Horizon: Zero Dawn [PS4]

A few things.... strange that the engine is so beautiful, yet it cant do basic gameplay functions like door opening - that one thing is really noticeable when you get into towns. Also, does it make any differences to the outcomes of tasks and overall story if you choose different emotional responses?
 
Not really, the choices that you make will change how that particular NPC reacts to you when/if you meet them later in the game but the choice system has no real bearing on the storyline or missions.

I've not yet completed the game so I'm unsure if there's multiple endings (haven't checked due to possible spoilers) but I doubt that the ending will follow any particular path based on the interactions with those NPCs.
 
biron_w said:
I'm absolutely loving this game. It's superb. I may even like it more than The Witcher 3 :eek:
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For me, I prefer the mechanics of Horizon in terms of the combat....but The Witcher 3 is way ahead of this when it comes to story, quality of characters and the quality of side missions...some of the writing and missions of the Witcher 3 and its following DLC will go down as my favorite of all time and if it had as fun combat, then would be close to the perfect game for me.

That being said, this game is exceptional.
 
This is it. Final mission time. Smoke me a kipper, I'll be ba

war.gif
 
Finished HZD last night after 63hrs. I still have 3x side quests out of the 22 to do and the Hunters Lodge rubbish - I hate these timed trial things that involve 'medals'.

What a brilliant ride overall. I was absolutely hooked from the moment Aloy, as a child fell into the ruins. It doesn't take a genius to work out what happened to the previous civilisation and I wanted to know the full story.

As a bored PC gamer that purchased a PS4 in December, and then immediately went to the Pro because he was so impressed by the OS & 2017 exclusives I can say that I haven't had this much fun in ages. Infamous Second Son, Until Dawn, Uncharted 4 and now HZD have blown me away with storylines that have left me wanting more. Prior to this it was Witcher 3 (and DLC's) on the PC.

It's just a shame we have to wait possibly a few years before we see a sequel of any sorts barring DLC. I'm still hoping that the devs add a NG+ to the game at some point!
 
Mikey C said:
I do.

Witcher 3 is great, the story etc is fantastic but the whole thing from combat to inventory management is just so clunky and painful compared to Horizon.
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Frankly, Witcher 3 is a bit overrated. I don't see anything in it to make it ''THE BEST GAME EVER'' as many tout it to be. Best graphics, best story, best everything. Really?

I mean, it's overall an 8/10 game easily but to call a bog-standard and poorly paced fantasy story the best story ever is a bit too much. Especially that it's based on books which are simply better.

People seem to mistake good dialogues with a well-written story. So many redundant characters and entire pointless segments just to let you know that your princess is in an another castle. I was extremely disappointed with it and the final dialogue choices didn't even have any bearing on the ending whatsoever. I didn't feel any connection to the characters because the story felt fragmented and there was hardly any build-up to the final scenes.

Of course, there is some impressive stuff in the game, like music, dialogues, some of the little choices but it all gets predictable in the end.

Some sidequests were great and the world was occasionally interesting to explore but all the gameplay mechanics were simply average or below average; combat, animations etc.
Terrible levelling problems made everything unrewarding. You basically didn't need any new weapons for the majority of the game and everything you found was crap.

I don't get how all that warrants the title of the best game ever, especially when I see people in the PC thread bitching about Zelda being so praised or comparing W3 to either it or Horizon, as if worried that something has a higher meta critic than the "best game ever". Well, Zelda at least gets the gameplay and exploration right. Hell, even Fallout 4, even though the quests are infinitely worse than W3's.


I don't even see the point of comparing everything that comes out to W3. Time goes on and Horizon beats it at graphics, combat, animations and IMO the setting. That's not too shabby but I guess people will always cling to W3's story to make it seem like it's really objectively better than anything else out there.
 
Amatsubu said:
Frankly, Witcher 3 is a bit overrated. I don't see anything in it to make it ''THE BEST GAME EVER'' as many tout it to be. Best graphics, best story, best everything. Really?

I mean, it's overall an 8/10 game easily but to call a bog-standard and poorly paced fantasy story the best story ever is a bit too much. Especially that it's based on books which are simply better.

People seem to mistake good dialogues with a well-written story. So many redundant characters and entire pointless segments just to let you know that your princess is in an another castle. I was extremely disappointed with it and the final dialogue choices didn't even have any bearing on the ending whatsoever. I didn't feel any connection to the characters because the story felt fragmented and there was hardly any build-up to the final scenes.

Of course, there is some impressive stuff in the game, like music, dialogues, some of the little choices but it all gets predictable in the end.

Some sidequests were great and the world was occasionally interesting to explore but all the gameplay mechanics were simply average or below average; combat, animations etc.
Terrible levelling problems made everything unrewarding. You basically didn't need any new weapons for the majority of the game and everything you found was crap.

I don't get how all that warrants the title of the best game ever, especially when I see people in the PC thread bitching about Zelda being so praised or comparing W3 to either it or Horizon, as if worried that something has a higher meta critic than the "best game ever". Well, Zelda at least gets the gameplay and exploration right. Hell, even Fallout 4, even though the quests are infinitely worse than W3's.


I don't even see the point of comparing everything that comes out to W3. Time goes on and Horizon beats it at graphics, combat, animations and IMO the setting. That's not too shabby but I guess people will always cling to W3's story to make it seem like it's really objectively better than anything else out there.
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Think its all about opinions mate......what one man/woman finds perfect, another may hate...I personally found it one of the best story telling games I've ever played, but do agree the clunky combat and inventory system was poor.

The comparisons between Horizon and TW3 are fair, as they are VERY similar....which one you prefer is down to personal taste no?
 
I found The Witcher 3 to be a bit slow and honestly overwhelming. There was almost too much to do i just got impatient. Its a great game just a bit much for me.
 
francky said:
Think its all about opinions mate......what one man/woman finds perfect, another may hate...I personally found it one of the best story telling games I've ever played, but do agree the clunky combat and inventory system was poor.

The comparisons between Horizon and TW3 are fair, as they are VERY similar....which one you prefer is down to personal taste no?
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Yes, you're absolutely right of course. It's all down to taste but when you look at what the story actually told I don't think it was something exceptional. Some of the characters? Definitely good. Dialogues? Mostly good. You can clearly see that the game tried to make dialogues its main point because there's very little else in terms of story and character develpoment throughout. You feel like you're running in circles most of the time. Maybe it's also down to the fact that the game has so many repetitive distractions that the story gets lost in all that. You're supposed to be looking for Ciri etc. and saving the world but you're playing Gwent or running around woods killing monsters;p It's a bit fragmented, the story could be half the length of what it is and we wouldn't actually lose that much.

Hearts of Stone was a different beast, though. That story was great, even though it was clearly based on one of the most famous Polish tales.


That's why I think shorter games have the potential to deliver better stories. The Last of Us is still the best in this regard IMO. The pacing is perfect, the dialogues/voice acting are amazing, there's enough room for the characters to grow and the cutscenes are more impactful (in a subtle way) than anything I've seen in W3. The ending is one of the few that actually surprised me and left me a bit uneasy. It all feels perfectly stringed together. I didn't find this charm in Witcher 3, even with its unending walls of dialogue.


Regarding Horizon, if it's to be compared with Witcher 3, then Witcher 3 doesn't have a patch on it at anything except sidequests and maybe story if you're not bothered about the stuff I pointed out. Oh, it also wins on length but that's a double-edged sword since it doesn't have the gameplay mechanics/variety good enough to sustain a 100+ hours adventure without feeling forced.
 
Amatsubu said:
Yes, you're absolutely right of course. It's all down to taste but when you look at what the story actually told I don't think it was something exceptional. Some of the characters? Definitely good. Dialogues? Mostly good. You can clearly see that the game tried to make dialogues its main point because there's very little else in terms of story and character develpoment throughout. You feel like you're running in circles most of the time. Maybe it's also down to the fact that the game has so many repetitive distractions that the story gets lost in all that. You're supposed to be looking for Ciri etc. and saving the world but you're playing Gwent or running around woods killing monsters;p It's a bit fragmented, the story could be half the length of what it is and we wouldn't actually lose that much.

Hearts of Stone was a different beast, though. That story was great, even though it was clearly based on one of the most famous Polish tales.


That's why I think shorter games have the potential to deliver better stories. The Last of Us is still the best in this regard IMO. The pacing is perfect, the dialogues/voice acting are amazing, there's enough room for the characters to grow and the cutscenes are more impactful (in a subtle way) than anything I've seen in W3. The ending is one of the few that actually surprised me and left me a bit uneasy. It all feels perfectly stringed together. I didn't find this charm in Witcher 3, even with its unending walls of dialogue.


Regarding Horizon, if it's to be compared with Witcher 3, then Witcher 3 doesn't have a patch on it at anything except sidequests and maybe story if you're not bothered about the stuff I pointed out. Oh, it also wins on length but that's a double-edged sword since it doesn't have the gameplay mechanics/variety good enough to sustain a 100+ hours adventure without feeling forced.
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Again...all of the above being your opinion of course...and a fair and reasonable one to have.

I agree that Horizon certainly beats TW3 on many fronts, especially the combat and mechanics......but for me, especially Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine were some of the best story telling and I really cant wait for Cyberpunk off the back of that quality.

Not going to argue with The last of Us...that is also one of my favorite games of all time and cant wait for the 2nd one.
 
I agree with you on Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, they were a lot better than the main game in terms of plot IMO. I know it's my opinion, obviously, and I did justify it as briefly as I could, even though there's more to say about the story;p

I'm also waiting for Cyberpunk.
 
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