Horizon Zero Dawn

[JaySevenZero]

I just checked and couldn't believe we hadn't started a thread about this game already!

This game has been on my radar since its official reveal at last years E3 but today's gameplay footage has elevated this game onto my must-play list. Luke Plunkett of Kotaku described it as the following;

"The Witcher 3 with robot dinosaurs starring Ygritte!"

An off-the-cuff comparison for sure but given how much I love The Witcher 3, makes Horizon: Zero Dawn a game I'm now very, very interested in.

[Scrustle]

I'm really looking forward to this one. It's one of the biggest things drawing me to getting a PS4 right now. I love the idea of the world. The juxtaposition of the tribal-like humans and the futuristic designs works really well. The robot designs look really cool and unique as well. The mechanics of fighting them and taking them down seem pretty interesting and in-depth too. Seems like it's pretty much all shooting though. Based on my own preferences I would have liked to see melee being a big part of it too, but I think the way they're doing it here with all the different tools you have, the shooting looks pretty fun. The different arrow types and that grapple look like they can make for some interesting methods of tackling those creatures. I probably only feel like I want melee anyway because at first glance the game doesn't seem like a shooter, and I'm used to stuff like Monster Hunter using melee weapons against big creatures like that.

I think it's a pretty nice spin on the post-apocalypse too. We see so many games with that type of setting, but I don't think I've ever seen one where they put humanity back to a caveman/hunter-gatherer stage like this. And while the ancient lost technology thing has been done before too, turning that in to the wildlife is a really cool idea too. It actually makes me want to find out about the history of the world and what happened. They could do a lot with that mantra of technology being so advanced it's indistinguishable from magic.

[chase210]

That demo was pretty impressive. Looks amazing as well.

[Alex79]

Yep, call me excited for it.

[skidoosh]

I really keen to see what Guerrilla can do other than Killzone. Technically, there's very few studios that can match them. It's always been the story telling with these guys though. Hopefully with John Gonzalez on the team we should be looking at the equalisation of both their technical and creative ability!

Better come with a photo mode too so I can carry on torturing you lot!

[countstex]

This game completely slipped me by, or maybe I'd seen things and thought they were from Wild? Anyway, after seeing the gameplay this looks like a sure buy. Got a very strong TombRaider/FarCry3 vibe from it, but killing machines for scrap rather than endangered animals is a little more acceptable And whilst I didn't have an issue with the voice acting, a part of me wishes it was Rose Leslie voicing the main character

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

This does look really promising (shades of Enslaved: Odyssey To The West in the style which is never a bad thing!) so definitely going to keep a close eye on it, but am I alone in finding the writing and acting a bit hackneyed? Not in that trailer that Jay posted necessarily, but this one.....

[JaySevenZero]

I haven't picked this up yet but I'm pretty sure it's gonna end up being my next purchase after watching other streaming it over the last few evenings. Looks to the kind of game I can sink many an hour into.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

It does look pretty spectacular that's for sure, and reviews have been not too shabby at all. We've just moved home and as a house warming gift to myself I bought a decent 50 inch 4K HDR TV and a PS4 Pro, which apparently Horizon takes really good advantage of so will definitely be picking it up (our new living room is about four times bigger than our previous postage stamp, so I had no choice but to upgrade really! That's was my argument before my wife sighed and left me to it anyway...)

[Flabyo]

I've pencilled this in as my main Summer game, the thing I'll play during the lull. Might be a little cheaper by then as well which is a nice bonus.

It's going to be Zelda and Mass Effect for a while at least I think...

[JaySevenZero]

I've pencilled this in as my main Summer game, the thing I'll play during the lull. Might be a little cheaper by then as well which is a nice bonus.

This is precisely what I plan to do and given that it got an update patch today by the time I get to it it'll have most of its kinks ironed out by then too

[hazeredmist]

This is precisely what I plan to do and given that it got an update patch today by the time I get to it it'll have most of its kinks ironed out by then too

Console gaming in 2017

It almost feels a lifetime ago that we didn't have to worry about unfinished games and patches as console gamers

[JaySevenZero]

Console gaming in 2017

It almost feels a lifetime ago that we didn't have to worry about unfinished games and patches as console gamers

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they never had to test games the size and complexity of today's biggest titles back then either but let's not forget that broken/buggy games would, for the most part, remain in their broken/buggy state for good once purchased. I'm certainly glad that those days are behind us for sure.

[Stanshall]

I only played twenty minutes at a mate's place on his Pro. It looks very pretty and the combat appears to give lots of room for creativity, which I like. As you say, it really does stress the action element. The audio is also superb: clanking, crunching, squealing robo-dogs and so on. Very Deceptacon, which is high praise. I suppose my main criticism - and not to be a Zelda bore, which I am - is that the world looks a lot more interactive than it feels. At its core, the traversal and so on has barely moved on from Crash Bandicoot, you feel the invisible edges of all these assets, especially in terms of vertical movement.

Basically, you can't climb and Zelda has ruined everything.

[skidoosh]

So yeah. I'm pretty in love with this game. Only just really started to push the main story along. Done all of the tall necks and cauldrons. Got stuck in a small room with a Thunderjaw and then got jumped by six stalkers on the way out.

I agree with some of the points above and to add my own the game does lack finesse when climbing sometimes and tackling the flying enemies is a COMPLETE nightmare if there any grass whatsoever on the ground. BUT this is a very short list compared to very, very long list of things I love. I've always been a fan of Guerrilla and Killzone, but their stories have always been quite poor until Shadow Fall. So far HZDs story telling seems to be on point. I'll have to see how I feel at the end.

[NokkonWud]

My dad has been playing the heck out of this and has constantly been telling me how fantastic it is ever since. I'm looking forward to getting round to it when I get the chance, definitely seems to be right up my street.

[skidoosh]

If anyone is playing this at the moment. Take some time out to do the hunter trials. I didn't realise how much I didn't know or how fast I could take down a Thunderjaw until the trials showed me how to do it properly. You really get to grips with the mod system too.

[JaySevenZero]

If anyone is playing this at the moment. Take some time out to do the hunter trials. I didn't realise how much I didn't know or how fast I could take down a Thunderjaw until the trials showed me how to do it properly. You really get to grips with the mod system too.

Definitely. They also show you the best way to taking care of Glinthawks and Stormbirds by also using the rope caster, that said the rope caster is kinda essential for making light work of the largest beasts regardless.

[JaySevenZero]

Just gonna leave this here



Needless to say, I loved this game from the start to the finish - twice!

[hazeredmist]

Nice one Jay. My (our!) buddy Curlitos also got his platinum, he's now lent me the game. Dead excited. I'm going to dive in once I've finished Zelda.