Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

I came to Horizon: Zero Dawn late—several years late, in fact. It wasn't until a buddy of mine turned me on to the game that I even knew it existed. Boy, did I underestimate how much I'd love it. First off, the visuals are absolutely stunning. From the environment to the lighting to the characters and machines, they all contribute to make this version of Earth a fantastical place indeed. Then there's the gameplay. I'd never played anything like it, nor have I still (other than its sequels). It's dynamic, exciting, challenging, yet ultimately rewarding while refraining from being frustrating. Even having played Forbidden West now, Zero Dawn holds its own in terms of combat. But what really makes the game have a lasting impact are its characters and relationships, and its world steeped in stories. Aloy herself is a poignant and enthralling character. From the first moment we follow her as a child, I was invested in this inquisitive, competent, and tough individual. I think often of her discovery in the ruins ("Daddy sure does love his little big man.") and how it touches on the thing she's missing most at that point in time: a sense of belonging. Aloy's character development doesn't slow down for the rest of the story, either. You have to admire her tenacity as she takes on her society, then the world at large, never slowing no matter the setback she faces. In fact, I love her character so much she was the inspiration for a protagonist in one of my books, The Last Ranger. There are only a few things that hold back Horizon: Zero Dawn for me, and they're fairly minor. I'll admit to tiring of some of the repetitive side aspects to the game, and some of the side quests were less enthralling than others. But none of these truly detract from this towering success of a game. If you haven't played Horizon: Zero Dawn yet, do yourself a favor and snatch up a copy. You're in for the adventure of a lifetime.

Beautiful game, and if you bump up the dificulty it can be a great challange too. story pulls you in and keeps you guessing till the end. Highly recomended

The good: The protagonist of this game is one of the best written characters I've ever seen. She's full of personality, and while still selfless and kind, her heroic traits never flatten her or make her less compelling to follow. Her story maps perfectly into the themes of the world and both come to very satisfying conclusions by the end. The game is full of hunter-gatherer-inspired mechanics that make the world feel distinctly neolithic at the same time as apocalyptic. The animal-shaped machines all help maintain that combined atmosphere and the many hunting tools at your disposal invite you to plan and prepare ahead. The bad: Unfortunately all those excellent mechanics are either completely neglected or abused to the point of exhaustion. Time and time again the game shows the developer did not trust the playerbase. They did not trust the players to sit with a sparsely populated valley, because every two feet there are machines that will overlap with other machines so that you're always fighting a swarm. They also did not trust the player to be enjoy cracking a challenge with guile and cleverness because every other mission ends with a cutscene in which the protagonist stands in the middle of a field to be surprised by an army of machines and/or humans. So much for preparation. And finally they did not trust the player enough to handle scarcity, but also to be normal about crafting and looting. So you end up with a gigantic inventory full of crap that's way more than a human could carry, but somehow not enough to make what you need to survive in the wild. Every battle you churn through more material than someone would find in a lifetime. The economy of the game collapses in the first act. I can't help but lament how the dumb genre requirements (huge map, infinite enemies, tons of crafting and lots of action combat) prevented the world to feel as alive and real as the story and the invididual mechanics promised.

The story is bland, the characters are uninteresting. The combat and graphics are nice, but get tiring. After a while, you realise it is just a very long game in which nothing holds your intrigue and playing it feels like a chore.

This is doubtlessly a great game. Fantastic graphics, imaginative and varied world, excellent sound-work, good tension arc. I'd peg it more as an action-rPG with a minor 'r', because you, as a player, have very little choice in shaping the story. Occasionally you get to pick among 3 options (which are always 'angry/forceful', 'clever/deflecting', and 'empathetic/nice'), but that's all. The game is extremely combat heavy with some storytelling cutscenes, so don't expect building/using any social skills. Stealth gameplay is decent, but you will starve yourself of XP and mats and you will end up in forced (boss/arena-style) fights anyway, so... meh. Exploration feels quite thin, with collectibles too sparse to make for enjoyable hunting, yet if you get the maps for them, the 'hunt' deteriorates to 'run to map marker to pick up stuff'. That said, some of the vistas in the game are the most beautiful I've ever seen, so it's still worth it to stop and sniff the roses, as it were. The story captivated me, I loved all the hidden texts and holos you could collect to learn about the lore. But... I cannot avoid mentioning one thing which really did annoy me in the end, despite me trying my best to just ignore it: The game is extremely heavy-handed in communicating the general feeling of 'men = evil, stupid, or weak' vs. 'women = good, clever, and strong'. I prefer female protagonists and I do love well-written characters of either gender, but this game could have done with a bit more balance.