Support NeoGAF

[GeorgPrime]

After HZD 2 was announced for PS 5 iam trying to get into the first part but... iam struggling with it.

1. The World Map is overwhelming big and the content in it is just.... boring as fuck? I fucking hate this cheap and creativeless Assasins Creed world building. I cant stand it anymore and iam at the point where i just want to throw those games into the trashbin (Assasins Creed, Farcry, Breath of the Wild... its everytime the same shitty copy and paste content until they get sick of it shit etc.).

I dont want to do 100 times of the same thing or like BotW.... i fuclking dont care about 100 items to gather or 100 cheap ass mini reskinned mini dungeons

After finishing all the sidequests in the beginning i was rushed to Meridian. Now iam stuck in the middle of this fucking huge world map with all those ADHD gather quests and stupid ass fire locations.

2. The combat gets better as soon as you have the shadow weapons with the 3 different ammunitions but up to this point... i just couldnt stand it anymore.

3. Quests. I am going around doing Side Quests and stuff but... i dont want to move around anymore. The sidequests are like "Move from here to the fucking end of the world.... and get more sidequests on the way. Then go back to the other fucking end of the map and get some more sidequests on the way.

4. Respawns. Who the fuck handled those respawns? If you die, you getting respawned between two or three fucking dinos again. Some of the bonfires are even unreachable because they are inside or right next to a spawn full of annoying dinos.

I have to take big breaks in between and iam already looking for something that keeps me more entertained than HZD.

What did the people like about this game? Even playing "Trails in the Sky" was better than HZD

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Everything, in my case.

 

[steve_o_3000]

I loved it. I think you just inspired me to play it again.

 

[Hobbygaming]

I'm not the biggest fan of the 1st game but I liked it

I'm expecting the sequel to be amazing though with the improvements that will be made

The deep diving into the water in Forbidden West

 

[iorek21]

I agree with OP, it’s one of the less remarkable exclusives on PS4, IMO (even behind Days Gone and Death Stranding).

The only two things I really liked about this game are the graphics (and overall design) and the story, which is very intriguing and interesting.

I couldn’t stand its combat, navigation and quests. HZD is a 7.5/10 for me

 

[Bryank75]

I loved the story, Aloy was cool and the combat vs robots was incredible once you used all the weapons you eventually got. The dungeons and some of the side-quests were also great, the one with the stalker is really cool.

Human combat was terrible and it should have been a bit more free to explore, you should be able to climb almost anything like BOTW...

But this was their first RPG, I think it was phenomenal for a first attempt and I cannot wait for the sequel.
What makes AC bad for me is the combat, Horizon has the robots (combat) to make it interesting, even the tall necks are all different to climb.

Next one is going to be amazing.

 

[Balducci30]

feel exactly opposite - fave game of this gen

 

[Thugnificient]

Engaging story and beautiful graphics. Rest is kinda meh but decent game. About a 6/10 for me.

 

[zcaa0g]

It's just you and some others. Different strokes for different folks. Just like everything else.

 

[EmSeta]

Agree with the OP. Liked the world building, the main character, the graphics - but the quests bored me to tears.

 

[MrMiyagi]

You had the same problem with BOTW? I dunno man, maybe open world games are just not your thing?

 

[MrS]

Wasn't a fan of it either. Moment to moment gameplay just wasn't fun.

 

[Balducci30]

Wasn't a fan of it either. Moment to moment gameplay just wasn't fun.

That was the strongest part of it imo - the combat felt great to me

 

[Grinchy]

I had some similar issues when I tried it last year. I don't think I got as far as you.

I keep wanting to go back, and even reinstalled it recently so I can jump in quickly. But I really wonder if it was just my mood at the time or if the game is just a little bit limited.

 

[GeorgPrime]

You had the same problem with BOTW? I dunno man, maybe open world games are just not your thing?

The negative things about BotW gave me a empty open world with nice physics, cheap copy and paste mini dungeons, annoying weapon durability, a boring and useless korok seeds gather quest and 4 lame copy and paste boss dungeons including 4 endbosses that were almost just elemental twins.

So its in that case the exact same like Assasibs Creed or other games.

The story is great, the world looks beautiful... but they have to improve a lot in BotW 2 abd i wasnt even bored with BotW than i was with HZD

And one of my favorite games is Witcher 3 - there us no open world game that comes close to it

I had some similar issues when I tried it last year. I don't think I got as far as you.

I keep wanting to go back, and even reinstalled it recently so I can jump in quickly. But I really wonder if it was just my mood at the time or if the game is just a little bit limited.

Iam sure i will finish it but i need big breaks ik between. I will just focus on sidequests now and the main story. If i have to walk a to the other end of the map i hust skip it until the main story leads me there

Everything else is just useless game content thats wasting your time.

 

[MrS]

That was the strongest part of it imo - the combat felt great to me

I respect that. Combat was fun against the huge enemies but sorely lacking vs human enemies and smaller bots imho. Hope they improve it in the next game and put more fun stuff/side quests in the world to flesh it out a bit.

 

[Alexios]

I've not played it yet but I'm sure it's not as boring as recent Gears or as bad as some Bethesda games. And do any of those David Cage "games" count as AAA? I suppose all these sold to some people at least, then there's stuff like Anthem...

 

[Sygma]

After HZD 2 was announced for PS 5 iam trying to get into the first part but... iam stuggling with it.

1. The World Map is overwhelming big and the content in it is just.... boring as fuck? I fucking hate this cheap and creativeless Assasins Creed world building. I cant stand it anymore and iam at the point where i just want to throw those games into the trashbin (Assasins Creed, Farcry, Breath of the Wild... its everytime the same shitty copy and paste content until they get sick of it shit etc.).

Side quests are there mostly for world building and getting ressources / mods, but there's also a pretty neafty reason to do them if you play in say at least Very hard in your first run

I dont want to do 100 times of the same thing or like BotW.... i fuclking dont care about 100 items to gather or 100 cheap ass mini reskinned mini dungeons

Re skinned mini dungeons ? the fuck ? Cauldrons aren't re skinned at all, and they give you the ability to hack more machines which definitely is useful at the highest difficulties

2. The combat gets better as soon as you have the shadow weapons with the 3 different ammunitions but up to this point... i just couldnt stand it anymore.

You're probably bad and don't understand how the combat works at all, because all you need in Horizon is creativity and a good understanding of how damage weakness work. Baiting robots into traps is a HUGE part of it to be as deadly as possible, especially against the thunderjaws. For example the cables working as explosive traps or elemental damage traps ... you can use them inbetween trees. Between other things.

Combat systems is what defines Zero Dawn. It doesn't have all that shit at disposal for you to just use the bow like a bot

As far as the combat against humans goes, I really don't see why so many people have such a gripe against it. You can go ham with the rattler and bombs while using multi arrows quick shots to frag out the elites quickly, its pure dumb fun

3. Quests. I am going around doing Side Quests and stuff but... i dont want to move around anymore. The sidequests are like "Move from here to the fucking end of the world.... and get more sidequests on the way. Then go back to the other fucking end of the map and get some more sidequests on the way.

Standard open world stuff ?

4. Respawns. Who the fuck handled those respawns? If you die, you getting respawned between two or three fucking dinos again. Some of the bonfires are even unreachable because they are inside or right next to a spawn full of annoying dinos.

Thats for you to farm them and get ressources which again is crucial at the highest difficulties

I have to take big breaks in between and iam already looking for something that keeps me more entertained than HZD.

What did the people like about this game? Even playing "Trails in the Sky" was better than HZD

Literally everything, its the open world game with the most interesting combat of the gen and the story is amazing if you go out of your way to uncover the lore. Also the DLC is really fucking good and considerably enhance the quality of the side quests, they're more akin to witcher 3's quality in that area

 

[GeorgPrime]

Side quests are there mostly for world building and getting ressources / mods, but there's also a pretty neafty reason to do them if you play in say at least Very hard in your first run



Re skinned mini dungeons ? the fuck ? Cauldrons aren't re skinned at all, and they give you the ability to hack more machines which definitely is useful at the highest difficulties




You're probably bad and don't understand how the combat works at all, because all you need in Horizon is creativity and a good understanding of how damage weakness work. Baiting robots into traps is a HUGE part of it to be as deadly as possible, especially against the thunderjaws. For example the cables working as explosive traps or elemental damage traps ... you can use them inbetween trees. Between other things.

Combat systems is what defines Zero Dawn. It doesn't have all that shit at disposal for you to just use the bow like a bot

As far as the combat against humans goes, I really don't see why so many people have such a gripe against it. You can go ham with the rattler and bombs while using multi arrows quick shots to frag out the elites quickly, its pure dumb fun



Standard open world stuff ?



Thats for you to farm them and get ressources which again is crucial at the highest difficulties



Literally everything, its the open world game with the most interesting combat of the gen and the story is amazing if you go out of your way to uncover the lore. Also the DLC is really fucking good and considerably enhance the quality of the side quests, they're more akin to witcher 3's quality in that area

Iam playing with all i have. Using traps and other stuff.

No iam avoiding hard only playing normal mode for the story. I know that there is a new game + for harder difficulties.

My bag is always full with all ressources because you are getting forced into many random fights. When you fight thise birds they always attract mire enemies around them.

Iam already destroying stuff just to get space.

The combat is not even complicate or hard just limited by the weapons early on.

 

[Business]

The story is ok, the combat with humans is the same stuff you have played a thousand times before, but the combat with the machines is top tier and what really makes the game. Memorable encounters.

 

[Tomeru]

This reads like you are well into a game you dont like playing. But hey, you need to know whats what.

GG

 

[GeorgPrime]

This reads like you are well into a game you dont like playing. But hey, you need to know whats what.

GG

Its not that hard to go to meridian. The main quests literally tells you to go there right after the beginning.

The good thing about this us buying shadow weapons that make the combat a bit better instead of pause "check equipment for right ammunition, put it in the weapon wheel and continze fight".

That is the same time where everything just gets overwhelming with all the copy and paste stuff. ( Flowers. Cups. Etc)

 

[Balducci30]

What’s interesting is I totally felt this exact way about Witcher 3. I really tried to get into it but it bores me so, so much I can’t. Maybe there’s a connection there that if you appreciate that type of game you won’t like HZD/BOTW and vice versa? I’m still stoked for Cyberpunk but the Witcher really I just couldn’t do it

 

[Skifi28]

I didn't really like it at first, had to force my way through the first hours and I felt really bored. But similar to Souls games, at some point it all clicked together and I finished the rest of ti in 3 days and then went for the platinum.

 

[GeorgPrime]

I didn't really like it at first, had to force my way through the first hours and I felt really bored. But similar to Souls games, at some point it all clicked together and I finished the rest of ti in 3 days and then went for the platinum.

Maybe it will click later. I hope it will. Otherwise i just force the main quest and the sidequests to get all the people helping in the end

 

[Explosive Zombie]

I dunno how people aren't enthralled by the combat alone, such a cool system that requires so much more planning than games normally ask of a player, kinda like Big Daddy fights in BioShock but without vita chambers to easily exploit it.

 

[mejin]

What didEven playing "Trails in the Sky" was better than HZD

this should be up in the text, OP. Just save people time.

 

[Fake]

Here my tips:

1. Stop comparing or mention BOTW while playing HZD. Do wonders for your pleasure and mind inside the game.

2. Reduce the frequency of doing backstab strikes. This usally make the game getting boring easily.

3. Look for more ways to engage fight. Try using different types of arrows.

4. Don't care much for quest. Stay on the story quest.

5. Play the DLC. Is really good.

6. Try fight on the top of the Tallneck.

7. Use fire arrows on the green fluid.

8. Try to beat Thunderjaw.

9. Learn to set traps and make robots fight each other.

10. Ignore humans. Their AI are utter trash. Just leave.


Hope I help you out. I have spend more time on this game than any other on PS4.

 

[GeorgPrime]

I dunno how people aren't enthralled by the combat alone, such a cool system that requires so much more planning than games normally ask of a player, kinda like Big Daddy fights in BioShock but without vita chambers to easily exploit it.

On normal it doesnt require much. On hard i guess its getting bothersome to prepare for every dino again for some minutes.

 

[Skifi28]

I dunno how people aren't enthralled by the combat alone, such a cool system that requires so much more planning than games normally ask of a player, kinda like Big Daddy fights in BioShock but without vita chambers to easily exploit it.

The combat is awesome and quite complicated. I think the problem stems from the game not going in-depth and explaining how everything works together. I've seen many people near the end that still have no idea what they're doing in which case every fight becomes a chore.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Combat and story was great...
Better than most games

 

[Atrus]

Horizon Zero Dawn came out February 2017. Calling it derivative based on the games that came out after it is like judging Half-Life after Bioshock.

I also don't recall hundreds of reskinned dungeons as each bandit camp grew in size and appearance as did the cauldrons. The size of the world itself was fairly middle-ranged for an overworld. The points of interests and collectors items were never needed for the story and just added more lore to the world.

 

[GeorgPrime]

Here my tips:

1. Stop comparing or mention BOTW while playing HZD. Do wonders for your pleasure and mind inside the game.

2. Reduce the frequency of doing backstab strikes. This usally make the game getting boring easily.

3. Look for more ways to engage fight. Try using different types of arrows.

4. Don't care much for quest. Stay on the story quest.

5. Play the DLC. Is really good.

6. Try fight on the top of the Tallneck.

7. Use fire arrows on the green fluid.

8. Try to beat Thunderjaw.

9. Learn to set traps and make robots fight each other.

10. Ignore humans. Their AI are utter trash. Just leave.


Hope I help you out. I have spend more time on this game than any other on PS4.

2. I use backstabbing to avoid some encounters or just to get rid of boring dino fights.

3. I scan dinos, use the arrows needed for different parts and setup traps. That is just rince and repeat with every dino that is harder to fight.

In the beginning i hunted those deer dinos. It was like 2 fire arrows for 5 dinos lol

9. I already do that stuff but after a ehile i judt want to avoid fights or get it quickly done.

I have the DLC already. I git the digital copy from my mother

 

[nowhat]

The story is great

BOTW has a story? Under which rock did you find it and is it random or same for all players?

 

[Fake]

2. I use backstabbing to avoid some encounters or just to get rid of boring dino fights.

3. I scan dinos, use the arrows needed for different parts and setup traps. That is just rince and repeat with every dino that is harder to fight.

In the beginning i hunted those deer dinos. It was like 2 fire arrows for 5 dinos lol

9. I already do that stuff but after a ehile i judt want to avoid fights or get it quickly done.

I have the DLC already. I git the digital copy from my mother

2. If you backstabbing to avoid some robot fight this game is not gonna make you better. The game porpuse is to fight robots. Imagine beat BOTW just by backstabbing the entire monsters around the world beside boss fights?

3. Scan don't tell the role story. You can remove parts AKA armor to increase your damage, disable dino robot firegun power or even expose some of their weakpoints. You can disable robots abilities like cloak or even make them stun for a short period.

9. Again, if you're avoid the game most strong aspect you gonna pretty much dislike all of the game.

As I read your posts, you're gonna pretty much dislike the entire game. Is OK. Nothing wrong. My key advice for you is:
If you want to enjoy GAME A, you must forget your experience about GAME B, or else just wait for the GAME B get a sequel and stop complain about 'why GAME A is not close to GAME B'?

Imagine when I play Call of Duty I keep asking for Battlefield, Doom or even Crysis to be 'like CoD'. This pretty much break my pleasure. I guess people here or on the resetera have the same problem.

'Bruh, this game looks like AC'. I mean, open world games will be like other open world. Thats 'why' you're feeling that my friend. Open worlds are alike.
Nothing I can do about. You can either give HZD another shot or just play another game and move on.

 

[Vawn]

It is one of the best games of the entire generation imo. I absolutely loved the game, the combat, the world and the cool sci-fi storyline were all great.

 

[SantaC]

Guerrila has always had nice graphics but mediocre gameplay

 

[MisterBrimstone]

1. The World Map is overwhelming big and the content in it is just.... boring as fuck? I fucking hate this cheap and creativeless Assasins Creed world building. I cant stand it anymore and iam at the point where i just want to throw those games into the trashbin (Assasins Creed, Farcry, Breath of the Wild... its everytime the same shitty copy and paste content until they get sick of it shit etc.).

I dont want to do 100 times of the same thing or like BotW.... i fuclking dont care about 100 items to gather or 100 cheap ass mini reskinned mini dungeons

After finishing all the sidequests in the beginning i was rushed to Meridian. Now iam stuck in the middle of this fucking huge world map with all those ADHD gather quests and stupid ass fire locations.

I feel you brother, I fucking feel you even though I don't agree with the comparisons you are putting down here. BOTW was too empty, but inspired at times.

These other games are so uninspired that I feel like racing to the finish. Please stop padding the time with boring ass quests.

 

[GymWolf]

it's my current gotg, even with this horrific big headed creature in it

 

[Insane Metal]

Absolutely not. It's a very good game.

 

[Rolla]

One of the best games I played this gen. Top 3 easy!

 

[REE Machine]

The main take awary from me with the negatives the first game has, it holds such amazing potential for the sequel to capatilise on if they fix the problems the first had, ala uncharted 1 to uncharted 2

 

[Pizdetz]

For me it was on the cusp of being an 8/10.
Dinos, bow combat, story and main character were good enough.

The world, quests and everything else was a lesser version of any given AC game. If you let the AC team use the property they would make a far better game in terms of gameplay and fun.

Again, the main reason people like this game is dino robots. Not an original idea but they executed it well enough.

 

[Hendrick's]

Got about 8 hours in before I couldn't take the boredom anymore. I suppose that's longer than other Guerilla games though, so at least they are heading in the right direction. Hopefully the sequel is fun.

 

[Greeno]

I've not played it yet but I'm sure it's not as boring as recent Gears or as bad as some Bethesda games. And do any of those David Cage "games" count as AAA? I suppose all these sold to some people at least, then there's stuff like Anthem...

You can't, with a straight face, say that Bethesda's recent games are boring. Bethesda nailed down the exploration aspect in their games (they basically never feel boring). The only serious complaint I have with their most recent games (Skyrim, Fallout 4 & 76) is that they are holding your hands all the way to the end.

 

[StormCell]

I thoroughly enjoyed HZD. I came over from BotW, which I also enjoyed immensely. There are plenty of flaws in these games, but what they nailed was the fun factor. That's what games are supposed to be about. When you hand me a large world map, I tend to expect that there are going to be long stretches of mostly nothing. It helps me to be immersed in the world, because the real world is full of mostly nothing. These are examples of white space or empty space, which I actually feel that HZD is fairly tightly packed. It's rare that you will venture very far without meeting a new type of challenger as you are progressing across the world for the first time.

If I am to complain about anything regarding cheap-ass open worlds from someone such as Ubisoft, I'll pick on FC5. It makes literally no sense to drive to the top of a mountain in rural Montana and still have someone driving down the dirt roads at consistent time intervals. That's ludicrous. FC5 will not let you be alone for very long no matter where you run to in the world. Just bizarre.

Cheap-ass open worlds is not HZD (or even BotW). I really appreciate how HZD's open world directly ties into the story it tells and how many of the locales you visit are steeped in the details of the past.

As an aside, one of my favorite moments playing HZD was early on in like my second Cauldron when I really began to notice I was getting serious Metroid Prime vibes from the game. I then went online to do some searching and discovered that, of course, some of the HZD team had come over from Retro Studios years ago. Not sure if that's worth as much as I felt at that moment, but still cool nonetheless.

 

[BaneIsPain]

you take that back! it’s a gem of this gen
on serious note, I take a break after a few hours, then continue after dlc released. It had been a blast for me.

 

[BadBurger]

It's one of the best games of the generation in my opinion. I can understand how someone might be soured on the typical open world fetch and collect quests, but it is what it is. You knew what you were getting into before buying it. I think the gorgeous world and animation, story, and engaging combat more than makes up for it.

I still remember laying out an intricate set of traps to take down a river of giant robot crocodiles. Or studying the movement patterns of giant robot t-rexes and taking note of what I could shoot off them, before engaging - then using their own ordinances against them. And of course the wonder of figuring out just why this world was so messed up as you plunged through derelict advanced technology from the distant past. The game was really fun.

 

[namekuseijin]

Assasins Creed, Farcry, Breath of the Wild

waiting for nbois to eat your liver alive for that blasphemy (however true)

 

[Rikkori]

It's a fun enough game if you're into open world Action Adventure/pseudo-RPGs, but yeah, it's generally overrated and certainly wouldn't break a top 5 even in its own genre. The fact that the genre is still quite sparse helps it a lot imo & graphics always are an easy way to please people as well.