Anyone who travels frequently knows the phenomenon of reducing the distance when the same route passes several times. The first trip is always the longest because the experience unforgettable, and the migration of a route common to the trip every next time is less exciting. Similarly, in games, especially those sandbox type where bad design world can kill a sense of freedom if the toy is forced to keep coming back to a certain point on the map. Fortunately, open world of Horizon Zero Dawn is like the first trip – the world “grows” when the heroine Aloy go in searching for answers to personal questions but finds himself in a much larger and more important online event.
Introduction to post-apocalypse of this game is the perfect hit. Aloy knows the world beyond the small pieces of folders that you offered in the prologue. Begining itself lasts a long time, about two hours, and just when you limited territory becomes constricted, Aloy in wonder out in the rest of the world not knowing what there is – just like you do not know. I wish only that the developers completely blurred folder that size or a huge world to be a surprise for the players. This is the start to see where you can go, but at least you do not know what type of terrain in front of you – is that forests, jungles, deserts, frozen ground and the like.
World of Horizon Zero: Dawn is a beautiful place. Most of the time you spend in nature, which in itself has some locations in memory. Nevertheless, the design of the environment is such that you are guaranteed to run into scenes that look nice, be it at sunset breaking through the dense foliage, the moonlight bathed in the jungle, or the sight of the horizon with some mountains. Places of memory are reserved for towns and settlements for four tribes. Each race has a different culture, and the most luxurious one in Meridian, that could remind you that we have not got a game with a real atmosphere of ancient Egypt, or at least a game that is closer to that slump of Horizon.
„The design of the environment is such that you are guaranteed to run into scenes that look nice, whether the setting of the sun breaking through the dense foliage, or the sight of the horizon with some mountains.“
Meridian is also a place where you will usually come back because it serves as the main hub, which means that an open world Horizon is not completely devoid of running about the same routes. Fortunately, it is possible to reduce the minimum number of visits if the game, had access to the “hunting mode” – so the quests ends when you return to the city to sell resources and buy new equipment. The game is actually designed that you play as a hunter and it is different from similar titles as we saw earlier.
There are compromises , if you look at the details. The effects of water are below the standards expected of any of today’s games; Vegetation is mostly static and Aloy through it as if it does not exist; Transition weather conditions and time of day is often sudden and unnatural shown; loading textures occasionally delayed know and like. Anyway, it is impressive what the draw distance achieved even on the old model PS4 console, where we play and tested (all attached images are captured in the game, no extra beauty in photo mode)
It is also praiseworthy that Guerilla Games proved such a hit out of them with the familiar genre shooter. I think that this game had set sturdy foundation stone for further. We got a virtual world that definitely has a lot to offer and spread of this adventure for which you need an average of about 30 hours. It is said that every beginning is difficult but I believe that the transformation in the series Horizon future can only become better, I hope a little more original.
The five-year effort Guerilla Gamesa on this project resulted in a game that will mark the current generation as well as the era of the PlayStation 3 console, for example, marked the Uncharted and inFamous. Neither of the two series are not started with the masterpieces of the games, but later extensions have become the premiere exclusives the PlayStation brand. I have a very optimistic feeling to the same fate could experience the Horizon series, so I recommend you to stay with him for the “zero dawn”.
