Horizon: Zero Dawn

ERG89 wrote: »

Embargo is up this morning & it seems to be getting positive reviews. One I'm definitely picking up later in the year as I'm buying a switch.
Slowly the PS4 is starting to get some decent exclusives with this, Yakuza 0, Nioh & Persona 5 due soon.

Ars Technica - Approved
Horizon is huge in every way that counts, and it should be celebrated for doing what too many games don't these days: telling an enthralling, time-consuming journey that's already complete on the disc—and one we'll remember for years to come.

Attack of the Fanboy - 4.5/5
Horizon: Zero Dawn has been a long time coming, but it is finally here and it does not disappoint at all. Featuring a likeable new protagonist in Aloy alongside a compelling story, the game will keep you invested, whether through the main story or even the countless side quests that add more lore to this intriguing world. Complete with a deep combat system and stunning visuals, Guerrilla Games has already raised the bar for exclusives this year with Horizon: Zero Dawn.

CG Magazine - 8.5/10
Horizon Zero Dawn isn’t out to break the mould, but at the end of the day that doesn’t matter. Guerilla has made a sprawling, gorgeous, tight gameplay experience that anyone with a PlayStation should pick up.

Destructoid - 7.5/10
Horizon Zero Dawn is a fascinating premise wrapped in a tortilla of tropes. It has detective vision, radio towers, skill trees, masked load screens (Tony Hawk's American Wasteland gets no credit for popularizing this in 2005, by the way), and a world map littered with billions of points of interest -- all stuff you've seen before. But after you set up and execute a cunning plan to decimate a pack of giant robot crocodiles and that smile hits your face, it's more excusable.

Easy Allies - 4.5/5
Horizon Zero Dawn feels like a franchise in the making. While not packed with narrative high points, it’s still a compelling introduction to a world in turmoil that answers a lot of questions, but still gestures toward a more climactic future. Its primary element, squaring off against mechanized animals, is such a success, it makes up for the ongoing repetition of the game’s activities. When we look into Horizon’s future, we see a sequel that can take this world and make it into something remarkable.


GameInformer - 8.8/10
None of Horizon's faults stopped me from sinking 55 hours into the game, or walking away supremely satisfied with the experience. Horizon may not be a revolution for the open-world genre, but it is a highly polished and compelling adventure that proves Guerrilla is more than a single franchise.

GamesRadar+ - 4.5/5
Like a real ecosystem, Horizon: Zero Dawn is brilliantly balanced. Aloy feels like an inextricable part of it, halfway between prey and predator. Whether you’re climbing cliff-faces with a weightless, fluid joy, hunting, or travelling through the landscape, Horizon: Zero Dawn takes you on a tour of discovery. An endless sense of wonder and awe push you onward no matter what you’re doing. The more time I spend in Horizon: Zero Dawn’s world, the less I want to leave.

GameSpot - 9/10
This is first departure from the Killzone series for developer Guerilla Games, and though you might think the team took a risk by stepping out of its FPS comfort zone to create a third-person open-world action game, you'd never know it was their first rodeo. For every minor imperfection, there's an element of greatness that recharges your desire to keep fighting and exploring Zero Dawn's beautiful and perilous world. Guerilla Games has delivered one of the best open-world games of this generation, and redefined its team's reputation in the process.

Giant Bomb - 5/5
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.

God is a Geek - 9.5/10
There’s so much to enjoy, and you’re never going to run out of cool stuff to do. The Carja AI is a little poor at times (if you see a dead body, making a song and dance about it!), and the GPS waypoint system can be misleading, but these are minor issues. This game is damn near perfect, and you’ll going to absolutely love it.

IGN - 9.3/10
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.

Jim Sterling - 9.5/10
Horizon: Zero Dawn is just brilliant. I speak as a critic who has played more “open sandbox” games than any one human should and has grown so very weary of them. I should have gotten sick of this thing in an hour, but I’ve been glued to it for days and days and I don’t want it to end. I love existing in this world – a world of desperate survival but of growing culture and a sense of hope. A world of giant metal animals that promise some breathtaking fights.

Polygon - 9.5/10
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.

TheSixthAxis - 8/10
Horizon: Zero Dawn is a bit of a slow burn, but there’s more to Guerrilla Games’ latest than just its staggeringly pretty graphics. The story surprises as it takes several twists and turns and explores the past, but the games beating heart is with its excellently tense and engaging robotic monster hunting.


Twinfinite - 5/5
Horizon Zero Dawn is a treat to every PS4 owner. Its magical world is a wonder to explore, it controls and looks exceptional, and the unique, modular build of its enemies ensures that combat never gets old. Yes, items could have been more accessible, and I was left with more questions than answers by the end, but these were mere speed bumps in the bigger picture. Horizon Zero Dawn is the PS4’s first major exclusive of 2017, and it couldn’t have gotten much better.

US Gamer - 2.5/5
Horizon Zero Dawn is disappointing. It has a story that I struggled to care about (complete with massive expository dumps—yay), a bland protagonist, and overtly repetitive and constraining missions that worked against its open world sensibilities. When Horizon Zero Dawn hit its rare strides—from its gloomy Cauldrons to traveling across its sprawling vistas—it only made me wish the rest of the game were as worthwhile.

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Ooh Jim Sterling gave it a glowing review, definitely gonna pick it up now.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I wouldn't trust an awful lot if them but the ones I do trust seem to be mixed. Jim Sterling on particular is a surprise as I would expect him to be ambivalent to this one.

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Does anyone else miss linear games? open world has become the main go to trope over the last 5-6 years. We need more well crafted linear titles like, The Last Of Us, Uncharted, Tomb Raider etc. Sorry not meaning to thread hijack here, just popped into my head when reading some of the comments here.

biggebruv wrote: »

yep those are my sort of games that I would 100% replay again and again.

last guardian
evil within
alien isolation
resi7 have scratched that itch aswell thankfully

its just open world games are a chore to replay again IMO it's why I trade everyone of them in when I complete it bar gtav the only open world game I have played twice

RasTa wrote: »

Yet he gives this a 9.5, Watch Dogs 2 a 9 and COD the same score as TLG.

He has jumped the shark and is better ignored these days. Similar to Polygon but at least they do decent features.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well I thought the Transformers game was a blast and Mad Max was one of those boring WB open world games that just relied on awful batman combat.

Also wasn't watchdogs 2 meant to be great?

That's the beauty of good reviewing. It's a personal opinion and not giving a score that everyone else will agree on.