Post by Tig on Jul 8, 2022 20:30:11 GMT -5
The game is six years old and the sequel is out this year, but I just wanted to post a quick review anyway. Horizon: Zero Dawn is an action/stealth/adventure/RPG-lite game along the lines of Assassin's Creed and Shadows of Mordor where travel and exploration are just as much a part of the game as the frenzied combat.
***Pseudospoiler***
The story is the true gem of the game. I say with full conviction that this is one of the best sci-fi stories I'd ever seen, in books, movies, and video games. It's on par with the Mass Effect trilogy, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the Bioshock games. It's rich, complex without being convoluted, and, above all, damn near plausible. In the near future, a corporation makes AI-driven combat robots that get out of control. Part of the technology includes the ability of the robots to consume biomass, trees, grass, other animals, and convert it into fuel. They're also capable of building more of themselves. The combat droids' AI goes viral and they spread, destroying Earth. Scientists scramble to save humanity but, on realizing that's impossible, they implement the Zero Dawn protocol. A series of super-intelligent AIs, surrounding a central AI called Gaia, are created with the same technology as the combat droids but with the ability to propagate biomass wherever they go. Gaiia makes several different types of robots based on past and present wildlife to go out into the world, seeded with preserved DNA, and spread life once the initial machines die out from consuming everything. A thousand years later is where your story begins, a lush, vibrant environment inhabited by animals and animal-type robots frolicking in a background that hints of a devastated human past. You play as Aloy, a young outcast woman who has proven herself worthy to her tribe that is now thrust into a position to solve the persistent mysteries of the native world.
The game world is enormous and one of the most gorgeous maps I've ever seen. Horizon captures an element so many open-world games lose: a desire to see what's over the next ridge. You WANT to search places and climb peaks for the view and finding story-relevant collectibles.
When you fail at stealth or just go bouncing about loudly, you get confronted by very fast and very deadly animalistic machines. Combat is fluid and twitchy and even on normal settings I died many times. If you're old and slow like me, however, there are tons of tools and mods you can equip to help give you an edge. As you level up, you can add abilities and make yourself a more efficient combatant as well as a better hunter and explorer.
At first glance, the game looks like standard fare with its combat and RPG elements, but the story driving it is brilliance. If anything, I recommend getting it and playing it on easy just to live the story. It's on Steam and PS Network. You won't be disappointed.
***Pseudospoiler***
The story is the true gem of the game. I say with full conviction that this is one of the best sci-fi stories I'd ever seen, in books, movies, and video games. It's on par with the Mass Effect trilogy, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the Bioshock games. It's rich, complex without being convoluted, and, above all, damn near plausible. In the near future, a corporation makes AI-driven combat robots that get out of control. Part of the technology includes the ability of the robots to consume biomass, trees, grass, other animals, and convert it into fuel. They're also capable of building more of themselves. The combat droids' AI goes viral and they spread, destroying Earth. Scientists scramble to save humanity but, on realizing that's impossible, they implement the Zero Dawn protocol. A series of super-intelligent AIs, surrounding a central AI called Gaia, are created with the same technology as the combat droids but with the ability to propagate biomass wherever they go. Gaiia makes several different types of robots based on past and present wildlife to go out into the world, seeded with preserved DNA, and spread life once the initial machines die out from consuming everything. A thousand years later is where your story begins, a lush, vibrant environment inhabited by animals and animal-type robots frolicking in a background that hints of a devastated human past. You play as Aloy, a young outcast woman who has proven herself worthy to her tribe that is now thrust into a position to solve the persistent mysteries of the native world.
The game world is enormous and one of the most gorgeous maps I've ever seen. Horizon captures an element so many open-world games lose: a desire to see what's over the next ridge. You WANT to search places and climb peaks for the view and finding story-relevant collectibles.
When you fail at stealth or just go bouncing about loudly, you get confronted by very fast and very deadly animalistic machines. Combat is fluid and twitchy and even on normal settings I died many times. If you're old and slow like me, however, there are tons of tools and mods you can equip to help give you an edge. As you level up, you can add abilities and make yourself a more efficient combatant as well as a better hunter and explorer.
At first glance, the game looks like standard fare with its combat and RPG elements, but the story driving it is brilliance. If anything, I recommend getting it and playing it on easy just to live the story. It's on Steam and PS Network. You won't be disappointed.
