Release Date: 28/02/2017
Played On: PS4
Available On: PS4
Time Played: 58h 48m
Progress: 100% Complete/Platinum
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The last month has been a bit of a wild ride, as I'm trying to complete some of the more time-heavy games from last year. I was hoping to have posted some more, but have been having too much fun finishing NieR:Automata, Divinity Original Sin 2, and today's "focus"… Horizon: Zero Dawn.
This was the game that immediately drew comparisons to the cookie-cutter nature of Ubisoft open-world games. I was among those who rolled their eyes as the PR set at E3 tried telling us that this was unlike any other open-world game you've ever seen. To cut a long story short: it's definitely iterative and an excellent game, but if you're tired of the open-world treadmill, stay away. There are even more little icons on the huge world map than ever before… hell, there are even towers to climb and unlock more icons on the map.
Thankfully though, we don't have to listen to the swill PR people try and feed us to feint interest in their products. Thankfully Horizon: Zero Dawn has a lot more going for it than a stage demo orchestrated by a marketing department could ever portray.
Let's get the easy stuff out of the way first though. The game looks beautiful and lives up to its promise of being a big budget system seller. Sure there are all the usual limitations of it being a console game, but within the PS4 context this game looks incredible.
Fidelity isn't everything though, as a lot of the visual impact in Horizon comes from the interesting world and character design. I always love this kind of setting in a distant future that features a mix of primitive tribes and advanced technology. It sparks the imagination of designers and artists, as they have to imagine the type of world that would exist if our modern technology were artefacts.
This is where a lot of Horizon's visual identity comes into play, as there has clearly been a lot of time spent on getting it right. Aside from each tribe having their own style, each character you meet is sporting some unique combination of fabrics and broken machine parts. It becomes instantly understandable that these people take parts from the robots they hunt, and use them to fashion armour and trinkets of their own. While there are some cloned looks for repeated NPCs, most of the characters you talk to will have their own thing going on that serves to further develop their own story and personality.
Additionally, the machines themselves are an interesting re-imagining of natural analogues. There are the ones that look like horses, the ones that look like crocodiles, the ones that look like wolves, and so on. Most machines can be found around the world doing their thing in herds or groups, much like their IRL counterparts. As you progress through the game, they get bigger and stronger as you might expect, but they also have their own stories fleshed out, which was a welcomed justification to discover.
Early on I found myself a little disappointed that every machine I encountered in the wild, was simply a robot version of a real life animal. If this were the case then a lot of the intrigue would have been lost, as there'd be nothing to learn from an artificial version of a familiar construct. Fortunately the later-game machines are more unique and interesting, as well as there being more to the machines than originally assumed. I don't want to spoil anything, so let's just say that the problems I had with their design were later dissolved.
The really interesting thing about the machines, is how modular they each become as you engage them more often, and learn their weaknesses. This is a credit to the game's pacing as I found the difficulty curve provided by bigger and tougher enemies, was nicely balanced with my own progression into better weapons, armour, and skills.
It's nothing new, but it still remains satisfying to feel how easily you can bring down an enemy that previously felt impossible. Thanks to the game's clever combat mechanics, I was also able to take down some powerful machines a little earlier than I probably should have tried. In fact, I spent about half an hour chipping away at one of the toughest enemies in the game, only to come back ten levels later and destroy it within five minutes. Both versions of the fight felt good, as the first was a strategic battle against an impossible foe, while the next was a display of the power and skills I had acquired.
The combat mechanics feel a lot deeper than they actually are, as there's a certain aspect of planning that comes into each encounter. Machines all have specific weaknesses and strengths that cover the gamut of elemental and physical effects. Their modular construction means that you're able to target specific parts of each machine with specific weapons to inflict the most damage possible. For instance, a lot of the lower level machines have exposed canisters on their body that are weak to fire and will explode when hit with a flaming arrow. Hence, if you take the time to stock up on flaming arrows before attacking one of these machines, you'll have an easier time.
Take that all the way to the end-game enemies, which harbour a number of compartments, weapons, canisters, and other elements that can be targeted for different effects. Many of them will even have weak points that are only exposed under certain conditions. A machine might expose it's processing core to cool it down after it catches fire, which means a vulnerable target for any hunter who's prepared to strike at the right time.
Ultimately though, it comes down to the weapons and armour you choose for your loadout at any given time. Some armour is stealthy, others are strong, or resits certain elemental attacks, while there's a weapon for everything you can think of. Going into battle with the best combination of armour and weaponry can make a huge difference on any fight.
The downside to all of this diversity is that ammunition and upgraded armour are acquired through harvesting materials in the world. There are parts that you can loot from machines and trade with merchants, but there are also plants scattered across the landscape waiting to be picked. Finally there are a number of harmless animals like rabbits and turkeys, who can be hunted and looted for meat, skins, and bones.
The crafting system and economy are balanced well enough, but especially in the later portion of the game, I found myself being annoyed by it more and more, as acquiring the materials I wanted became more of a chore. Better ammunition requires more materials, but eventually you're not using anything other than the best ammo, so get ready to do more looting. What's more, to upgrade bag space and unlock various items from vendors, you need a bunch of loot that drops randomly. It took me ages to kill enough rats in the world until one of them finally dropped their skin so I could make a bigger ammo pouch.
I honestly think that Horizon does a good job with its crafting and economy, but it's a bit of a bummer in any game. Perhaps it's just me, but the last thing I want to do when I'm 40 hours into a game as a powerful badass, is go pick some herbs and wack a bunch of rats until one of them drops a bone. It's the kind of busy work that makes sense in the world, but isn't all that fun to play. Thankfully the excellent combat mechanics and interesting enemy design makes up for it.
In fact, after a while I ended up avoiding all the crafting systems I could manage. There's a whole bunch of elemental traps and potions that you can utilise in battles, but I never touched them after I realised all you need is a bunch of health potions and the right arrow for the job. It's the curse of RPG progression, but so much content can be ignored by the time you get to the second half of the game.
One part that stood out to me was the way that Horizon tutorial-ises its hunting mechanics. Around the world are a bunch of hunting grounds that will offer unique missions where you are tasked with taking down specific machines, in a specific way, within a time limit. I usually hate these kind of missions, as they usually act as nothing more than filler quests to bulk out the game. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that these hunting missions are essentially tutorials in the game for how to deal with certain machines. Each hunting ground has a theme like stealth, or traps, which teaches you how to use these different methods of hunting prey. I wish I'd attempted them earlier than I did, as I would have learned a whole lot from even attempting each challenge.
I could probably go on and on about the diverse machines and people that make up the world of Horizon, but it's probably best left to discover for yourself. Suffice to say that there's a surprisingly high level of variety in the world that keep the grind fresh and varied. Not only is each machine different, but different machines and people are often combined in an encounter, requiring new tactics and strategies to tackle.
What really makes Horizon: Zero Dawn great though, is its story, writing, and voice acting. I don't mention voice actors very often when talking about games, as they rarely stand out for me, but everyone needs a round of applause for their performances in this game. Most notably Ashly Burch who voices the lead/player-character Aloy.
Burch is showing up in more and more games these days, and I have to say that I approve. It's thanks to Burch's performance and some clever writing that Aloy ends up being a character that I actually care about and empathise with. What's more, I found myself wanting to high-five Aloy during some particular conversations, as she's a character that exhibits a certain nuance often overlooked in games.
For instance, there are a number of times when Aloy will contradict another character, or disagree with them when the generic response would have been affirmative. She's a character with her own voice, that remains throughout the story to the very end. Without giving anything away, there's a sweet moment in the end game where Aloy says a line relating back to the very start of the game. It's cutting and direct, but honest and truthful. It's easy to see why so many players love Aloy and her entire characterisation, as her design and Burch's performance combine to portray an exceptionally elegant depth and nuance.
Additionally, the story told throughout Horizon: Zero Dawn is ultimately a good one. There are a few end-game missions that end up being massive lore dumps, but there's a nice balance between complexity and interest. If you really want to dive in, there's a large number of text, audio, and video logs to discover, which all serve to further flesh out the story.
The main criticism I have against the game's plot, is that it's all weighted to the end-game. Perhaps it's because I chase after side quests before finishing the main path, but all the exposition seems to be left until the final act. There's a short introduction to get you going, then a whole lot of open-world icons on a map, then a final explosion of plot in the final moments. There's an odd balance between the open-world tropes, and the story that makes Horizon stand out and elevated it above its contemporaries.
In fact, I'd say that if you ignore the story in this game, it wouldn't be even half as interesting. Sure the mechanics and combat systems are interesting until you master them, but most of the game is standard open-world fare. It's a shame then to think that the fat middle section is so lacking in story, that it almost becomes a chore. I don't know how it could be improved, but when the endless plot-dump suddenly hits in the end-game, it feels way too compressed into the final few missions.
Having said all that though, I really enjoyed the story by the time I got to the meaty parts. Luckily I'd heard that it gets really good toward the end, so when I started waning I knew I had to hand in there. Hopefully most people will make it to the good stuff, but it's hidden behind so much progression that I wouldn't be surprised if anyone burned out before getting there.
On the other hand though, I wonder if all of this was done on purpose and is actually a result of some subtle design decisions. It's hard to assign credit to theories that come after the fact, but part of me wonders if the game makes you live in the world for a long time on purpose. Perhaps the weight of the story is left late, so that you'd be familiar with everything else in the world by the time it came around. Maybe the lore-bomb only feels like its dropped hard and heavy because it took so long to get there.
Honestly I don't know, but it would be interesting if that was actually the intension behind such a strongly weighted story arc. Despite everything though, Horizon's story is better than I ever expected it to be. There's nothing all that original in the plot, but it's presented in its own light and with its own spin on the genre. It's definitely worth exploring the world and finishing everything off to get the entire picture.
Sometimes I can't help comparing Horizon: Zero Dawn with NieR:Automata, which is a bit silly as they are very different games. However, there's a reason I chose NieR as my game of the year in 2017, even though it shares a few superficial similarities with Horizon. They both tackle the distant future/post-apocalyptic setting, but while Horizon sticks to the familiar and recognisable, NieR exercises its creativity and goes for the original and unexpected.
In a lot of ways, Horizon feels like the kind of game a big budget studio makes when they want to be risky. The vast majority of what's in the game is safe and generic, leaving a small percentage open for something different. I said at the top how there are still towers to climb that reveal more of the map, which is probably the most laughable open-world standard we know of these days. Even though Horizon turns the towers into machines that walk around a set path, they're still towers to climb and they still reveal more of the map and more icons to run to.
This is what I mean when I say that Horizon feels like a big budget taking some risks. They're the kind of risks that are acceptable, as most of the game still fits the conforming mould needed to ensure a certain number of sales. Even though the risky emphasis on story is very good, it pales in comparison to other unique experiences like NieR.
It's like when high school teachers put on a play: sure they're all acting like idiots which contrasts their usual authoritarian position, but they're ultimately crap because they're authoritarian teachers. I get that taking risks is hard for "triple A" companies with big budgets and big teams, but hopefully the success of something like Horizon: Zero Dawn will show them that it can actually pay off. Here's hoping they learn that it could pay off even more if they took some real risks for a change instead of muting everything original in their game.
There's no doubt that this game is an excellent game, and especially worth picking up when it's on sale on PSN. Even through its ups and downs, I enjoyed playing as Aloy immensely and even spent half a second considering new game plus.
It might not be as unique and original as its marketing wants it to be, but nothing ever is. Suffice to say that if you like big budget open-world games (as I do) then you're going to love this one. It's definitely up there as one of the better titles in the genre.