Horizon: Zero Dawn [PS4]

KraniX · 10 Mar 2022 at 16:59

Bounced off it a few times but ploughed through the starter area and now I'm level 28 and a good chunk through the story and really enjoying it.

5 years later and this game still looks amazing. I'm playing on PS5 and I constantly keep stopping to take screenshots.

fez · 10 Mar 2022 at 17:15

KraniX said:
Bounced off it a few times but ploughed through the starter area and now I'm level 28 and a good chunk through the story and really enjoying it.

5 years later and this game still looks amazing. I'm playing on PS5 and I constantly keep stopping to take screenshots.

Do you finding the lighting is super janky at times? Seemed to be around evening lighting mainly. It would go super dark and then really light again in some areas.

KraniX · 10 Mar 2022 at 20:24

fez said:
Do you finding the lighting is super janky at times? Seemed to be around evening lighting mainly. It would go super dark and then really light again in some areas.

Not that I've noticed, the weather system could be improved, it goes from bright sunshine to teeming down instantly but not a big deal.

V F · 11 Mar 2022 at 01:09

fez said:
Do you finding the lighting is super janky at times? Seemed to be around evening lighting mainly. It would go super dark and then really light again in some areas.

It did that on the PS4.

fez · 11 Mar 2022 at 12:22

V F said:
It did that on the PS4.

Pretty sure I have the PS5 patched version but perhaps that wasn't fixed.

Liquid_Entity · 11 Mar 2022 at 13:37

Revisited this since my first time several years ago. Wow, I never realised I didn't get very far in the game the first time around. It's amazing !

V F · 11 Mar 2022 at 13:39

Liquid_Entity said:
Revisited this since my first time several years ago. Wow, I never realised I didn't get very far in the game the first time around. It's amazing !

Where did you stop originally?

Liquid_Entity · 11 Mar 2022 at 13:44

V F said:
Where did you stop originally?

Only around 1/2/3 in the map below. I think I was just going around killing machines and not much of the main story. After areas 4/5/6 opened up it felt like this game was huge. Them Stalkers were a shock at first and then that giant flying bird thing. Oh my, I got pwned then.

ic1male · 11 Mar 2022 at 14:00

That map seems so small now compared to Horizon II.

KraniX · 11 Mar 2022 at 14:56

ic1male said:
That map seems so small now compared to Horizon II.

It feels pretty big when you're slogging your way across it...

I have limited gaming time so am using fast travel packs a lot.

ChrisD. · 11 Mar 2022 at 15:37

Can't wait to play the second, just have to find a bloody PS5 somewhere first.

V F · 11 Mar 2022 at 16:06

Liquid_Entity said:
Only around 1/2/3 in the map below. I think I was just going around killing machines and not much of the main story. After areas 4/5/6 opened up it felt like this game was huge. Them Stalkers were a shock at first and then that giant flying bird thing. Oh my, I got pwned then.

I really love the machine hum off the Stalkers. Almost like Predator. The Storm Bird was no joke.

ic1male said:
That map seems so small now compared to Horizon II.

Until you zoom in.

But yeah, after you travelled the area multiple times, there wasn't an area you'd forget.

Liquid_Entity · 11 Mar 2022 at 16:16

Yeah I've been playing in headphones recently and some of the noises I hear are so good. Little background sounds as well as the main sounds.

Throrik · 11 Mar 2022 at 18:37

I need to revisit this and complete it. I struggled with the combat, not generally being a ranged combat person - but maybe I'll stick it on Easy mode and just story mode it.

KraniX · 12 Mar 2022 at 18:15

Throrik said:
I need to revisit this and complete it. I struggled with the combat, not generally being a ranged combat person - but maybe I'll stick it on Easy mode and just story mode it.

I'm playing on easy. There is an easier story mode too I believe if you just want to mainline the story.

You can also extend the concentration/slow mo ability via a skills which combined with quick reload and being able to shoot 2 or 3 arrows should get you through.

Still some challenging fights, but that was mostly due to my lack of skill early on. Now I've got to grips with the different weapons and ammo it's easier but still satisfying.

Kainz · 15 Mar 2022 at 14:32

Liquid_Entity said:
Yeah I've been playing in headphones recently and some of the noises I hear are so good. Little background sounds as well as the main sounds.

This is what so many games miss. Background environmental ambient noise. So many games feel lifeless, it was one of the things I praised Subnautica for because it’s ambient sound was superb.

TheVoice · 17 Mar 2022 at 13:13

I started playing this again recently too, after all the hype and coverage for Forbidden West. I'm really glad I did, I'm enjoying it so much more than I did when I first started it way back when, it still looks great and plays really well (the 60fps update helps) and the map just gets more and more vast as you explore, I had no idea the world was as big as it is. I switched over to Easy mode as I was finding some of the larger, tougher enemies to be absolutely devastating, and even on Easy some encounters can still be quite punishing (although actual death is rare).

I delved into the Forgotten Wilds area last night too as people on Reddit suggested doing so at around the point in the story I'm at, and already some of the new enemies are pretty tough to deal with.

KraniX · 17 Mar 2022 at 13:38

TheVoice said:
I started playing this again recently too, after all the hype and coverage for Forbidden West. I'm really glad I did, I'm enjoying it so much more than I did when I first started it way back when, it still looks great and plays really well (the 60fps update helps) and the map just gets more and more vast as you explore, I had no idea the world was as big as it is. I switched over to Easy mode as I was finding some of the larger, tougher enemies to be absolutely devastating, and even on Easy some encounters can still be quite punishing (although actual death is rare).

I delved into the Forgotten Wilds area last night too as people on Reddit suggested doing so at around the point in the story I'm at, and already some of the new enemies are pretty tough to deal with.

I just finished the main quest yesterday, really enjoyed my time with it, have ordered Forbidden West.

I'm at 80% complete after 45 hours, keen to go for the platinum but a bit Ubisofty with lots of busy work finding random junk. I'm all for clearing corrupted zones and that sort of thing but collecting a bunch of metal flowers and ancient tat not my bag.

The biggest thing stopping me is the hunting trials, some of them are very tight on time and I think I'll just get really annoyed, I don't have much patience for that sort of thing.

Have you found the shield weaver armour? It's a bit game breaking in my opinion but do love it. I dont think you can get it too early as some of the locations are linked to story points but have heard you can glitch them.

Not touched Frozen Wilds, think if I leave HZD it'll be tough to come back after I move to HFW, but that's not arriving until Sunday so might be able to make some progress.

CliffyG · 23 May 2023 at 09:04

I'm very late to the party with this one. Recently got a PS4 to play through the exclusives and started on this a couple of weeks ago. Think it's my favourite game out of all of them so far. Looks amazing on my 65" CX considering I don't have a pro and the gameplay is top notch. I've been mostly hitting side quests and getting sidetracked while exploring. I'm working through all the lowest level quests then completing ones that are close by / on the way. I've put quite a few hours in so far (is it possible to tell how many through your Sony account or do you have to look on the PS4?) and feel like there is still a huge amount to do. I've still got quests under level 20, I've only completed 3 lodges and 3 cauldrons so far and I've not really touched the DLC zone, only done the spear upgrade bit as I wanted to use the purple damage modification I'd been holding for ages. I do find swapping weapons / traps etc. a little overwhelming in the heat of the battle but that's my only real gripe with it.

CaptainRAVE · 23 May 2023 at 11:19

CliffyG said:
I'm very late to the party with this one. Recently got a PS4 to play through the exclusives and started on this a couple of weeks ago. Think it's my favourite game out of all of them so far. Looks amazing on my 65" CX considering I don't have a pro and the gameplay is top notch. I've been mostly hitting side quests and getting sidetracked while exploring. I'm working through all the lowest level quests then completing ones that are close by / on the way. I've put quite a few hours in so far (is it possible to tell how many through your Sony account or do you have to look on the PS4?) and feel like there is still a huge amount to do. I've still got quests under level 20, I've only completed 3 lodges and 3 cauldrons so far and I've not really touched the DLC zone, only done the spear upgrade bit as I wanted to use the purple damage modification I'd been holding for ages. I do find swapping weapons / traps etc. a little overwhelming in the heat of the battle but that's my only real gripe with it.

One of my favourite games. Enjoy.

Save the DLC zone until the end, it’s tough.