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Horizon Zero Dawn |OT| The Land After Time

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AHindD

Member
Will echo what others have said here: currently 25 hours in and have reached 38% completion, so I don't think i'll be seeing the back of this in the predicted ~35 hours. I still have huge sections of the map I've not even explored, quests and errands stacking up - it's all gravy.

LIke others here, I'm absolutely blown away. Think of Witcher 3 style world and quest design, MGSV style open world encounters and a little TR/UC style traversal/platforming.

The combat I can't really compare - very much a beast of it's own - but it defintely has a bit of BB influence. Be ready to read attack animations, because spamming the dodge button just gets you killed. The machines in particular have big wind-ups on thier melee attacks and your iframes are limited, so timing is crucial.

Garb also reminds me of BB in that there's no single super-duper set that'll cover you in all scearios. Each outfit is tailored to specific areas and enemies, but you'll need to swap out for each area.

Game is an absolute bench mark and hands down one of the best looking games ever put to market. Between

Stop it! I can only be so erect!
 
"Horizon Zero Dawn" makes no sense as a sentence.

I mean, Horizon: Zero Dawn makes no more amount of sense to be fair. I actually like Horizon Zero Dawn way more as a title, it sounds like it means something, a military style code almost. Whereas Horizon: Zero Dawn sounds like a cliche game with a nonsensical 'edgy' subtitle.
 
I like Horizon: Zero Dawn

Can see how Zero Dawn could end up making sense in the game world, and Horizon makes for a catchy potential franchise title and the colon tidies that up a bit.Then again, Forza already has it :p
 
Can't wait. Won't get to play until late Tuesday night, but then after work Wednesday I have a four day weekend. It's been so long since I've been able to really dive into a game like this, super pumped.
 

Figboy79

Aftershock LA
Hot damn I am stupidly excited for this game. I am really looking forward to seeing how it plays on my PS4 Pro and 4KTV. I'm still playing Nioh, but I'm going to enjoy getting lost in what legit seems to be an interesting and compelling setting. I love Guerrilla Games, so I was always on board day one. I got the physical copy though, so I won't be getting it until Tuesday. I probably should have got it digital, but I like having the box and disc!
 

yayaba

Member
Amazon: Shipping soon.

Either I live ridiculously close to a distribution center where Amazon is 100% confident I'll get it in one day or they are screwing with me :(
 

danowat

Banned
Colon gate!

As for the game, for some reason, I now feel a little deflated after hearing Karak's review, I get that he said it was a good game, but some of the hype has gone, which is probably a good thing really, tempered my expectations.
 

Melchiah

Member
Thanks for the nice OT, shinobi602.
EDIT: + Kyonashi, ShemhazaiX and MatthewHN7 =)

61bKhM%2BlDzL.jpg


Retail - $69.99 : The Digital Deluxe Edition of the game comes with:

  • Horizon Zero Dawn PS4 Game
  • The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn Digital Art Book
  • Exclusive PS4 Theme
  • In-Game DLC Items: Carja Storm Ranger Outfit and Mighty Bow, Banuk Trailblazer Outfit and Culling Bow, Banuk Traveller Pack, Carja Trapper Pack, Nora Keeper Pack

It's great to finally have concept art included in digital edition. I was wondering, is there any info about it, regarding the file format, image resolution, and being able to transfer the art to PC? I ask, because I'm trying to decide whether to cancel the pre-order for retail limited edition or not.
 

AHindD

Member
Thanks for the nice OT, shinobi602.
EDIT: + Kyonashi, ShemhazaiX and MatthewHN7 =)



It's great to finally have concept art included in digital edition. I was wondering, is there any info about it, regarding the file format, image resolution, and being able to transfer the art to PC? I ask, because I'm trying to decide whether to cancel the pre-order for retail limited edition or not.

Oo what an interesting idea, haven't seen this on a console before.
I'm guessing it'll be via an in-game menu or something, but I'm also keen to find out.
 

witness

Member
Great OT and an even better thread title! Picking mine up tonight at 9 at gamestop, stupid excited. Going to be a long day at work...
 

Prithee Be Careful

Industry Professional
Stop it! I can only be so erect!

I would add that I don't think it out-does either title - MGSV or TW3 - at what they do best: The Witcher's individual communities were so rich and alive and the writing in the quest designs specifically brought this out. Horizon falls a little short here, but still puts in an impressive turn.

Again, with MGSV, the encounters aren't on quite the same level as what Kojima and co. put together, but this is not a shabby effort by any means.

To stress, this isn't 'jack of all trades, master of none' situation - it simply feels polished. TW3 and MGSV both recieve plenty of criticism for their weaker areas and I defintely felt myself detatch at certain points in both games: when I felt Komani's creepy hands reaching for my wallet or when I couldn't get Geralt to do what the fuck I'd told (and I love both games).

Horizon soars here, because there isn't really a short coming: just lots of solid components working together in a unique environment.
 

Coxy100

Banned
The OP is missing the limited edition of the game - think it is limited to certain regions but should still be on there
 

Melchiah

Member
Oo what an interesting idea, haven't seen this on a console before.
I'm guessing it'll be via an in-game menu or something, but I'm also keen to find out.

Now, if they'll start offering soundtracks with the digital special editions as well, I may move to digital completely. =)

Most of the soundtracks for retail special editions have been downloadable from the PSN store, and transferring them to PC has been possible, with the exception of Infamous: Second Son, that was offered for free in the US store. Since this is the first time for digital art to be included (to my knowledge), I'm wondering if it'll be handled the same way.
 

level1

Member
I would add that I don't think it out-does either title - MGSV or TW3 - at what they do best: The Witcher's individual communities were so rich and alive and the writing in the quest designs specifically brought this out. Horizon falls a little short here, but still puts in an impressive turn.

Again, with MGSV, the encounters aren't on quite the same level as what Kojima and co. put together, but this is not a shabby effort by any means.

To stress, this isn't 'jack of all trades, master of none' situation - it simply feels polished. TW3 and MGSV both recieve plenty of criticism for their weaker areas and I defintely felt myself detatch at certain points in both games: when I felt Komani's creepy hands reaching for my wallet or when I couldn't get Geralt to do what the fuck I'd told (and I love both games).

Horizon soars here, because there isn't really a short coming: just lots of solid components working together in a unique environment.

I can agree with the writing not being quite at the same level as the witcher 3. The combat and encounters here, however, feel extremely fresh to me and I find it very hard to directly compare this aspect to MGSV. I can say, however, that I'm enjoying them at least as much as I enjoyed those in MGS.
 

Mediking

Member
Man, I am so tempted but I would feel terrible if I bought this before finishing Yakuza 0 or even Gravity Rush 2.
 

level1

Member
Also, approaching and exploring
Meridian
and the surrounding areas was hype as fuck. Just a really well designed part of the world and god tier art direction IMO.
 

Prithee Be Careful

Industry Professional
I can agree with the writing not being quite at the same level as the witcher 3. The combat and encounters here, however, feel extremely fresh to me and I find it very hard to directly compare this aspect to MGSV. I can say, however, that I'm enjoying them at least as much as I enjoyed those in MGS.

No, I think that's fair. I think the closest comparison would be the human encounters, which play out very much like MGSV infilitrations (except with bow and arrows). These don't feel quite as dynamic or challenging to me as MGSV's did, but they're far more interesting than those in RotTR or UC4's occasional 'stealth' moments,

I've definitely had a lot of fun with them - in fact, i think it was during one such infiltration mission, with the rain absolutely beating down in the middle of the night that I had that 'moment' I have with all incredible games where I go 'holy shit, this is really something'.
 

WITHE1982

Member
Finally caved last night and ordered this from Simply Games so should be getting my copy tomorrow morning. I was perfectly happy to wait for a price drop and buy NieR: Automata first but the universally glowing reviews pretty much forced my hand.

I'm a real sucker for open world RPGs and the comparisons to The Witcher 3, Enslaved, Farcry and MGSV made this a immediate must buy. I'm not expecting it to surpass those titles TBH, but if it can capture even a little of what made those games great then I'll be very happy.

Cannot wait to jump into this.
 

Gradly

Member
I mean, Horizon: Zero Dawn makes no more amount of sense to be fair. I actually like Horizon Zero Dawn way more as a title, it sounds like it means something, a military style code almost. Whereas Horizon: Zero Dawn sounds like a cliche game with a nonsensical 'edgy' subtitle.

You didn't play the game, right? cuz "Zero Dawn" and only those 2 words have a meaning, and Horizon is the name of the franchise, the next game is Horizon 2 with or without a subtitle. Now the issue is that Horizon Zero Dawn are 3 random unrelated words, so in order to distinguish them and separate the title from the subtle we better use a colon :))

Also it's not an established franchise or self-explanatory like Uncharted A Thief's End or Killzone Shadow Fall that don't need to be treated the same

And in case you wonder "Zero Dawn" refers to
a project code name
 
Yo, Gaf. Simple question about the digital preorder bonuses. Are these weapons/outfits exclusive to the preorder, or can they be obtained via simply playing the game?

Spanks!
 
Colon gate!

As for the game, for some reason, I now feel a little deflated after hearing Karak's review, I get that he said it was a good game, but some of the hype has gone, which is probably a good thing really, tempered my expectations.

What review are you referring to?
 

Wabba

Member
Is there anyway to change the time zone on PS4 so i can play this game earlier? I have to wait 18 hours her but in other places it is available in a few hours.
 

Fonds

Member
Will echo what others have said here: currently 25 hours in and have reached 38% completion, so I don't think i'll be seeing the back of this in the predicted ~35 hours. I still have huge sections of the map I've not even explored, quests and errands stacking up - it's all gravy.

LIke others here, I'm absolutely blown away. Think of Witcher 3 style world and quest design, MGSV style open world encounters and a little TR/UC style traversal/platforming.

The combat I can't really compare - very much a beast of it's own - but it defintely has a bit of BB influence. Be ready to read attack animations, because spamming the dodge button just gets you killed. The machines in particular have big wind-ups on thier melee attacks and your iframes are limited, so timing is crucial.

Garb also reminds me of BB in that there's no single super-duper set that'll cover you in all scearios. Each outfit is tailored to specific areas and enemies, but you'll need to swap out for each area.

Game is an absolute bench mark and hands down one of the best looking games ever put to market. Between

Dear God, if this is the experience I'm in for... I won't be getting a lot of sleep in the next few weeks.
 

Floody

Member
I was hoping shopto would dispatch this early :( strange that it's releasing on a Wednesday here.

Kinda annoying honestly, I even had to correct the person at the store who thought it was a Friday release when I went to pre-order it. Them bringing it forward without much fanfare didn't help.
 

Wollan

Member
"Horizon Zero Dawn" makes no sense as a sentence.
Birth. Movies. Death. - Review: said:
I was so ready to hate Horizon Zero Dawn. Though an original property, its status as yet another open-world action game in the Arkham/Assassin's/Mordor mould - not to mention its seemingly randomly-generated title - made me groan with dread. ”Hooray," I didn't think. More climbing up towers to unlock an increasingly cluttered map; more taking out enemy camps to unlock fast-travel points; more crafting ever more-capacious pouches, expanding skill trees, and collecting scrap. This was Sony's next big PlayStation exclusive? A post-apocalyptic Far Cry clone? Really?

I was right, and yet I was so wrong. Horizon Zero Dawn indeed follows the same tiresome structure of other recent open-world games, yet does neat things to freshen up almost everything within, while telling a story that pushes it well above the pack. The result: a dazzlingly imaginative role-playing game more akin to a Witcher than an Assassin's Creed, full of genuine surprises. Even the fucking title makes sense. Who knew?


...

Guerrilla Games' first foray into open-world game design is an explosion of ideas, staking a claim on the genre in ways that hopefully will force its competitors out of stagnation. For the first time in ages, an open-world game gave me the thrill of combat and the wonder of discovery, packing unexpected emotional gut-punches to boot. It's a real feather in Sony's cap, and the only game in recent memory that's kept me up until 5 A.M. on the regular. Horizon Zero Dawn is not just a great game - it's straight-up great science fiction. I pray we'll see this much inventiveness and imagination in the inevitable sequel.
http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/02/25/horizon-zero-dawn-game-review-a-world-worth-fighting-for
 

level1

Member
No, I think that's fair. I think the closest comparison would be the human encounters, which play out very much like MGSV infilitrations (except with bow and arrows). These don't feel quite as dynamic or challenging to me as MGSV's did, but they're far more interesting than those in RotTR or UC4's occasional 'stealth' moments,

I've definitely had a lot of fun with them - in fact, i think it was during one such infiltration mission, with the rain absolutely beating down in the middle of the night that I had that 'moment' I have with all incredible games where I go 'holy shit, this is really something'.


Yes agreed. I was referring to the machine encounters more than the human ones to be honest where you're put in situations that stretch your resources and skills to the max. One example was when I had to get to an island surrounded by
3 snapmaws and several more glinthawks in order to get in position to climb a tallneck. My plan to stealth it through failed and I had to fight all of these back until the tallneck was in position and allowed me to make my escape. Made for a really epic situation.
I also appreciate the extreme focus placed on accuracy and planning which to my knowledge hasn't been done by this kind of game yet.

ACG

Despite being a positive review, I felt it was a bit more.......grounded......than some of the hyperbole that has been seen in the last few days.

To be honest I feel like this is a game that's greater than the sum of it's parts. And considering that its parts are really fucking strong, that's quite something.
 

forms

Member
Will echo what others have said here: currently 25 hours in and have reached 38% completion, so I don't think i'll be seeing the back of this in the predicted ~35 hours. I still have huge sections of the map I've not even explored, quests and errands stacking up - it's all gravy.

LIke others here, I'm absolutely blown away. Think of Witcher 3 style world and quest design, MGSV style open world encounters and a little TR/UC style traversal/platforming.

The combat I can't really compare - very much a beast of it's own - but it defintely has a bit of BB influence. Be ready to read attack animations, because spamming the dodge button just gets you killed. The machines in particular have big wind-ups on thier melee attacks and your iframes are limited, so timing is crucial.

Garb also reminds me of BB in that there's no single super-duper set that'll cover you in all scearios. Each outfit is tailored to specific areas and enemies, but you'll need to swap out for each area.

Game is an absolute bench mark and hands down one of the best looking games ever put to market. Between

Just to make sure, with BB you mean Blood Borne? If so, I need to say my farewells to my loved ones.
 

SgtCobra

Member
Boring OT title :(. Great job on the OT though Shinobi.

In the end I'm glad the game turned out better than what the majority of GAF expected (including me). I'm very eager to see what other's impressions are.
Will buy as soon as I get a PS4.
 

Prithee Be Careful

Industry Professional
Just to make sure, with BB you mean Blood Borne? If so, I need to say my farewells to my loved ones.

I do mean Bloodborne, yes. It's only a limited comparsion, though. Combat is a very much it's own thing, but dodge timing is really crucial in a way that puts me in mind of fighting Vicar Amelia: those attack animations are lengthy, dodging too soon will mean you get hit by the tail end of the attack.

It's really good and the hitboxes are tight.
 
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