Horizon Zero Dawn

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12419 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10,195 out of 12419
  2. Mixed: 1,140 out of 12419
  3. Negative: 1,084 out of 12419
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  1. akus_1985
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    If any of the negative scores are true, and not jealous gamers giving low scores simply due to Horizon: Zero Dawn (HZD) being a PS4 exclusive, I want to know, what games are they playing that are so amazing? Because I couldn't imagine honestly rating this game a zero, or even below a 5. For me, this is the best open-world game since The Witcher 3. And in a lot of ways, it's actuallyIf any of the negative scores are true, and not jealous gamers giving low scores simply due to Horizon: Zero Dawn (HZD) being a PS4 exclusive, I want to know, what games are they playing that are so amazing? Because I couldn't imagine honestly rating this game a zero, or even below a 5. For me, this is the best open-world game since The Witcher 3. And in a lot of ways, it's actually better. The soundtrack is incredible moody and diverse, while the graphics are truly spectacular. The first time you encounter a Tallneck in the wild, it's hard not to marvel at its beauty and stature. Almost every inch of landscape is beautifully detailed, and amazing to look at. The gameplay itself is mostly typical for an open-world game. It includes side-quests, errands, hunting grounds to play on, and other things to do while you're not engaged in the main story. The story line itself is interesting, full of lore, and a little confusing, but it really is a small gripe, because all is forgiven every time you engage the mechanical beasts. The combat is where HZD shines. There are so many ways to approach an encounter, and they're all incredibly rewarding when you succeed. Fighting the mechanical foes truly never gets old. Every fight is unique, and fun. Using the main character's scanning device, you can detect different weaknesses on the robots, and check out important items in your vicinity. Resources you've collected can be used to craft potions and other things you'll need while making your way through the incredibly varied landscapes that are found in the large map. Aloy, the main protagonist can be upgraded over time too, making her much stronger, but definitely not invincible by any means. HZD truly is an amazing game that was obviously created with immense care and attention to detail. And unlike a lot of other Triple A, open-world games, it runs very, very smoothly, even at launch. Other developers should take note. Horizon: Zero Dawn is an absolute triumph and quite frankly a masterpiece that shouldn't be missed.… Expand
  2. robh404
    Mar 9, 2017
    7
    Horizon Zero Dawn is a decent game overall but falls far short of being good or above. What it has going for it is graphics, sound, and gameplay. It's undeniable that the game looks good and could be a great showoff piece for your PS4 Pro. The sound is excellent, nailing the deep bass of large robot creatures nearby to the satisfying sound of knocking off a weapon or weak point in anHorizon Zero Dawn is a decent game overall but falls far short of being good or above. What it has going for it is graphics, sound, and gameplay. It's undeniable that the game looks good and could be a great showoff piece for your PS4 Pro. The sound is excellent, nailing the deep bass of large robot creatures nearby to the satisfying sound of knocking off a weapon or weak point in an enemy. The gameplay is pure fun and hours in hasn't gotten old nor lost it's sense of challenge. Where the game falls short is pretty much everything else. The story is totally boring and I never cared to hear what anyone has to say or watch the cut scenes. Doing so anyway would only confirm my inner feelings that I should've just skipped it. The missions are boring and very tedious. Running from point A to B and back again felt like a drag and only seems to exist to artificially extend hours of playtime. The voice acting was bland which is partly due to poor storytelling and partly due to actor's inability to perform well. The open world, though beautiful, is also dry. It lacks one of the most important factors any open world needs, immersion. Outside of killing robot dinosaurs, running boring errands for random people, or picking up pointless collectibles, there's no living in the world. You don't build a home, you don't sleep, you don't interact with people outside of quests, and there's no everyday-like activities taking place that you engage in. There's not much here to justify the game being an open-world in the first place and could've just as easily been a linear game, where Aloy travels from one end of the map to the other on a path to find out about her true identity and purpose. This game feels like they created the gameplay concept, then tried to force a story and world to fit it, and at that they failed. If you just want to run around and take out robot dinosaurs, this is a must buy. If you want a great story and immersive open world, this is a pass. If you fall somewhere in between then wait for a sale.

    Gameplay: +
    Sound: +
    Graphics: +
    Voice Acting: -
    Open-World: -
    Story: -    … Expand
  3. calamilio
    Mar 9, 2017
    4
    Let's take the Witcher 3 but make the terrain hard to traverse and get rid of interesting side quests. Ya and let's take shadow of Mordor's combat but get rid of all the melee features except for "swing spam" and make every enemy take 30 arrows or more to kill. Oh instead of assassin creed towers, let's have assassin's creed tall dinosaurs. Crafting's popular now right, throw that in butLet's take the Witcher 3 but make the terrain hard to traverse and get rid of interesting side quests. Ya and let's take shadow of Mordor's combat but get rid of all the melee features except for "swing spam" and make every enemy take 30 arrows or more to kill. Oh instead of assassin creed towers, let's have assassin's creed tall dinosaurs. Crafting's popular now right, throw that in but don't make it actually have any depth. This game is an amalgamation of every single bland open-world game to ever exist but somehow even more boring.… Expand
  4. Deathbody1569
    Mar 9, 2017
    9
    Great graphics, the story is interesting, althought it is not the major discovery in videogames it is an enjoyable game, gameplay which is most important its way too fun,has nice dubbing, but there's bad sincro from time to time, also, a bad thing I did notice is the AI of the human enemies, despite this, the gameplay experience is a blast overall.
  5. MauserStorm89
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    I will say this.. Horizon Zero Dawn was capable of doing something that a game like the new Tomb Raider reboots haven't been able to accomplish yet. I rate this game in the highest possible manner because once I got into the story(a mere 10 seconds into starting the campaign) I couldn't stop playing. I was attached to Aloy's journey because it felt real and it felt like you were actuallyI will say this.. Horizon Zero Dawn was capable of doing something that a game like the new Tomb Raider reboots haven't been able to accomplish yet. I rate this game in the highest possible manner because once I got into the story(a mere 10 seconds into starting the campaign) I couldn't stop playing. I was attached to Aloy's journey because it felt real and it felt like you were actually learning with her. The past turns out to be a treacherous time in human history and to understand what fully is the truth is mindblowing. The game ends in a way that is neither disappointing or anticlimactic which is impossible to find in a video game story these days.

    When you get fully equipped in Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy becomes a powerful force. The Ancient Armor quest takes you 3/4 of the way through the game to finally unlock it but it is definitely worth the wait. I suggest you find every powercell to unlock it! The upgrade system leaves a bit more to be desired but I don't see why that can't change in future updates/DLC, if they even plan to support the game in ways like that. I would really like to see that done because 20 sidequests is a very small amount for an open world like this. These are only very minor things and it hasn't distracted me from how freaking awesome this game is. I am currently at 65 hours and see about 5-10 mores from 100% completion. That I am 100%ing this game shows how damn good it is.. The combat is so fun and there is about 10 different ways to take down each bigger enemy. Guerilla really outdid themselves here.. incredible game.

    I feel Horizon Zero Dawn is just a mere glimpse of what an open world can be like and with the game releases this year you are going to see an even bigger emergence of open world games.    … Expand
  6. Mistwalker_94
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    **** lying haters! Go shove a soggy moose penis up your asses!!! JESUS CHRIST! Some people just makes my blood boil **** This game is great! No it's not perfect and yes face animation looks bad sometimes but overall the game is awesome.
  7. jmaxhulst
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    Personally, I loved this game. I just finished the main storyline and I am only at 30% completion. That shows just how much there is to do in this game. Great storytelling, awesome combat and a giant map to hunt in. AI is also absolutely amazing, they jump over wires and know how to attack. This game is on the same level as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and The Legend of Zelda. Definitely GamePersonally, I loved this game. I just finished the main storyline and I am only at 30% completion. That shows just how much there is to do in this game. Great storytelling, awesome combat and a giant map to hunt in. AI is also absolutely amazing, they jump over wires and know how to attack. This game is on the same level as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and The Legend of Zelda. Definitely Game of The Year material.
    Must buy for any PS4 owner    … Expand
  8. SonicClancy
    Mar 9, 2017
    9
    +Narutally Gorgeous World and Visuals
    +Engaging Story
    +Tactically Combat
    +Imaginative Enemy Design
    -Way Point is uncertain Sometimes

    It is the wonderful sci-fi game with stone age theme and gorgeous game ever made on the console.
  9. BassGuru82
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    You have to love Metacritic user reviews... one review actually says "it's a good game" and gave it a 0/10. It's ridiculous. For me, Horiozn is my 3rd favorite open world game ever made behind only Skyrim and Witcher 3. It is an incredible, beautiful open world with amazing stealth and combat. The main story is great and many of the Side Quests have really cool story elements attached toYou have to love Metacritic user reviews... one review actually says "it's a good game" and gave it a 0/10. It's ridiculous. For me, Horiozn is my 3rd favorite open world game ever made behind only Skyrim and Witcher 3. It is an incredible, beautiful open world with amazing stealth and combat. The main story is great and many of the Side Quests have really cool story elements attached to them. My only negative is that the voice acting is sometimes subpar but that isn't enough to deduct a point. It's a 10/10.… Expand
  10. diegododge
    Mar 9, 2017
    9
    Incredible development of the story, it evolves into a very interesting situation, the dilemma ahead is one of the most original ones inv ideo games. The main character is well rounded and solidly constructed, same as other "less important" characters. If it was for the story i would rate it a 10. unfortunately i had technicall issues (popping, enemy glitches in the AI).
  11. Kaioh
    Mar 9, 2017
    8
    Horizon Zero Dawn is a really great game with easiest platinum trophy on Earth. I love W3 like gameplay - hunting monsters properly takes time, but it's very rewarding. You gain levels super fast - can go to 50 in one day if you farm T-rex guy (but I won't recommend that, pls enjoy the variety guys dedicated their souls to). I love interesting setting and scenario based on that - it's partHorizon Zero Dawn is a really great game with easiest platinum trophy on Earth. I love W3 like gameplay - hunting monsters properly takes time, but it's very rewarding. You gain levels super fast - can go to 50 in one day if you farm T-rex guy (but I won't recommend that, pls enjoy the variety guys dedicated their souls to). I love interesting setting and scenario based on that - it's part cliched, but feels fresh after all. I want to know who's real viallains after aidus in the next game. Graphics are just WOW man. Best on PS4 atm.
    I want to give this game 9/10, but I can't. Sorry, Guerilla games, but that SJW b/s.. I can't accept that in any way. The only flaw of the game is lgbt propaganda and "white males are evil" b/s. Pls look at Japan and learn how to make attractive characters and beatiuful females.    … Expand
  12. ChanceMelbourne
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    Everthing about this game is flawless. It was a pleasure to play. Great stealth, strategy and intense battles made it an awful lot of fun. The story was unique and well told.
  13. traffmeister
    Mar 9, 2017
    10
    Honestly, I love this game. But metacritic review sections are just total garbage. Perfect 10s for no reason and salty 0 scores for no reason... I could see how this might legitimately fall as a 10 for some people, but absolutely no reason to give it a zero except to be edgy and contrary
  14. iamevilhomer
    Mar 9, 2017
    9
    Good game but the controversy between this and the new zelda needs to stop. Definitely one of the best ps4 games and probably a must have for open world types.

    PS... Did you really think this would top zelda? Uhhh no...
  15. EL-MiNiO
    Mar 9, 2017
    8
    It's an amazing game, recommended to all. All tough The Witcher 3 is still best RPG game for me.
    + graphic
    + game play
    + game world (it's insanely detailed)
    + sound
    - storytelling
    9/10
  16. MonsterAm1
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    A game that gives you everything,Magnificent story,beautifully realized world and characters which is both interesting and fun to explore and get lost in and also the best gameplay I've seen in an open-world title,we didn't ask for a better game,sure the side quests and dialogues could have been slightly more refreshing but still I honestly don't see a reason to complain,I'm not someoneA game that gives you everything,Magnificent story,beautifully realized world and characters which is both interesting and fun to explore and get lost in and also the best gameplay I've seen in an open-world title,we didn't ask for a better game,sure the side quests and dialogues could have been slightly more refreshing but still I honestly don't see a reason to complain,I'm not someone who buys games so often,I spend my money very carefully and I'm happy to say that,HORIZON is the game I was looking for after a long wait since the revered WITCHER 3.… Expand
  17. Ecresis
    Mar 8, 2017
    8
    Some reviews here are exaggerated, both 10 and 0/1. This game is a 8.5

    It is a classic open world game, between Far Cry and Jurassic Park. Well.. it's basically Far Cry 5, with a main quest, some sidequests, loot every 10 meters, useless artifacts to collect is you want the 100% completion, Skill tree, weapons to buy/modify, outfits to buy/modify, towers to climb to unlock the map.    Some reviews here are exaggerated, both 10 and 0/1. This game is a 8.5

    It is a classic open world game, between Far Cry and Jurassic Park. Well.. it's basically Far Cry 5, with a main quest, some sidequests, loot every 10 meters, useless artifacts to collect is you want the 100% completion, Skill tree, weapons to buy/modify, outfits to buy/modify, towers to climb to unlock the map. Nothing new here, except the machines, which are a nice touch in a prehistoric-like world. Really feels like you're in Jurassic Park sometimes.

    You can either play stealth with your bow or charge with your spear and with some other melee weapons and grenades. Nothing really special here but it feels nice playing as Aloy.

    The storyline may or may not captivate you, but it is very well introduced. The idea of making you play with a young Aloy for the tutorial is very nice. If you open all dialogs, there is nice backstory, not as furnished as The Witcher, but let's say better than other open world games like Assassin's Creed of Far Cry

    The graphics are immersive, you can basically hide the HUD in the options and play the full game without it (just pick a random tutorial quest that you never complete as active and desactive all the rest). I suggest you do that otherwise it's just a "go there, climb here, kill that, loot here" game, and you won't enjoy it as much. Lots of glitches and bugs though, animals and enemies hovering here and there, maybe patched in the future but this is a huge negative point, as always

    Sound is good too, when you hear machines stomping or charging, things get messy really fast in combat though, the music is nice too but sometimes a bit confusing, as you may think a battle is going on when there's nothing.

    Combat is not really elaborated, even if some enemies will surprise you, there is often a cheap way to defeat a boss, hiding behind a rock or using glitches without knowing it. Very often you are pushed back by an enemy and find yourself stuck in a place where the enemy can't reach you but you can reach him. i suggest turning off the warning indicator, that basically tells you if an enemy in your back has spotted you.

    In conclusion, you should try this game, maybe when it's between 30 and 40€/$ and enjoy it because it is a good one for all open world lovers out there    … Expand
  18. Blitz_Ruffle
    Mar 8, 2017
    8
    Horizon zero dawn is an opening world game telling a fantastic tale, the gameplay is easy to learn, hard to master throughout your adventure ou will constantly encounter new creatures each with their own strengths and weaknesses. It really takes your breath away see how far you've gotten through-out the game knowledge and equipment wise. Although the crafting system did infuriate me, forHorizon zero dawn is an opening world game telling a fantastic tale, the gameplay is easy to learn, hard to master throughout your adventure ou will constantly encounter new creatures each with their own strengths and weaknesses. It really takes your breath away see how far you've gotten through-out the game knowledge and equipment wise. Although the crafting system did infuriate me, for example, you need wire to acquire most arrows and the easiest way to do that is to go buy it from a wandering merchant but you need to give that merchant metal shards which you also need to craft most arrow (you can already see the tragedy.). Another problem with horizon zero dawn are the slings (in the early game) The slings early game felt useless and not helpful getting near the ending of the game I did find a use for them but that was because I had the best sling you could get in the game. Overall horizon zero dawn is a great game and this is hopefully what we can expect from the upcoming sony exclusives.… Expand
  19. andyeddy16
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    This is easily one of, if not THE strongest ps4 exclusive out there right now. Horizon will probably will end up being the most iconic out of the bunch.
  20. Oagoz
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    This is the first time I can say a title is a Console Seller. This was 100% the best gave I've played in the past few years. Incredible unpredictable story, tons of content, incredibly beautiful, and so deep you'll get lost a few times along the way.
  21. kankhy
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    I wasn't excited about this game, but, hell, I was so wrong! Now I'm in love with the atmosphere, the game makes you feel so small and it makes you think, plan your way but then improvise a lot. The story is so original and it does a good job at making you wonder and dig deeper. And finally, Aloy? Careful, or you can fall in love with her!
  22. Panzidane
    Mar 8, 2017
    8
    Jogo excelente, porém tem síndrome de Connor, personagem sem sentimentos com um objeto e só. O jogo é muito bem ambientado, seu sistema é ótimo, mas a história estraga toda essa experiência, ainda mais por saber que a personagem não tem carisma.
  23. GeorgeLets
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    This is the most unique an fun game I have played in recent years. Great story and interesting characters make you want to play more. The world is beautiful and you want to explore it without being bored. Combat system is perfect the controls are great. This game is an action RPG so there's a lot of looting and weapons and gear and more! Must buy!
  24. FanB0y
    Mar 8, 2017
    9
    This game is phenomenal. Beauty, gameplay, story, depth is all here in spades. Play how YOU want. Traps? Bombs? Ropes? Just bow and arrow? All of the above! I question the motives of anyone giving this game a negative review. I am coming to the end of the main campaign i think. Level 35 atm. The story and characters are fantastic for the most part. I love the bandit killer guy.
    Cons: A    This game is phenomenal. Beauty, gameplay, story, depth is all here in spades. Play how YOU want. Traps? Bombs? Ropes? Just bow and arrow? All of the above! I question the motives of anyone giving this game a negative review. I am coming to the end of the main campaign i think. Level 35 atm. The story and characters are fantastic for the most part. I love the bandit killer guy.
    Cons: A few pop ups even on a Pro PS4.
    Fighting birds is annoying. Especially stormbird! Why our focus doesnt give us a minimap i do not understand.
    And thats it.

    Seeing this game at 89 and Zelda at 98 is just laughable. Im sure zelda is great but so is Zero Dawn. And it looks worlds better. Buy this game!    … Expand
  25. SANDYkinz
    Mar 8, 2017
    8
    This game was awesome! I really enjoyed my time playing as Aloy in this incredible world. It's such a gorgeous game to look at and the combat is some of the most fun I've had recently, it's not necessarily hard but you can get easily overwhelmed especially at the beginning. I enjoyed the story and most of the side quests even though some were very similar and i found it annoying that i hadThis game was awesome! I really enjoyed my time playing as Aloy in this incredible world. It's such a gorgeous game to look at and the combat is some of the most fun I've had recently, it's not necessarily hard but you can get easily overwhelmed especially at the beginning. I enjoyed the story and most of the side quests even though some were very similar and i found it annoying that i had to back track to the start of the mission just to finish it. I did find myself getting very angry at parkour/wallclimbing though, not being able to climb walls because there wasnt anything to climb there or I couldn't see where to climb because its not clearly marked (this was easily the most infuriating part of the entire game). The NPC's were too robotic for my taste and the writing and voice acting were overall not good and at some points laughable, that being said there were still some characters i really liked. But i was able to overlook it all because of the combat and incredible graphics and well designed world. Entering and completing cauldrons was definitely my favorite part about this game and finding out more about why the world was the way it was kept me happily involved in the story to the end. Definitely a must own, and easily one of the best games on this generations of consoles so far.… Expand
  26. ArturoV
    Mar 8, 2017
    7
    So this game is eventually fun.
    There are eventually some futuristic,digital/industrial looking dungeon sort of areas that have real character and it starts to get really neat from there. I'm about halfway through it and it is a large enough game; you'll get your moneys' worth, lets put it that way. It looks amazing, visually, and sets a pretty cool benchmark for future games of the sort.    So this game is eventually fun.
    There are eventually some futuristic,digital/industrial looking dungeon sort of areas that have real character and it starts to get really neat from there. I'm about halfway through it and it is a large enough game; you'll get your moneys' worth, lets put it that way. It looks amazing, visually, and sets a pretty cool benchmark for future games of the sort.
    I was super excited for it since the Robot combat is super fun and pretty satisfying but if you expected a groundbreaking and deep story like Witcher 3 or Last Of Us, like me you will be disappointed. That's a high bar, I know, but it still seems silly that people are gushing over it like it's an amazing story because it does LOOK nice, that does not fix how terrible most of the acting is and the boring story that doesn't really reveal any interesting motivations for any other characters at all.
    Sure it's a video game, and probably powerful if you're between 12-18, but most mature adults will find the story elements pretty laughable. Basically we're in a distant future (1000 years? Really?). There are massive steel robot dinosaurs roaming the lands and it looks like human-kind has devolved into complete idiots, maybe because the last survivors were a couple burnt out hippie kids at a music festival that had to repopulate earth. Somehow these idiots mixed in with these nimble robo-dinos are still surviving by fire and spear, and employing ridiculous social rules that involve casting out anyone who sneezes the wrong way to live alone and not talk to anyone like it's a society of middle school girls.
    The protagonist is a nice idea and a step in SOME direction but not sure what. She and all of the characters and story come off as a parody of safe "liberal" storytelling while missing the point of what a nuanced and progressive story would do. It's like someone studied the approach of Naughty Dog and tried to copy it directly without thinking about why.
    It's almost offensive by trying so hard not to be offensive and screwing up the story because of it. (See Witcher 3 for the right way to do this.). The world is beautiful but the design of it doesn't seem to be motivated by any particular history, stories or encounters in the game you're playing. It starts to feel empty pretty fast. If you took say witcher 3 and Far Cry 4 and just mashed them together roughly, you'd have HZD. It controls smoothly, but that doesn't matter. The battles are easy enough to not really need most of the cool gadgets that are thrown at you immediately. The HUD feels a little cluttered and no mini-map which gets frustrating.

    I go on for a while since there are as many "wow" moments as there are "really?! that's the dumbest thing ever.." but suffice to say it's a fun enough game that I'll forget about as soon as it's done. It's reminding me I need to try Zelda and re-play Witcher 3.
    (Also if you genuinely like the story of either Watchdogs game then you might like this one. Predictable, corny, adolescent stuff; but entertaining for a while.)    … Expand
  27. PooPaDuke
    Mar 8, 2017
    1
    The much anticipated PS4 graphical show case is a frustrating mess of bad game design. It's a 10 hour game deliberately padded to last at least three times as long. It's a grind and a chore.

    A lot of it's problems don't become evident until you cross over into the second half of the map. At that point the difficulty is steeply ramped up. Every engagement requires you to exhaust all your    The much anticipated PS4 graphical show case is a frustrating mess of bad game design. It's a 10 hour game deliberately padded to last at least three times as long. It's a grind and a chore.

    A lot of it's problems don't become evident until you cross over into the second half of the map. At that point the difficulty is steeply ramped up. Every engagement requires you to exhaust all your resources. Then go harvesting for them again. Even when you unlock the skills that give you more for every plant you pick you'll still barely fill up a notch of your health reserve before you stumble upon the next engagement.

    You'd think there would be some system for replenishing health without wasting your resources reserved for combat, but no. No healer at camps, can't sleep to regain health, even fast traveling to a bon fire doesn't replenish them. In fact fast traveling to a camp will make you lose your mount, which are a pain in the ass to obtain but are practically required for traveling. And, no, you can't capture a back up mount. You can unlock an ability to call in back up mounts but that requires at least 10 skill points.

    If you run out of a resource like health potions, things you need to craft health potions, or a resource that you need to craft arrows to fight enemies but are mostly found on enemies then you're going to have to buy it from a merchant. However, everything is on the expensive side. The bigger problem is you can't buy multiples of stuff. You have to buy everything individually. So if you need to buy say 30 wires to craft anchor cables you have to buy them individually! If that wasn't bad enough, it's not like you hit x and it's instantly in your inventory. Every action goes through a confirmation wheel that takes a second to fill up. Way to waste the player's time Guerrilla.

    Then there's the combat itself. The aiming is way too slow to manage how fast and agile these enemies are and there's no sensitivity option. Pretty much every enemy requires that you learn their weak spots, you can't just unload a volley of arrows on them and hope they go down. Preferably you'll also learn which element goes best with those weak spots. The problem is that these enemies move fast, have twitchy animations, and often have weak points concealed. It's really difficult to keep your reticle on a few exposed pixels by itself. The camera zooms in when you aim down the sight and zooms in even further when you go into bullet time. When this isn't even necessary with it's already low FOV and the fact that enemies close the distance really quickly. Mixed with the twitchy animation this leads to looking at a pixel one second and then the enemy not being in your line of sight the next. The end result is you'll start mostly relying on melee and traps.

    Once you cross to the other side of the map the enemies themselves are tough. Every engagement feels like at least a mini boss fight. But enemies never come alone. Not only that but the poor enemy placement on the map means that an engagement with one group of enemies can spill over into another group and even a third. Imagine trying to line up a shot with three groups of boss like enemies barreling down on you. Your character often won't have time to get up before three enemies get a few hits in, tossing you around like a rag doll. Having platinumed games like Rogue Legacy and Bloodborne I found this game too much of a pain even on standard.

    The respawn logic boggles my mind. As a final boss quality stormhawk that I only defeated moments ago respawned almost instantly when I moved a few meters out of the area. In another area where I came upon and saved a civillian under attack the encounter respawned in exactly that form when I came back a minute later from picking flowers to heal the wounds I sustained from that encounter. Yet, an area that was designated with a type of machine I needed to complete a quest had no enemies anywhere close.

    Speaking of quests, you can't complete multiple tutorial quests at the same time. You have to choose one as active. This kind of constant micromanaging is a big part of the problem with Horizon.

    The game is also buggy. I've seen things like floating plants and dead enemies. NPCs teleporting from one spot to another or their torso disappearing. The game crashed on me a couple of times too.

    Another annoyance are Horizon's equivalent of towers that clear the fog of war from a map. They are mobile here. Which means if you missed your opportunity to get on it, you have to wait five minutes, standing around doing nothing, for them to come back around.

    The game does look amazing but even that's not without caveats. For one thing night time has a green hue that looks unnatural and there's too much black crush. Lip syncing can look completely off. You'll run across giant piles of snow that your character has no impact on. Just clipping through without as much as even a sound effect change from standard ground foot steps.    … Expand
  28. Zah
    Mar 8, 2017
    9
    A beautiful master piece , great mechanics, a captivating story and an overly interesting world! i was expecting a ubisoft formula clone but to my surprise this game has soul! each side quest has some good voice acting and some thought put into it.

    The technology behind this game is amazing though i cant figure out why cloths dont get wet in water seems like something trivial to add and    A beautiful master piece , great mechanics, a captivating story and an overly interesting world! i was expecting a ubisoft formula clone but to my surprise this game has soul! each side quest has some good voice acting and some thought put into it.

    The technology behind this game is amazing though i cant figure out why cloths dont get wet in water seems like something trivial to add and my character did get stuck and almost drowned in very shallow water. but aside from some bugs that are not that major this game is close to perfection.

    Shame how some users keep abusing the system pretending to be unbiased ! "csgopro" was the first negative review i read giving this game a 0 while saying he's unbiased and the game is neither good or bad.... right
    Same user gives Zelda breath of the wild 10 praising how media is praising the game .... not biased much ?    … Expand
  29. Fyil
    Mar 8, 2017
    9
    One of the best of the year for sure. fantastic landscapes combined with a compelling history and a complex battle system. In this time of brainless gameplay the game industry find itself, horizon zero Dawn brings a gameplay full of strategy that gives you the feeling of accomplishment after every battle. it's a must buy.
  30. CeloFernando
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    They put together a lot of feature of others games, however they got a unique result with this game. The main character is incredible and the culture of the tribes are so good. The only negative stuff is the impossibility of lock the camera in a enemie when you're in combat, but this not enough to remove some score.
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PS4 Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 115 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 115
  3. Negative: 0 out of 115
  1. Quarter to Three
    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.
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  2. App Trigger
    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.
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  3. Riot Pixels
    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.
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