When does Horizon Zero Dawn get good?

I’m not saying that it doesn’t have any strengths, but holy crap am I not experiencing a 9 or a 10. I swear, the ratings this game received must have been based largely on the graphics because everything else is just mediocre-to-good.

The game begins with an amazing prologue that introduces Aloy, the main character. For about 30 mins she shines as an interesting character that we will surly want to follow for several dozen hours. Sadly, that that feeling doesn’t last for even one. She has less personality than master chief, and when she does show it, it is predictable and cocky at best. People all over the internet are raving about how awesome she is, and maybe she is, but certainly not in the first 10-15 hours. Additionally, every single other character is a letdown so far. Not just uninteresting or short of their full potential, but flat out bad, cliché, and devoid of any personality or soul.

The world itself is devoid of a coherent and believable state. It is PC to a fault, and I’m not talking about the racial and gender composition of the characters. It’s almost as if the developers projected the average being of liberal univ students into every character. We’re told that this is a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, filled with constant struggle and ever present danger, yet nothing we are shown makes this believable. Within the settlements we hear of no murder, rape, theft or deceit. The injured don’t suffer, and the painful death of a family member is shrugged off within seconds. The missions are no different. They’re all fetch quests or kill x amount of quests. This goes for the main story missions as well.

The minute to minute gameplay goes from great to tedious. Fighting new machines gets the adrenaline flowing and it is done to near perfection, but after killing the same bot a handful of times it starts to get dull. When not killing machines the game becomes a collectathon to a degree much greater than similar games like far cry and assassins creed. You’ll also come across human enemies in the game. Their AI is shit and they are not fun to engage at all.

So that sums up my impressions so far. I can’t how this game could receive a 9 or 10, even subjectively, considering that many of the reviewers praising this game shit on every single similar game that came out in the last 2 years. So discuss, what am I missing? And when does it get AMAZING!!!

to each his own I'm having a blast with the game and it lives up to my expectations.

@whiteagle18: So don't play it then.

Nice to see your little review. I have a few reasons for not buying the game now. 1) Still haven't finished with Witcher 3 and FF15. 2) I'm terrible at shooting. 3) waiting for price- drop.

Other than that, it looks like generic Open World game, but good one.

The story kept me going.

@whiteagle18: hmm this is one of the best games I have played in a long time. To be fair I never really knew anything about this title up until I seen it in Game and just went for it as I bought a new PS4.

For me it did feel dangerous and how humanity has been thrown back to the very basics. I guess the story telling wasn't about humans killing, raping etc but more of Humanity and survival. and the mystery of how on earth did we get to the post post apocalyptic state.

Perhaps the characters were more realistic in comparison to the more exaggerated we are used to these days. Yes I would agree that npc's got less interesting depending on what role they played in the entire story. But I did enjoy the main arc. it was realistic to what could happen if AI was able to defy rules and take over. Where we lose control of technology and the reasons behind why we lost that control.

I though Aloy came across determined to prove her self to the people who outcast her. at times she came across naive but it played to her advantage where she managed to push herself enough to find out what really happened.

Visually this game has come a long way in comparison to what we are used to playing. dynamic weather. day and night cycles etc. at one point you are bold and traversing in confidence and the next its dark out and you're watching your back as bellowbacks and ravagers loom.

It's a shame that you didn't like it to the extent of many other players out there.

I'm not sure how much you've played of this game but it certainly by far deserves a good score in comparison to other games.

Remember that the developer of this game came from Killzone FPS to a sandbox openworld with lots of small things that have been well thought out.

I didn't really care much for many of the tribes people but only cared for myself (Aloy) and how I could best every Mech out there. and to find out what happened.

So your question about what you are missing and when it gets amazing. I felt it was amazing from the get go as it kept me playing and at no point did I compare it to anything else as nothing other than monster hunter plays similar to a degree. You may not have missed anything but I don't think you are appreciating the game for what it is.

I can only hope you do enjoy this game as its definitely a game changer in terms of feat.

The lack of an interesting story is the game's biggest problem. The overarching narrative may be decent at times but the pacing is sluggish and new developments take hours to occur. The characters are all trash, except for Aloy whom is just passable so far.

"hmm this is one of the best games I have played in a long time. To be fair I never really knew anything about this title up until I seen it in Game and just went for it as I bought a new PS4."

I research every game I buy because I have a pact with myself to complete every purchase.

"Perhaps the characters were more realistic in comparison to the more exaggerated we are used to these days. Yes I would agree that npc's got less interesting depending on what role they played in the entire story. But I did enjoy the main arc. it was realistic to what could happen if AI was able to defy rules and take over. Where we lose control of technology and the reasons behind why we lost that control."

The characters we not realistic, quite the contrary. Most of them are soulless and lacked a personality and emotion. Yes, the main arch is decent but it unfolds at a snails pace.

"Visually this game has come a long way in comparison to what we are used to playing. dynamic weather. day and night cycles etc. at one point you are bold and traversing in confidence and the next its dark out and you're watching your back as bellowbacks and ravagers loom."

Yes, the graphics are phenomenal. I assume that most of the 10s come off the back of the visual more-so than anything else.

"So your question about what you are missing and when it gets amazing. I felt it was amazing from the get go as it kept me playing and at no point did I compare it to anything else as nothing other than monster hunter plays similar to a degree. You may not have missed anything but I don't think you are appreciating the game for what it is."

The monster fighting is unique to the title, but every other aspect is done in poor imitation of other games. The overwhelming amount of crafting, bandit camps, corrupted zones, vantage points, giraffe things, and all of the other collectibles are mirrors of 'features' long present and long criticized in other titles. Many of them are really cool (the giraffe things, corrupted zones, - basically anything that focuses on the machines), but others (bandit camps, collectibles, crafting) pale in comparison to what we've seen in comparable titles.

I had this game on my list but I was waivering. I think I'll cross it off and get Prey instead.

Obviously you don't otherwise you wouldnt have bought the game.

@whiteagle18: I didn't enjoy Horizon either but that's heavily to do with it being essentially another standard Third Person Shooter (Plays like Uncharted and Tomb Raider reboot). And I've had my fill of that, along with how tired I am with sandbox level design.

The RPG side of things is really bare as well.

I think a lot of people like the game for clear reasons however. It runs well (well optimised), has an interesting art direction, and for those that want more over-the-shoulder shoot-downs? This is a good pick.

Ditto for bare bones rpg setup. I didn't think any of the gameplay was mindblowing either, though it seemed solid.

The story was the selling point for me. But that could just be that I've been too-well indoctrinated by the dastardly liberal baddies.

@Bullet_Sponge: I'm not against stories in games, but I also never play for the plot either.

If someone defends a game on its storyline as a main highlight, what they're telling me is it's a bad 'game'.

Not saying Horizon is a bad game mind you, as I highlighted a few of its gaming qualities.

I stopped playing 25% into the game. I was very entertained though, but then the new Diablo season happend.

My opinion differ from yours.

I really loved the game and to me the world map is very coherent. there is a lot of variation to the environnement and this also makes some machine only appears in specifics spot.

of course there is some fetch quest, it is an open world game after all but I felt like the reason to go searching for stuff fit Aloy personality. Also if you return to Ross's house you'll find a epitath where Aloy will mourn him.

So because the side quest fit Aloy personnality, the main quest felt like it belong in what is happening to her and her quest to know.

Also completing side quests, add a little something to the main story at the end which make all that stuff so coherent and very epic.

It is the only open world that I did enjoy. GTA, Elder Scroll, Fallout, Final Fantasy XV all felt very big but very empty, filled with useless side quests and a lackluster main quest. But it is not the case here.

This game made me like open world for the first time and it is also the first time I hope there is some DLC to make me return to this game.

@whiteagle18: I don't think the story in this game really starts until you've climbed to the top of Faro tower. Everything prior to that is mostly fluff and minor character/world building. Stuff that could have been explained through cutscenes forced as gameplay.

I still gave the game a 95 in my review though, but it was the most underwhelming 95 i had ever played. It's a great game, but it had been hyped as the next GOAT in gaming.

I think by the time you finish the game you'll be satisfied with your purchase and will have enjoyed the 30-40 hours you spent with it.

In a way, this certainly affected my experience. I don't really pay attention to what is on the horizon (no pun intended), so it came out of nowhere for me. I had zero expectations when I bought it, aside from seeing some positive reviews. That likely made my experience better.

It all comes back to personal preference. With some exceptions, I don't play games that don't have some sort of narrative-driven plot. I like stories damn it! (It's worth noting though that I'm one of, like 3 people in the world, that regularly play the campaign of D3, cutscenes/dialogue and all, because I like the story...so my judgment is highly suspect).

@whiteagle18: That's a fair response. Well do let us know what you feel by the end of your play through. Perhaps you feedback on the game seems to come across more critical than you actually mean.

"The monster fighting is unique to the title, but every other aspect is done in poor imitation of other games. The overwhelming amount of crafting, bandit camps, corrupted zones, vantage points, giraffe things, and all of the other collectibles are mirrors of 'features' long present and long criticized in other titles. Many of them are really cool (the giraffe things, corrupted zones, - basically anything that focuses on the machines), but others (bandit camps, collectibles, crafting) pale in comparison to what we've seen in comparable titles."

On that point I think one would really need to look at the context of what the developer has actually achieved. I'd say every game ever has always been a game inspired by other games, mechanics are always taken from games and improved upon or made worse. The other point to highlight is that we mustn't forget that the developers have specialized in first person shooters and have never really created an open world title. So wouldn't it be fair for them to have mirrored many open world elements from other titles.

Of course if this was CD Projekt Red or Bethesda then by all means we could compare how badly they've mirrored as they would be expected to be a little more original.

Ultimately This ones up their on my games to be remembered and compared with list. As I loved it.

Ehhh, I'm on the final mission now. I might sidestep it and finish off some side quests and errands, as well a clear the remaining corruption spots. What you said about the story getting better at Faro Tower is true. Up until that point I was completely disinterested, afterwards I was at least a little intrigued. My overall opinion on the game has changed little, but I want to make it clear that I do in fact like it. I think that my original post and some of my previous replies make it seem as though I'm having a terrible time, but that is not the case. To me, it is a pretty decent third person open world game. Not nearly as good as some people make it out to be, but still worth my time.

I personally didn't care for the story but the game play was amazing. i mean for them to put 50 different machines in would be crazy and time consuming it's a one time play through kind of game. To me it just sounds like games like this are just not what your usually into.

@hondalover66: to each their own. I think both are pretty damn good.

Hmm I want to get this game and I probably will when the prices go down. Thank you for telling me about your opinion on it though. I've read the reviews in the gaming mag and they are a bit over the top. Do you reckon I am better off with looking at games like Uncharted Lost Legacy instead? Please notify me of this.

I liked the world and the robots, those were awesome, but I'm not a huge fan of bows in games.The biggest problem for me was the characters, and how big of an asshole everyone is to Aloy. I was sick of the tribal nonsense of,"She is an outsider! F you! you can rot in hell because you are an outsider!, outsider!, outsider!" All the characters I interacted with came off as complete morons, and the over top face animations only hurt it. They were the kind of jerks that didn't motivate me to prove them wrong, but just stop playing. I felt like the game treated me like an idiot with how outrageous the characters were, like I get it they don't like me.

If they just used more subtly, and didn't hit me with an avalanche of exposition I would have played more.

please don't bump ancient threads