Horizon: Zero Dawn Thread

[yell0wf0x]

So, I just wanted a separate thread to discuss everything about this new IP. Gotta say, Sony has got their hands on something special here. 

I gotta say, I'm really impressed with this game. Technically, gameplay wise, and story wise. The world building makes me want to know more!

I'm currently in the desert area and I'm just exploring about looking for machines to hunt. It's so satisfying taking them down with a bow. 

So yeah. Discuss away~ 

[Tsuujou]

I really REALLY want to play this game something immense. I've been playing Breath of the Wild a lot this week but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want Horizon a little more. Combat and exploring looks really fun.
But No PS4. :C

[Hewge]

I got 100% completion on it yesterday and the entire experience was quite wonderful. Did everything there was to do before even finishing the main story without realising it, until I bothered looking at my trophy and collection status. The world and story are very unique and intriguing. Pretty refreshing to get something so different, for once.

If any of you end up playing this, I recommend playing on max difficulty. It naturally encourages you to make use of all of the tools at your disposal, and all the tools in Horizon is what makes the combat fun.
It's also just more rewarding.

My only cons for the game is the lip-sync is very off at times, but it's easy to not take notice of it after a while of playing. Also, the loot box system is pretty underwhelming. Lame loot boxes.

[Lucyfish]

So this game looks interesting. It also looks a lot like Witcher 3 in terms of gameplay and story building. Is this a good comparison to make?

Cuz I loved Witcher 3.

[QT Melon]

Guerilla Games definitely went in the right step with this game. Their gaming engine. Decima is rather impressive. It got Kojima to use it for his next game Death Stranding.The company is not American which may account for why the lip syncing is a bit off. The graphics fidelity in this game is phenomenal. While Zelda Breath of the Wild will take awards for having innovative gameplay, Horizon should take rewards for taking tried and true gameplay, in with a new IP and refines it.

I find the world fascinating and you invest in a character that isn't there to look hot. I mean why would she need to wear makeup and stilettos out in the wild to survive? Her quips are humorous, and you invest in her because she feels more like a believable person. There are really few and far between loading times if you're not constantly fast traveling. The gameplay to cutscene transition is amazing. There is a lot of interesting lore for this game, and I'm sitting around trying to figure out the mystery and then getting just as easily distracted because a rabbit/turkey/boar/fox passed by and I need to kill it. Or I will run around and gather/pick everything instead of doing the next quest.

Being open world is not without its glitches. I've encountered a few dead floating machines, I also don't like how rubbery the people look at times. Something about Aloy's in game model versus her closeup model looks a bit off. I also tend to get annoyed at the 3 zoom/panning in on a character in shots during dialog. It just looks strange that you're talking to someone, and 3 seconds later super closeup for no reason. It kinda of takes away them being "living breathing NPCs" with sticking to the same 3 shots when you interact with them during quests. I also had a few times where the character I was speaking with looked posessed because their eyes were rolled up constantly - it's a minor glitch, but it certainly gave me some nightmare fuel.

The artistic side of me is enjoying the photo mode feature in the game. There makes some great references on landscapes or wallpapers depending on how you use it. None of these were processed through an imaging program, these are all in game shots with the feature. You can use filters, take out Aloy, change the angle, exposure and vignette

Control-wise the combat is still pretty easy to get used to. Learning to use your tools and plan for situations is a must.There's no "Wrong way" to play unless you died But you can set up your own challenges and figure out how to use tools to your advantage. While you may be the classic POWER LEVEL RPG person, know that you will still die in a few hits if you don't equip properly. This means the gear you wear as well.

On a side note it was interesting to find familiar artists, like Loish had some contribution to making this game.

http://blog.loish.net/post/156842370548/some-concept-art-i-created-for-guerrilla-games-of

 

[yell0wf0x]

19 hours ago, Hewge said:

I got 100% completion on it yesterday and the entire experience was quite wonderful. Did everything there was to do before even finishing the main story without realising it, until I bothered looking at my trophy and collection status. The world and story are very unique and intriguing. Pretty refreshing to get something so different, for once.

If any of you end up playing this, I recommend playing on max difficulty. It naturally encourages you to make use of all of the tools at your disposal, and all the tools in Horizon is what makes the combat fun.
It's also just more rewarding.

My only cons for the game is the lip-sync is very off at times, but it's easy to not take notice of it after a while of playing. Also, the loot box system is pretty underwhelming. Lame loot boxes.

I'm definitely sold in the world building.  I just finished all tall necks so now I can see the whole map. Time to do everything there is. 

I agree with Max difficulty. I started with very hard and haven't regretted it. The feeling of defeating yer first Thunderjaw was so satisfying. 

Lip sync is so so, but I never really get to see it most of the time, I usually just read and press x most of the time. 

18 hours ago, Lucyfish said:

So this game looks interesting. It also looks a lot like Witcher 3 in terms of gameplay and story building. Is this a good comparison to make?

Cuz I loved Witcher 3.

It's sort of like a love child between the Witcher 3, assassin's creed, rise for the tomb raider, far cry 3 and primal, and most open world games. Game orgy! 

But yeah, I haven't played Witcher 3 yet so I'm not sure how I could compare it, but so far, I really want to know more. I'm invested. 

18 hours ago, QT Melon said:

Guerilla Games definitely went in the right step with this game. Their gaming engine. Decima is rather impressive. It got Kojima to use it for his next game Death Stranding.The company is not American which may account for why the lip syncing is a bit off. The graphics fidelity in this game is phenomenal. While Zelda Breath of the Wild will take awards for having innovative gameplay, Horizon should take rewards for taking tried and true gameplay, in with a new IP and refines it.

I find the world fascinating and you invest in a character that isn't there to look hot. I mean why would she need to wear makeup and stilettos out in the wild to survive? Her quips are humorous, and you invest in her because she feels more like a believable person. There are really few and far between loading times if you're not constantly fast traveling. The gameplay to cutscene transition is amazing. There is a lot of interesting lore for this game, and I'm sitting around trying to figure out the mystery and then getting just as easily distracted because a rabbit/turkey/boar/fox passed by and I need to kill it. Or I will run around and gather/pick everything instead of doing the next quest.

Being open world is not without its glitches. I've encountered a few dead floating machines, I also don't like how rubbery the people look at times. Something about Aloy's in game model versus her closeup model looks a bit off. I also tend to get annoyed at the 3 zoom/panning in on a character in shots during dialog. It just looks strange that you're talking to someone, and 3 seconds later super closeup for no reason. It kinda of takes away them being "living breathing NPCs" with sticking to the same 3 shots when you interact with them during quests. I also had a few times where the character I was speaking with looked posessed because their eyes were rolled up constantly - it's a minor glitch, but it certainly gave me some nightmare fuel.

The artistic side of me is enjoying the photo mode feature in the game. There makes some great references on landscapes or wallpapers depending on how you use it. None of these were processed through an imaging program, these are all in game shots with the feature. You can use filters, take out Aloy, change the angle, exposure and vignette

Control-wise the combat is still pretty easy to get used to. Learning to use your tools and plan for situations is a must.There's no "Wrong way" to play unless you died But you can set up your own challenges and figure out how to use tools to your advantage. While you may be the classic POWER LEVEL RPG person, know that you will still die in a few hits if you don't equip properly. This means the gear you wear as well.

On a side note it was interesting to find familiar artists, like Loish had some contribution to making this game.

http://blog.loish.net/post/156842370548/some-concept-art-i-created-for-guerrilla-games-of

 

Gotta say guerilla did good with this one. I'm enjoying photo mode as well! I try to take action shots but somehow, the combat has always got me on edge. 

[Hewge]

21 hours ago, Lucyfish said:

So this game looks interesting. It also looks a lot like Witcher 3 in terms of gameplay and story building. Is this a good comparison to make?

Cuz I loved Witcher 3.

It takes a lot of obvious inspiration from things Witcher 3 did, which is a good thing.
Also, I think some Witcher 3 developers may have helped out in making this game, specifically with the side-quests. I can't really confirm that though.

Speaking of side-quests; they're pretty good in Horizon. Not quite as in-depth as Witcher 3 side quests, but I didn't do a single quest that just felt like a generic fetch quest.
Each quest tends to spin-off into its own little story, or at least lead you somewhere of real interest.
 

[QT Melon]

One of the other things I really like about this game are the loading times. There's really very few load screens to go through. If you are using Fast Travel you will get one, but most of the time saves are rather instant. This really surprised me because I'm so used to loading times for graphic heavy games. Due to this it gives the game a really good immersive feel. You can even adjust your UI to make it more so.

[Shiro]

Tbh, everything leading up to the ending of this game was great. Learning about what happened the the old ones, listening to all the audiologs, your interactions with Sylens, etc. But the ending itself, was pretty weak and lacking in my opinion when you think about the grand scope of what's going on in the game.  

[yell0wf0x]

So. I just finished this game. Played on very hard. And somehow, i actually got all throphies by the end of it. 

Gotta say, this game has kept me intrigued all the way through. Compelling gameplay, and the world building is really Good! And a world that makes sound sense at that. When I found out about what happened, I was like, this actually makes perfect sense. Everything existing in this world was well thought out. And that was really great. The story is quite good too. And I wanna know more about this world beyond the map of horizon. 

The inventory system could use a little work tho. I can't believe that ye can't sort it. I want my inventory organized. :V

 

Also, I now hate glinthawks and stormbirds more than thunderjaws. Cuz thunderjaws are fun to kill. :V