User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12419 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Apr 4, 2017
    4
    A by the numbers open world games in the vein of far cry, very representative of the current mediocre state of the genre (e.g. Far Cry, AC and TR).

    Some may consider that below average. Wish more time was spent on gameplay, rather then the visuals, which i believe were used as a distraction from other areas. Alot of advertising for a Guerilla games production (and a PR push from
    A by the numbers open world games in the vein of far cry, very representative of the current mediocre state of the genre (e.g. Far Cry, AC and TR).

    Some may consider that below average. Wish more time was spent on gameplay, rather then the visuals, which i believe were used as a distraction from other areas.

    Alot of advertising for a Guerilla games production (and a PR push from journalists and youtubers), though there is still more that could be learnt from other devs such as Insomniac Games, Realtime Worlds, Ruffian Games and Radical Entertainment.

    Dinosaurs and robots are a welcome addition to the genre (though not new), however this still doesn't feel different enough to justify the open world. There is alot of repetition and i didn't feel the game clicked overall, there are some nice set pieces, but they dont come together as a cohesive experience to match the price.

    Campaign could have been better. Some game A.I. issues seemed to crop up in early footage when dealing with in game enemies, which have since been removed from Youtube.

    As a fan of the genre, i would recommend considering whether some wish to perhaps wait or skip.
    The open world genre has become somewhat obsessed with more of the same, wouldnt be that different to throw on a game you've already played, which would probably cost you less.

    There are other games that are doing more creative things with the genre also, however we are seeing less of that..
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  2. Feb 28, 2017
    3
    Generic boring game, Walk into an area, a bunch of high definition stuff happens, then you follow some marker by running for 10 mins, spend 5 minutes killing a boring enemy, and repeat.

    Very Disappointing.
  3. Mar 5, 2017
    0
    Its bad, like really bad. Combat is bland, Characters are uninteresting, especially alloy. The combat is a **** knock-off of tomb raider (2013). not worth 60
  4. Feb 28, 2017
    4
    Highly mediocre game that follows the standard open world formula and falls flat on bringing anything new to the table. The main character of the game is Aloy a girl who is part robot part human and different, woah woah, from everyone else. Her voice acting is sub-par by today's standards as well as her animations, lipsync, character development, and general personality. She's just yourHighly mediocre game that follows the standard open world formula and falls flat on bringing anything new to the table. The main character of the game is Aloy a girl who is part robot part human and different, woah woah, from everyone else. Her voice acting is sub-par by today's standards as well as her animations, lipsync, character development, and general personality. She's just your typical witty heroine against the world cause something bad happened to her.

    The combat of the game is slow and monotonous. Usually you just sit back and use arrows and when they get close you roll away with your unlimited i-frames and unlimited stamina. There are options to use traps and such but I never found a use for them outside of where the game forces you to use them. My largest gripe with the combat is how dumb the arrow system is. You have to craft arrows as you need them and that could be a cool mechanic but Horizon zero Dawn just puts it down to a simple button press. You get loads of scraps from enemies and then just press a button. There's no animation, no thinking, no wait time, no anything. You craft them mid combat with no repercussion. The game could at least have you stop and do a little animation leaving you open for attack but no.

    The entire inventory system of the game is flawed too not just crafting. Every enemy drops a bunch of crap, you're very limited on space until you expand, and even will a fully expanded inventory you still fill up with ease. The game wants you to do management but the usefulness of items is so poorly portrayed since everything is automated I have no idea what to ditch and what to keep. Often times I will ditch an item only to have it needed in the next quest I picked up, it's a huge pain.

    The graphics on the game can be good at times, mostly in screenshots. Animations are poorly done in this game on everything that isn't a robotic animals. Humans, realistic wildlife, and foliage are all just choppy or weightless. The animation that most irked me was the lifeless look of Aloy's bow drawing animation. There's nothing behind it and having to look at it as often as you do you'd think the developers would put a lot of time into it specifically. But it's boring and weightless. Just awful to look at. I've had a few enemies glitch into rocks and other terrain as well as NPCs bug out during dialogue and sometimes stop moving entirely. Very immersion breaking. On the plus side the textures for a lot of things such as the robots and plants are very well done. Again the human assets are poorly done.

    I don't want to spoil the story too much but let me just say that it's very generic and exactly what I expected out of it. There was a chance for a twist and the game decided to just go the typical route. The ending does set it up for sequel potential, I don't see it getting one, but it's there. Everything is tied up at the end so don't throw a fit at a cliffhanger.

    All in all game looks pretty in screenshots and can have a few fun moments like sliding while shooting. But they get boring fast and the game leaves little to keep attention. Typical overworld game bogged down by glitches, bland gameplay, and a very easy to read story.
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  5. Mar 3, 2017
    1
    Very poorly put together "RPG" with a less than subtle agenda to push. Possibly one of the most visually offensive first party Sony titles of all time. Gameplay is unremarkable and, shocker, repetitive.
  6. Feb 28, 2017
    3
    Typical Sony exclusive; shiny but very shallow. Don't buy into the critic hype; honestly when have you ever seen honesty in "professional" reviews whether it be payoffs or just fanboyism they bandwagon worse than fans do. Ultimately this game will get strong sales from the hype train, I'm sure, but a couple months from now, no one's going to be talking about it unless it's of the "yeahTypical Sony exclusive; shiny but very shallow. Don't buy into the critic hype; honestly when have you ever seen honesty in "professional" reviews whether it be payoffs or just fanboyism they bandwagon worse than fans do. Ultimately this game will get strong sales from the hype train, I'm sure, but a couple months from now, no one's going to be talking about it unless it's of the "yeah that game wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be" variety. Expand
  7. Feb 28, 2017
    0
    Unbiased Review

    It seems most of the reviews posted here are either haters (giving it a 0) or Sony fanboys giving it a perfect score. It's neither of those two. I've put in about 14 hours since it launched. I'm quickly losing interest. It seems that this game was a far too ambitious for the developers. It seems like they did an excellent job with the graphics, but rushed the animations.
    Unbiased Review

    It seems most of the reviews posted here are either haters (giving it a 0) or Sony fanboys giving it a perfect score. It's neither of those two. I've put in about 14 hours since it launched. I'm quickly losing interest. It seems that this game was a far too ambitious for the developers. It seems like they did an excellent job with the graphics, but rushed the animations. You'll see animations of people sliding when they're walking, which reminds me of the NBA 2k series. The voice acting is okay but very monotone. Also, this game seems to push a feminist agenda, which was smart of Guerrilla Games, as I'm sure it helped them court high reviews from the critics. Combat is almost entirely bow and arrow and this is very disappointing to me. It gets very repetitive and downright boring after the first few hours. The bow doesn't even act like a traditional bow, but rather like a sniper rifle, which just seems so unrealistic. The side quests seems like pointless chores. It really seems that they went for quantity over quality with these side quests. They're really really bad compared to the likes of Fallout and Witcher. It really seems that this game tried to incorporate elements from various other RPGs and the end results is an unoriginal and forgetful game. Some of the best visuals ever on a console. Rivals PC graphics. But the core gamplay and story is completely lacking.
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  8. Feb 28, 2017
    3
    I don't like the story at all. I really don't. I don't feel attached to any of the characters either. The enemy ai isn't very good and there are a few buggy spots. The combat is boring to me, too. Not impressed. Especially considering how highly this game was praised by game journalists.
  9. Mar 1, 2017
    0
    Boring tedious gameplay AND OPEN WORLD FAKE, If you make an open world, please don't fill it with pointless quests or collectibles. Overhyped game who turned out to be rather bland and repetitive, with a nasty agenda, awful graphics and poor gameplay, the game isn't quite worth playing.
  10. Mar 1, 2017
    0
    The game looks beautiful and the facial animations have set the standard for games. The story however is there to push an agenda. Personally I could not finish the game because of all the blatant propaganda. The same as you will now find in Hollywood.
  11. Feb 28, 2017
    0
    Another beautiful AAA with a **** gameplay, **** animations, and boring story. They have dinosaur robots, and made a bland game, I even don't know how it's possible. I tought it will be better than just an assassin's creed, or a Far Cry 4, but it's the exact same **** you see and do for the 1 billionth times.
  12. Feb 28, 2017
    1
    Game with a clear agenda and it doesn't help that it has the same boring gameplay you see in other empty open world games. The terrible animations and voice acting does not help at all. Seems more like a tech demo first and game second.
  13. Feb 28, 2017
    0
    Let us get the most pressing matter out of the way first. Horizon Zero Dawn is not a good game. There are several perfect scores in the critic page, and even more in the user submitted page, but those of us who are NOT paid to promote the game have a vastly different opinion of it.

    Namely, that this game is incredibly underwhelming, in pretty much every way imaginable. Combat is
    Let us get the most pressing matter out of the way first. Horizon Zero Dawn is not a good game. There are several perfect scores in the critic page, and even more in the user submitted page, but those of us who are NOT paid to promote the game have a vastly different opinion of it.

    Namely, that this game is incredibly underwhelming, in pretty much every way imaginable. Combat is uninspired, the RPG mechanics feel tacked on, the AI is easily exploited especially when coming out of tall grass, and the story is.... well... laughably bad. The animation and acting is simply bizarre to look at, and the overall implication of the narrative that a certain race of people ruined things for everyone is horribly bigoted and offensive. This game is simply not worth your time in any sense of the word. It is, in essence, an Assassin's Creed type game. It is promoting itself on this promise of delivering a game with a really cool idea, but the reality of the experience is more than simply lackluster. It is downright pathetic.

    Buy the new Zelda instead. The demo at E3 had more stuff to do and see than everything in Horizon Zero Dawn.
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  14. Feb 28, 2017
    0
    Open world... What can I say? This game was just as boring as The Elder Scrolls VI: Skyrim, Fallout 4, Uncharted 4, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Grand Theft Auto V, Far Cry Primal, etc... If you make an open world, please don't fill it with pointless quests or collectibles.
  15. Aug 2, 2019
    3
    If you played The Witcher 3, don't waste your time with this game. It's basically an attempt to mimic the loot system, the fighting system, and the character interactions but with an SJW/3rd wave feminist twist. The characters are boring & monotonous, as is the main one. The environs are drab and the enemies are just annoying, not even challenging. The controls are impossible to learnIf you played The Witcher 3, don't waste your time with this game. It's basically an attempt to mimic the loot system, the fighting system, and the character interactions but with an SJW/3rd wave feminist twist. The characters are boring & monotonous, as is the main one. The environs are drab and the enemies are just annoying, not even challenging. The controls are impossible to learn within an hour. Expand
  16. Jun 4, 2020
    4
    I tried to play it already two times, but gave it another try for about one hour yesterday: Here's why I put it again to the side, and I don't think I will ever finish it.

    - the story is childish - the dialogues are childish - characters faces look silly (dead eyes, mouth movement doesn't match what they are saying, strange movement) - the game is lazy ass developed - i destroyed a bandit
    I tried to play it already two times, but gave it another try for about one hour yesterday: Here's why I put it again to the side, and I don't think I will ever finish it.

    - the story is childish
    - the dialogues are childish
    - characters faces look silly (dead eyes, mouth movement doesn't match what they are saying, strange movement)
    - the game is lazy ass developed - i destroyed a bandit camp before talking to a dude from a side mission, he still talked about freeing the bandit camp i just destroyed
    - while some parts of the game look good, there are parts that look dead and nothing moves
    - when it rains everything looks like plastic, especially faces
    - the inventory system is annoying - why can't i just sell everything that is useless at once
    - my armor clips into cutscenes
    - too much farming needed
    - repetitive missions - i had to twice to track something within half an hour
    - limited freedom of movement - only yellow ledges can be climbed up
    - strange physics - swinging left and right when sliding down a rope
    - ....

    Verdict: Compared to GTA5, RDR2, Spiderman, and GOW it's completely lame for an open world game. Storytelling and character development remind me of old games. Graphics are not at all state of the art.

    Really hard to believe that so many people like it.
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  17. Sep 5, 2017
    3
    Contrary to beliefs, this is a game you have already played. The graphics are nice and so are the characters, but the story is in the lackluster department, everything about its story is cliche and tried. Along with the gameplay being extremely standard 3rd person open world shenanigans it really is nothing special. This game by far is an extreme let down, and really the only reason itsContrary to beliefs, this is a game you have already played. The graphics are nice and so are the characters, but the story is in the lackluster department, everything about its story is cliche and tried. Along with the gameplay being extremely standard 3rd person open world shenanigans it really is nothing special. This game by far is an extreme let down, and really the only reason its getting such good reviews is for its graphics, and "story" even though its a very forgettable story. This isn't a game that people will look back on, its boring,normal and a huge letdown Expand
  18. Nov 22, 2017
    3
    Literally created this account just to review this game. I bought a ps4 for this game and kind of regretted it, until I started to play other games. After I played a few other games, I gave this game another chance but It bored me again instantly, which ultimately leads to this review.
    This game does have nice graphic but Alloy’s facial expressions some how turns this game uninteresting
    Literally created this account just to review this game. I bought a ps4 for this game and kind of regretted it, until I started to play other games. After I played a few other games, I gave this game another chance but It bored me again instantly, which ultimately leads to this review.
    This game does have nice graphic but Alloy’s facial expressions some how turns this game uninteresting for me. The game itself gets boring pretty fast too, at least for me. Conversations and interactions with NPC are pretty boring/dull/emotionless. As for the content of the conversations, I can hardly understand what they meant, or just that I couldn’t care less on what they talking about (Maybe due to my poor English understanding). Side quest requires you to trace the foot print from East to West, kind of like purposely ask you to do so just to show the players how nice and huge the open world is. The map is indeed huge but kind of empty. Not sure is it just me, the fonts are too freaking small to see.

    In the end, this is just my opinion and maybe open world game is just not my cup of tea. Now I am having a second thought on getting a copy of The Witcher 3 as it might be of the same quality and give me the same feeling this game did.
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  19. Nov 3, 2018
    1
    Man this game bored me to tears. If I have to play another fallen progenitor civilization game I'm going to claw my eyes out. It's Mary Sue meets robodinos. Boring superior character who goes from social outcast to superhuman savior of the tribe in mission 1. Antagonists are simplistic comic book levels of evil, there are high school bully clichés, etc. That one kid might as well be namedMan this game bored me to tears. If I have to play another fallen progenitor civilization game I'm going to claw my eyes out. It's Mary Sue meets robodinos. Boring superior character who goes from social outcast to superhuman savior of the tribe in mission 1. Antagonists are simplistic comic book levels of evil, there are high school bully clichés, etc. That one kid might as well be named Brad. Main character spends whole life in isolation yet is a smarmy comeback machine, extremely off-putting personality. Environments change from ice to desert in less than the number of steps it takes me to get to the corner shop for toothpaste. Every character is stock. I am a big value for money guy, so I rarely don't finish games, but this one lost me in hour 10, I think it'll be the only one to do so in many years. 1/10 give me my money back. Expand
  20. Jun 4, 2021
    0
    I really tried to like it and it has some very good ideas, but at the same time it fell flat in almost everything. Robots were great, graphics very solid for 2017, but story was extremely meh. I feel like this game is extremely overrated. Even nude mod for Aloy (on PC) didn't make me care to go back, that's how boring this game feels. World is way too much packed together, you can hardlyI really tried to like it and it has some very good ideas, but at the same time it fell flat in almost everything. Robots were great, graphics very solid for 2017, but story was extremely meh. I feel like this game is extremely overrated. Even nude mod for Aloy (on PC) didn't make me care to go back, that's how boring this game feels. World is way too much packed together, you can hardly go anywhere and you are already in your waypoint. There's no great distances between places. Maybe second one will be better, time will tell, but i will never go back to play first one. Expand
  21. Dec 20, 2017
    1
    A game with an empty open world that artificially drags time by walking from one end of the map to the other. The secondary tasks are boring, and the plot itself is banal, unfortunately I can not understand where so many positive reviews
  22. Jun 22, 2018
    3
    This is a visually stunning game. Unfortunately it is devoid of heart and soul. The characters and story are flat as a board. Honestly don't understand all the glowing reviews. I'm hopeful that the sequel will figure it out but this was not worth it for me even at $29.99.
  23. Jul 28, 2020
    0
    Uhmmmm i don't know how to say this but I really think this game is so overrated. The choices doesn't matter the story sucks the plot sucks. The only thing that this game has good is that the graphics but that doesn't matter this game is atill **** **** trash
  24. Aug 2, 2020
    3
    My god this game is so boring, I gave it around 15 hours but I just can't give it anymore.
  25. Jul 6, 2020
    0
    Почему так дорого?! 2800?! С ума сошли, игре рублей 800 дашь. Ей почти 5 лет, а выпускают на пк за супер фулл прайс. В пс сторедешевле, алё. 0 баллов.
  26. Mar 10, 2020
    4
    I first heard about this game from playing Death Stranding which I didn't like but still got the platinum. I wondered why things from that game were included in Death Stranding though. Now I see why. They're both games with boring open worlds, long boring cut scenes, and a plot that doesn't deliver.

    I want to be honest that I really liked the first 3 hours of the game, but they make
    I first heard about this game from playing Death Stranding which I didn't like but still got the platinum. I wondered why things from that game were included in Death Stranding though. Now I see why. They're both games with boring open worlds, long boring cut scenes, and a plot that doesn't deliver.

    I want to be honest that I really liked the first 3 hours of the game, but they make this weird design choice where everyone you've interacted with in those first 3 hours are pretty much killed off. So weird. But you can tell they put a lot of effort into those first 3 hours because this game gets very boring and repetitive soon after. I started by playing on normal difficulty, but got very tired of the gameplay. It's basically Robot Animal Hunter Simulator. Not very fun. I want to be going around whacking stuff. NOT having to shoot arrows and stealth. Stealth is fine, but you have to use it all the time for very little reward.

    The things you get from enemies don't really have a purpose from what I gather. I think they're for trading for new equipment, but I don't see any difference from just using the starter stuff. I stopped gather item drops, and besides your inventory space is very limited even if you do upgrade it.

    I was more interested in the world and the lore of the game. I HZD would be more about that, but instead it's more about these primitive tribes fighting each other. It's all trenched in SJW propaganda too. Tons of women in high positions, all the characters are basically people of color, and white males are the enemies. I just cannot like the character you play as. She reminds me of Rey from Star Wars. Just perfect at everything. It amazes me how well she socializes and interacts with other people after being an outcast for so many years.

    Quests are boring. Combat is boring. The plot presented to the player is boring. The characters are boring. I want to know more about why the world is the way it is. Why was that not the main focus?

    I'm still going to platinum it since I'm still waiting for all the great and BETTER game releases in April 2020.
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  27. Jul 6, 2020
    0
    Что так дорого за этот кусок говна? я ожидал меньше цены, за игру фиг знает какого года, фиг знает с какой графикой
  28. Jun 26, 2020
    4
    My initial impression of Horizon: Zero Dawn was awe, I really thought the game, and it's story would be something special. That was until I was finally able to play it...a few hours in, and a listening of the Nora Tribe's backstory revealed a hidden agenda in the game. The hidden agenda in the game becomes more blatant the further a player progress in the game. The hidden agenda madeMy initial impression of Horizon: Zero Dawn was awe, I really thought the game, and it's story would be something special. That was until I was finally able to play it...a few hours in, and a listening of the Nora Tribe's backstory revealed a hidden agenda in the game. The hidden agenda in the game becomes more blatant the further a player progress in the game. The hidden agenda made blatant is that of gender. To quote a part of the Nora Tribe's backstory, (which can be heard at the festival, before Aloy's trial, by sitting on log before going to see Teersa) "The Metal Devil was defeated by All-Mother..."

    If you put this into context The Metal Devil=Man/Male, and All-Mother=Woman/Female. The very relationship between the two is that of a "Male vs Female" one.

    The game becomes redundant in story via dialogue about Aloy being a female. In essence it becomes the equivalent of reinforced learning, by which I mean the torturing type. It is clear from the outset of the game that Aloy is female (we clearly see this continuously visually)...there is no reason to keep making it a focus throughout the game...via dialogue (both main quest, and side missions). It really took away from the story because of this...it's like the writers were trying to convert players to their way of thinking.

    A method of thinking that sees women as superior to men. Clearly this is not an exaggeration either, as it can easily be seen throughout the game. Men in this game play a secondary role of sorts, all at a level (less confident, less assertive, less leadership, simpleminded, etc...) beneath that of women. Even at the outset of the game...Rost (Male) is a outcast from the Nora Tribe's matriarchal (Female) rule. No male in the game is equal to a female character, and the majority of the males are antagonist. So in the writers eyes (in this futuristic setting) all females are virtuous. Although fantasy...this would never be the case, there would be good males/bad males. and good females/bad females. There still has to be a balance...tilting the scale in either direction results in a skewed perspective, which is bias.

    After playing, and beating the game...I can say with a certainty that I will not be buying and playing the sequel. I thought that eventually they would stop with the gender war, but they didn't...even at the very end. There was still a GREAT EMPHASIS placed on the female gender. The writers couldn't even end the game on a neutral (balanced) note.

    If I knew that a agenda would take center stage in this game...I would've never bought it to begin with. It's safe to assume that the sequel will continue said agenda. I rate the game a 4...2 points for gameplay, and 2 for graphics (both creative in their own right). The story would've received a numerical value if it didn't have a gender agenda within it.
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  29. Aug 5, 2020
    0
    Lo jugué por curiosidad de la secuela que se viene, pero, me sorprende como no había conocido tal juegazo, excelente historia, es algo diferente!
  30. Nov 23, 2017
    4
    If there's one thing to be learned from this game, it's that humanity doesn't deserve to survive. No, that's not it's message at all but that's how I felt playing it. It's bland. Like really bland. I think the single best feature I encountered with the gameplay was the 'skip' option every time a mind-numbing cutscene popped.

    The graphics are indeed a joy to behold, but in the age of 4K,
    If there's one thing to be learned from this game, it's that humanity doesn't deserve to survive. No, that's not it's message at all but that's how I felt playing it. It's bland. Like really bland. I think the single best feature I encountered with the gameplay was the 'skip' option every time a mind-numbing cutscene popped.

    The graphics are indeed a joy to behold, but in the age of 4K, VR etc. that really doesn't impress me anymore. They did however really nail the balance between different environments; snow, desert, jungle all gave off a nice hue that made for a few pretty screenshots.

    The main character was a bore. She looked boring, talked boring, walked boring and her journey was in keeping with it all. The weapons are so limited and repetitive and the armors are about 3 or 4 versions of the same design.

    I tried picking the story up again after abandoning it back in the summer but it was just more of the same feeling. Bloodborne, DriveClub and possibly even Shadow Fall are all reasons to invest in a PS4. Horizon Zero Dawn, in my opinion, is not.
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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 115 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Negative: 0 out of 115
  1. May 22, 2017
    60
    The unfortunate fact of Horizon is that most of what it does well, other games have done better, and they did it with a compelling who and where. This is the game you play after you’ve finished The Witcher 3, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, and Far Cry: Primal. It is the greatest hits compilation of open-world games. Yeah, sure, you might want to own it, but the real connoisseur has the original albums.
  2. Apr 21, 2017
    95
    Horizon Zero Dawn has an unforgettable protagonist, world, story, visuals, soundtrack and gameplay. Due to minor issues with inventory management and quest selection, I cannot call it perfect but I can say it is absolutely worth your time.
  3. Apr 10, 2017
    75
    There is enough spectacular action to keep you occupied for a couple of weeks, but Horizon is not the hot new killer app for PS4.