Horizon Zero Dawn
Discussion
Mikeyjae said:
Only the second Platinum for me. Its good when a game makes you want to finish it. So did you use the armor in the final mission?
Nope, switched to one of the heavy armour derivatives (I forget which one!) After wearing the shodow weave armour for so long, it was a bit of a shock to the system! I used all my overshields, which are sort of a poor mans shadow weave but, with no regen. Got through a tonne of meds and potions too! Really had to force myself to remember to use meds having not had to bother for so long!I'd like to say I didn't die at all but, I'd be lying.....After the guns bit, I was going up the path to where the final battle takes place, lost my bearings completely and ran straight off the edge of the cliff
Managed to find the errand I'd missed this morning (a level 4 errand, no less!) and now have 100% completion
Speckle said:
Nope, switched to one of the heavy armour derivatives (I forget which one!) After wearing the shodow weave armour for so long, it was a bit of a shock to the system! I used all my overshields, which are sort of a poor mans shadow weave but, with no regen. Got through a tonne of meds and potions too! Really had to force myself to remember to use meds having not had to bother for so long!
I'd like to say I didn't die at all but, I'd be lying.....After the guns bit, I was going up the path to where the final battle takes place, lost my bearings completely and ran straight off the edge of the cliff
Managed to find the errand I'd missed this morning (a level 4 errand, no less!) and now have 100% completion
Yup the final fight is a right dive and role affair. Did you have to do an errand so all the parties joined the final mission for the trophy? I missed a couple of sides and had to go back and do them. I'd like to say I didn't die at all but, I'd be lying.....After the guns bit, I was going up the path to where the final battle takes place, lost my bearings completely and ran straight off the edge of the cliff
Managed to find the errand I'd missed this morning (a level 4 errand, no less!) and now have 100% completion
Mikeyjae said:
Yup the final fight is a right dive and role affair. Did you have to do an errand so all the parties joined the final mission for the trophy? I missed a couple of sides and had to go back and do them.
No, I'd done everything apart from the weird shaman bloke in a shack in the middle of nowhere that gets you to go and kill various machines so that he can drink a weird potion I had to look that the location of that one up as I'm not sure I would have found it otherwise. The final one for me was to talk to Grata, the grey haired priestess who does Aloy's naming ceremony with Rost at the beginning. It was sort of fitting that the final thing I had to do in the game was for her.Finished the main story yesterday, loved it Oh Sylens, what have you done?!
However, when I look at completion, only 85 and a bit percent! I must have missed loads! I did a LOT of wandering around looking for side quests as well. Still, gives me something to go at while I'm waiting for DLC...
However, when I look at completion, only 85 and a bit percent! I must have missed loads! I did a LOT of wandering around looking for side quests as well. Still, gives me something to go at while I'm waiting for DLC...
I pit this down for a few weeks to play Mass Effect Andromeda, and coming back has been almost as big a revelation as playing it for the first time. It looks and feels so, so good and the story does a very effective job of pulling you into its mystery.
I recently came across an area with two Thunderjaw and a few more lesser machines in it, and thought I'd have a crack at them...
https://youtu.be/zJSkrfLRHxw
Yes, the first two times I try the override, Aloy is knocked out of the animation by the armour plating falling off the Thunderjaw! It's also quite telling how odd the game looks to my eyes on this video - it's only at 1080p rather than the Pro's checkerboard 4k, and when using the PS share function, there's specifically a warning that colours may appear different due to HDR implementation, which leads to this looking noticable more red tinted than it did when playing.
I recently came across an area with two Thunderjaw and a few more lesser machines in it, and thought I'd have a crack at them...
https://youtu.be/zJSkrfLRHxw
Yes, the first two times I try the override, Aloy is knocked out of the animation by the armour plating falling off the Thunderjaw! It's also quite telling how odd the game looks to my eyes on this video - it's only at 1080p rather than the Pro's checkerboard 4k, and when using the PS share function, there's specifically a warning that colours may appear different due to HDR implementation, which leads to this looking noticable more red tinted than it did when playing.
Edited by SimianWonder on Sunday 28th May 18:57
Genuine question - what is it that's fun about this game?
I bought a PS4 Pro last weekend and this was at the top of my to-buy list, but I watched a couple of gameplay videos before and it seemed to be mostly a long slog shooting arrows at the same weakpoints on an enemy until it finally dies , so I've bought Uncharted 4 , The Last of Us and The Last Guardian am really enjoying them all.
Is there something else to this game that doesn't come across in gameplay videos?
I bought a PS4 Pro last weekend and this was at the top of my to-buy list, but I watched a couple of gameplay videos before and it seemed to be mostly a long slog shooting arrows at the same weakpoints on an enemy until it finally dies , so I've bought Uncharted 4 , The Last of Us and The Last Guardian am really enjoying them all.
Is there something else to this game that doesn't come across in gameplay videos?
JimSuperSix said:
Genuine question - what is it that's fun about this game?
I bought a PS4 Pro last weekend and this was at the top of my to-buy list, but I watched a couple of gameplay videos before and it seemed to be mostly a long slog shooting arrows at the same weakpoints on an enemy until it finally dies , so I've bought Uncharted 4 , The Last of Us and The Last Guardian am really enjoying them all.
Is there something else to this game that doesn't come across in gameplay videos?
For me, it is the best new game I have played in a long time. Great to look, very fluid movements and, when get all the gear, you don't have to shoot the mechs endlessly. You can use corruption arrows to make them fight each other, or lay traps using the tripcaster and other blast traps before fighting. This works well with Thunderjaws, especially when the tripcaster is fully levelled up. Also Stormbirds, lay 10 tripcaster wires, lure the Stormbird towards you, slag it with the shadow ropecastor do it falls onto the wires and boom, it's dead!I bought a PS4 Pro last weekend and this was at the top of my to-buy list, but I watched a couple of gameplay videos before and it seemed to be mostly a long slog shooting arrows at the same weakpoints on an enemy until it finally dies , so I've bought Uncharted 4 , The Last of Us and The Last Guardian am really enjoying them all.
Is there something else to this game that doesn't come across in gameplay videos?
You can also 'tear' off the cannon and disk launcher from Ravagers and Thinderjaws and use their own weapons against them - even over ride them once you completed the associated Cauldron levels, so they fight for/with you.
I am half way through Uncharted and to me, that is mostly all about shooting stuff, and it's much more linier than Horizon. The same with The Last of Us. When you boil it down, all you're doing is defeating enemies with increasing difficulty levels as you progress to get to the next level. At least from my perspective..
I think the story is one of the best I have played through in a game, too, had me hooked all the way through
JimSuperSix said:
Genuine question - what is it that's fun about this game?
I bought a PS4 Pro last weekend and this was at the top of my to-buy list, but I watched a couple of gameplay videos before and it seemed to be mostly a long slog shooting arrows at the same weakpoints on an enemy until it finally dies , so I've bought Uncharted 4 , The Last of Us and The Last Guardian am really enjoying them all.
Is there something else to this game that doesn't come across in gameplay videos?
Given how subjective "fun" can be, that's a bit of a loaded question.I bought a PS4 Pro last weekend and this was at the top of my to-buy list, but I watched a couple of gameplay videos before and it seemed to be mostly a long slog shooting arrows at the same weakpoints on an enemy until it finally dies , so I've bought Uncharted 4 , The Last of Us and The Last Guardian am really enjoying them all.
Is there something else to this game that doesn't come across in gameplay videos?
What do you enjoy in your games? Looking at the list you've given above, all three games offer a pretty different experience. Story? Horizon has that, even if it's a slow-burner, which makes a welcome change from most action-adventure games that seem to want to shoot-their-load early narratively. Adventure? The open world is massive and is packed with things to do - from the ubiquitous collectables, side quests, through to the hidden Cauldrons where you learn to temporarily control different machine types - and sometimes you're happy just to have look and see what you can find because the world of Horizon is simply gorgeous. None of the activities feel like typical open-world checklists or busy-body work though, everything has a purpose or tangible benefit.
Combat? It's as varied as you want it to be. Shooting arrows works on the basic enemies, but for anything in the latter half of the game it's much less effective. You have different weapons for any given situation and it's up to you to find how best to fit them into your playstyle. For instance, the Ropecaster does minimal damage, but it does tether your opponent to the spot and render them briefly immobile. The tripcaster however, relies on forethought, setting trip wires across pathways and dealing large elemental damage to anything that stumbles across it. The sling lets you lob elemental bombs that deliver area-of-effect damage from range, whilst the various types of bow lets you apply debuffs, or target individual parts of a machine, be it weapons or a weakspot with precision. Getting shot by a Ravager? You can target its weakpoints, or you can knock the gun off its back, pick it up and use it yourself.
You can also perform stealth attacks on most smaller enemies, so a quiet and undetected approach is also definitely viable, or maybe you'd prefer to use the override function Aloy learns relatively early in the story and let the machines fight themselves? Honestly, you could try the same fight five times with five different loadouts and it would be a different experience each time. Plus, their are modifications that you can place in each weapon that can affect how it performs. Often, you'll find yourself hunting down a troublesome enemy just to try out differing tactics and builds on it.
Of course, every game has players who simply don't click with them, even those which receive near-universal acclaim. Me? I never got on with Resident Evil 4. I couldn't get into The Last of Us either, despite several attempts, both games just left me wondering what all the fuss was about. Horizon was not one of those games though, and personally I feel it absolutely lives up the the hype generated at release and is definitely a contender for Game of the Year.
Plowing through the remaining story now, and it's been genuinely intriguing, excellently presented and confidently paced. I'm only a mission or two away from the end now, having just been to the area with the last power cell in it (how's that for avoiding spoilers?!) and the only thing that comes readily to mind is...
**** Ted Faro. Seriously. Forget Helis,l forget HADES, Ted Faro and his ego are the real villains of the piece. I'm almost sad Aloy didn't get to meet him so she could shove a spear through him repeatedly.
**** Ted Faro. Seriously. Forget Helis,l forget HADES, Ted Faro and his ego are the real villains of the piece. I'm almost sad Aloy didn't get to meet him so she could shove a spear through him repeatedly.
A little tip for the final battle with the Deathbringer. I discovered today that when you inspect the defences, when you get to the area that the final battle takes place, lay every trip wire and mine/blast bombs you can all over that area.
When the final battle comes, you will find that all of those traps are still in place! Ended up bringing down the Deathbringer in under two minutes, and most of the corrupted machines were killed from the traps.
When the final battle comes, you will find that all of those traps are still in place! Ended up bringing down the Deathbringer in under two minutes, and most of the corrupted machines were killed from the traps.
I finished the story at the weekend, and only have a couple of trophies left to chase, I'd guess just for the last few Banuk Statues and Metal Flower collectables.
Plenty of people over the course of the topic have said how good the game, myself included, but when the end credits rolled - more on those later - I was left with a strange numbness. Why? Because I honestly didn't want my time with the game to end, and now that it has there's a small Horizon-shaped void left behind. The list of video games that have ever done this to me is a pretty exclusive club, and it was at this moment I realised just how special I think Horizon Zero Dawn really is.
I genuinely think that it's one of the best games I've ever played.
Again, it's been said before but graphically - on PS4 pro and a suitable HDR/4K TV at least - it's easily the best looking console game I've ever played. This can be attributed to many things, whether it be the pin-sharp resolution, the stunning vistas, the richly detailed flora and fauna, the way Aloy moves and reacts naturally to your inputs, the lighting system, the day/night cycles etc, all without any tangible impact on frame rate. Other games get a couple of these things right, but only Horizon gets all of them so right, so consistently. It's a <i>stunning</i> looking game, and playing other games since only reinforces what a towering technical achievement Horizon is. (And seriously, how did this topic not have pages and pages of pictures from photo mode?!)
Sound design is fantastic as well, the score used sparingly and effectively, and the sound design is wonderful, from the clanking of machine feet on dirt tracks, to the softer crunch on snow, the snarl as they rush into melee range, even inconsequential things like Aloy's voice echoing off a mountain range if appropriate.
Gameplay wise I won't touch on too much, as I've already done so in previous posts, but the sheer variety of options available in any given combat scenario, the flexibility to tackle many of the tasks in whatever order you choose and the quality of the side missions themselves should not go without praise.
Story stuff below, will contain MASSIVE spoilers!
Seriously. Game ruining spoilers below! Last chance!
The story itself, both in terms of the actual content and how it was presented, was utterly gripping. Whilst there were a few twists that may have been somewhat predictable the execution of such was done with such a confident and assured touch that it never once felt contrived or cliche as it may have done in less skilled hands.
I loved how Aloy transitions from being a figure of rejection, driven to understand herself, to being literally the most important person alive, revered by the clan that once reviled her, trusted by Kings to lead an army against impossible odds. Everyone she meets realises she's something special, and her mere presence inspires hope in others when there should be none. The reveal that she's essentially the clone of the saviour of our world as we knew it just brings it full circle, especially in the ending scene where you see her track down Elisabet's body, finally making peace with her mother and accepting herself as the daughter of this incredible woman.
Now, video game heroes/heroines being a complete badass is nothing new, but the transition from outcast to saviour in Horizon is quite gradual and handled superbly, so that Aloy truly feels something special, her need to learn, her drive to succeed are what enable her to become what she was born to be.
Oh, and I said it before, but it bears repeating. Ted Faro. **** that guy. Not content with cocking things up by designing an unstoppable army of murder-bots, he does it again by killing the Alpha members and destroying Apollo, resigning the new vestige of mankind to a life of ignorance. Part of me wondered whether he did it just to cover his own tracks, just so that people in 1000 years wouldn't be aware that Ted Faro was the reason for the death of all life on Earth.
Yeah, **** that guy.
The stinger, revealing that HADES wasn't quite as dead as Aloy thought, and that Sylens had seemingly pulled the wool over our eyes did feel a bit out of left field initially, but in hindsight it makes sense. It was Sylen's spear that Aloy was using to destroy HADES, and Sylens had already admitted that he wouldn't change any of his decisions if he had to; knowledge is his driving force and to that end I don't think it hugely surprising that he may have modified his spear to release and summon a broken HADES. The image of him standing in front of the Horus gives us a tantalising glimpse at what we might expect in a sequel.
It wasn't perfect; Aloy is an adept parkour master in some instances but in others cannot leap a three-foot rock, the melee combat was pretty weak (only two attack variants, with a special attack for downed opponents) and fighting human bandits in Bandit Camps was a lot less interesting than taking on machines, but these are relatively minor niggles and don't spoil the broth in any way.
It was an astonishing game and I loved every single minute of it.
Plenty of people over the course of the topic have said how good the game, myself included, but when the end credits rolled - more on those later - I was left with a strange numbness. Why? Because I honestly didn't want my time with the game to end, and now that it has there's a small Horizon-shaped void left behind. The list of video games that have ever done this to me is a pretty exclusive club, and it was at this moment I realised just how special I think Horizon Zero Dawn really is.
I genuinely think that it's one of the best games I've ever played.
Again, it's been said before but graphically - on PS4 pro and a suitable HDR/4K TV at least - it's easily the best looking console game I've ever played. This can be attributed to many things, whether it be the pin-sharp resolution, the stunning vistas, the richly detailed flora and fauna, the way Aloy moves and reacts naturally to your inputs, the lighting system, the day/night cycles etc, all without any tangible impact on frame rate. Other games get a couple of these things right, but only Horizon gets all of them so right, so consistently. It's a <i>stunning</i> looking game, and playing other games since only reinforces what a towering technical achievement Horizon is. (And seriously, how did this topic not have pages and pages of pictures from photo mode?!)
Sound design is fantastic as well, the score used sparingly and effectively, and the sound design is wonderful, from the clanking of machine feet on dirt tracks, to the softer crunch on snow, the snarl as they rush into melee range, even inconsequential things like Aloy's voice echoing off a mountain range if appropriate.
Gameplay wise I won't touch on too much, as I've already done so in previous posts, but the sheer variety of options available in any given combat scenario, the flexibility to tackle many of the tasks in whatever order you choose and the quality of the side missions themselves should not go without praise.
Story stuff below, will contain MASSIVE spoilers!
Seriously. Game ruining spoilers below! Last chance!
The story itself, both in terms of the actual content and how it was presented, was utterly gripping. Whilst there were a few twists that may have been somewhat predictable the execution of such was done with such a confident and assured touch that it never once felt contrived or cliche as it may have done in less skilled hands.
I loved how Aloy transitions from being a figure of rejection, driven to understand herself, to being literally the most important person alive, revered by the clan that once reviled her, trusted by Kings to lead an army against impossible odds. Everyone she meets realises she's something special, and her mere presence inspires hope in others when there should be none. The reveal that she's essentially the clone of the saviour of our world as we knew it just brings it full circle, especially in the ending scene where you see her track down Elisabet's body, finally making peace with her mother and accepting herself as the daughter of this incredible woman.
Now, video game heroes/heroines being a complete badass is nothing new, but the transition from outcast to saviour in Horizon is quite gradual and handled superbly, so that Aloy truly feels something special, her need to learn, her drive to succeed are what enable her to become what she was born to be.
Oh, and I said it before, but it bears repeating. Ted Faro. **** that guy. Not content with cocking things up by designing an unstoppable army of murder-bots, he does it again by killing the Alpha members and destroying Apollo, resigning the new vestige of mankind to a life of ignorance. Part of me wondered whether he did it just to cover his own tracks, just so that people in 1000 years wouldn't be aware that Ted Faro was the reason for the death of all life on Earth.
Yeah, **** that guy.
The stinger, revealing that HADES wasn't quite as dead as Aloy thought, and that Sylens had seemingly pulled the wool over our eyes did feel a bit out of left field initially, but in hindsight it makes sense. It was Sylen's spear that Aloy was using to destroy HADES, and Sylens had already admitted that he wouldn't change any of his decisions if he had to; knowledge is his driving force and to that end I don't think it hugely surprising that he may have modified his spear to release and summon a broken HADES. The image of him standing in front of the Horus gives us a tantalising glimpse at what we might expect in a sequel.
It wasn't perfect; Aloy is an adept parkour master in some instances but in others cannot leap a three-foot rock, the melee combat was pretty weak (only two attack variants, with a special attack for downed opponents) and fighting human bandits in Bandit Camps was a lot less interesting than taking on machines, but these are relatively minor niggles and don't spoil the broth in any way.
It was an astonishing game and I loved every single minute of it.
Edited by SimianWonder on Monday 5th June 20:44
RobGT81 said:
Excellent, cannot wait!This game has really spoilt me. I keep trying new games in a similar vein, like Witcher 3 and the new Tomb Raiders, but all that happens is I miss the fluidity and openness of Horizon and start a new game!
ks to it. Stupid pile of toss.I started playing this a few weeks ago. Whilst it's not the sort of game i would usually play (tend to be an FPS kinda guy), I've got to say it's been a fantastic game so far. I think i'm about 45% complete, so still some way to go. It's taken me quite a long time to really get my head around the game, things like using the resources, using the modifications properly and all that sort of stuff. I think my favorite aspect of it is that if you keep dying, it's because you're using the wrong strategy, rather than not having sufficiently insane reflexes or aiming. Change strategies and you suddenly find you're taking virtually no damage at all. For example, the first time i had a fight with a Thunderjaw it properly kicked my ass, to the point where i had a quick Google, learned how to better use my traps (particularly modifying the Tripcaster and changing where i layed the wires) and promptly gained some very satisfying revenge.
I've recently got a new job with a longer commute so don't get much of a chance to play at the moment, but hopefully it will mean that by the time I've finished the original game the DLC will be out
I've recently got a new job with a longer commute so don't get much of a chance to play at the moment, but hopefully it will mean that by the time I've finished the original game the DLC will be out
Snubs said:
I started playing this a few weeks ago. Whilst it's not the sort of game i would usually play (tend to be an FPS kinda guy), I've got to say it's been a fantastic game so far. I think i'm about 45% complete, so still some way to go. It's taken me quite a long time to really get my head around the game, things like using the resources, using the modifications properly and all that sort of stuff. I think my favorite aspect of it is that if you keep dying, it's because you're using the wrong strategy, rather than not having sufficiently insane reflexes or aiming. Change strategies and you suddenly find you're taking virtually no damage at all. For example, the first time i had a fight with a Thunderjaw it properly kicked my ass, to the point where i had a quick Google, learned how to better use my traps (particularly modifying the Tripcaster and changing where i layed the wires) and promptly gained some very satisfying revenge.
I've recently got a new job with a longer commute so don't get much of a chance to play at the moment, but hopefully it will mean that by the time I've finished the original game the DLC will be out
It's rather good, isn't it.I've recently got a new job with a longer commute so don't get much of a chance to play at the moment, but hopefully it will mean that by the time I've finished the original game the DLC will be out
There are usually multiple effective strategies. To use your thunderjaw as an example, my own preferred method was to use tear arrows to knock off the lasers, a ropecaster to bring them down, then a sling to freeze them to increase my damage output before picking up the laser disc cannon and killing them with their own weaponry - very satisfying
Blast tripwires can also be extremely effective with 3 x fire damage mods on the tripcaster, they do insane damage.
Speckle said:
It's rather good, isn't it.
There are usually multiple effective strategies. To use your thunderjaw as an example, my own preferred method was to use tear arrows to knock off the lasers, a ropecaster to bring them down, then a sling to freeze them to increase my damage output before picking up the laser disc cannon and killing them with their own weaponry - very satisfying
Blast tripwires can also be extremely effective with 3 x fire damage mods on the tripcaster, they do insane damage.
I usually use the blast wire strategy for Stormbirds - lay down a carpet of 12 blast wires, along with blast traps and then use the rope caster to bring it down on the traps. if they do not kill it outright, it's always pretty close and a few arrows usually finish it off.There are usually multiple effective strategies. To use your thunderjaw as an example, my own preferred method was to use tear arrows to knock off the lasers, a ropecaster to bring them down, then a sling to freeze them to increase my damage output before picking up the laser disc cannon and killing them with their own weaponry - very satisfying
Blast tripwires can also be extremely effective with 3 x fire damage mods on the tripcaster, they do insane damage.
This assumes that they don't spot you first, of course...
Speckle said:
There are usually multiple effective strategies. To use your thunderjaw as an example, my own preferred method was to use tear arrows to knock off the lasers, a ropecaster to bring them down, then a sling to freeze them to increase my damage output before picking up the laser disc cannon and killing them with their own weaponry - very satisfying
Blast tripwires can also be extremely effective with 3 x fire damage mods on the tripcaster, they do insane damage.
That's my preferred method of tackling Thunderjaw as well, though I'll argue all day long that using fire damage mods on tripcaster is a waste, raw damage is where it's at. Stick a few blast wires down, and they do ridiculous damage, especially if you've already got a freeze proc on something.Blast tripwires can also be extremely effective with 3 x fire damage mods on the tripcaster, they do insane damage.
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