• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
This stream is good and has sold me more on the game than the official media. I'm still not crazy over the moon about it and it does seem a little rough in some areas (namely facial animations and lip syncing), but a lot of that can be put down to it being Guerilla's first open world game combined with the usual production limitations of big open world RPGs.

UI is too intrusive for my liking, hopefully lots of the loot/enemy/objective/compass feeds can be turned off for more immersing, agency driven discovery and engagement.

Outside of facial animation quirks it looks super gorgeous. Still not 100% on some of the environment topography, but other parts look crazy gorgeous. In the stream Alloy explored the overgrown ruins we've seen in screenshots, only it was dusk and a heavy fog had rolled in. Looked very, very good.

Surprised to see some tech tools that I didn't know about that are a simple if neat way to get lore exposition. I'm liking that the "Batman vision" style questing that The Witcher 3 used a lot is in; arrive at area, scan points of interest, Alloy commentary, follow footsteps, etc.

Combat seems okay. Against big shit doesn't appear as dramatically strategic and complex as the original reveal made it out to be, but that could be just the person playing. Bow seems a little drab but might feel better in play.

I don't know. I like what I'm seeing, mostly when it's a comfy exploration game. Stream has sold me more on the game than before. I don't think I'll get it at launch as there's far too much to play, but I'll get it a month or so later.

This stream is spoiling end game shit though lol.
 
This stream is good and has sold me more on the game than the official media. I'm still not crazy over the moon about it and it does seem a little rough in some areas (namely facial animations and lip syncing), but a lot of that can be put down to it being Guerilla's first open world game combined with the usual production limitations of big open world RPGs.

UI is too intrusive for my liking, hopefully lots of the loot/enemy/objective/compass feeds can be turned off for more immersing, agency driven discovery and engagement.

Outside of facial animation quirks it looks super gorgeous. Still not 100% on some of the environment topography, but other parts look crazy gorgeous. In the stream Alloy explored the overgrown ruins we've seen in screenshots, only it was dusk and a heavy fog had rolled in. Looked very, very good.

Surprised to see some tech tools that I didn't know about that are a simple if neat way to get lore exposition. I'm liking that the "Batman vision" style questing that The Witcher 3 used a lot is in; arrive at area, scan points of interest, Alloy commentary, follow footsteps, etc.

Combat seems okay. Against big shit doesn't appear as dramatically strategic and complex as the original reveal made it out to be, but that could be just the person playing. Bow seems a little drab but might feel better in play.

I don't know. I like what I'm seeing, mostly when it's a comfy exploration game. Stream has sold me more on the game than before. I don't think I'll get it at launch as there's far too much to play, but I'll get it a month or so later.

This stream is spoiling end game shit though lol.

3191827-hud.jpg
 

Gurish

Member
Wait, are all these pretty gifs from pro? How much less-pretty is it gonna be for us plebs?

I hope that close enough, I hate this mid upgrade thing the industry is moving to, I can't afford a Pro and a 4K TV and it makes me feel shit about playing this on my OG PS4, like I will miss out its full glory.

I know it's the same on PC, but that's one of the reasons I play on consoles, I like it that it's a unified experience and the console that I bought at the start of the gen is offering the same experience as anyone else's.
 

The Lamp

Member
EatChildren: The HUD/UI is completely customizable. Like almost every icon is removable, static, or dynamic.

And yeah I'd say the combat is pretty strategic. Each creature has different elemental weaknesses and weakpoints covered in armor that you need to consider in combat. That's also why Aloy's spear doesn't make melee combat very impressive.
 

Wollan

Member
Those gifs are absolutely ridicolous. Someone were right that it looks like it has the livelyness of the Witcher 3 reveal scenes that didn't pan out. Even more volume of flora and fauna & world.

edit: for the new page:

More gifs: Some of these show a little bit more areas then shown and whatnot, still nothing huge but click at your own choice please.

ms40SP1.gif

DUf4xcZ.gif

8a2YUpa.gif

yyfEpgT.gif

pfpiO7n.gif

i6pCqth.gif
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.

EatChildren: The HUD/UI is completely customizable. Like almost every icon is removable, static, or dynamic.

And yeah I'd say the combat is pretty strategic. Each creature has different elemental weaknesses and weakpoints covered in armor that you need to consider in combat. That's also why Aloy's spear doesn't make melee combat very impressive.

Cool, thanks guys.

The complexities of combat aren't being demonstrated in the stream, so just that really. I like that the dismemberment of key machine parts is still in, but the dude was effortlessly stripping said parts off enemies just by wailing arrows. And from there it was really just a DPS grind. Could be just the player, but yeah, no crazy depth has been highlighted.
 

The Lamp

Member
Cool, thanks guys.

The complexities of combat aren't being demonstrated in the stream, so just that really. I like that the dismemberment of key machine parts is still in, but the dude was effortlessly stripping said parts off enemies just by wailing arrows. And from there it was really just a DPS grind. Could be just the player, but yeah, no crazy depth has been highlighted.

You said he was at end-game, right? I imagine by then he has a really nice bow with upgrades. Not sure.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
You said he was at end-game, right? I imagine by then he has a really nice bow with upgrades. Not sure.

Yeah I was thinking that too. Inventory is full of super rare gear.
 

thuway

Member
The "soon to be released before launch" update is supposed to provide some significant benefits to PS4 Pro users. I can't wait.


Serious question to everyone: How many people here would like a performance mode that favors framerate?
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I must have missed something. Where is this being streamed?

On Azubu but I'm wary of linking it. Am I allowed to? Guy clearly has the final build and is playing very late game stuff, spoiling what seems like major quest set pieces and narrative beats. Bit of exploring too.

untitled-1p0yc1.jpg
 
Serious question to everyone:

How many people here would like a performance mode that favors framerate?
You mean like 60fps? I thought GG said their engine was made for 30fps.


Then again, considering Kojima is using this engine, and making a PC port, I'm assuming it's just the game that doesn't support 60fps.
 

SamNW

Member
On Azubu but I'm wary of linking it. Am I allowed to? Guy clearly has the final build and is playing very late game stuff, spoiling what seems like major quest set pieces and narrative beats. Bit of exploring too.

untitled-1p0yc1.jpg
I found it. Much appreciated, though I'm not sure how long I'll watch if it's all late-game stuff.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I found it. Much appreciated, though I'm not sure how long I'll watch if it's all late-game stuff.

Well the stream dropped a pretty significant reveal 15 minutes or so ago, and the guy is decked in ultra rare gear, plus some of the quests seem very important. If you're worried about spoilers I'd tap out because he's in the middle of a quest right now.
 

BigTnaples

Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
I don't think a 60 FPS mode is coming or any thing like that. I do think an unlocked framerate mode similar to what Tomb Raider does isn't off the table.


I prefer the bump in resolution. Especially with foliage heavy games like this. Anything to make a less aliased image.

That said wouldn't mind trying out an enhanced performance mode with an Unlocked frame rate. (Especially of PS5 is straight BC and come with a "boost mode" we could see 60 locked on pretty much any unlocked PS4 game)


Wouldve also liked to see a high fidelity mode like Tomb Raider. Better LoD, Draw Distance, effects, shadow and reflection resolution, etc..
 
Sony 1st party pushing the envelope again.

This makes the witcher 3 look old

The Witcher 3 2013 and 2014 footage looked stunning but they clearly had to downgrade it to get it working on lower spec PC's and consoles. It still looked awesome but definitely not as good.

I agree, Horizon does look better than The Witcher 3, the Decima engine is really impressive tech. I guess that is one of the advantages of working on a closed system, where the specs are the same on each PS4 (well, 2 slightly different specs, now the Pro is out) so it's much easier to push the limits as far as they can, without worrying about it not working on a lot of different lower spec machines.
 

Solal

Member
Sorry if that has already been said but: can you lock ennemies to turn around them more smoothly? I understand from a quote in the OP than you can't....but it seems hard to believe.

Tx in advance.

Still can't find the answer. Anyone ?
 

farmerboy

Member
Impressions are amazing guys. There seems to be so much emergent gameplay & 'moments' where you can just wander into a situation & get involved in stuff...plus it is outrageously gorgeous...likely to come under the 'games I've been waiting for since I was 12' category.

Been keeping a keen eye on this thread and some Horizon stuff over the last month and was thinking exactly the same thing. I dreamt of this shit when I was 12 (41 myself) and quite frankly, I sometimes just stare blankly, trying to take it in. A "pinch yourself" moment. Cos 12yo me never thought it was gonna get this good.

All games make me feel like that, its just that Horizon is the latest pinnacle.
 

Exquisik

Member
Horizon Zero Dawn |OT| Bob Ross and the Fog

For those that are playing Horizon and have played the first Witcher, how would you compare the two? By that I mean for the first game of the IPs, which of the two do you think is the better first installation?
 
Horizon Zero Dawn |OT| Bob Ross and the Fog

For those that are playing Horizon and have played the first Witcher, how would you compare the two? By that I mean for the first game of the IPs, which of the two do you think is the better first installation?

Horizon takes the cake for me. Even today combat doesn't click with me very well in Witcher 1. Granted Witcher is a much more traditional rpg.
 

neoglow

Banned
Xbox owners must be super hating this game right now but it does make me wonder what games are hidden up the Scorpios sleeve.
 
Horizon Zero Dawn |OT| Bob Ross and the Fog

For those that are playing Horizon and have played the first Witcher, how would you compare the two? By that I mean for the first game of the IPs, which of the two do you think is the better first installation?
Glad I read your complete post, I was like what an odd comparison. Now if this game is successful, the question would be how huge will the leaps be Guerrilla making? Since every Witcher title is quite an evolutionary leap with every step.
 

kyser73

Member
I don't think a 60 FPS mode is coming or any thing like that. I do think an unlocked framerate mode similar to what Tomb Raider does isn't off the table.

Mathias was pretty clear in stating that the whole game had been built around 30fps, so I don't know if that would even be possible without something breaking.

Xbox owners must be super hating this game right now but it does make me wonder what games are hidden up the Scorpios sleeve.

I mean there's a lot of love for HZD and what it looks like on the Pro, when Scorpio arrives it will be interesting to see what exclusives are unveiled. May be some envy from the PS camp.

Wow, tragic. Worst bait ever. 0/10. Why are you even here?

FWIW, people are gushing over how good it looks on the base PS4 as well as the Pro.
 
Horizon Zero Dawn |OT| Bob Ross and the Fog

For those that are playing Horizon and have played the first Witcher, how would you compare the two? By that I mean for the first game of the IPs, which of the two do you think is the better first installation?

Witcher 1 compared to Horizon is a very strange comparison. Witcher 1, at least on initial release, was very rough in terms of visuals and presentation. It was a rough diamond. Horizon looks very slick for a first game. Plus, Witcher 1 was essentially CD Projekts first game. The most fair comparison, would be Witcher 3 and Horizon.
 
For anyone that has played the game, can you advise if there is a section which displays the current total playtime somewhere within the statistics of the option screen.
 
Witcher 1 compared to Horizon is a very strange comparison. Witcher 1, at least on initial release, was very rough in terms of visuals and presentation. It was a rough diamond. Horizon looks very slick for a first game. Plus, Witcher 1 was essentially CD Projekts first game. The most fair comparison, would be Witcher 3 and Horizon.
Even then, it's still an odd comparison, considering TW3 is CDPR's third RPG, while this is GG's first.
 

neoglow

Banned
Wow, tragic. Worst bait ever. 0/10. Why are you even here?

FWIW, people are gushing over how good it looks on the base PS4 as well as the Pro.

Woah, I wasn't baiting at all, just sayin.

I'm here cos I've got HZD on preorder and can't wait for it to arrive. Mega hyped for this game but struggling to stay away from spoiler stuff. It's just too tempting ;)

Word of advice. "Don't do this". Avoid such things. You seems new on NeoGaf.

Point taken :)
 
Top Bottom