A New Dawn--Horizon Zero Dawn

After 79.9 hours of play, I've officially finished my first playthrough of the excellent Horizon Zero Dawn! If you're a PC gamer who hesitates over console games that make the migration over to PC, it's one that is worth checking out.  It doesn't go on sale very frequently, so try to grab it on the rare occasions that it does (although, it's one that would be worth paying full price for).

Pros:

+ Gorgeous environments.  The world of Horizon Zero Dawn sprawls across snow capped mountains, grassy, forested valleys, dusty, dry deserts, and lush jungles.  Each zone has its own unique beauty and the changes in biome offer much variety.  Another fun feature tied to the environment is that the weather effects vary based on the biome--occasionally snow will gently fall in the snowy areas; dust storms kick up in the desert zones and can make it difficult to see; and windy, rainy storms can pop up in the grassier areas.  The world is sprinkled with evidence of the "old world"--rusted ruins of a technologically advanced society that no longer exists.

Aloy overriding a Tallneck.

+ The tribes who inhabit the different areas of the map each have their own unique look and story.  The Nora are a matriarchal society led by elder priestesses; the Carja are ruled by a hereditary king and occupy a great stone city set into the desert cliffs; the Banuk live high in the mountains and have a more spiritual connection with the machines that occupy the world; the Oseram are tinkers who have an almost steampunk feel.  It's fun to explore and encounter the many different groups and learn about their histories.

+ Large, sprawling world that isn't overwhelming.  The 79.9 hours that I played was a fairly completionist playthrough--I tried to complete all the side tasks and errands in addition to the main story (*this also included the Frozen Wilds DLC).  I didn't find myself hitting too much of a wall or that the world was needlessly chocked full of repetitive tasks to complete (I'm looking at you Assassin's Creed).

+ Collectibles that aren't a PITA to find (some people might not like this).  You can purchase maps (cheaply too!) that show the general area where collectibles are located.  They don't show you the exact location and you still have to do some searching, but they aren't too difficult to locate.  I appreciated this as I am someone who doesn't have the patience to meticulously search for every single item.  *I did not find all the logs--those are scattered all over the map and it seems to be mostly a matter of luck to come across them.

+ Combat that is challenging.  Fighting humans isn't anything too remarkable, but fighting machines is where the fun is at.  Each machine is unique and has a variety of weak points that can be exploited to make killing them easier--to be successful at the combat in HZD you need to figure out the best way to slow or disable machines and can't just blindly fire away.  I played it on the normal difficulty and found the combat to be just the right amount of challenge--not so much that I was constantly dying, but enough that it was challenging.  Some of the larger machines can be quite frustrating to fight because they are enormous and avoiding their attacks is difficult.  Combat also takes a bit of strategizing (something I feel like I failed at) to fully all the tools--traps, crowd control, etc.  There are numerous weapons to choose from and to use to customize your playstyle

+ The main storyline is very interesting and gets better as it progresses.  I won't spoil it for anyone, but I was pleasantly surprised at the direction that it ended up taking.  I liked the uniqueness of having tribal societies juxtaposed with advanced technology--it's definitely a unique game world.

+ Photo mode with tons of settings and options that allow you to capture the beautiful game world.  Also, the game tells you exactly where your screenshots are located so you don't have to go hunting for them.

+ New game+ mode that offers rewards for upping the difficulty level (you can unlock cosmetic features that aren't available on lower difficulty levels).  It's nice to have an incentive to replay on a higher difficulty.

+ I had zero technical issues (*It's worth mentioning here that I'm not the type of gamer who agonizes over framerates and making sure everything runs on ULTRA) and felt like the game ran very well.  There are reports of long loading times, but I didn't really have any issues.  

Cons:

- Traversal is sometimes needlessly overdramatic and that can make it feel clunky.  For example, you see a place to grab that is definitely within your leaping range--the game intentionally slows your leap to add to the drama (which does result in that heart dropping feeling that you're going to fall).  It's kind of fun at first, but I got a bit tired of it later on in the game.  Sometimes you expect the traversal elements to automatically work and they don't--like walking across a tightrope area and and falling off the side because for some reason your character decided not to hop on.

The snowy peaks of the Frozen Wilds are beautiful.

- Hunting grounds.  Scattered around the map are challenge areas called hunting grounds (they are optional...so yes, you could skip them) that have a series of themed, timed missions.  You receive tiered awards based on how quickly you are able to complete the challenges.  I did not enjoy these missions as I prefer a more stealthy playstyle that involves waiting to strike.  To achieve the highest level of award requires a lot of crazy running around and combat that just didn't jive with the way I wanted to play.  Sure, these areas are optional, but there's an entire set of side missions built around them.

- Side tasks/errands are pretty unmemorable.  A lot of finding, fetching, and not a lot of interesting content.

- Quick inventory menu is obnoxious--you have to use z and x to scroll forward or backward through a list of items.  I found this annoying when I was in the middle of combat and trying to switch up items like resistance potions, traps, and health potions.  I feel like this option could be made better for mouse and keyboard with some key binding options.

Recommendation:

I was initially pretty skeptical of Horizon Zero Dawn due to it being a console crossover, but I ended up really enjoying it.  It's one of the few games that I would recommend paying full price for (the complete edition includes the Frozen Wilds DLC and is priced at $49.99).  The game world is unique, the main storyline is interesting, and the combat hits just the right level of difficulty. 

I Waited too Long

One of the semi-serious decisions that must be made in games with DLC is when to start the additional content.  I generally like to play it after I've finished the main story but, unfortunately, that isn't always an option.  I'm probably 99% through the main story line in Horizon Zero Dawn but wisely decided that I should Google whether or not you could start the DLC after completing the main story--you can't, so rather than finishing it off (which I was very much invested in--the main story is great), I've now taken a jaunt away from impending world destruction to traverse the snowy far reaches of the Banuk homeland.

I have to admit, I've been feeling a bit ready to be done with HZD--I've been enjoying it, but it's just time.  Being a completionist though, I just couldn't leave any stone unturned.  It's a bit of an issue with larger, open world games (and one that I wish someone could find the gooey, sweet center that represents having just enough content that you don't hit a weird lull while trying to complete the plethora of side tasks in the game)--there's a lot and trying to figure out how to parcel it out can be difficult.

The Nora homeland isn't quite as snowy

The premise for the Frozen Wilds DLC seems to be somewhat similar to the main story--the normally docile machines have started to act aggressively and no one understands why.  Members of the Banuk have disappeared (or been killed) trying to solve the mystery.  Enter our hero, Aloy (who, is now level 50, and pretty decked out), who is prepared to help solve the myriad of missing people/machine oriented issues. There's also a link between the Banuk and Sylens, Aloy's mysterious helper.  Like other Banuk shaman, Sylens has threaded bright blue machine parts into his own skin--is it possible that he was a Banuk shaman at one time?

The machines in Frozen Wilds are no joke--the machine craziness has granted them a higher level of elemental resistance.  There are also a few new varieties that seem to skew toward elemental damage--I've encountered several Scorchers that are equipped with a mine launcher and that can spew a ball of fire or emit a fiery blast if you stray into melee range.  I predict that I will die a lot.

Frozen Wilds promises to add more--there are new collectibles to find, a new currency that can be used to unlock more powerful weapons, more map locations to scout out, more bandit bases to assault...you get it.  That's where I will be spending my gaming time this weekend, slogging through the snow and stabbing some metal demons.

Console Crossover

I'm a member of several gaming related groups on social media and many of them skew toward consoles.  There are always games that get much praise, but that I know will remain console exclusives--I would love to play God of War or The Last of Us, but alas, it's not going to happen.  One game that kept popping up in discussions as a favorite was Horizon Zero Dawn.  People seemed to love it, so I was pleasantly surprised when a PC version popped up on Steam.  However, I didn't immediately grab it, which was probably a good thing--like many console crossovers, the early days of the PC version seemed a bit rocky.  Reviews cited crashes and graphics issues, so I decided to pop it on the ol' wishlist and wait for positive reports on the state of the game.  It stayed camped out on my wishlist for a very long time (plus, I was waiting for it to go on sale--it's one of those games that doesn't go on sale very frequently) but finally went on sale, so I decided to grab it.  I've been happily roaming Aloy through the strange world of the tribal, post-apocalyptic earth for the last couple of weeks.

So many post-apocalyptic games present a very dire, devastated version of life on earth.  Horizon Zero Dawn doesn't have that scorched, depressing post-apocalyptic vibe and instead centers on human civilization that has managed to cling to life despite it almost being wiped out.  Humans live in tribal societies whose beliefs and aesthetics vary widely.  They co-exist with dangerous machines--the remnants of the robotic apocalypse that nearly wiped out life on earth.  The juxtaposition of tribal societies with advanced technology is novel and I'm enjoying the freshness of it.  NPC's are decked out in garments that blend tribal related items and pieces of machines that they hunt.

The world offers a variety of environments with unique
weather effects.

The game takes place in a huge, open world.  It's not quite Assassin's Creed level huge, but it's big enough that you'll be busy just trying to explore the various nooks and crannies.  The best part about the world is that it's teeming with life--animals to hunt and machines that range in threat level from vaguely threatening to downright dangerous.  Like any modern, open world RPG there are plenty of side tasks to occupy your time--collectibles to gather, bandit bases to clear, hunting challenges to complete...you know how it goes.

I am particularly enjoying the variety of machine enemies in the game and the combat system (which I am admittedly horrible at).  Each type of machine is covered in armor plating that can be stripped off by attacking it (or by using special weapons designed to strip armor) and has numerous weak spots that can be exploited to stun, or do extra damage.  Some machines have exposed fuel tanks which can be shot with fire arrows to produce an enormous explosion that will disable the machine and also cause splash damage to any other machines in the area; others have exposed power coils that can be shot with special electric arrows which will create a huge electrical storm that will disable any machines caught in the blast.  Part of the challenge of combat is figuring out how to best disable a machine to make it easier to take down.  The real combat mastery is strategizing how to use traps, tripwires, and your entire machine-slaying arsenal--setting up masterful ambushes is something that I haven't gotten the hang of.

Longnecks are massive, peaceful robots that roam around
the map and can be hacked to reveal locations.

There are multiple skill paths that you can choose from--stealth, combat, and crafting/gathering.  I enjoy a stealthy kind of gameplay, but it is a bit challenging in Zero Dawn--enemies will all automatically come running at any sign of trouble, so it's very easy to get completely overrun and for your stealthy tactics to get derailed.  It took me quite awhile to get the hang of it, but it does require patience.

Being the completionist that I am, I haven't delved too deep into the main story, but it has managed to be interesting.  Aloy is trying to figure out her own heritage and also to unravel the true story of the machine apocalypse--two things that seem to be related.  I am looking forward to spending some time this weekend jabbing some more machines (and getting whomped on) and taking in the stunning scenery of Horizon Zero Dawn.