Bnelson05 Horizon Zero Dawn Review

I absolutely loved every second of this game and highly recommend it to anyone interested. HZD is easily one of my favorite games. In the past, I’ve convinced a few people to try it, and they were equally blown away by it. I personally loved it so much that I’ve beaten it 3 times. Whether you’re looking for a game with an interesting world and an engaging story, or you’re just someone who enjoys the idea of fighting robotic dinosaurs with a bow, this is the game for you.   Here are some things I loved about this game: Plot: I won’t give a lot of details so as not to spoil the incredible story but essentially, you play as Aloy; an outcast from her tribe who finds an advanced piece of technology called a focus. Through this focus, she learns about the world, how it became the way it is, and her place in it. As the game progresses, it carries you through tales of the past and present through engaging cutscenes, dialogue, collectibles, and environmental storytelling. As more pieces of the story fell into place, I found myself growing more and more invested in it. I can’t overstate how incredible it is both in its uniqueness and its impact.   Gameplay: Being an open word game, you’re free to go about things however you wish. If you prefer to rush the main story, you can. If you’d rather do side quests, there are plenty available with each of them being incredibly engaging. If you choose to rush the main story, it can take about 22 hours. If you strive for 100% completion, that can easily take over 50 hours. There are many choices to make that can have a variety of consequences though they don’t affect the main story much. The combat in this game is hands down the best I’ve ever encountered. There are a variety of weapons that allow and encourage different play styles. If you prefer stealth, you can lie in wait, analyze the behaviors of different enemies, lay traps, and pick them off one by one. If, instead, you prefer to go in guns blazing, that’s equally acceptable. I personally feel the game’s combat was most enjoyable when analyzing weak spots to damage as you slide under, jump over, and dodge enemies. That’s where the combat shines most. Being able to damage components to disable certain attacks or even knock off weapon to use against the machines never gets old. It’s said a lot about games but the combat in HZD is the definition of fluid and rewards a well-planned approach. Through this combat, you acquire parts that can be sold or used to upgrade armor, weapons, pouches, etc. You also gain experience that can be used to unlock new abilities. At risk of oversimplifying things, this is what the main gameplay loop boils down to. Get quests, fight enemies, unlock new tools and skills, take on bigger enemies, and do more quests. For me, this never got old because the enemies always feel like they’re genuinely intelligent and the quests are very well made. Even just wandering around is fun because the world is so beautiful and there’s always something to find.   Performance: This game ran incredibly well for me both on the original ps4 and the original ps5. Anything newer than the original ps4 has access to improved graphics settings but even the settings on the original ps4 were beautiful. I very rarely had any stuttering issues and the game never crashed for me. On the ps4 and ps4 slim, the game runs at 30fps and goes up to 1080p. On the ps4 pro it runs at 30fps but goes up to 4k. And on all ps5 models, it can go up to 60fps and 4k. The accessibility of this game is great too as it includes options for subtitles and colorblind settings.   Setting: The more I played this game, the more I fell in love with its world. The environmental storytelling is incredible, and every shot is beautiful. There’s a huge range of biomes ranging from arid deserts to mountains to snow covered tundras. Everywhere you go, the world feels alive. Exploration is greatly encouraged both by collectibles and the interesting sights and lore to be discovered. On top of these natural locations, there are also some very interesting man (or machine) made locations. The various towns you come across are all very unique and well designed. I won’t spoil what they are because your first time finding one is incredible but there are also locations called cauldrons that are some of the coolest locations I’ve ever seen in a video game. The way this game blends post apocalyptic, futuristic, and tribal aesthetics is amazing and leads to an extremely unique world.   Characters: As you play, you encounter various characters that you may develop a relationship with (whether that be friend or foe). So many characters in this game are dripping with personality and have rich backstories. Over time you make friends with a variety of characters who help you on your journey. I personally got very attached to these characters and had moments where I genuinely feared for their safety and there were a few times I cried for them which I don’t do often. All these characters are great, but the star of the show is Aloy. I absolutely love how she’s portrayed. She starts off not understanding social situations much due to being an outcast, but she always maintains a charming boldness and displays a very strong sense of self. As the game goes on you watch her grow and develop as a person as she finds her place in the world and gets more accustomed to people. Her character growth is amazing. Her voice actress does an incredible job of delivering her lines to sell any emotion she has. All the voice acting in this game is incredible, really.