Thrill of the Hunt

I liked Killzone. Killing Helghast was rewarding particularly because Guerrilla Games, a European based company, really wanted you to feel like you were killing Nazis. They might argue that point but we all remember thinking it and having a blast doing it. The following Killzone’s were okay. They didn’t blow anyone’s socks off but did a decent job introducing the next consoles visual capabilities – even if that wasn’t the final product. I’ll admit, I wasn’t totally interested in Horizon. I was glad that they were exploring new territory as a studio and there’s a lot of risk in developing new IPs. What peaked my interest was Kojima eyeballing their tech and desire to work with them. I’m a MGS fan before anything else when it comes to games and if my personal hero saw potential in these guys then I better step off my pedestal and see what’s happening.

I’m happy to say that I was thoroughly pleased by Horizon. Two biggies: combat and atmosphere are top notch. When I first approached the City of the Sun I was stunned and eager to adventure on. As Aloy, I’d walk around the city, simply observing the people, the architecture, the surrounding life and imbedded cultural differences. When I’m not drooling over the beauty of the city I’m stunned by the abundance of floral animation. Weather patterns and day/night cycles were photographic (and yes, I took many screenshots). I really wanted to live in the game.

I often found myself eyeing the mountainside, wondering if I could scale it. I’d forget the predatory threats behind me. Combat in this game is as beautifully refined as the graphics – unless I was fighting a Rockbreaker or Thunderjaw. As fun as it was to take out every other machine in this game, those two were merciless challenges and despite my every effort to avoid damage it seemed fruitless. Those two creatures aside, the hunt of the machine was thrilling and engaging. The hunt is the reason for owning this game. It boils down to traps, skill, and wit. Once you track the path of a machine, are you able to outsmart it and avoid the detection of others? The constant change in machine dynamic made every encounter exciting. Some herds were unexpectedly traveling with others and it forced me to plan my attack. I appreciated such challenges.

The narrative is good. It’s a not-so-original story but I had a lot fun meeting new characters and assisting where I could. Aloy is a glorified Good Samaritan. The most interesting parts of the narrative are when characters change around you. These changes aren’t necessarily affected by your decision making (choosing how to emote through dialogue was super silly in this game) but rather are affected by characters own arcs. The story was most engaging then. Aloy’s purpose, discovery and mission was fine but not as meaningful as the one-on-one relationship developments.

Crafting and looting was neat. Oddly though, I enjoyed collecting over crafting. I think this is because the crafting was streamlined for the casual audience. Obtaining the hearts of the machines for your crafting or purchasing needs was the most challenging – refer to paragraph three for how badass the combat was.

By the end of my journey – close to 30 hours – I had finished nearly every side quest, completed my skill tree and accomplished the main journey. The game surprised be and I really think that Guerilla Games has a solid franchise on their hands. The largest challenge they face is not necessarily meeting their own set standard, but now the standard of other open world games. You’ll read about how Horizon: Zero Dawn doesn’t revolutionize open world games, and it’s true. However, considering this ambitious installment I think they could very well change the game with the sequel. The future is bright for this series. If you have a PS4, Horizon: Zero Dawn is definitely one worth owning.