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Horizon Zero Dawn Spoiler-free Impressions (for real this time)

Damn typos, lol.

Someone mentioned the loot, ok I can't totally confirm it. All I know is I killed a robot, it's marker for items was there, I had to run cause it became like a beehive of activity, so I backed away and hid. Some robot went up next to the dead body and did some animation and the loot was now gone. Perhaps the loot is on a timer or I wentvto far and it disappeared on its own. I am putting two and two together, I'll try to replicate it and really pay attention this time.

Maybe the robot harvested dead machines resources you would of been able to pick up?
 

The Lamp

Member
Another funny thought I had when I was playing Uncharted 4, I thought, "fuck, this game feels like there was a lot of care, time, and money put into this game." I get the exact same feeling with this one. It interesting to that this game feels completely different than Killzone other than the design of the machines. If you told me Guerilla made this game without me knowing I wouldn't have believed you. Gone is the weighty feel of killzone (I actually liked it for kz2 and kz3). Horizon controls feels so damn tight. Aloy is really fun to control during traversal and especially combat.

Same.

And the feels are kinda starting to kick in with this story. I didn't expect this level of quality.

On my pro there doesn't seem to be any frame drops or screen tears either. Just a locked smooth experience.
 
Same.

And the feels are kinda starting to kick in with this story. I didn't expect this level of quality.

That feeling when the thing you were least expecting to be good in a game seems to be great.

Feels good. Thanks for all the impressions to everyone btw!
 
Damn typos, lol.

Someone mentioned the loot, ok I can't totally confirm it. All I know is I killed a robot, it's marker for items was there, I had to run cause it became like a beehive of activity, so I backed away and hid. Some robot went up next to the dead body and did some animation and the loot was now gone. Perhaps the loot is on a timer or I wentvto far and it disappeared on its own. I am putting two and two together, I'll try to replicate it and really pay attention this time.
Interesting.
 
Same.

And the feels are kinda starting to kick in with this story. I didn't expect this level of quality.

On my pro there doesn't seem to be any frame drops or screen tears either. Just a locked smooth experience.

If this game delivers on everything I am sensing a 90 + meta.
 
Same.

And the feels are kinda starting to kick in with this story. I didn't expect this level of quality
It's rare for a game to grab me narrative-wise right at the start, but the intro shared in the other thread did just that. Last of Us, Bioshock, Uncharted 2, Max Payne 3, Inside, STASIS, and maybe a few others are the only ones I can think of

I'm looking forward to the story; I hope they have a satisfying conclusion and answers
 

Icolin

Banned
That feeling when the thing you were least expecting to be good in a game seems to be great.

This. I thought the combat, world and sidequests would be fine, but I was worried about the main story. My fears for this game in general, not just the story, have been alleviated by these impressions ITT. Can't wait for this game!
 
This tweet from a few days ago makes sense given the comments on the story here
"Ahhhhh. Such a fantastically-designed female character in the game I'm reviewing. I love her. I can't wait for everyone to play."
 

Exquisik

Member
So far we have had impressions from The Lamp, Glassboy and MiamiWesker. Where is Musician655321's impression?! I'm guessing he's too focused on the game right now.
 
Thanks for the impressions everyone! Making the wait a lot harder, but at least I have Nioh to play in the meantime
This or nioh?
Just do what I'm doing. I got Nioh when it came out and I'm playing that right up to Horizon. It's a big enough game to take me right up until then
 

VanWinkle

Member
So far we have had impressions from The Lamp, Glassboy and MiamiWesker. Where is Musician655321's impression?! I'm guessing he's too focused on the game right now.

He backed out because people were saying the child Aloy was cute/adorable and he was creeped out. I'm not kidding.
 

Dmax3901

Member
Ok so a few questions. How are people playing this outside of review copies? If the people playing are using review copies, how are they able to talk about it so openly? Finally, to those who have played it, how open is the world? Is it like Witcher 3 or more like Rise of the Tomb Raider?
 
Now for the ultimate question: does it feel like a Ubisoft game?

Actually, my main question is whether the game feels more story-driven, more focused, than the usual open world game. I found it interesting that the devs said there were no minigame activities; I've felt some open world games could be more distilled like Mafia 2 versus the kitchen sink approach of Rockstar and Ubisoft open worlds
 

ManeKast

Member
Enough positive impressions for me. Digitally locked in. Media blackout now till March 3rd. For two big reasons.... lights out!
 

RamzaIsCool

The Amiga Brotherhood
Nice impressions! Can't wait to play it. A shame tho about the human AI, looked iffy in the previews also. I wonder why it is that way, it isn't as if GG never had to deal with human AI before. Maybe a design choice or a hardware limitation, dunno the situation is a bit weird.
 
Nice impressions! Can't wait to play it. A shame tho about the human AI, looked iffy in the previews also. I wonder why it is that way, it isn't as if GG never had to deal with human AI before. Maybe a design choice or a hardware limitation, dunno the situation is a bit weird.
They've never had to deal with human AI in an open world game.
 

Anarky

Banned
How are the side quests in the game? After Dragon Age Inquistion I don't have the time or energy for games with nothing but MMO style fetch quests.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Nice impressions! Can't wait to play it. A shame tho about the human AI, looked iffy in the previews also. I wonder why it is that way, it isn't as if GG never had to deal with human AI before. Maybe a design choice or a hardware limitation, dunno the situation is a bit weird.

They could also be a relatively small part of the game and so they got less attention. The machines AI behaviors seem very in depth. It's clear even from preview footage which were the main focus.
 
Now I'm seeing RDR comparisons...

Those with the game, if you HAD to compare it to another individual game, which would it be?

If you had to mash two games together to make this one, what would they be?



C'mon February 28th
 
Good impressions so far. Glowing reviews seem like a lock at this point.

Let's see if I can finish Nioh before Horizon hits. Otherwise I'll get it as soon as I finished Nioh.
 

AudioEppa

Member
How are the side quests in the game? After Dragon Age Inquistion I don't have the time or energy for games with nothing but MMO style fetch quests.


I would like information on this as well. Basically can I skip em? Or do they force some on you. One of the most annoying aspects of FFXV was being in certain areas and having to keep running to get out of stupid fights. I know they're different things, but I still consider it a side aspect I don't care about.
 

RamzaIsCool

The Amiga Brotherhood
They've never had to deal with human AI in an open world game.

But the area where you engage the humans aren't in a open field, it's in a camp or a base. We don't need FEAR type of behaviour, but basic enemy routines where they don't come across as a bunch of test dummy's can't hurt right?



They could also be a relatively small part of the game and so they got less attention. The machines AI behaviors seem very in depth. It's clear even from preview footage which were the main focus.

That's the thing, the machines are so well made that it stands out even more. Maybe when i play the game it won't bother me as much as it might be all designed that way in the ebb and flow of the game. We will see.
 

The Lamp

Member
Now for the ultimate question: does it feel like a Ubisoft game?

Actually, my main question is whether the game feels more story-driven, more focused, than the usual open world game. I found it interesting that the devs said there were no minigame activities; I've felt some open world games could be more distilled like Mafia 2 versus the kitchen sink approach of Rockstar and Ubisoft open worlds

Ubi games don't hold my attention long. Not since AC2. I was worried the same would happen here.

This game has my attention. It's got collectible resources and enemies strewn throughout the environment, but it doesn't feel bloated with pointless collectibles and objectives (so far).

The main story is engaging enough to keep me wanting to know more. The main objectives anchor the open world. The interactions with the environment have a practical purpose just like in TLOU and RDR. You need to confront enemies and harvest resources to get better gear, weapons, and items, which are extremely beneficial to defeating more advanced foes.
 
Nioh is so long, as least for me lol. I bought it when it launched and I'm probably half-way through it. But still, it's a fantastic game that everyone need to give it a shot.

Im into games like Uncharted..is Nioh kind of like that? Ive read that its really really hard is that true?
 
But the area where you engage the humans aren't in a open field, it's in a camp or a base. We don't need FEAR type of behaviour, but basic enemy routines where they don't come across as a bunch of test dummy's can't hurt right?
I don't think that is how it works. Everything plays into each other in terms of game development. They put their focus into the machines but perhaps that had to come with a sacrifice on human AI.
 
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