Even we're willing to admit that the build-up to Horizon: Zero Dawn has been intense. Sony sent us some branded biscuits today to celebrate the launch – that's a sign of how hard it's promoting the PlayStation 4 exclusive game. We're not going to lie, they were pretty tasty, too – but we digress.
The release's now readily available in Europe and North America, and while we doubt you've had time to scratch beyond the surface yet, we wanted to give you a place outside of the forums to share your first impressions.
So, are you enjoying the game so far? Has the story hooked you in? Are you impressed with the graphics even after all of the hype? What do you think of Aloy? Do you intend to see the campaign through to its conclusion over the coming weeks?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, and don't forget to check out our Horizon hub which has every single article we've written about the game in one place.
Are you enjoying Horizon: Zero Dawn? (146 votes)
- Yes, I'm absolutely loving it so far
- I've played it, but I'm not sure yet
- No, the game's disappointing me
- I've not had chance to start it yet
- Er, I haven't bought the game
Please login to vote in this poll.
Comments 79
No disappointed people (yet). I'm excited to see how well this battles with Zelda. After all, I may have to put this on my backlog for a couple months.
Waiting till it hits the £20-£25 point mark. Still playing MGSV and yesterday bought Titanfall 2 from the PSN store for £22.
My wife really wants to get it also so its on the horizon in a few months.
@Totaldude911 One comment in and Zelda's already been brought up. Sigh.
**** tunderbirds those things are major pain in the ass @AlejandroMora Watch the language please.
Only 2 hours in myself and I think I may leave it there for now. Got the flu which may sound like the ideal opportunity to just binge but having to stop every 5 mins due to a coughing fit/dizziness/sneezing/nausea/sudden drop of body temp to absolute zero/etc is kind of taking some of the joy out of it. Ah well, get it out of the way now so I can binge Andromeda on release instead
I have only got a chance to play through the prologue and will look for some time soon to get into the meat of the story, but loved it so far. Now time to use grown up Alloy for action.
I've only had chance to play for a couple of hours due to work commitments unfortunately, however I came say that this is the best looking game I've ever played, beating Uncharted 4. The level of detail is insane and it outputs at 4K with checkerboarding and HDR to create a stunning image but what caught my eye the most is how smooth it all is despite what is on screen and the animation is top notch too.
Combat is as good as I had hoped, at least when it comes to the mechanical beasts I've faced so far and it plays better and more fluid than any open world game I've enjoyed and is on par with top 3D action games. I have 2 days off from Friday which will mainly be spent playing this 😃
Guys hi! I came here cause there's something in the game bothering me...
Sometimes the music just stops abruptly! Like, it happened 1 time in cutscene and 2 times while playing...the music is setting a nice atmosphere and then it just stops, it doesn't slow down or go down in volume it just stops...and this is annoying!
Is this happening to somebody else?
I'm enjoying in immensely. I keep trying to do the story missions but i keep getting sidetracked having fun. It's a good problem to have.
@AFCC I've had some odd sound moments in parts of the game where the sound design isn't consistent. For example, walking up stairs, the sound changed instantly to a completely different sound set. It was enough that I noticed it and broke the immersion feeling.
Not a big deal, as the Witcher 3 had some crazy sound moments too (and I'm not talking the creepy children singing )
I thought it started kind of slow, but it's so amazing after
Great game so far but one thing irking me. The weather changes extremely quickly between sunny and bucketing it down. It's a bit odd.
Other than that it's been a great few first hours. Glad I stuck with the pre order.
I was extremely happy to find my collector's edition waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday but I really don't have enough time to play it right now. I'm also planning on buying a new 4K tv this year so I kind of want to wait until then so I can really take in the graphics. Don't know if I'll be able to wait though.
Definitely hard to put down
Edit: the poll should have had a "can't you see I need time to think!!!" option in honour of that one quest...
I'm about 3 hours in and I'm very impressed. It's the best looking game I've played on PS4 and that's on the standard console. It must be a real treat for all of you playing it on the Pro. I'm really enjoying the combat as well. I can't wait to hunt down the bigger robots. And Aloy is such a badass, even when she was a little kid.
I'm not sure yet. On one hand, the map is absolutely beautiful to run around in and the combat gets intense.
On the other hand, it feels a lot like a 3rd person Far Cry and having to scavenge the same animals for rare items kinda sucks.
@starhops Why Witcher 3 had annoying parts too xD but this thing with the music is driving me crazy
yes, don't have time to explain, time to go back to Horizon Zero Dawn
Turning out to be one of my favorite games... Did not expect that. Playing on the pro is just amazing
I haven't bought it yet because had the chance to get a PSVR 10% off last Friday so my game budget is pretty tapped out. Now I have to choose between buying Horizon,Zelda or Nier.
Can't wait to go home from work and kick some Dino steel ass. It is an awesome game is as good as uncharted but the gameplay is way better. Oh and the story so far is on point and it leaves you wondering and eager to play it more
About two hours in and I absolutely love it so far. Story, gameplay systems, graphics...it's awesome.
Only bad part is that I can't play it again til Thursday or Saturday
It's fun so far, but I don't get how anyone calls it an RPG.
The respawn rate is insane, there's basically no customisation to a 'build'...
It's an open world action game.
It's better than Ubisoft, but it's the same formula, mechanically. FarCry isn't an RPG, nor is Assassin's Creed...
This is the best open world action game I've ever played, and it's better than most RPGs I've seen or played in recent years.
It's still not an RPG.
It's that good looking, I'm just always walking with Aloy and hitting the pause menu up for photo mode. Visually, this puts a lot of other PS4 titles to shame. I'm thoroughly enjoying my time as Aloy even though everytime she talks I just hear Chloe Price.
No, because tesco failed to get it to me on launch day. On the other hand their pre-order price was only £35 so I can bear to wait another day (hopefully no more than that, fingers crossed for the post tomorrow)
@TheGZeus Its definitely a RPG both weapons & armour has stats and has different rare types, plus you can fix both with different mods for bonus stats. The stats are not super deep but it add to the gameplay, plus there is also the other stuff.
Absolutely love the game so far and story, the gameplay is really good and obviously unbelievable graphics for an open world game.
Two hours in and a mixed honestly. The combat is phenomenal and the game has an incredible visual identity. Yet, everyhting else just kinda falls apart for me. I don't really like the characters or the story. They just seems pretty flat. Other than that, the game just seems very clunky and poorly optimized. I have had a lot of frustration trying to make the map/quest log play nice, and i have already experienced a hard crash, frame drops, and a bunch of graphical quirks. I'm excited to keep playing, but as soon as i get my Switch and Breath of the Wild I'm not sure how much more ill play. I definitely think Uncharted 4 is still the best PS4 exclusive but i want to give Horizon more time.
Had a code for free as my school mate has been in Amsterdam working for them for ten years or so, and really, it's great if you don't want games for story. Awful, awful cut scenes and acting. Fantastic set pieces so far though, and a genuine nomination for best weather effects ever in a game. Great work.
Its superb on the pro. Only 2hrs in and finding it hard to stop. Gameplay is great and the story seems interesting to me. Kinda seems like a cross between Far cry 4, Assassins Creed, Rise of the Tombraider, all games that I like so that's good for me. Graphically, what can I say other than its the best looking game ive ever played. The details are amazing, you can see ants going up and down some trees, amazing. This game has moved the goalposts for all new games.
Gonna stop now and go back to playing it.
I'm enjoying it immensely. So far it's completely won me over, and the characters are very well done. I actually prefer it to Witcher 3, which is a huge compliment. Aloy is just awesome! Half Katniss Everdeen and half Ygritte from GoT. No spoilers but yeah, it's hooked me right in.
@banacheck "it has gear so it's an RPG"?
...Huh?
Borderlands has more room for role play. Borderlands has more diverse and deep skill trees.
Borderlands is not an RPG.
This is a fantastic action game. It's not an RPG.
Hell, the choices don't even do anything.
I've been too busy playing Nier Automata right now. I've picked the game up, but Nier is just too good for me to try playing two open world games at the moment and I'll likely play Zelda before Horizon as well. But seeing as there will be quite a lull after Mass Effect comes out I'll likely play it then.
I'm really enjoying it! While combat is beginning to feel very routine the exploration, the world, and the story keep me pushing on. I've taken out a Thunderjaw waaaaay earlier than I think I was supposed to do that has really been the high point of my combat experience so far.
i just keep wandering off the quest path to shoot herds of dinos, which is very satisfying. lol. it plays like a dream for me, but i've chosen the performance option over the enhanced graphics option.
I couldn't resist in the end mainly because I thought it would be good idea to support guerilla games . So I bought day one deluxe edition. And I don't regret it. It's great game!
15 hours in and loving it, has already shot into my top 3 favorite games of the year with Yakuza 0 and Resident Evil 7. Not sure it will top either of them when it's all said and done but it is an awesome game none the less. Hopefully it continues to get better and doesn't fall apart at the end. That's one thing I always worry about with these kind of games.
I'm about two hours in and loving everything about it!They really hyped this game up and its easy to see why.Really hope this sells well.
And loving that title music!
@Mega-Gazz Missed opportunity!
@hadlee73 Argh! What a bummer!
@Wazeddie22 Looks like it's going to do very well indeed. Early indications are good.
@Gamer83 I think it remains pretty strong, especially if you're invested in the story.
@Constable_What Have you tried picking up some different weapons? If you're constraining yourself to a small portion of the map, venture out. There are lots of different enemy types to face.
@TheGZeus I see what you're saying, but I do think it has all of the ingredients of a Western RPG. It's definitely streamlined, but that's not always a bad thing. Having said that, I do think they'll flesh out the dialogue decisions and skill tree in the inevitable sequel.
@Bananaman678 You might want to try deleting the game and reinstalling it because it ran flawlessly for me and Digital Foundry seems to say the same. Poorly optimised is absolutely not a criticism you can point at this game, so there may be a bug in your install or your PS4 could be on the fritz.
@get2sammyb I just got to the gate and found some new weapons (Still no new spear though), and I found some new enemies too. Fire and Ice is still my go to though. Elemental weapons make the game really really easy. The bigger enemies are much more enjoyable to fight though. They require more strategy, but are a little rare where I'm at.
@Constable_What Try turning up the difficulty if you're finding it easy? (Spoilers: you don't get a new spear.)
@get2sammyb I'm already on hard. And that really sucks.
@get2sammyb it has most of the ingredients of a BioWare game, but I don't count them as anything but CYOA games with some RPG stuff shoehorned in.
I have nothing but complaints about their approach to game design, though. Much of that is down to taste, but I really wish they'd ditch combat and exploration and go full Telltale. They obviously care more about characters than mechanics, so they should focus more on that.
And even BioWare has classes for Mass Effect games, and that series has exactly 2 main characters.
Heck, some of those choices actually do a few things.
Again, Ubisoft games have all these things already.
"Fantasy/Sci-fi setting equals RPG" in so many people's minds. It's understandable, but I don't see anyone calling Borderlands/FarCry or even Shadow of Mordor RPGs.
Again, Borderlands has more options to role play. To create a character of your own and develop skills that suit that archetype. It's still called "a first person shooter with RPG elements".
This is a great game. It's just not an RPG.
This could very well be my new favorite game of all time. Seriously, I love it.
Well I'm the minority here as I am pretty disappointed with the game so far. The prologue was boring and seemed pointless. I had high expectations what with all the hype. Graphics are good but on my 4k TV I found it looked better with HDR turned off. I thought Ghost Recon Wildlands looked better with the 4k HDR . I played another couple hours and killed countless robots and collected countless plants and bits n bobs, killed the bigger robot before I got bored and turned it off.
@TheGZeus Well if you don't count BioWare games as RPGs then you just have a different definition to everyone else.
That's fine; at least you're consistent.
@StaffyDog You're the 1%!
@get2sammyb to be clear, it's the fact that you get to play the role BioWare set for you that informs that opinion.
I'm not sure I'd call Witcher games RPGs for that reason. I'm biased as I love that story so much, and always set out to play Geralt as he is in the books. Those choices actually affect the story, though, not just who you do the horizontal shuffle with ;p
BioWare would go a long way to either give real chose as to what to do or not do or at least make the combat better if I can't avoid it.
God, just thinking about how awful their combat is makes me bristle. I've tried at least one of every one of their franchises and I was almost instantly put off. Ham-fisted moralising, garbage combat, dank memes (Leroy Jenkins in the first mission of ME1) fake choices or some combination.
I can't get with voiced protagonists, because then I'm just listening to someone.else's character, not my own. That's not role play. That's just a cutscene.
I play proper pen and paper RPGs. The further a game is from that, the less of an RPG it is, afaic. I class Shin Megami Tensei higher than anything after Neverwinter Nights from BioWare on that RPG scale.
My copy already arrive but I'm not at home, arg.
@Totaldude911 Very disappointed with it. Hope and expect Zelda will be better.
@StaffyDog It's a pretty boring game. You spend most of your time running after a quest arrow, grabbing endless crafting materials, and getting interruped by cutscenes/dialog. Very tedious. I was hoping the combat would overcome these usual annoyances of open-world games, but even that gets rather rote.
The game is fantastic. Graphically it's flawless and it runs smoothly with a great draw distance and fidelity with only minimal pop-in when you zoom in with the bow. Admittedly that is on a pro.
I am also pleasantly surprised by the dialogue in the cutscenes, whilst some is a bit cheesy and stilted Aloy injects a fair bit of humour with hers and has a slightly sarcastic tone which I like.
Four hours in and it's far exceeded my expectations.
Genuinely wondering if I should have held off on the switch/ Zelda preorder.
I only managed to play it for 40 mins yesterday so I can't really give my full opinion on it but what I have seen so far I am liking
A friend just bought a new console bundle which comes with Horizon so I may just borrow it from him.. meanwhile have Zelda and Nior to finish!
From what I have played so far, I don't think the game is that original from a gameplay perspective BUT the world, the mechanics, the polish more than makes up for that and is looking like a really really fun experience. I feel this is an open world game I'll really get sunk into.
@sketchturner lol I am truly baffled by the love this game is getting. I'm happy you're enjoying it so much.
I've only played for a couple of hours but I really liked the introduction to Aloy and the world of Horizon. I've mostly followed the main missions but I've allowed myself to wander, gathering resources, picking fights with creatures, etc. Enjoying it a lot so far, can't wait to play more!
@ohhaime horizon as good as Zelda looks horizon just looks better and is difference experience.
@MinerWilly I suspect a game of this calibre will keep the premium price for a good while.
The doll-polished face of Aloy as a child was a bit jarring and I was surprised to see the textureless faces of all the other characters too. But this is a very minor and temporary distraction from the real appeal of the game - traversing the land, dealing with those marvellous (and soon to be very profitable franchise) creatures.
The world created by Guerrilla is sure to win a bucket-load of awards. My only other gripe is there is no headset setting to go with the game.
I didn't like it at first. During the 1st underground part, plus the silly intro style.but now i love it!
Im a machine slaying menace.
I have a few Aloy theories running around my head already.
HLVB.
Not like I'm gonna a be enjoying a PS4 exclusive on another format am I?
I'm only coming up for 2 hours in but am loving it so far. The world is exceptionally beautiful. Even just walking around looking at the environments is great and I'm enjoying the combat and mechanics of the game already as well.
I'm not really a big RPG guy (like, at all), so I was a little nervous jumping into this but I'm very satisfied so far.
Only downside is that I wish I had a Pro and high-quality 4K TV to really savour the landscapes and gorgeous graphics.
5 hours in and I'm having a ball with it! Tomb Raider meets Far Cry:Primal. Great game.
@Morenoj1220 speaking of Zelda it's currently 98/100 on Metacritic!
That is very impressive in this day and age...
My GOTY! Zelda be damned.
I'm loving it, and as a rule, I HATE RPGs.
My TV is set to turn itself off if there's no activity on the remote for 8 hours. I got the warning it was about to switch off at around 3:30 this morning.
I'm loving it, and I can see the next few weeks being alternating between this and Zelda. My only real complaint is that the enemies are just plain dumb. I can literally sit in tall grass, whistle, silent strike just outside the tall grass, wait for one to come investigate, rinse and repeat.
I'm 8 hours in and have yet to die, or come close to death, and i'm tempted to crank it up past hard at this point. The only time I really get to stretch my legs in combat is if I purposely run out into a crowd and pick a fight, which i find myself doing more often now even though I get less XP for it.
Graphics are phenomenal, the skill trees are balanced well, and the unlocks/collectibles are aplenty, so it hits all the high points for me that will keep me coming back for more!
Game is absolutely great - better than even I imagined and I have been hyped since the day it was announced. It looks absolutely stunning on a 4k HDR10 TV too...
Loving every minute so far! Beautiful game
@get2sammyb Ah, I kind of worded it wrong. What I meant was these two games are competing for my money. It's simply because theyre coming out within a week of each other that i'm comparing them.
Collector's Edition arrived yesterday. Nice detailed statue, absolutely happy with adding it to my growing collection.
Fired up the game and collected the extras from included codes. Then closed the game again. Later that day a friend came to visit and I just had to show him a bit of gameplay cuz he was curious about it. Played for a bit and haven't left the intro bit yet. But damn, it so gorgeous!! I'm in for a threat when my new setup is here.
About that, saw an amazing deal on the telly, it dropped just under 1k, which was my max justifiable number I was willing to pay. So I ordered it and can pick it up tomorrow. Also, ordered my Pro with coupons but sadly have to wait till Tuesday to pick it up.
Obviously, I'm pretty excited right now ^^
Gonna try to complete as much of FFXV as possible and perhaps finish the game on my new setup. Can't wait to start Aloy's adventure ^^
Played it an additional 2.5 hours; it is getting better now that I'm more out in the open world. I'm going to continue to give it a chance, as I think it's growing on me and can become at least a good game. Plus, I've heard it gets more fun as you get bigger better weapons and face more complex 'bots, so I'm hopeful.
@Dodoo I'm playing it right now it is great but I enjoy horizon more
@Morenoj1220 Cool! Looking forward to getting my hands on both of them
@doctommaso I gotta be honest with you, I'm not sure I love Horizon either. It sure is beautiful, but I'm finding it really boring. Played for just under 10 hours so far, and I don't know if I'm going to carry on.
@Jake3103 Hmmmm.... yeah, I do hear you. I think once I gave up on expecting it to be of the quality of a From Software title, I became more accepting of its faults. Getting out into the open world and away from the towns and endless cutscenes and dialog has helped a lot. I'll put in at least a few more hours before I decide whether to continue. I'm going to have to wait on Zelda to play this game, and I wonder if that's a mistake.
I've been noticing in the comments that a lot of people who love the game mention the graphics. Graphics are nice but don't do a lot for me; the gameplay has to be there.
@doctommaso Yeah, gameplay is always the most important to me. It's funny you mention From Software, actually, because I'm not sure if I'm just feeling a bit down on it after playing Nioh (a game which is heavily influenced by From's games). Honestly, after the snappy combat of Nioh, I'm finding the battles in Horizon a bit dull. I also think there are too many robot dinosaurs in the wild. I feel like I'm constantly fighting!
@Jake3103 I still think Horizon is overrated, anyway you look at it, but I concur that the Soulsborne/Nioh influence is absolutely the issue for both of us. I just platinumed Bloodborne and finished all the DLC, and right before that I completed the Dark Souls 2 DLC. Those games have so much atmosphere, are so engrossing, and are so perfectly executed gameplay-wise, everything else simply pales.
And yes — too many dinobots!
Okay, amazingly this game is winning me over; I'm about 21 hours in now. I can't give it a 9 or anything but i think it's creeping up toward an 8 for me. Considering I was thinking it was about a 6.5 after the first 3-4 hours, I'm very pleased. There was just way too much dialog and cutscene action the first few hours; things got way better once the world opened up. Hoping the game continues to entertain through the end of the story, at a minimum. Very surprised and happy at this turnaround.
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