Topic: Horizon: Zero: Dawn

The trouble is, that 'Linear' became a by-word for 'poor' or unimaginative - almost on-rails - the only difference being you control the pace compared to on-rails which the pace is controlled for you. Follow a scripted path through a game and the only reason to replay is for trophies - to collect all the collectables, beat the game on a now-unlocked super hard difficulty etc. Turn your game into an 'open' world and that gives players more 'freedom' to play how they want. Open World became synonymous with 'bigger and better' over 'linear' games. As a result, developers tried to make games more open-world.

@KratosMD The problem is most developers aren't any good at crafting believable open worlds that actually make you feel like you're free and in control. "Go to main story mission. Get XP. Upgrade one of two generic skills on dull skill tree, wooo freedom of choice. Check map. Two side missions have opened up. Choose whether to go to a side mission or next story mission. Doing the side mission means you'll have XP to unlock that other dull skill. Wooo I'm crafting my own adventure. Rinse and repeat"

Urghhh!!

Ultimately the games I would consider the best ever are geared more toward linear game progression.

@KratosMD Personally I don't mind either Linear or Open World. It really depends on what I am looking for from a game at that time. Games like Fallout for me struggle to tell a deep and meaningful story and sometimes gets lost behind all the other 'side' quest stories. Linear story telling often ends up being much more focused and often more of emotional journey, more character driven etc. These are like 'books' or 'films' in that they make you want to play the next chapter, see where the story goes, how it end etc.

Not saying either is right or wrong - look at games like the Last of Us - a Linear game praised for its Story and depth of Character. I wouldn't be surprised if Naughty Dogs next 2 projects, the Lost Legacy Uncharted standalone DLC and Last of Us 2 will be Linear and highly praised. I certainly wouldn't say they are 'simplistic' compared to open world games but able to focus more on the story and depth of character, the emotional journey you take with them etc. Open world games lose a lot of that 'urgency' of a situation as you can go off and farm for resources, go and do side missions etc instead of saving the world/girl etc from impending doom. Some evil dictator is going to blow up the city, take over the world, kill/marry the princess but you would rather go and collect resources, do some fetch quest for a 'nobody' etc. Linear also works very well for Horror Survival games too.

Each has their place and can offer something different. I kind of feel that Linear games that move into open world often lose something in the process. They may gain more 'freedom' from a gaming perspective. I love open world games too so don't think that I prefer 'Linear' because I have defended them here though. There are certain games that I really want to forge my own story, my own character and my own path in the world they have put me in but there is also something special about being taken on a journey with a linear game too. I really don't think 'Linear' stories need to be looked down on from a gaming perspective. I still think they have a place in gamings future.

2015 was the year of the Witcher 3 - open world
2016 was the year of Uncharted 4 - Linear
2017 maybe the year of Horizon - Open World
2018 maybe the year of Last of Us 2 - Linear

And I wouldn't be surprised if a mixture of Open World and Linear games are competing for my attention and Game of the Year awards for the foreseeable future too...

@KratosMD In most open world games, if you just focus purely on the main quest-line and can complete it without needing to level up your character, forage for resources, weaponry, armour etc, then chances are, there could be a decent story. However in most cases it gets a bit lost by all the deviation from the story and 'other' things to engage in. Its rare that the 'main' storyline in open world games can match up to a linear story and the depth of characters we get to know. Some games are about creating your own story but others are about telling their own. I would rather have a mix of Linear and Open World games to create that more diverse nature - as you say we are a little burned out on the plethora of Open World games so its great to have a variety...

Interesting watch if you are interested in the tech, the quality and performance of the game...

Load times are around 40s when you first Load up the games, around 10s if/when you die to restart and fast travel can take a bit longer than that (DF's words - no actual time given)

@KratosMD It may be dependent on how far you travel. If you travel a great distance, it may take longer to load all that area in compared to a 'few miles' down the road which may have more 'common' assets already in the system. Going from a dry, flat desert environment with cactus type plants to a dense, wet jungle environment may take a bit longer because of all the different plant-life, textures, animal types etc etc. It maybe that jumping to a more enclosed point that doesn't have a great deal of objects takes a lot shorter than jumping to a big wide open space with lots of objects and distant views.

30secs though is hardly anytime and better than a lot of games with fast travel. You certainly can't expect it to be instantaneous and offer the quality visuals this does...

From what I understand the only loading screens are when you fast travel or die. If that's true then I can deal with it.

@Splat Well apart from the initial loading, yes that appears to be the case. After death, according to Digital Foundry, it only takes about 10s before you can resume playing. Fast travel I expect to vary according to distance and environment - as I said above but according to DF not much more than after a death.

Other aspects that I found very interesting and pleasantly surprising is that the Menu system operates at 60fps so very fluid and 'snappy' - its also rendered at a native 4k on PS4 Pro as opposed to the 2160p checkerboard rendering of the main game.

@BAMozzy - I think this is going to be the game that you show to a friend when they ask about the PS4 Pro.

I have been using Rise of The Tomb Raider as of now. Which I feel used the Pro the best to date.

@Splat DF says its the best game to date to show what the Pro can do. Visually (regardless of System) its the best looking Console game but for those with a Pro and 4k screen its incredible. Can't wait to see how it looks with HDR too...

@BAMozzy this is the game I bought the Pro for and I've always thought this is when we'll see what the console can really do, especially now as games will be developed with it in mind as opposed to simply being patched. Uncharted 4 looks about to lose its crown as the best looking game on a console and this countdown timer needs to hurry up

The digital version is pre-installing right now for me. It's 40 GB's for those wondering.

So Target in the US is doing a Buy 2 get one free starting March 5th. Me thinks I might get Zelda and Horizon with that deal and see what I want to get for the free game.

@Tasuki Sounds like a good deal - as long as bth of those are included. You could go for Mass Effect and have all RPG's - assuming it includes pre-orders. Those 3 should keep you busy all summer... LOL

@BAMozzy According to the add the only thing not included is Switch games. Probably will pass on Mass Effect as I wasnt big on the others.

@Tasuki I guess I am not surprised as they are a lot more expensive - I assume you meant Zelda on WiiU then. I admit I have reservations over the new Mass Effect but it looks like they have really improved the actual combat. I loved the Trilogy too so its not that much of a gamble for me. I can't see it launching as polished as Horizon...

I am sure that you will have enough RPG's anyway with those 2... LOL

I might have missed this and haven't looked but is the trophy list out and about yet?

@Rudy_Manchego https://psnprofiles.com/trophies/5879-horizon-zero-dawn

@BAMozzy Yeah sorry I didn't mention it but yeah its the Wii U version. I might try Mass Effect at some point but I don't want to buy it right away since I didn't like the other 3.

@KratosMD Greg Miller thought it was a relative straightforward set and expected to platinum the game after 50hours or so. Maybe some maybe more tricky - like completing all the hunting trials at certain level but most seem attached to general playthrough and mission/side quest completion. I don't know if you have to do a certain thing, answer a certain way etc to get some....