Horizon: Zero Dawn - Staggering fights and incredible graphics gives an epic experience

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Guerilla Games, a game development studio based in The Netherlands, behinds titles like Killzone takes a 180 degree turn and goes for an epic, explorable post-apocalyptical setting. Initially Guerilla Games got a lot of criticism for this move, but now with the finished product in hand, many of the old skeptics get to hang their heads in shame as the history and destiny of Aloy and planet Earths unveils.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a action role-playing game, with the action elements taking a precedent. We take control of the banished archer Aloy in a crippled civilization that has been thrown back to the stone age in its development but time-wise we are thousands of years into the future. Corrupt, lethal robots roam the environment and the remaining living humans are living in a society built by tribes, where resentment, conflict and hate exists between them. Except for Aloy's quest to find and fight the cause of the corruption that has crippled the human race so severely she also want to solve the mystery of her own past and find her true place in the world.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - the most beautiful game to ever hit a gaming console

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The world that you will explore comes delivered to you in a fully open-world format and invites for exploration in the pace and to the extent that you as a player feel most comfortable with. The dramatic landscape drives my thoughts against games like Skyrim, with high snow-capped mountains, escarpment forests and mysterious ruins left from the previous humans that inhabited this place. All this is delivered in a graphic and with such care to details that my chin keeps falling to the floor time after time. Were talking insane graphics here on a extremely big scale, giving its an open world and all. The rendering distance is ridiculously good, lighting is spectacular and the flowing, high grass looks so soft you wanna take a nap in it.

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Not all robots are actively seeking to mangle Aloy. Some just like to chill in the grass peacefully. That is, until you get to close.

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Are you sporting a Playstation 4 Pro and a 4k-tv at home? Well, congratulations - Horizon Zero Dawn makes it abundantly clear that the current gaming generation is in zenith. You cant really get anything better then this under the hardware that exists out there today. When we, after a long intro, finally get to run and jump trough the terrain every soft sun ray that breaks trough the pale trees in a distant forest makes you sometimes just stop and stare in awe. The orchestral soundtrack helps with the epicness and also provides a good "cherry-on-the-top" for the artistic feeling the game gives.

Once you get out of your coma from the awesome jaw-dropping graphics, you will notice some slight lip-sync error in dialogues, and the characters you interact with can sometimes move a bit edgy. Aloy and some of the other main characters in the game are triple-A grade well done, but this world has many inhabitants with some who might not have gotten the same care as the main npc:s got. The water effects could also be better, both visually and interaction wise.

Sweaty battles and tight controls

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Aloy is equipped with a scanner called a Focus. With this she can scan enemies to find their weakness. You may also use it to scan the environment for items and Easter eggs

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As Aloy goes out on her journey a rich flora of both human and mechanical foes will cross her path, with the mechanical foe fights being a tad more interesting in this case. At first you will just dominate som easier targets as runner robots and scouts, but as we progress trough the world and game more formidable enemies appear. They all have their weakness, but when a giant 2 ton metal-colossus is ravaging towards you while firing a dozen giant grenades and comes with meter-long tusks right in the height of your solar plexus, it is not always the easiest to think exactly where to aim with the bow (i told you it was more action then RPG remember?).

Many fights are actually very hard in Horizon Zero Dawn - often all that it takes for Aloy to visit the promised land is a few strikes - but the controls are very responsive so at least you have a chance. We roll, jump and dodge frictionless. It would have been welcomed with a lock on-function though in my opinion.

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Stealth plays a large role in Horizon: Zero Dawn. You can hide in tall grass and behind trees to get the upper-hand on your enemies.

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The arsenal we have in our disposal is relatively small, but damn it's good and very upgradeable once you find the correct resources. Except for the close-combat fighting spear there is an array of different types of bows, slings and traps with the potential to even do some elemental damage. More difficult fights will demand multiple weapon switches, which you can seamlessly do trough a quick selection-menu. Trough this we can also craft ammunition for our weapons on the fly, right in the heath of battle. You can also self heal yourself with different potions and healing herbs on traveling foot.

The joy of exploration and flower picking

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The acting world of Horizon: Zero Dawn should be enough for even the most demanding explorer. The large map is divided into sections of varying climate-zones and has plenty of interesting places to explore. There are side quests to complete and some errands you can run to keep us occupied while not going trough the main storyline, and besides that we more than once fall into complex cave-systems that lead us to secrets and rare items.

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Giddy up cowboy! Aloy can sneak up and hack certain robots, thus taming and riding them. No more walking for me, no sir.

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The collection aspect in Horizon Zero Dawn does take a salient position in the game. Earlier we have seen many examples of certain games taking the concept way to far in my opinion. In Horizon it works pretty good, much thanks to the joy of traveling around the beautiful open world. This world is riddled with an abundance of plants, machine arts and animals skins that can quickly be tracked and harvested. Aloy moves nimbly trough the landscape in much the same way Lara Croft from Tom Raider would do, but with less emphasize on climbing and acrobatic movements. Some of the robots you are able to hack to then tame them. After taming a robot you can ride it and enjoy a quicker journey on your new mount.

Characters that give and take

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Aloy is a sympathetic protagonist with a story which we get to follow since the very beginning. She goes trough many bewildering events on her journey to adulthood, which clearly contributes to the person she seems to become. The other characters are pretty generic and its rare that we meet friends and often we meet enemies.

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A dynamic day/night cycle gives room for some stay-and-stand views. Did anyone say breathtaking?

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The voice-acting is okay, but out heroin has an annoying habit of wanting to talk to herself. Sometimes to help us solve a problem, but also when she picks somethings up, becomes wet after a swim or happens to slip down a slope. Some of Aloy's comments are just flat or kind of stupid that you get irritated - it just does not feel like it does justice to the other aspects of the game.

Something old, and something new

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When i play any game i can't help my self to compare it to other titles. In Horizon: Zero Dawn titles like Elder Scrolls, Tomb Raider and Uncharted has given some clear inspiration, but Guerilla Games has managed to create an all-around experience that really takes everything that works, and disses everything that does not. The unique influence i can see is the overgrown environments - fantasy-inspired, mystical and lethal. And then there are those frequent picks of excellent fights for life and death with a multifaceted and impressive enemy gallery.

This is a action game with an capital A, the RPG elements are pretty quickly worked trough. You cant make Aloy a certain class or role, but instead you increase her efficiency in those areas you are most interested in like archery, near-combat and resource collecting. Guaranteed you have already managed to buy all the skills before ending the game. Some might see this as a disappointment, but this game seems to have taken the approach of awesomely epic action moments instead of putting points in a skill tree.

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While some enemies are horse-size big, others look like walking skyscrapers.

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Concluding

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I feel confident in saying the Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of 2017's best games of the year. With it's stunning graphics, truly entertaining action sequences and a fantastical designed game world Aloy sets her claws in me right away. The exploring, the story and all the side quests and challenges will keep you entertained for many, many hours.

This impressive title has to bow a little to other titles in the genre though, as this feels like a mix of all the best games i played lately, but that doesn't sound to bad though eh?

Trailer

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Released March 1, 2017 to the PS4.

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Diablo III - Rise of The Necromancer
Dishonored 2 - Death Of The Outsider
Bloodborne - Hunt Your Nightmares
Horizon: Zero Dawn - A lush post-apocalyptic world
Conan Exiles - Survive, Build & Dominate The Hyborian Age
Agony - A Hellish Trip Into Madness
Skull & Bones - Become The Ultimate Pirate
Overwatch - Fight For The Future

Source

1. https://www.playstation.com/sv-se/games/horizon-zero-dawn-ps4/