you for using the correct ammo type and for hitting animal / machine weak points. Your main weapon is a bow that shoots a variety of different arrows, each having their own strengths (Fire, electronic, precision and even frost arrows). Luckily, you have a few other weapons at your disposal, such as a spear for close ranged attacks, traps and trap launcher guns (Probably my favorite weapon when I use it correctly).
Horizon Zero Dawn has a lot of Tomb Raider aspects to the game, but with more of the free world aspect from the Far Cry games. Don't worry - you don't have to walk everywhere as you will unlock the ability ("special magical voodoo stick" as I like to call it), that allows you to take over some of the machine animals so that you can ride and use them to attack or transverse the environment. The game map is absolutely massive with different dangers around every corner or, in this case, every hill.
"All we do is gather gather gather then we craft" (sung to the tune of "All I do is win" by DJ Khaled). Okay, it's not that bad and you can buy a lot of the things you need. A lot of games are going for this approach nowadays where they want you to craft items. I agree - it does give the game a more realistic aspect, but I still find it annoying. I wanna shoot and blow up stuff. However, Horizon has done it in a way that makes it tolerable. They have done this by giving you decent amounts of produces from gathering. This eliminates you having to cut down the entire forest because your character is so unbelievably bad at making arrows. Like, seriously? You live in the futuristic Hunter-gatherer times and you can't make arrows? How did you get this far? Thankfully, Horizon doesn't do this but rather goes for the "balanced" aspect giving you higher quantities when you gather. You still have to collect but you don't have to spend four days collecting to stock up your arrow collection because you went to Storm Trooper shooting academy.
If you have a PS4 and are looking for a new game, especially one that you won't finish in a couple of hours, then go pick up Horizon Zero Dawn. I highly doubt you will not enjoy this game. Unless, of course, you hate Tomb Raider, Far Cry, some gathering, bows, dinosaurs, machines, fun and gorgeous looking games. If this is the case. Minesweeper is the game for you!
This game does a lot of things right and you can see how much attention to detail went into the creation of this game. Have a look at each strand of hair on Aloy's head. Seriously. Look at the expression they make with the characters eye brows. There are a lot of small details that make this game absolutely incredible - besides the gorgeous graphics, fun combat (you can ride machines and shoot arrows at others while on the back!), intriguing story and lovable characters. Overall its an extremely solid and well-polished game.
Have a look at some of the footage from my live stream playthroughs of the game. It may contain spoilers. Don't say I didn't warn you!
All images were taken on the PS4 Pro and are at 3840 x 2160 (4K Resolution)
All images were taken on the PS4 Pro and are at 3840 x 2160 (4K Resolution)
