Guerrilla Games made sure that Horizon: Zero Dawn did its best to provide a compelling and captivating story, an alluring world, and lovely yet dangerous machines. I’m impressed, the critics and all of the gamers also feel the same way — not all, sure, but denying the fact that its one of the strongest titles from Guerrilla Games since KILLZONE 2 then I would suggest you sit there at the corner buddy.
If you’re unsure whether your $59.99 (Php. 2,595.00) will be put into good use with Horizon or not, you can read my review. Or you can go through this list to help you decide.
Unique world and lovely yet deadly machinas.
The Earth is filled with daring and killer mechanical creatures that can step on you, rip you to shreds, and even burn you to death. These Fora mech-war machines, as what it’s called in Horizon by the Corporation, are the star. There are different kinds of them with distinct unique features that can be dangerous in its own way.
Humans are just fodders, a nuisance, you can put them down easily. Set them aside, and see the biggest (not tallest) horror of the Thunderjaw — your mech-tyrannosaurus-like creature. It has disc launchers, a rail-gun attached on its face, a huge tail that can definitely send you to the other side of the map — that’s over-exaggeration, so don’t worry, it does pack a punch though. You’ll definitely have your moment of battle, and its rewarding when you take it down. It’s not easy, even if you’re a level higher, I tell you.
One Beautiful World at Thousand Years After…
The world’s vastness and post-apocalyptic setting of Horizon is beautiful. Some of the things that makes its world dazzling is the presence of the aforementioned beasts, and the other is its gorgeous landscapes. You can climb on the tallest mountains and witness the fascinating view. Thanks to Guerrilla Games Decima engine, every detail of Horizon is such a great sight to catch. Pull that Photo Mode out and capture sceneries that are jaw-dropping and share them — try rappling down then pause the game to open Photo Mode and capture that moment.
Hunting is rewarding in every way possible. You have to take this section a bit serious. It needs strategic thinking and a quick reaction to which style of approach you’ll take. Big and badass machines like the Ravager and Sawtooth are worthy foes, attacking them head-on is just suicide. It may sound a bit hard and it will take patience to execute your attack perfectly; but it rewards you a lot more when you get to successfully take them out without taking a hit on your health points.
There is so much to discover in Horizon. The ancient artifacts and items, the holograms you can scan, and the audio recordings that unravels more of the game’s secrets and lore. You can go beyond 40 hours of gameplay, with hunting mechanics so polished that makes every kill satisfying.
No Cameras, Photo Mode Yes.
Now that I’ve mentioned Photo Mode, we’ve been getting a lot of this feature recently. The first game I experienced Photo Mode was with Batman Arkham Knight. It was easy to use, but the features were not too extensive, and that it wasn’t really a nice add-on given that Arkham Knight‘s setting was at night time. Uncharted 4 also has the feature, and I was amazed with its graphical achievement. Naughty Dog knows how to put you in a spot where you may want to use the mode — remember Madagascar?
Now, Guerrilla Games made Photo Mode better in Horizon. Kicking back Uncharted and Arkham Knight from the field to the bench. The ability to change the focus, aperture, and the simplistic switch to Photo Mode in every awesome scene you can capture are just impressive. Let Aloy run then do the slide-technique with your bow equipped while the Longleg jumps to kick you then hit that pause button and take that shot.
Mind-blowing Visuals! Smooth Frame-Rate! Yes!
Horizon is graphically demanding from how the game looks, and what each game needs is stability and optimization. The game looks great on the standard PS4, and even more so on the PS4 Pro with HDR and 4K resolution. It runs smoothly, and both of the standard and Pro versions are on par in terms of quality and performance. There are only very little to no frame-drops on major battles, and that’s remarkable especially from an open-world genre.
Take for example Watch Dogs 2 and Mafia 3, both of them had bugs, frame-pacing issues, and both titles are not even close to how visually catchy and mind-blowing Horizon is. If only developers would focus more on optimization and just delay games for a week or a month to make sure everything is set, then we’ll have more games like Horizon — optimization and stability wise.
Never Miss This Game Out!
Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the greatest RPGs of all time on Sony’s console. If you own a PS4, you better not skip and prioritize getting Horizon, because you’ll surely miss the ride of your life.
Currently available exclusively on the PS4.