Horizon Zero Dawn - Review

“Change will not come in a single sunrise” – A review of Horizon Zero Dawn. 

Released in 2017 by Guerilla Games, Horizon: Zero Dawn is an open world adventure set on a post-apocalyptic Earth. This is one of the first open world games I ever played, and whilst I enjoyed it, did I love it?

Sadly not.

That’s not to say it’s a bad game by any stretch. The premise of the game is intriguing; much of human society and civilisation has been wiped out, and the planet is now dominated by machines which resemble animals, such as Grazers which resemble deer (although many of the machines are much less docile.) Humanity is now scattered into tribes across the land, and each tribe has its own story, its own customs and superstitions, and all are trying to survive and thrive despite the threat of these machines.

There is genuinely a lot to enjoy about this game. You play at the protagonist Aloy, a deeply likeable and resourceful woman who is driven by her need to understand her origins. I really love Aloy, and for a very long time her image was used on my PlayStation profile; she’s independent, strong willed and inquisitive but still incredibly compassionate and capable.

You also can’t really dislike the environment you find yourself in. Not only is it often staggeringly beautiful, full of rivers, ruins and waterfalls, but it’s also part of the gameplay. You can use tall grass when you need to be stealthy, helping you creep past – or creep to if you intend to attack – your enemies, and you have to be aware of the different ecosystems and what the weather is doing, as it can sometimes be used to your advantage. I love how alive this game feels; there are fish in the river, there is the sound of birds above you, there are tribes full of people, and there are always new discoveries to be made, making this is a really fun open world to explore.

The story isn’t bad. I must start with this; there’s a decent story to be found and you discover each part through exploration, finding data logs and exploring ruins to find out what’s going on. Unfortunately for me, though, the story just didn’t grip me. Again, it’s not that it’s bad, I just found it to be pretty predictable and not overly compelling, despite how much I liked Aloy.

The combat is overall a joy. I remember getting stuck on a boss relatively early on when I was still learning how to play, and the exhilaration I felt when I finally beat it was brilliant. It’s also a nice touch that you can scan your enemies to look for weaknesses, enabling you to think through your battle strategy before you launch into an attack. Each type of enemy requires you to use a different tactic as they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own behavioural patterns. This brings us on to the weapons, which is another positive. The ability to craft your own weapons and improve upon them is fun, and you have a pretty decent variety of weapons to choose from.

Unfortunately, though in order to craft you need to forage. Now I’m not against foraging; I actually love a good survival game and there’s something quite fun about sourcing your own materials. However, in Horizon: Zero Dawn it felt much more like a chore. Of course, the downfall of so many games is inventory management, and this is an area which I don’t feel is overly well designed in this game. Limited space is a huge issue, and I found it incredibly difficult to keep my inventory organised.

There are side quests to be found, but sadly I didn’t really enjoy them as much as I often would with other open world games. Does anyone actually enjoy fetch quests? I also found that a lot of the dialogue and interactions with NPCs was basic at best, and at worse facial expressions and dialogue options broke immersion for me completely. I also found that whilst Aloy is compelling, the same can’t be said for the vast majority of other humans you encounter, with other characters not experiencing the same development as Aloy. This lack of meaningful interaction with other human beings is something I did find disappointing.

This continues when you consider what it’s like to come up against human enemies, who unfortunately lack the brilliant and unpredictable nature of the mechanical enemies AI. This isn’t the end of the world as I’m really there for the machines, but it is a shame that the human battles don’t come close to the mechanical ones.

This is a fun game. I don’t hate it. I just don’t love it either. Aloy is a great protagonist, the combat on the most part is really fun, and the visuals are breathtaking. Unfortunately, though, the issues above mean I don’t count it as one of my favourites. Overall, it’s definitely worth playing and you’ll have fun with it, but be prepared for slight lags in the plot, disappointing side quests and a relatively predictable story.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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