Horizon: Zero Dawn has been a hit with hardcore gamers – but it’s also resonated with more casual players, too. Aloy is an outstanding character who’s pulled all kinds of players in, but not everyone’s able to beat Bloodborne with their elbows while wearing a blindfold. As such, Guerrilla Games is prepping the release of a brand new patch today which adds ‘Story’ difficulty to the delightful role-playing game.
This is designed to make combat much easier for those who just want to enjoy the narrative. Essentially, it increases the amount of damage you'll inflict on enemies, and obviously lowers the amount that you'll receive. If your e-peen is flaccid over the very suggestion of a simpler difficulty setting, then keep in mind that the developer also added an ‘Ultra Hard’ option recently – we’re sure you can beat it with your hands tied.
[source blog.eu.playstation.com]
Comments 18
Mad that some people complain about optional easy difficulties. Some games, like the Souls series, etc., obviously place a lot of their identity on being punishing, and that's fine - that's the way they're designed.
But for everything else, why not let players of all skill levels get in on the fun? I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate this patch.
Yeah this is a cool idea. Once again you've got to credit Guerilla Games with how well they're supporting this post-launch, with this latest patch being the most recent in a long line of steady updates they've added to the title.
Those this still enable all the trophies? Or you can't win them all in this mode? I'm more of a narrative girl, and I'm loving the story so far, but i can't do the timed trials 😤
It's cool and all but the best thing about this game is the slick combat versus the machines and the satisfaction you feel when taking them down after a fierce fight.
@ApostateMage that's definitely a good point. The first time you encounter some of the bigger machines you always think "oh crap, I ain't getting past this!", but then the more you play, develop your skills and learn different tactics, the more satisfying it gets when you overcome the obstacles thrown at you.
A presumably super easy mode is still a good idea though for those that probably wouldn't ever get far into the game's story without it.
Can't remember what I played it on (I usually choose normal difficulty), but some of those bosses needed constant dodge rolling not to get mullered. Having said that, I may have rushed through the game a little bit.
I actually played it and finished it few days ago and without having any experience with the game, I played it on Hard. Yeah I had my fair share of deaths but it's a whole different thing watching every machine and thinking "they can kill me in 3 hits". That extra fear added a lot to my overall experience.
@ApostateMage For those who really want to play for the narrative, I guess it's fine. Still, you're losing an important part of the experience. A big part of the draw of the game for me was the great gameplay and roleplaying mechanics. There are just a lot of robots you can't beat early on and need to sneak by, only to return later with better modifications and such.
Oh well, to each his own I guess!
There were some difficult parts on Normal. Usually coming up against a larger new machine. I know I struggled with a few cauldron battles. Otherwise it was the right amount of challenge. Enough that it's fun but I never felt like I was going to destroy everything in seconds.
I wish all developers would do this. As I get older I have less patience for difficulty. I don't like push back, there's too much stress in real life don't need my games adding to it.
I think accessibility is great in games where the difficulty is not a core mechanic. I think the combat difficulty made the game good but wasn't essential. Unlike say Bloodborne or Shadow of mordor where it is hardwired into its DNA.
This will be perfect for my kids! They love Horizon but the challenge is a bit much. Although I'm pretty impressed my 9 year old made it all the way to Meridian by himself.
I always found it hilarious when some tryhard complains about easy modes when it's only an option. I enjoy conquering a difficult challenge as much as the next guy, but if I really enjoy a game's story, I'd rather progress than constantly attempt the same thing over and over.
Now, I wouldn't pick the easiest setting, but the one that feels right.
My wife is not a big gamer, but she enjoyed watching Horizon when I was playing it. She might give it a shot with a difficulty setting like this.
Picked this up about a week or so ago when it was on sale, I've loved the started of the game but getting very bored of it after leaving first area. One thing that did annoy me about this game was not necessarily the difficulty but the way some enemies were stronger than there supposed level, don't a camp that had level 6-8 enemies (I was level 15 at the time) and I was getting killed in two hits, also had a level 12 quest that involved me killing two Sawtooth's that were level 15?
@itshoggie I felt just the opposite. I really disliked the game until I was "set free" after the first major area. Way too much exposition and dialogue for my tastes.
As for quest levels, I agree and would advise in most cases being a bit higher level than recommended.
I love narrative and just find myself lacking time as I get older so this would be great. I loved starting it, but then BotW came out and Horizon was put on the shelf. I really should get back to it, expecially if I can go through the narrative more easily.
Do they have a patch that fixes the naff facial animation during dialogue cutscenes. I liked the game but oddly the facial animations were so poorly done it really lessened the overall experience, in my eyes.
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