Today sees the release of yet another hit for Sony’s PlayStation 4 console – Horizon: Zero Dawn. With it comes a game that’s stunningly beautiful yet also deep enough to retain your interest for the roughly 30 hours it’ll take you to power through the main story.
And what an interesting story it seems to be. Horizon places you in the capable shoes of Aloy; a survivalist in a post-apocalyptic landscape that more closely resembles the likes of Jurassic Park than Fallout. Aloy’s journey through this world is fraught with danger in the form of robotic creatures akin to dinosaurs, which you’ll have to strategically take down amidst her own journey of self-discovery.
The game’s developed by Guerrilla Games, who are primarily known for spawning the iconic Killzone franchise way back in 2004. A stark departure from the intense FPS combat of that series, Horizon will be the first new IP that the group have made, and early reviews seem to be overwhelmingly positive: sitting at an 88 on Metacritic, the game seems to be worth the hype it’s garnered.
So how does Horizon fit into the open-world genre as a whole? Well, comparisons have already been made to the beloved Witcher 3 in terms of world building and memorable characterisation. Perhaps if Ubisoft are your preferred sandbox developers, then the comparisons to Far Cry and its crafting mechanics, as well as Horizon’s “Tallnecks” acting as towers to uncover the map, are a welcome sign that you’ll get a kick out of this latest PS4 exclusive.
Put simply: it seems that Horizon: Zero Dawn has managed to grab a whole bunch of ideas from successful games and deliver them in a package which is brimming with care and pristine visuals. I know that I’ll be getting the game on day one (which is March 1st over here in the UK), and I imagine many will be doing the same. It must be nice for Sony to add another stellar title to their rapidly widening roster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRQDqurZJNk
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