Horizon Zero Dawnt

Game's cover

About the Game

Horizon Zero Dawn was developed by Guerilla Games, the Studio which prior to Horizon, was mainly known for their Killzone series which had atleast 5 different entries. The game was published from Sony as a Playstation 4 exclusive. The game was released in March 2017 and was met with alot of success. By the end of 2017 the game received it's one and only DLC Expansion which it self received possitive critisisms. SONY confirmed that in early 2020 Horizon Zero dawn has sold more than 10 million units making the game one of the Best selling ps4 Games ever. residing in the 5th place iaccording to online sources in (2022). Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the first major AAA titles, that Sony decided to publish on windows, and so in August 2020 the game made it's appearance outside of the Sony Console. The game only has a digital release on Windows, however on playstation it was a whole other story. The was released in :
Standard
Included the game alone
Deluxe Edition
Included the game, Steelbook case, Artbook, Ps4 theme and online bonus.
Collector's Edition
Included the game, a custom Steelbook case, an artbook, online bonus content and a Statue of Alloy.
Complete Edition
Included the game, The DLC expansion.
Guerilla studio in 2020 announced the sequel of the game Horizon Forbidden West which is said to be released in February 2022 for both the Ps5 and Ps4. The studio also announced that a Horizon game will also be released for the next gen VR, however as of now (March 2022) there has only been one teaser trailer regarding the project without a confirmed release date.

Story of the Game (spoilers for the Game's introduction and a bit of the first mission)

The story of the Game takes place in a dark apocalyptic Earth in the far future of 3021 where there are a few people alive and they formed various of tribes. the tribes don't like each other and they all live away from each other. Alongside the human tribes, there are giant mechanical machines that also co-exist in the world. The machines are very aggresive with the humans and so the tribes are all safe behind their walls. The game introduces the players to the main character of the game Alloy. A young ginger girl who is an outcast of the Nora tribe and lives under another outcast guidance named Rost. Alloy had a rough childhood as everybody from the Nora clan avoided her, ignored her and had a more defensive and aggresive behavior towards her. Rost was all she had. One day after she got the cold shoulder by some Noras, Alloy runned away and was fallen into a deep cave underground. Alloy is aware that this is a cave of the Old ones. The people believe that Earth was inhabited by other people who left the planet, and so the referred to them as the old ones.

Down in the cave, young Alloy comes across an old one's Skeleton who had a weird machine on their ear. Alloy picks it up and the machine was activated allowing her to see stuff from the past. Rost was calling her from above and helped her find her way up. He decides to teach Alloy how to use the bow and spear to become a huntress. Rost also teaches Alloy the dangers that lurks in the land, AKA the machines. While Rost teaches Alloy, the weird Machine that Alloy picked from the cave is showing her different usefull things such as the monster's paths, weaknesses and locations. Alloy wishes to learn about more about her past and most specifically who her mother was, as everyone is calling her motherless. Rost explains how he doesn't know as the Matriarchs gave her to him when she was but a baby. He then proceeds to reveal that more Information can be given to her if she manages to win the Proving. A tribes ritual that's held every year. Those who pass the challenge become Braves and the winner can ask the Matriarchs for whatever they wish. Alloy is determined to win the proving no matter how hard it may be, and so Rost does his best to prepare her. Alloy has been trainning hard for close combat, range combat, climbing and ofcourse studying her weird Machine. Years passed and a now Mature Alloy is ready to undergo the Proving.

While celebrating the begginning of the Proving, Alloy noticed a stranger who was from another Tribe, wearing a Focus(the same machine she had on her ear). Their conversation was cut short as the other Carja (Oseram) interupted them and talked to Alloy. During the Proving alot had happened but despite all that Alloy still managed to win and from an Outcast became a Brave. However the celebration was cut short, as at the finishing line the participants got Ambushed by a savaged cult called Eclipse. All the participants were killed and Alloy escaped thanks to the scrifice of Rost. Alloy wakes up inside the sacred mountain of the Noras where the Matriachs filled her in of what happened. One of them also explains to her how Alloy was not born by another woman but instead she came through the mountains heart. Alloy finds it hard to believe as the focus showed her a woman who looked like her with shorter which was taken from an enemy's focus scan. Alloy knows that the only way she can find a lead on her quest to learn about her past and cure the land is to become a Seeker, a person capable of walking outside of the Nora's land limits.

And so, Alloy sets on a journey to get revenge, learn about her past and why she was targeted during the Proving. Her journey will also reveal the mystery of the old ones and ofcourse what was the project called Zero Dawn that the old ones initiated. At the same time, the enemy Eclipse are aware of Alloy and they wish nothing more than to see her dead, as they are afraid of her and her resemblance to the other woman with the short hair who plays a major role in the story.

Alloy vs boss

Thoughs on the Story

Honestly the story of the game is what someone wold expect out of a triple A title. The game makes sure to make the players invest their time on both Alloy as a character and the world of Horizon. The chapters of the game are very well scattered with each other to keep the plot simple for the player to follow. Alloy is a very interesting and dynamic character who has plenty of mysteries surrounding her and everytime one thing is answered there's more questions to be asked. The game does a great job story wise, as by the end of the game all the questions that were story related are answered. The game's character and more specifically the way Alloy interacts with them are very realistic which i personally did not expect to see. To elaborate everyone with the exception of 2-3 Noras despite Alloy for beeing a motherless exciled, however when she was proven to be the chosen, all of them tried to approach her and to my suprise, Alloy was not having it.
Furthermore, side characters who play a partial part to the story are all well written, with their mysteries, backstories and goals. Honestly characters like Silence and Oseram are great additions whose story and purpose are very important. These characters and others, are directly interacting with Alloy during main quests and are developed deeply during side quests given by themselves. Other side quests exist, that will not directly affect the story of certain NPCs, but it will help the player understand more about the world, the tribes and overall life conditions.
A great addition to the story of the game is when Alloy explores caves and locations of the old ones. Everytime new informations are revealed, they build the hype and the mystery that was already created from the oppening prologue of the game. The project Zero Dawn was honeslty mind blown. The mystery behind the heart of the mountain (Sacred Nora location) and the mystery of the world are all rvealed in a shocking yet very welcomming way.

General Gameplay and abilities.

The Open World

picture of Alloy riding strider

Horizon Zero Dawn, follows a similar formula of other popular series, but at the same time improving at certain elements and adding it's own twist to it. Horizon is an open world action role playing game that focusses on Alloy. Being an open world means that the player will spent alot of time free lancing in the open world. The world of Horizon Zero dawn has alot of things for the player to discover, plenty of things to use and planty of creatures to hunt and avoid. First things first, the land is filled with plenty of materials that Alloy can pick up in order to craft weapons. Small sticks are neccessary in order to craft Arrows. Flowers that are scattered around the world can be used in order to craft certain type of weapon (ice Arrows), certain type of potions, they can be sold in Markets in exchange of currency and last but certainly not least, the red flowers can be used for healling. Campfires are placed around the world and can be used as a checkpoint and to also save the game.

The open world is also inhabited by three different creatures:
Friendly Animals
These are normal animals that Alloy can hunt. Boars, Geese,fish,foxes roosters etc. The animals are easy to spot and easy to kill. When an animal is down, they dropped a few items such as their skin, bones and meat. All of the items can be used to craft armor, expand the size of Alloy's bags( for items, arrows etc). The items can also be used for crafting items and can also be sold to the NPCs.
Other people
While walking around Alloy might come across other people. If that happens, then it will be one of the two cases. Case one, these are in habitants of the tribes that support Alloy in which case they ll greet her and also joined her if there's any battle occuring. These are usually the guards walking around making sure their camp is safe. Case two, these are people from Eclipse, in which case they ll attack Alloy in hopes of killing her. Eclipse and random tribe member will attack each other and in the pressence of an enemy creature then the rules applying is free for all.
Machine Creatures
These are the creatures that scared off humanity. The machines represent plenty of animals such as Alligators, tauros, eagles and others. These machines are aggresive once they spot Alloy and they will try to eliminate her. Other machines scan the area and warn the others if the player is within their territory.
Theres alot more that the game's open world has however, the rest will be cover below under the Post game content.

Alloy is a strong warrior who ventures arround fighting these machines. Alloy has powerfull spear that uses in close Combat. The spear is capable of knocking down machines, humans and machine parts. Alloy can use fast light attacks, but can also use slow heavy attacks. The spear given it was upgraded can also be used to overwrite machines. Overwritting machines allows Alloy to ride them (if Ridable) and also allows the machine to fight alongside Alloy. Close combat is not Alloy best option when fighting, as the majority of her enemies are giant machines that its best to keep them away. Alloy's best weaponry is her Bow and arrows. The bow is mainly used to shoot enemies from the distance or even shoot the weak parts off the machines. Alloy has three different bows. Each bow is very useful on their own and in the right ocassion, however, the bows main usage is to use the finite ammount of arrows. As a huntress Alloy was forced to learn the use of bow and arrow in order to survive outside as an exciled. The arrows are easy to craft, as they only required wooden sticks that are everywhere in the open world. The focus on Alloy's ear allows her to craft new types of Arrows that she can use in order to hit enemies on their weakness. To elaborate Alloy's Arrows consist of :
  1. Hunter Arrow: These are normal arrows that do not deal great damage nor any special effect. They re easy to craft and can be used againts humans and animals
  2. Fire Arrow: These arrows have a blaze effect that sets the machines on Fire. Hitting machines weak to fire at their weak points deals more damage and can also stunt them. Crafting them requires blaze capsules
  3. Hardpoint Arrow: These are normal arrows however they deal pierce damage that can remove parts
  4. Harvest Arrow: These are special arrows that remove parts off the machines. When the fallen parts are collected, Alloy will gain extra resources as a result.
  5. Precision Arrow: These Arrows deal the highest damage and travel the furthest.
  6. Tearblast Arrow: These are special arrows that detonate after landing on a target. These arrows are very usefull to remove armor off machines
  7. Corruption Arrow: These arrows deal no damage when they hit their target. However, the target(both Humans and Machines) will be corrupted and attack anyone including both the player and the nearby machines/ humans.
  8. Freeze Arrow: These arrows have a freeze effect that freezes and slows down the enemies. Hitting machines weak to ice at their weak points may freeze them. Frozen enemies are more susceptible to impact damage, meanning that both Arrows and spear will deal greater damage.
  9. Shock Arrow: These arrows have a shock damage. Enemies hit with the arrow can potentially be stunt and stay locked in a single place.
Certain bows cannot shoot certain type of arrows and it's important that Alloy is equiped with the three different bows and not just two of the same type. In order to craft an arrow the player will have to open the wheel( Hold L1 for Ps4) with all the bows and arrows, select the type of arrows that required craft by tilting R3 on them and hold X while on top of them. The game will on it's own use the materials and it will stop if any requirment is missing. The world is full of materials that Alloy can use, it's almost impossible not to have arrows( atleast the hunter's one) during a fight. Each time alloy kills a machine or even a human, there is a big chance that they had resources on them.

picture of Alloy ' weapons
The bow and spear do not make up for the entire roaster of weaponry Alloy has as she has a few more tricks. One of them is the TripCaster. This is a heavy weapon that can be used both stealthy and to create an oppening window. These weapon can remotly place tripwire traps by shooting to anchors in two horizontal points. Each time the enemy walks through the wire the trap will detonate causing severe Damage. Keep in mind explosions can also hurt Alloy. The tripcaster can set three types of traps.
  1. Shock Wire: A trap that will cause an electric explosion
  2. Blast Wire: A trap that deals the most damage by creating a huge blast but it will not leave status effects
  3. Fire Wire: A blast that will set any nearby enemies on fire.
Furthermore, Alloy has a Slingshot that she can use during combat. The slingshot on its own deals less damage but it can help weakenned the enemy. The slingshot shoots bombs that cause small area effects. The slingshot can shoot:
  1. Freeze Bomb: Causes an aerial explosion that can freeze enemies. Frozen enemies are vonurable to pierce and melee damage.
  2. Fire Bombs: Causes an aerial explosion that can set enemies on fire.
  3. Shock Bombs: Causes an aerial explosion that can shock enemies.
  4. Flash bpmb: Causes an explosion that can blind the enemies.
Last but not least, a huntress is always capable of setting traps in order to defeat her enemies. Alloy is no exception and thus she can set the following traps:
  1. Shock Trap:A trap that will cause an electric explosion
  2. Blast Trap:A trap that deals the most damage by creating a huge blast but it will not leave status effects
  3. Detonating Blast Trap: A trap that deals the most damage by creating a huge blast. These Bombs will be triggered if the enemy walks near them or if Alloy shoots them.

There are more weapons that Alloy can use, however some of them are given to her through sidequests while others become available during a fight. For example, if Alloy kills a human with a huge weapon, she can pick it up and use it againts them. With the same logic, if Alloy shoots a machine gun off a machine, she can pick it up and use all of it's ammo that remained.

The best way for Alloy to deal with certain enemies is by creating an ambush. Using the focus, Alloy can not only scan the enemies to find out their weakness but can also scan their paths. By knowing a machine's path, the player can set traps or wires in order for the machine to walk towards them. Another way of effeciently dealling with machines is by hidding in tall grass and throw rocks that will cause the machines to raise their guard and walk towards the location of the rock. Alloy can then silent strike the machine which will either kill it or deal great damage to them. The Rocks and tall grass are Alloy's best friend.

Overall Gameplay

Overall the gameplay of Horizon Zero Dawn is really fun. It allows the player to experiment with various gamestyles in order to formulate their own. Whether they want to approach the game stealthy of as a huntress. The buttons respond to the player almost immidietly however the damage dealt depends on the enemy, whether or not they re humans or mahcines. Battling a human enemy is fun as the majority of combat is "fair" where both enemies can stand each other and the damage dealt is reasonable. On the other hand, fighting againts a machine might(and should be Honestly) feel a bit unfair as Alloy's damage barely damages enemies(the bigger ones). The game is by far not unfair, but it may feel abit. Shooting the enemies weakpoints is essential as they deal more damage and there's a change that a weapon may drop. The machines are relentless and they will jump on Alloy with the goal of eliminating her. Outside of Combat the game's world allows the Player to explore the world by climbing on top of mountains buildings and other. The movement feels fresh and smooth and the players skills are all good.

The Open World (collectables and Post game content)

Horizon's map
Horizon's map
The world of Zero Dawn is Massive and as mentioned before it is filled with 'Life', both wild one and machine one. At the same the map is filled with various of items that Alloy can use in order to craft weapons, potions and overall resources for her gear. To start things first, one important machine that Alloy has to find are the Tallnecks. Tallnecks are some of Horizon's iconic machines that look similar to a giraffe. The Tallnecks are scattered across the land and Alloy will have to find them, locate a place that the creature passes by and its close to it and then jump onto them. They ll then have to climp all the way up to it's head and use their spear in order to overwrite it for it to reveal the map to the player. A revealed map will reveal the wild machines locations, merchants campfires and others.

Another location that Alloy will have to reach are the Bandit Camps. These camps are inhabitent by bad guys that Alloy will have to remove from the equation. These bases usually have alot of items that Alloy can use to either craft or enhanceher weaponry. Defeating the inhabitants of the camp, will allow friendly people to return and inhabit the area.

Furthermore, Alloy and some other inhabitants seek answers as to what happened to the Old one. Alloy can search around and find herself in various ruins These are old structures that were left behind by the ancient ones. There are two types of ruins Ancient ones and Ruins. The Ancient ruins are known by the tribes and the Ai may share a few advices to the player. Other ruins are old abandoned locations hidden by the world and not many people are aware of them or their location. Exploring the ruins as mentioned before, will reward Alloy with a few crafting materials and ofcourse the knowledge that the old ones had. An understanding of their goals, actions, screw ups and over all life conditions prior and during the machine invation.

Special collectables can be found around the world. These are mainly items left by the old ones. Alloy can collect them, scan them and reveal her the world prior to what happened. These are various information that Alloy seeks and uses to understand their world. Other items of the old ones can be used to craft better armor and weapons as they use the technology of the old ones. Last but not least certain items can be used as exchange items from special vendors.

Last but not least, the map has a few corrupted Zones, where the machines have gone berserk. The player will have to visit the location, defeat the machines and destroy the cause of corruption.

Overall

The Game's animation is fantastic.The game definetely had alot of work done to get to the result they have. The cutscenes look amazing and the ingame graphicks are really good. The audio is fantastick and hits very different when an 'amazonish theme' plays in the background. The story is honestly very good with amazing characters, character development and realism to their feelings. Everytime Alloy explores a ruin or is close to a story about how the machines came to life and how the old ones relied on the program Zero Dawn, it always bring chills down the spine. There is alot of mystery surrounding the story and alot of jaw dropping momments. The gameplay escorting the game is really fun but as mentioned requires patience, use of weapons and alot of stamina and endurance. The player can always bring down the difficulty if they cant handle it, but normal in the authors believe is the best 'hard' experience as easy and story are simply childs play. The world of the game is very interesting and has alot of things to do for anyone who wishes to explore more the universe and the characters. Last but not least, the ending of the game is amazing and it will most likely make the player want to experience the sequel of the game Horizon Forbidden West.

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