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[prwxv3]

Zeldas structure would not have worked for what Horizon is going for. And it's best for everyone to realize this. Zeldas structure will not work for every type of open world game.

 

[Unison]

I don't even like Horizon ... It feels like a prettier but worse playing game of games I enjoy more (e.g. Monster Hunter... or other open world games).

I hate that it stresses bow combat so much compared to BOTW which really allows you to approach situations as you see fit. Horizon's melee feels awful.

 

[Drek]

I don't really understand why it's an open world game.

Because you can't fight a Tunderjaw in a corridor.

Well I personally can compare them, that's just how we all view it differently. I view open worlds in the same light, I went into horizon hoping I could explore and really stretch the game further and was disappointed that exploration wasnt a stronger point for them.

That depends on how you define exploration though. If you're only exploring when you go off-narrative and do your own random things then sure, but the entire narrative in Horizon is the exploration of this ruined world. So GG doesn't give the payoff for randomly poking into this one corner of the map but then when you go with the main story you're exploring areas that are basically an overload of eye candy at every turn coupled with one of the best storylines in nearly every way we've seen in gaming to date, amplified by one of the best protagonists in modern gaming history.

It's two different reasons for being open world and two different forms of exploration. If you limit the definition of exploration to the former case you're biasing the argument in favor of Zelda.

I don't even like Horizon ... It feels like a prettier but worse playing game of games I enjoy more (e.g. Monster Hunter... or other open world games).

I hate that it stresses bow combat so much compared to BOTW which really allows you to approach situations as you see fit. Horizon's melee feels awful.

And Zelda's melee feels great despite being the worst in a Zelda game in recent history or something?

Also if you think Horizon stresses the bow too much you aren't playing it right. Slings, tie down ropes, trip wires, etc. are all equally effective options as the bow, giving a ton of different options on how to approach various scenarios.

 

[flyinpiranha]

For me, Zelda hasen't even come close to the awe I felt when I saw the jungle area in Horizon the first time.
Or when I saw a Tallneck för the first time. Or when I fought a Stormbird on top of a mountain in a snowstorm.
Or when I explored a moonlit city ruin that had turned to a swamp over the years.
Or when I fought my first Thunderjaw.
And so on...

Zelda does a good job with the hole "I wonder what's behind this hill" exploration, but I have to be honest, the graphics (Wii U) kills a lot of the enjoyment for me.

This actually sums up my sentiment as well. But I still think the comparison is reaching. Like comparing Pokemon to Mass Effect. They're both RPG's, right?

 

[prwxv3]

I don't even like Horizon ... It feels like a prettier but worse playing game of games I enjoy more (e.g. Monster Hunter... or other open world games).

I hate that it stresses bow combat so much compared to BOTW which really allows you to approach situations as you see fit. Horizon's melee feels awful.

Melee is not a focus of the game. The bow is and it's fine to not like that but that's what the devs wanted.

 

[georly]

They're like apples and oranges. I played zelda first and just couldn't get into horizon because i kept wanting to do things the game wouldn't let me and i kept dying because i kept playing it like it was zelda. This is of no fault of horizon, but after zelda it certainly was not the kind of game i was looking for. Zelda spoiled me with freedom and horizon is very restrictive by comparison. I look forward to getting back into horizon later, but right now it's not the game for me, thanks to zelda.

Also, horizon kinda sucks at environmental cues - letting me know what i can and can't interact with in a natural way. They have to place white triangles above stuff i can interact with which was kinda off-putting. I wish it was a little bit better in that regard. Again, it's not a bad game, it's just not what I wanted right now and zelda spoiled me in a lot of ways.

 

[Neoweee]

I don't even like Horizon ... It feels like a prettier but worse playing game of games I enjoy more (e.g. Monster Hunter... or other open world games).

I hate that it stresses bow combat so much compared to BOTW which really allows you to approach situations as you see fit. Horizon's melee feels awful.

There essentially isn't melee combat. You're either getting stealth kills, killing from range, or are completely fucked and spamming the god roll.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

They're like apples and oranges. I played zelda first and just couldn't get into horizon because i kept wanting to do things the game wouldn't let me and i kept dying because i kept playing it like it was zelda. This is of no fault of horizon, but after zelda it certainly was not the kind of game i was looking for. Zelda spoiled me with freedom and horizon is very restrictive by comparison. I look forward to getting back into horizon later, but right now it's not the game for me, thanks to zelda.

I had the opposite. I was about half through Horizon when got my Switch. Played Zelda that weekend and struggled to get into it as I was so into Horizon. Shelved Zelda for a week or so as I finished up Horizon. Loved it, game of the generation so far for me.

Then went back and beat Zelda this past week/weekend and still having a ton of fun exploring the world. Great game, but Horizon is just a better match for my tastes as I prefer the art style, more linear/guided games (even if in an open-ish world) and a strong narrative to open games with a lot of freedom.

 

[Unison]

Melee is not a focus of the game. The bow is and it's fine to not like that but that's what the devs wanted.

Fair enough, but it isn't fun.

I wanted an HD Monster Hunter, which it clearly isn't in any way shape or form... Ranged combat is like 5% of the MH experience.

Devs can want whatever they want, but I feel burned as a customer.

 

[theifofdreams]

I played Zelda for 5 hours last night and didnt do a single mission and didn't have a moment of boredom.

Exploring in horizon is about enjoying the beauty of the world. There really isn't anything to compel you to explore, especially since you can buy cheap maps that show you where all the collectables are at.

 

[13ruce]

Zelda but i might be a bit biased with a Midna and Wolf Link tattoo.

Horizon is my second favorite so far this year. Only Mario and Red Dead 2 probably stand a chance against it.

 

[prwxv3]

I played Zelda for 5 hours last night and didnt do a single mission and didn't have a moment of boredom.

Exploring in horizon is about enjoying the beauty of the world. There really isn't anything to compel you to explore, especially since you can buy cheap maps that show you where all the collectables are at.

I felt compelled because the combat is so great and the variety of environments is great. And the data points are fantastic as well. Horizons combat and enemy variety is much better then zeldas to me.

 

[apieceofstrange]

I was playing Horizon until Zelda came out, and I haven't played Horizon since, so Zelda.

Not to say Horizon was bad, I do intend to go back to it after Zelda. Zelda is just in a class of its own.

Honestly, I haven't been a huge fan of 3D Zelda games post OoT nor do I care much for modern open world trappings (ie. collectibles, resource gathering, crafting, ubisoft towers), yet somehow this combination has me completely hooked.

 

[Drek]

I think the sequel to Horizon should do away with marking Ruins on your map and Cauldrons on your map and force you to explore the environment. I also think they should make you buy a map that shows where the robot species are instead of having them littered on the map. Less is more and it will lend to making exploration more fun if you dont know whats around the corner.

They did use purchased maps for the vantage points, tallnecks, vessels, metal flowers, and banuk figures. You don't unlock the animal locations unless you come across them directly or unlock a tallneck. Same for ruins and Cauldrons.

So you can very much play Horizon without any pre-placed map markers. if you wish.

Fair enough, but it isn't fun.

I wanted an HD Monster Hunter, which it clearly isn't in any way shape or form... Ranged combat is like 5% of the MH experience.

Devs can want whatever they want, but I feel burned as a customer.

It was never billed as an HD MonHun, why would you feel burned for putting your own preconceived notions on it?

Further, why in the world would you imagine that Sony would put >$50M behind an HD Monster Hunter-like? Capcom doesn't spend close to that on each new MonHun and they have the established IP to bank on.

Melee is not a focus of the game. The bow is and it's fine to not like that but that's what the devs wanted.

If you upgrade melee in the Brave skill tree it is absurd how easily you can topple and crit. even late game mid-sized machines into easy resource zero defeat, especially 1 on 1.

Personally I'd use it for stealth to open a fight after framing the area with wires and traps, then pluck enemies with arrows or sling bombs until they stunned, at which point I'd dash slide in for the critical and pop back out again to repeat the process, at least when fighting multiple powerful machines.

 

[Peltz]

Honestly, neither. Zelda's dungeon and puzzle design is top notch, but overworld traversal feels really slow and boring. I haven't played enough Horizon to have much of an opinion about it yet, though, but I personally prefer the style of having waypoints that tell you where things are, so I'd give Horizon the edge.

That's an interesting complaint about Zelda.

For me, world traversal feels very fast for such a large world. You can climb somewhere high and glide across a huge portion of the map very quickly when you see something in the distance worth exploring. And there always seems to be something interesting within view. Plus I've found well trained horses are able to traverse paths very quickly.

I haven't played Horizon, so I will refrain from commenting on it.

 

[marrec]

I want to take pictures of Horizon's world and "ooo" and "aaaah" over how pretty it looks. Part of what drives me to continue playing is the beauty of it all. However beyond that it is no different from other open worlds, perhaps a bit better, but the same kind of thing that I've grown to really hate over the past decade.

Zelda's world is pretty as well, but rather than dumbfound me with it's beauty I feel more inclined to actually be in the world of BotW. I'm kinda dreading completing it to be honest because it's so much fun to traverse. Each new area provides something surprising and completely different from the last, while also giving you an incentive to move on to the next with visible and interesting landmarks that you can see from any relatively high place. For the longest time I've used "open world game" as an insult, but BotW has finally rekindled the feeling I original got from Morrowind that has been lost since that time.

As for which world I enjoy more, it's hard to say. They're both quite enjoyable for different reasons. Horizon continually shocks me with just how good looking it is... but that's it, the fun for me comes not from the combat or the gathering/crafting (all by the numbers affairs) but from the sheer beauty of the world they've created. Currently I'm enjoying BotW's more from a pure time spent standpoint though and if made to choose I'd rather forget everything I know about BotW and explore it all again from scratch. I see no point is ever returning to Horizon's world once I'm done with it.

 

[Unison]

It was never billed as an HD MonHun, why would you feel burned for putting your own preconceived notions on it?

You're mistaken...

"this gorgeous game combines Monster Hunter-style hunter-gatherer gameplay" - Polygon

"It reminds me of Monster Hunter, but actually looks fun" - The Verge

"Essentially Monster Hunter with a robotic twist" - US Gamer

"The team, in an interview, said they were inspired by Monster Hunter" - MH Pro GaijinHunter

Plenty of media / GAF users made the comparison. I simply listed the first results that came up on Google. I preordered the game around E3 as a result. When I got what I got I was disappointed.

Yes, I could have done more research, I am sure (at the risk of spoiling myself), but it's not like I randomly made those associations with one of my favorite game series.

 

[Drek]

You're mistaken...

"this gorgeous game combines Monster Hunter-style hunter-gatherer gameplay" - Polygon

"It reminds me of Monster Hunter, but actually looks fun" - The Verge

"Essentially Monster Hunter with a robotic twist" - US Gamer

"The team, in an interview, said they were inspired by Monster Hunter" - MH Pro GaijinHunter

Plenty of media / GAF users made the comparison. I simply listed the first results that came up on Google. I preordered the game around E3 as a result. When I got what I got I was disappointed.

Yes, I could have done more research, I am sure (at the risk of spoiling myself), but it's not like I randomly made those associations with one of my favorite game series.

You let a snapshot of gaming press set your views. Everyone who frequents GAF should know by now that most gaming press are pretty damn bad at their jobs, in large part because they constantly draw these kinds of false equivalencies. GG was pretty open that the game was a story driven action RPG.

 

[Chris R]

Played both for about 4 hours.

Gonna buy horizon before the year is done when it's on sale. If I see a used copy of botw for WiiU sitting around somewhere next year I'll think about it if it isn't 40$

 

[RootCause]

Just focusing on the gameplay aspect of the game.
To me, it boils down to what you want from your adventure.

Horizon offers one of the most impressive, and satisfying combat mechanics in gaming, with great enemy variety, and fantastic ai. Easily the best hunting mechanics in gaming as of this moment.

Zelda gives you a world that begs to be explored, with unrivaled freedom to do as you please, and encourages you to experiment with all sorts of gadgets.
You'll easily get lost in its wonderful world.

I still can't over getting two of the greatest games of all time, on the same week. 😮

 

[Unison]

You let a snapshot of gaming press set your views. Everyone who frequents GAF should know by now that most gaming press are pretty damn bad at their jobs, in large part because they constantly draw these kinds of false equivalencies. GG was pretty open that the game was a story driven action RPG.

The developers themselves made the comparisons!

But whatever... you enjoy the game. Good for you.

The thread asked a question. I answered it. I wasn't trying to get in a silly argument.

Horizon is prettier, but BOTW gives me far more of a sense of exploration.

 

[Neoweee]

Played both for about 4 hours.

Gonna buy horizon before the year is done when it's on sale. If I see a used copy of botw for WiiU sitting around somewhere next year I'll think about it if it isn't 40$

Uh.... how about a used copy for $60 or $70? Because that's more likely than a $40 used copy sitting around.

 

[Raxus]

Zelda, obviously. The movement makes it inherently more fun to explore.

Horizon would be getting the same praise if it didn't get released so close to Zelda. Game is a ton of fun.

 

[Neoweee]

Zelda, obviously. The movement makes it inherently more fun to explore.

Horizon would be getting the same praise if it didn't get released so close to Zelda. Game is a ton of fun.

Yeah.

I think of Horizon as a "Combat-focused game with open-world trappings and exploration".

I think of Zelda as an "Open-world exploration game with combat and puzzles".

There's such a huge difference in between the focus of the games.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

Well almost everyone is going to say Zelda I am sure because that is the point of the game. Exploring. Horizon is a story driven open world that doesn't really reward exploring. Having said that I still prefer Horizon's world even if it isn't as fun to explore. I got about halfway through the Zelda map, and went back to Horizon I think I am over the pure open world aspect of some games at this point.

 

[Nester99]

Imagine if Zelda's amazing gameplay had Horizons gripping story, acting and cut scenes?

 

[KORNdoggy]

i tend to only enjoy exploring games that have good variety and look really nice (as you can imagine that doesnt leave a lot of options). but I've not even used a mount or fast traveled in horizon and i'm 42 hours in. the world is perfectly sized. not overwhelmingly big. not too small. and i like the visual theme of nature taking back a modern world. it mixes the known and unknown really well and keeps you intrigued. the closest game i can compare it to in terms of a desire and enjoyment to explore is fallout 3.

 

[wapplew]

Imagine if Zelda's amazing gameplay had Horizons gripping story, acting and cut scenes?

Really hard to tell a linear story if you can't predict where player will go. Unless they write a none linear story that have same impact no matter which sequence you tell it.
Maybe Pulp fiction might work.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Really hard to tell a linear story if you can't predict where player will go. Unless they write a none linear story that have same impact no matter which sequence you tell it.
Maybe Pulp fiction might work.

Yeah, that's why I'm not a big fan of purely open games--I love good stories and it really makes it hard to tell one. The only way to do it in an open world really is to have a linear main story path that has to be done in order, with the true openness just being sidequest and exploring the world to find things ala Witcher 3, Horizon etc. But the exploration is never as rewarding in those games. Though I guess it certainly could be if they just hid more meaninful things to find and had less markers on the map.

That said, the story in Zelda would have been better simply with good voice acting in the memories and existing cut scenes, and maybe a few more cutscenes with good dialogue and acting at key moments in the main quest. But story telling has never been a strong point of Zelda so it didn't affect my opinion of the game as I wasn't expecting much there. Horizon got a big bump for telling a great story as I wasn't expecting that from Guerilla Games and it made me love the game WAY more than I was expecting to.

 

[Chris R]

Uh.... how about a used copy for $60 or $70? Because that's more likely than a $40 used copy sitting around.

Then maybe I'll never finish botw. It's a gorgeous game, just isn't for me I guess.

 

[trixx]

Havent played horizon, but all I can say is damn that game is beautiful.

I get lost in the world Zelda, it's one hell of a game. Not even close to finished after 30 hours because I'm mainly exploring, looking for shrines and such.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Then maybe I'll never finish botw. It's a gorgeous game, just isn't for me I guess.

Well if you ever get a Switch it will eventually be cheaper there. Wii U version is less likely as they probably will only do the one printing like they did with the GameCube version of Twilight Princess so it will likely end up rare-ish and hold value or even increase in price over time.

 

[phanphare]

Imagine if Zelda's amazing gameplay had Horizons gripping story, acting and cut scenes?

eh I don't agree with this. Horizon is doing its own thing and it works for that game but its style of story wouldn't really jive with a Zelda game, or at least the way in which the story is framed and told not necessarily the types of themes it explores. honestly I think if Zelda had better voice acting the story would have been perfect.

 

[SoraanTribal]

They're like apples and oranges. I played zelda first and just couldn't get into horizon because i kept wanting to do things the game wouldn't let me and i kept dying because i kept playing it like it was zelda. This is of no fault of horizon, but after zelda it certainly was not the kind of game i was looking for. Zelda spoiled me with freedom and horizon is very restrictive by comparison. I look forward to getting back into horizon later, but right now it's not the game for me, thanks to zelda.

Also, horizon kinda sucks at environmental cues - letting me know what i can and can't interact with in a natural way. They have to place white triangles above stuff i can interact with which was kinda off-putting. I wish it was a little bit better in that regard. Again, it's not a bad game, it's just not what I wanted right now and zelda spoiled me in a lot of ways.

This happens to me all the time. I got so used to being able to climb anything in Zelda and I miss that so much in horizon. Even just trying to climb up a rock or something doesn't work most of the time unless there's a specific thing to climb into like a piece of wood.

 

[SillyEskimo]

Zelda by a country mile. Horizon is great, but I've seen all the systems and mechanics in other games. Zelda, while sporting similar mechanics, managed to put a unique enough spin on things to make them feel fresh and new again.

 

[The_Kid]

The problem with exploring in Horizon is that it isn't really exploring. Unexplored sections of the map will eventually be led to by a quest or some sort of icon, so exploring them on your own isn't rewarding. Its very much a "Go from point A to B, but not before we tell you" structure in a lot of open world games. But it does it much better than others.

Zelda makes you explore for things. You mark things yourself, you discover secrets, every section of the map crossed off (you probably can't even fully cross it off) is a major accomplishment.

 

[spankdatazz22]

Horizon feels like a revolution.

Zelda feels like an evolution.

 

[Fredrik]

Zelda for sure, Horizon is much prettier but not nearly as fun to explore.

Unquestionably zelda. I dropped horizon once loz came out and have no desire to come back until after I'm done with loz.

Same here, I tried to play them in parallell but eventually just stopped playing Horizon, I'll start over fresh when I'm done with Zelda.

 

[NeonBlack]

Unquestionably zelda. I dropped horizon once loz came out and have no desire to come back until after I'm done with loz.

Same except I have no desire to go back

 

[MrJoobJoob]

It's a little uneven to compare the two games on the merits of exploration. Achieving a sense of adventure & exploration is the main design principle of BotW, with seemingly every mechanic designed to further that goal. Horizon is more about telling a focused story within an expansive open world -- exploration isn't the point.

 

[UCBooties]

I was just thinking about this last night. To me, Zelda gets the edge because it feels like there's a reason to go over just one more hill, or climb to the top of a peak, or risk gliding down into that ravine that you're not sure you can climb out of. Whereas Horizon doesn't give me that same desire to just run off in a random direction to see what I find.

That being said, Horizon's combat makes me want to get into every fight I can. I killed my first Thunderjaw last night and had an absolute blast. The world in Horizon feels more like its intended to be a backdrop for these epic showdowns instead of a world to explore in its own right.

Zelda makes me want to explore, Horizon makes me want to find the next fight.

 

[Gitaroo]

Horizon, no contest, not only that it is more fun but it also feels like watching planet earth whenever you go. Zelda on the other hand, feels like a giant deserted boring waste land. I like to explore maps that are ties to quests instead of having a giant checklist of boring scavenger hunt to do which is why I stop playing Ubi games.

 

[Neoleo2143]

There's also a discussion to be had how "Combat Difficulty" completely drowns out comparisons and discussion of other difficulty types. Zelda has more Puzzle difficulty (compared to Horizon's none), and more Explorational/Observational difficulty. There is nothing outside of combat in Horizon that has me spending time to think or strategize. Just follow the map markers. As soon as a game has combat, that is the only type of difficulty that people seem to even discuss, and becomes a proxy for the game's overall difficulty. That's totally unfair to RPGs that try to have exploration, quests, and puzzles.

This is a very good point. Zelda demands a far Broader Skill set than Horizon does and it tests all of those skills in some way shape or form with variances in difficulty which make it difficult to evaluate since people could be good at one aspect and struggle with another. How does one compare difficulty in that sense?

 

[ACE 1991]

In terms of exploration, this isn't even a contest. BotW.

Horizon, no contest, not only that it is more fun but it also feels like watching planet earth whenever you go. Zelda on the other hand, feels like a giant deserted boring waste land. I like to explore maps that are ties to quests instead of having a giant checklist of boring scavenger hunt to do which is why I stop playing Ubi games.

I STRONGLY disagree and you're entitled to your opinion, but Horizon has this in spades (and I really like Horizon).

 

[Struct09]

I really enjoy Horizon, but BotW is in an entirely different league on almost every level.

This is how I feel. I love Horizon and think it's a great game, it's just that nothing really compares to how Zelda uses its open world.

 

[Clarkus Darkus]

Horizon without a shadow of a doubt, I'm one of those with a 4K set and HDR, Nothing comes close to the level of immersion when in Horizon.

Zelda's graphics belong in a different era which takes me out the game and doesnt use my TV too it's capabilities, Reminds me alot of Dragon Quest 8. Great game though but this thread is about enjoyment of the exploration.

I'm all about visuals these days, Played enough RPG's over the years so Horizon takes the crown for its combination of exploration and visual splendour during it.

 

[royox]

Zelda is just Zelda again.

I don't know how to react at this. It' SO WRONG i can't find the perfect picture inside my raction folder.

 

[jonscrambler]

pretty obvious who hasn't played both games

 

[Domcorleone]

I want to take pictures of Horizon's world and "ooo" and "aaaah" over how pretty it looks. Part of what drives me to continue playing is the beauty of it all. However beyond that it is no different from other open worlds, perhaps a bit better, but the same kind of thing that I've grown to really hate over the past decade.

Zelda's world is pretty as well, but rather than dumbfound me with it's beauty I feel more inclined to actually be in the world of BotW. I'm kinda dreading completing it to be honest because it's so much fun to traverse. Each new area provides something surprising and completely different from the last, while also giving you an incentive to move on to the next with visible and interesting landmarks that you can see from any relatively high place. For the longest time I've used "open world game" as an insult, but BotW has finally rekindled the feeling I original got from Morrowind that has been lost since that time.

As for which world I enjoy more, it's hard to say. They're both quite enjoyable for different reasons. Horizon continually shocks me with just how good looking it is... but that's it, the fun for me comes not from the combat or the gathering/crafting (all by the numbers affairs) but from the sheer beauty of the world they've created. Currently I'm enjoying BotW's more from a pure time spent standpoint though and if made to choose I'd rather forget everything I know about BotW and explore it all again from scratch. I see no point is ever returning to Horizon's world once I'm done with it.

The combat in Horizon is... by the numbers?? What game has combat like it?

 

[Domcorleone]

Same except I have no desire to go back

You know you can like two different games at the same time right? Appreciate the mechanics in each for what they are and stop comparing. They don't even remotely play the same