Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn is epic on almost every level that is not only well crafted in terms of mechanics but beautifully designed.

Horizon: Zero Dawn to me, has justified my purchase of a PS4 Pro and a 4K TV. This is the game that shows what 4K gaming on a console is capable of. And while PC people may scoff, I say, soak it in, because this game is absolutely beautiful. It plays like a dream, and I’m honestly considering putting The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on hold until I have a platinum trophy for this game. I haven’t played an open world game to such levels of completion since Skyrim, nor have I had the desire to until now.

When all is said and done, Horizon Zero Dawn far exceeds my expectations and is on course to be one of the best titles the gaming community has seen in a long time. A critic’s review doesn’t do justification to the awesomeness contained within this living work of art. It’s a story-centric adventure that will certainly send you on a captivating journey from start to finish, and then some. The beautiful thing about Horizon Zero Dawn is that it truly reminds me of the first time I stepped foot into the shoes of Master Chief. This is certainly something special that must be experienced first-hand, It rightfully lands atop my list of best games in 2017.

Across a vast and beautiful open world, Horizon Zero Dawn juggles many moving parts with polish and finesse. Its main activity - combat - is extremely satisfying thanks to the varied design and behaviors of machine-creatures that roam its lands, each of which needs to be taken down with careful consideration. Though side questing could have been more imaginative, its missions are compelling thanks to a central mystery that led me down a deep rabbit hole to a genuinely surprising - and moving - conclusion.

On that basis alone Horizon: Zero Dawn falls short of the seminal status to which it so clearly aspires but it’s still an immensely playable – and likeable – romp with a core combat mechanic worth the price of purchase alone. And given a Marvel-style post-credits sequence suggests a sequel is very much in the works, Guerrilla will be given another shot at genuine greatness. Provided, of course, a real-world apocalypse doesn’t Trump their imagined one in the meantime.

Those duller moments are a footnote, however, and they did little to slow down the game's momentum and my interest in it. Horizon Zero Dawn thrums with the energy of a creative team finally allowed to explore something new. It builds on elements of open-world and loot-and-craft gameplay that we've seen before, but it does so within a context, a setting and a style that feel fresh. Horizon Zero Dawn discovers a stronger sense of its own personality in one game than Killzone ever managed across half a dozen. Guerrilla Games has long been developing some of the most buzzed-about games in the industry; with Horizon, it feels like it has finally found its own voice, one worthy of all that buzz.

Horizon Zero Dawn is Guerrilla Games’ best effort, one of the PS4’s greatest games, and the best game ever crafted from the ground up for the platform. It combines a gripping narrative with intense action that blends both fast-paced combat with slower-paced, tense stealth sections perfectly. Everything about their vision for this game clicks into place and is accentuated by a stellar presentation. The game features top-shelf graphical work, a unique and enjoyable soundtrack, alongside a fantastic cast to make an unforgettable experience.

Guerrilla Games took a risk developing a brand new IP that is such a drastic departure from previous titles, and it worked. The studio has crafted a world filled with intrigue and mystery that begs to be explored. It’s a story with twists and turns that subvert expectation and, aside from a few plot threads that were intentionally left open, answers the big questions players have. Alongside such a well put together plot is the gameplay, which is fluid and intense no matter what style used.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a perfect example of strong, competent and enjoyable gameplay. It doesn't reinvent the genre, but it's a lot of fun to play. The mecha-dino combat is the highlight and represents some of the most enjoyable open-world combat on the market. Burning through powerful foes and looting their corpses for rare treasures captures an excitement rarely felt in open-world games. The rest of the gameplay is somewhat dulled in comparison. A somewhat weak plot drags down the experience but isn't enough to detract from the enjoyment. All in all, Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the better exclusives on the PS4 and a great addition to any PS4 owner's lineup.

Ultimately, Horizon Zero Dawn is an absolutely fantastic game. It’s very polished, and comes with a compelling story, relatable characters, an absolutely fascinating setting, and top-notch gameplay. On top of that, its visuals will make you wonder if Santa secretly sneaked into your room to replace your PS4 with a gaming PC while you were asleep. It simply looks that good.

So what else can we say about the game? If you own a PlayStation 4 or are thinking about getting one in the near future there’s not many excuses to not pick up Horizon: Zero Dawn. The five years of time and effort that Guerrilla Games poured into the title is evident, and it’s certainly one of the best open world action RPG experiences in recent memory.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is familiar but also really refreshing. It's not a short game (I spent around 30 hours with it), but the storytelling still feels concise and efficient. The combat has some nice options that make encounters fun, even when you're just stacking up stealth kills from the relative safety of a bush. And the presentation end of the game holds up its end of things with a solid soundtrack, great voice acting, and a cohesive design that makes all its disparate parts fit together. All in all, it's a great game, it's Guerrilla's strongest release to date, and I suspect I'll go back in after the fact to clean up whatever side quests and errands I have remaining, if only to spend a little more time in that world.