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Does Horizon Zero Dawn get any better?

S

SmokinGunZ1981

Member
I need to give this game another try, I played it at the same time as BOTW and the way aloy controlled compared to Link killed this game for me. I just felt like I kept running into small artifical walls that would stop me from travelling the way I wanted and she controlled like a tank.
 
1

120v

Member
travel packs are there to nudge you towards resource management and not bypassing swaths of the maps at all times, which, would essentially leave you unequipped to progress at all, as you're doing a lot of "along the way" leveling up. it's not like, say, far cry or skyrim where the map is littered with thousands of towers and quests. for better or worse its a slim and trim open world. i thought it worked for what the game was but YMMV of course

i guess it is a legit complaint a lot of the dino robo attacks can get annoying but i guess chalk that up to the world building not partitioning cookie cutter safety zones. it took me awhile to get used to the "rhythm" of the combat so i'm kind of sympathetic, but in no time most encounters will be easy or you'll be able to finagle your way out in one piece

good game, hope you come around on it but if you aren't having fun you aren't having fun
 
W

WheelHoss1

Member
Wow being a Souls vet I found the game super easy. Just ran by everything I didn’t want to fight np

And Watchers? I eat Watchers for lunch
 
I

isual

Member
i was ambivalent at first really.

but after playing and trudging through, i really like it.

i've come to appreciate the game's artistic and visual looks for what it is, and one day as i was playing, i ruminated about how far graphics have gone.

after finishing the dlc, i found the final boss for that a worthy challenge - even on easy mode.
 
F

FirmBizBws

Becomes baffled, curling up into a ball when confronted with three controller options.
WheelHoss1 said:
Wow being a Souls vet I found the game super easy. Just ran by everything I didn't want to fight np

And Watchers? I eat Watchers for lunch
Click to expand...

I'm a Souls vet and a MH vet, doesn't make me any better at this game,lol. But i'm going to try and play for at least another 2 hours. If it isn't for me then it isn't for me I guess, but being good at "hard" games doesn't make this game any easier. Nor enjoyable.
 
oliverandm

oliverandm

Member
I don't know... Many of your complaints seem like small things that's easy to work with, but if it's nagging you, you shouldn't expect things to get much better. Personally I had difficulties wrapping my head around the fact that I couldn't go all mental on enemies, and I was finding myself having to run and retry a lot of encounters in the start. Eventually I had peace with the fact that it's suppose to be a hostile world, and a grand one at that, and being cautious and strategic is somewhat warranted. I don't know what to tell you, but man... It's been my favorite experience all year, so it's truly a shame we can't share the enthusiasm for the game :/ I hope it turns around for you, but if it doesn't, I'm happy you got Odyssey, because that game is also amazing! Hopefully you'll enjoy that!
 
G

GetSomeSponge

Member
Seems like you're really angry over small issues and intended game design

Horizon does get better but it is just a glorified Ubisoft open world game, don't go into it expecting game of the gen and you'll enjoy it more.

Stealth and combat prep plays a big part of the game though so if that isn't your jam then I don't think you will ever enjoy it. You could always play on the easiest setting if you're only playing to enjoy the world and the story though.
 
Razzorn34

Razzorn34

Member
You don't have to force yourself to like a game just because it gets a lot of praise. IMO, the only thing that really stands out in HZD is graphics. Everything else is just above average, and isn't doing anything I haven't seen in many recent games.
 
Spukc

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
I get you OP.
I got this game played it for 6 hours.
Then zelda botw happened.
BAM never touched this game again xD
 
xviper

xviper

Member
the first few hours of Horizon were boring and i almost quit, but then it clicked with me, it's an amazing game, you just have to give it more chance
 
P

paulpp

Neo Member
FirmBizBws said:
I'm a Souls vet and a MH vet, doesn't make me any better at this game,lol. But i'm going to try and play for at least another 2 hours. If it isn't for me then it isn't for me I guess, but being good at "hard" games doesn't make this game any easier. Nor enjoyable.
Click to expand...


That's surprising as I just started playing this too and I'm approaching it like MH lite with some stealth thrown in and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

The combat opens up as new weapons/traps are acquired and the graphics and atmosphere that the game creates is amazing.

Have you done the first 3 hunting ground trials? These really helped me understand the depth of the combat system.
 
Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical Question

Member
HZD was on my must-play list and I actually was planning to get or at least borrow a PS4 to play that game (and U4). But how the OP describes the game I think I won't enjoy it either. I don't like RPGs where I constantly have to watch my back. I'm more into ones where you can just lurk around. Witcher 3 for example is a game I can just launch and take a walk through the entire world without constantly being stressed by some useless, repetitive enemies, at least if you don't run directly into the wildness.
That's actually one thing I didn't like about BotW, where enemies appeared out of nowhere, disturbing me enjoying a great view somewhere on a mountain.
 
Cert.in.Death

Cert.in.Death

Member
Yes, it gets better. I played the first 2-3 hours back when the game launched and was underwhelmed, always with the intention of returning, and by the end it's my personal pick for GOTY. Granted, I still need to finish Odyssey and Wolfenstein II, which have the potential to unseat it.
 
zenspider

zenspider

Member
ZServ said:
There's a simple reason that you don't like Horizon.

It's not a fucking RPG, fam. Horizon is a shooter...
Click to expand...

Huh. That sounds really interesting. I just picked it up on sale, and my biggest concern was how it might compare unfavorably to Zelda. Thanks for re-piquing my interest!
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
Does every other sentence really need to be "I hate this. It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but it's the worst experience I've ever had since I was born"?

Regardless, I don't personally believe the game is as amazing as most around here seem to, but actually for the opposite reasons you seem to dislike it. The combat is far too rote and easy, even on Very Hard. If you don't want to engage in combat, just do as the hints on the loading screens suggest and turn the difficulty down to story mode.
 
V

visiblemode

Member
Is my game of gen, so far, and one of the best games I’ve ever played and completed, out of the many, many, hundreds, spanning decades. So...yeah, it’s good.
 
Freeman76

Freeman76

Member
Its overrated. Most of the mechanics lifted from other games. Its overhyped on GAF for sure. It lopks amazing but does witcher senses more than Geralt.
 
Kremzeek

Kremzeek

Member
SLB1904 said:
Op is trolling you guys
Click to expand...

That's what I'm getting from this thread too.

Saying you need to spend "real money" for fast travel packs is totally bait, and completely false to even suggest it.

And the UI is a marvel- all the icons you need for waypoints are either on the compass or around you in the world space. WTF would you want some map trashing up your screen when the icons do the same thing?

But I'm giving this thread too much credit.
Playing as Rambo will get you nowhere in this game.
 
F

FirmBizBws

Becomes baffled, curling up into a ball when confronted with three controller options.
paulpp said:
That's surprising as I just started playing this too and I'm approaching it like MH lite with some stealth thrown in and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

The combat opens up as new weapons/traps are acquired and the graphics and atmosphere that the game creates is amazing.

Have you done the first 3 hunting ground trials? These really helped me understand the depth of the combat system.
Click to expand...

I haven’t tried the trials because I feel like I have a good understanding of how to use them. One of my issues is actually that because I’m so conditioned from MH to not use my big guns (traps, bombs, etc. ) until a boss fight, a lot of my deaths (4 in the first 3 hours) have come from me not using them because I don’t want to waste materials that I may need in a boss fight later on. But I think I may need to adjust and start using more weapons than just my bow and arrows and fire arrows.
 
F

FirmBizBws

Becomes baffled, curling up into a ball when confronted with three controller options.
Kremzeek said:
That's what I'm getting from this thread too.

Saying you need to spend "real money" for fast travel packs is totally bait, and completely false to even suggest it.

And the UI is a marvel- all the icons you need for waypoints are either on the compass or around you in the world space. WTF would you want some map trashing up your screen when the icons do the same thing?

But I'm giving this thread too much credit.
Playing as Rambo will get you nowhere in this game.
Click to expand...

I had no idea walking around in an open area on the way to my next destination was playing as Rambo, but seeing as this game is a stealth game akin to dishonored or splinter cell, you may be right, I’m probably not playing this “rpg”, and I use that term loosely, the correct way.

Maybe I should be farming for more travel packs so that I don’t have to worry about traveling so much and running into the watchers.

Btw, aren’t watchers those towers in dishonored as well?
 
W

Wamb0wneD

Member
How did you have that hard of an outrage and didn't mention the melee combat lol. You'll get another form of traveling relatively soon, which doesn't help with the waypoint/icon fest this game sadly is. The world is beatiful but pretty lifeless and you can barely interact with anything except picking up crap with a way too limited inventory and some uncharted climbing.
I didn't hate the game as much as you did but overall I wasn't too fond of it.
 
D

Dez

Member
The worst part is that when you do die out of nowhere, you’re booted back to your last camp fire save, with a super long load time as well.
 
W

Wonkytonky

Member
Razzorn34 said:
You don't have to force yourself to like a game just because it gets a lot of praise. IMO, the only thing that really stands out in HZD is graphics. Everything else is just above average, and isn't doing anything I haven't seen in many recent games.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
BLAUcopter

BLAUcopter

Gold Member
I didn't even get out of the tutorial area. Got to the big main gate and was like "yup, I'm done!"

If this game didn't have the graphics behind it there's no way it would've gotten the praise it did.
 
R

Ragnaroz

Member
Paterson said:
The story is OK but the actually gameplay is a complete bore. The best part of the game is watching Sony fanboys try to claim it's on the same level as Breath of the Wild. lol
Click to expand...
But it's not on the same level as BoTW. It's better. The only thing BoTW does better is the physics. Gameplay is on a similar level, but in everything else HZD wins by a landslide. Graphics, audio, world, story, challenge, none of those are even comparable between the two. And, before you so eloquently call me a Sony fanboy, HZD isn't even my GoTY. Divinity Original Sin 2 is.
 
Neff

Neff

Member
I couldn't get into it either. I invested six hours of my life and it felt like each successive hour was an hour wasted. In the end I was disappointed with myself for giving it the benefit of the doubt.

It's a derivative, janky, repetitive bore.

BLAUcopter said:
I didn't even get out of the tutorial area. Got to the big main gate and was like "yup, I'm done!"
Click to expand...

That first underground area with like ten fucking audio logs did not instil me with confidence that I was in good hands.
 
F

FirmBizBws

Becomes baffled, curling up into a ball when confronted with three controller options.
Ragnaroz said:
But it's not on the same level as BoTW. It's better. The only thing BoTW does better is the physics. Gameplay is on a similar level, but in everything else HZD wins by a landslide. Graphics, audio, world, story, challenge, none of those are even comparable between the two. And, before you so eloquently call me a Sony fanboy, HZD isn't even my GoTY. Divinity Original Sin 2 is.
Click to expand...

I don’t even like this game and it’s obvious that the story is more interesting, the world (in theory) is more interesting and the combat is more complex and better than BOTW which is just about timing your jump and the spamming the attack button.

Now, the world and overall gameplay in BOTW are better by far, but HZD Ana’s better audio and is more challenging.
 
Fuz

Fuz

Banned
Haven't tried it because I hate those stupid off-centered cameras, but I've only read good things. Until you.
 
CaptainSmirnov

CaptainSmirnov

Member
I beat the game and now playing the DLC and yeah it's not perfect but I still thought it was great. My negatives are I feel like you have to sneak 75% of the time or get seen by machines, I kinda wish they made some not react to the player and continue grazing or something. Secondly, while the world looks great i feel you can't interact much with it. I'd still give it a solid 8-8.5/10 for the combat, story and epic visuals
 
F

FirmBizBws

Becomes baffled, curling up into a ball when confronted with three controller options.
CaptainSmirnov said:
I beat the game and now playing the DLC and yeah it's not perfect but I still thought it was great. My negatives are I feel like you have to sneak 75% of the time or get seen by machines, I kinda wish they made some not react to the player and continue grazing or something. Secondly, while the world looks great i feel you can't interact much with it. I'd still give it a solid 8-8.5/10 for the combat, story and epic visuals
Click to expand...

A lot of the time I feel like i'm so far from the watchers then I see the little yellow icon pop up on the screen and i'm like "well I was enjoying this walk, now I have to either kill one of these guys or run away".

Like I know I am early in the game and all so I don't understand the purpose of the machines, but is their only job literally to play the role of security in this game? Do they have no other purpose?
 
F

FirmBizBws

Becomes baffled, curling up into a ball when confronted with three controller options.
Jangowuzhere said:
Sort of hard to take your complaints seriously when you feel the need to punctuate every minor point with "worst" and "fucking."
Click to expand...

In my defense I made this thread after dying because of a watcher and having to restart my progress because this game doesn't save a thing unless you go to a campfire. So I was extremely frustrated. Sorry.
 
bronk

bronk

Banned
I hated it. Im with you OP my explanation is pretty simple though. I just did not have any fun. When I dont have fun I move on. Its weird too because i overly like everything. It just did not click with me.
 
TGO

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
No, no it doesn't get any better than Horizon Zero Dawn.
The game is truly a masterclass in games.....
But seriously I wouldn't say it's GOTY, in fact I haven't seen GOTY material yet.
but it's definitely a stand out title and everything in the OP seems kinda like bait.
 
D

Dre_G_Writer

Member
to be honest, from the way your were posting, i thought this was a troll post, but I see you were dead serious. Well its quite obvious that this game aint for you. Well there is games like destiny and call of duty if you dont want to stalk and hunt with stealth gameplay.
 
L

Lemondish

Member
One thing's for sure, lots of folks like HZD. Hell, lots love it. But those who dislike it aren't just apathetic - they really fucking hate it and will rage at anything about it. That's certainly interesting.
 
Xaero Gravity

Xaero Gravity

NEXT LEVEL lame™
In my experience, it didn't. The fact that I couldn't stand or care about Alot didn't help matters. Unbelievably gorgeous game though. Don't get me wrong, it's nowhere near a bad game, it just didn't click with me like it did others.
 
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