Review: Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)

If you are looking for an all-around great action adventure and shooter game set in a prehistoric looking era with futuristic enemies, this is the game for you. I always described Horizon Zero Dawn as the perfect mix between Farcry Primal and Witcher 3. You are in control of Aloy, a red-headed firey outcast who must fend for herself most of the way through the game, fighting corrupted machines that resemble dinosaurs and other vicious predators. I admire that she has defining face features and isn’t just your typical cast model Japanese character. Your conversations with other tribes and individuals, along with found datapoints will help set the path for peace and help you gather information about your past relations with the corrupted machines.

The game is mostly linear with main missions progressing the story with exclusive cut-scenes but the side missions are plentiful. The inventory is easy to use, it is super easy to equip and change weapons in-game and in-menu (similar to Farcry), and I admire that you can go about exploring in the world to find items to craft the best weapons in the game. Once you master the ability to take down robotic giants with certain types of weapons based on their weaknesses, it becomes a matter of being stealthy in your endeavors. I personally played this game on Hard difficulty and found it actually somewhat difficult to pass certain points. I wracked my head around trying to beat the guild challenges just to get the PSN trophies and luckily managed to finish all of them.

Aloy’s helpful hud machine, the Focus she wears on her ear, comes in handy when tagging multiple enemies or trying to scan for weaknesses. Her magical spear can override machines and I love when games allow you to ride horses (whether they be mechanical or not). You can have machines fight machines and just sit there and watch them battle it out! The game is very dynamic and intuitive but it is interesting that there are bushes of red everywhere that just seems to be the same color as Aloy’s hair so you can hide in them. Sometimes, hiding in those red bushes is the only thing that can save you from being spotted and one-hit killed.

The storyline is terrific, easy to follow and there is a running plot. You feel like a hero at the end of the game and that is really what you are – considering you seem to be the only one who can override corrupted machines. The graphics are phenomenal and the game features a photo menu setting where you can take screenshots of your favorite scenes or poses of Aloy. These new share features are definitely something I look forward to in future games. I took around a month to complete this game on Hard with a platinum trophy on PS4 and I really enjoyed all of it.

I would rate this game a 9.5 out of 10.

Reviewed on Playstation 4.

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