Horizon: Zero Dawn

So after the game has settled for me and I look back on it, I'm still not sure why this didn't capture me like it did many others. A lot of things were cool the first time I did them. There was a good variety of "1st times" in this game. However I fought open world fatigue through much of this. The side quests were mostly uninteresting and the main quest felt like mostly a grind once I got the hang of everything and learned I could run past most danger. The linear segments you're forced to play through emphasized the games shortcommings with poor A.I. and environments that really weren't that interactive.

Are we over-rating this game because it's so pretty and a new IP? Or am I just a grumpy ass old man gamer? Is it some combination of both? Lol
 
I need to get back to this. I haven't played this since Ghost Recon came out.
 
So after the game has settled for me and I look back on it, I'm still not sure why this didn't capture me like it did many others. A lot of things were cool the first time I did them. There was a good variety of "1st times" in this game. However I fought open world fatigue through much of this. The side quests were mostly uninteresting and the main quest felt like mostly a grind once I got the hang of everything and learned I could run past most danger. The linear segments you're forced to play through emphasized the games shortcommings with poor A.I. and environments that really weren't that interactive.

Are we over-rating this game because it's so pretty and a new IP? Or am I just a grumpy ass old man gamer? Is it some combination of both? Lol
I'm closing in at 90% complete which I'm guessing is mostly main quest stuff left. Yea I hear you on the open world fatigue. Before this game I put 80 hours into a single playthrough of Nioh and this game will near 80 hours as well. So between the open world fatigue and playing this many hours in two games back to back I sort of feel the same. Other than that I'm still enjoying it but not sure I'd ever play through again. I would play DLC if they added it otherwise I would consider it done.
 
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Watch your email, Sony sent me a free Horizon theme for platinuming the game.
That's cool. Hopefully I get it but doubtful as I never get any emails from them anymore. Never get the end of the year "this is what you played" type or even regular newsletters with discounts.
 
Got my shiny platinum trophy yesterday and it put me into the 13th trophy rank or whatever as well. Took forever to go fro 12 to 13.

Watch out. Was telling a friend today once you get that first platinum you get addicted. The sound of the trophy popping, the shininess. It's glorious!
 
Watch out. Was telling a friend today once you get that first platinum you get addicted. The sound of the trophy popping, the shininess. It's glorious!
Seems like too much work on most modern games. I miss the early 360 days with games with like five achievements.
 
Supposely Horizon outsold Uncharted 4 and is PS4 biggest launch ever. Didn't experts predict Horizon will do 8 million sales lifetime? It's on pace to do that number.
 
Not that it means much but I bought Horizon but not Uncharted. I'll get to it eventually but didn't feel like playing it yet. Although with the expansion coming maybe I should sooner than later.
 
I have to beat Zelda, then I'll come back to this. Great game and a technical masterpiece, but I hope they do a sequel with improvements to the following:

- AI
- Environmental Interaction

It's so good in almost every other area.
 
Man, I have no ambition to play this anymore. Good game, but I'm shelving it. Other games own my time.
 
Man, I have no ambition to play this anymore. Good game, but I'm shelving it. Other games own my time.

Like what? Come on man, you can't finish a masterpiece like Horizon? Why even get up in the morning.
 
It's pretty boring after the initial wow factor wears off. The story is all sorts of don't give a f*ck.
 
This is the first game I felt the need to Platinum. I liked that Alloy got some closure to something that haunted her since childhood..... but I'm just a big softy for crap like that.

Plus I know the fights in the sequel will be INSANE! Can't wait.....
 
Just wanted to stop in and say I love this game. It's the best gaming experience I've had in years. After 150 hours in the game, I found it really hard to put it down, but I have to resign myself to it, because I've exhausted it; there is just nothing else to do. It's the only game I ever bothered to platinum. A few highlights:

1. The world. So lush, so beautiful. I didn't fast travel at all -- just walked everywhere, because being in the world was so enjoyable. I also found that a more immersive way to play. But the world is just gorgeous. I am a nature lover, and I love the desert and mountains. Everywhere I went in the game, I was stopping and just marveling at how beautiful it was. I love just being in this world.

2. The culture and the setup. So original. Tribal humans, robots wandering the Earth. It is a new and interesting premise, a new sort of world to explore and unravel, not another medieval fantasy.

3. Aloy. What a great character! I really liked her, as a person. Putting the game down was kind of sad for me, in a way, because I grew attached to her. She's a great character -- very likeable, beautiful but not objectified, strong but not a standard tough guy retread, a reject/outcast who has a big heart. She doesn't get everything right but keeps trying. She's got a good sense of humor. I really liked her. She was a good reminder of what a huge difference having a good character is. People always hold up Witcher as some kind of standard bearer for the RPG genre, but I found Geralt to be a boring tough guy with the emotional range of a toadstool. Aloy is so much more interesting and likeable to me.

4. The story. I found the story interesting. It unfolded gradually and kept me wondering. The end was very satisfying.

5. The combat was challenging. Tons of different options for any given combat encounter. Some of them were pretty challenging. Combat never got old for me. Very satisfying, and it felt new, not like something I'd done a hundred times in other games.

My only complaints are relatively minor:

1. I hit max level about 2/3 of the way through the game. In part, this was because of my style -- since I wasn't fast travelling, I was engaging beasties and collecting XP along the way, whereas your normal player probably just teleported from location to location. Also, I tend to do most side quests first. The game seems to be set up with a lot of allowance for players to reach max level without doing a large chunk of the content. The downside is that people like me hit max level well before the game is finished. That reduces some of the fun of playing (always enjoy seeing that XP gauge tick up).

2. Some of the skills seemed relatively useless. Fight Back, Call Mount, the one that enables you to shoot from ropes, and the last of the resource perks. Not a big deal; it's that way in most games. But since you can max out all the skills -- you don't need to specialize -- it would be nice if all the skills were worthwhile.


Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Horizon. The world is beautiful, the combat is fun, Aloy is a great character, and the story is satisfying. It was hard to tear myself away, but I've done everything I can.

I can't recommend this game more highly. Really an excellent piece of work. Congratulations to Guerrilla for pulling it off. They took their time and knocked it out of the park.

Can't wait for the DLC.
 
Just wanted to stop in and say I love this game. It's the best gaming experience I've had in years. After 150 hours in the game, I found it really hard to put it down, but I have to resign myself to it, because I've exhausted it; there is just nothing else to do. It's the only game I ever bothered to platinum. A few highlights:

1. The world. So lush, so beautiful. I didn't fast travel at all -- just walked everywhere, because being in the world was so enjoyable. I also found that a more immersive way to play. But the world is just gorgeous. I am a nature lover, and I love the desert and mountains. Everywhere I went in the game, I was stopping and just marveling at how beautiful it was. I love just being in this world.

2. The culture and the setup. So original. Tribal humans, robots wandering the Earth. It is a new and interesting premise, a new sort of world to explore and unravel, not another medieval fantasy.

3. Aloy. What a great character! I really liked her, as a person. Putting the game down was kind of sad for me, in a way, because I grew attached to her. She's a great character -- very likeable, beautiful but not objectified, strong but not a standard tough guy retread, a reject/outcast who has a big heart. She doesn't get everything right but keeps trying. She's got a good sense of humor. I really liked her. She was a good reminder of what a huge difference having a good character is. People always hold up Witcher as some kind of standard bearer for the RPG genre, but I found Geralt to be a boring tough guy with the emotional range of a toadstool. Aloy is so much more interesting and likeable to me.

4. The story. I found the story interesting. It unfolded gradually and kept me wondering. The end was very satisfying.

5. The combat was challenging. Tons of different options for any given combat encounter. Some of them were pretty challenging. Combat never got old for me. Very satisfying, and it felt new, not like something I'd done a hundred times in other games.

My only complaints are relatively minor:

1. I hit max level about 2/3 of the way through the game. In part, this was because of my style -- since I wasn't fast travelling, I was engaging beasties and collecting XP along the way, whereas your normal player probably just teleported from location to location. Also, I tend to do most side quests first. The game seems to be set up with a lot of allowance for players to reach max level without doing a large chunk of the content. The downside is that people like me hit max level well before the game is finished. That reduces some of the fun of playing (always enjoy seeing that XP gauge tick up).

2. Some of the skills seemed relatively useless. Fight Back, Call Mount, the one that enables you to shoot from ropes, and the last of the resource perks. Not a big deal; it's that way in most games. But since you can max out all the skills -- you don't need to specialize -- it would be nice if all the skills were worthwhile.


Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Horizon. The world is beautiful, the combat is fun, Aloy is a great character, and the story is satisfying. It was hard to tear myself away, but I've done everything I can.

I can't recommend this game more highly. Really an excellent piece of work. Congratulations to Guerrilla for pulling it off. They took their time and knocked it out of the park.

Can't wait for the DLC.
If you haven't played it on the Pro, do so. It's a great looking game on the PS4, but it's substantially better looking on the Pro.
 
Just wanted to stop in and say I love this game. It's the best gaming experience I've had in years. After 150 hours in the game, I found it really hard to put it down, but I have to resign myself to it, because I've exhausted it; there is just nothing else to do. It's the only game I ever bothered to platinum. A few highlights:

1. The world. So lush, so beautiful. I didn't fast travel at all -- just walked everywhere, because being in the world was so enjoyable. I also found that a more immersive way to play. But the world is just gorgeous. I am a nature lover, and I love the desert and mountains. Everywhere I went in the game, I was stopping and just marveling at how beautiful it was. I love just being in this world.

2. The culture and the setup. So original. Tribal humans, robots wandering the Earth. It is a new and interesting premise, a new sort of world to explore and unravel, not another medieval fantasy.

3. Aloy. What a great character! I really liked her, as a person. Putting the game down was kind of sad for me, in a way, because I grew attached to her. She's a great character -- very likeable, beautiful but not objectified, strong but not a standard tough guy retread, a reject/outcast who has a big heart. She doesn't get everything right but keeps trying. She's got a good sense of humor. I really liked her. She was a good reminder of what a huge difference having a good character is. People always hold up Witcher as some kind of standard bearer for the RPG genre, but I found Geralt to be a boring tough guy with the emotional range of a toadstool. Aloy is so much more interesting and likeable to me.

4. The story. I found the story interesting. It unfolded gradually and kept me wondering. The end was very satisfying.

5. The combat was challenging. Tons of different options for any given combat encounter. Some of them were pretty challenging. Combat never got old for me. Very satisfying, and it felt new, not like something I'd done a hundred times in other games.

My only complaints are relatively minor:

1. I hit max level about 2/3 of the way through the game. In part, this was because of my style -- since I wasn't fast travelling, I was engaging beasties and collecting XP along the way, whereas your normal player probably just teleported from location to location. Also, I tend to do most side quests first. The game seems to be set up with a lot of allowance for players to reach max level without doing a large chunk of the content. The downside is that people like me hit max level well before the game is finished. That reduces some of the fun of playing (always enjoy seeing that XP gauge tick up).

2. Some of the skills seemed relatively useless. Fight Back, Call Mount, the one that enables you to shoot from ropes, and the last of the resource perks. Not a big deal; it's that way in most games. But since you can max out all the skills -- you don't need to specialize -- it would be nice if all the skills were worthwhile.


Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Horizon. The world is beautiful, the combat is fun, Aloy is a great character, and the story is satisfying. It was hard to tear myself away, but I've done everything I can.

I can't recommend this game more highly. Really an excellent piece of work. Congratulations to Guerrilla for pulling it off. They took their time and knocked it out of the park.

Can't wait for the DLC.

The game is a very good. One of the best I've played this year. Aloy was a mixed bag for me but I can't see a sequel without her. Amazing what Guerrilla was able to do when Sony let them make something besides Killzone.
 
If you haven't played it on the Pro, do so. It's a great looking game on the PS4, but it's substantially better looking on the Pro.

You recommending the Pro to me, that's a good one. :wink: Of course I played on the Pro.

What I didn't play on was a 4K TV. I look forward to replaying the game in a year or two, after I upgrade my TV.

The game is a very good. One of the best I've played this year. Aloy was a mixed bag for me but I can't see a sequel without her. Amazing what Guerrilla was able to do when Sony let them make something besides Killzone.

Yeah, I loved it. Game of the generation for me so far. Almost everything about it was enjoyable to me -- the characters, the combat, the world design, the exploration, the quests and sidequests...

Speaking of sidequests, they had none of the usual fetch quest filler. All of them were interesting, and some were quite substantial. The bandit camps were a lot of fun, tied together with a unique character, and weren't overdone. Tallnecks were a great challenge and a great trip to climb up, but again, they didn't overdo it.

In fact, that was true of almost everything in the game -- it was well-edited; nothing felt like filler or padding. Heck, even the collectibles were enjoyable. I've never had a game where I actually wanted to collect all the collectibles. They even managed to make that interesting.

So, my hat's off to them. Great game.
 
You recommending the Pro to me, that's a good one. :wink: Of course I played on the Pro.

What I didn't play on was a 4K TV. I look forward to replaying the game in a year or two, after I upgrade my TV.



Yeah, I loved it. Game of the generation for me so far. Almost everything about it was enjoyable to me -- the characters, the combat, the world design, the exploration, the quests and sidequests...

Speaking of sidequests, they had none of the usual fetch quest filler. All of them were interesting, and some were quite substantial. The bandit camps were a lot of fun, tied together with a unique character, and weren't overdone. Tallnecks were a great challenge and a great trip to climb up, but again, they didn't overdo it.

In fact, that was true of almost everything in the game -- it was well-edited; nothing felt like filler or padding. Heck, even the collectibles were enjoyable. I've never had a game where I actually wanted to collect all the collectibles. They even managed to make that interesting.

So, my hat's off to them. Great game.

Hunting Thunderjaw's was my great fun. They're pretty tough until you get a good system down. But f*** Stormbirds and everything they stand for.
 
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Hunting Thunderjaw's was my great fun. They're pretty tough until you get a good system down. But f*** Stormbirds and everything they stand for.

Yeah, those were some massive beasts. The Thunderjaw scared the crap out of me, the first time I saw one. I don't usually have that sort of reaction in a game, but there was such a sense of scale and menace to him. Got to take those disc launchers out first. Stormbirds are tough, too. I ended up using the Ropecaster to bring them down, then sticky bombed them to death. I'm sure there's a more elegant way to do it, but hey, it worked.

Check this out. Never tried it, but it makes me want to.


XtU4LlL.gif
 
I haven't played this in nearly 6 weeks. I was 60+ hours in and never got around to playing it again after Ghost Recon came out. I'll probably restart the game once the new update next week gets released. I forgot most of what I was doing anyway.
 
I still have to go back to it. I am finishing up Gears of War 4 right now. But from what I have played of it so far, I like it....but I liked Nier Automata and The Last Guardian better so far.
 
I spent two months straight with it, with no interest in anything else. I wanted to drag it out. Even now, having exhausted the game, I can't bring myself to remove the disc from my PS4 and move on. Loved it.

I think unplugging from forums helped me to enjoy it, uncontaminated by the griping of others. Not that there was a whole lot of griping with this game -- the little I read indicated that most people loved it. But reading forums can often spoil the enjoyment of a game for me.

I plan to do the same with Mass Effect Andromeda, although it may be too late for that one, because the forum and press negativity has already seeped into my head.
 
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