Horizon Zero Dawn

Sandbox games have been a thing for a few years now, and it’s pretty great. The freedom to do all sorts of things in a fantasy/sci-fi/realist fiction world opens so many doors, and so many opportunities to show the title off. Horizon Zero Dawn is one such title. Gorgeous, expansive, and involving, this title is one we’ve been waiting for for a while. We got our eager little hands on it, and here’s what we think.

- Ren Alcantara

The game is set in a post-post-apocalypse, far, far into our future. Human society has risen to great technological heights, and due to some yet unknown event, fallen back into primitive times. It’s not all rabbit meat and wild boar sinigang though. Also for reasons not revealed at the start of the game, wild robotic beasts roam the land, serving both as a source of resources, and constant peril.

The title follows Aloy, an outcast of her tribe. She learns to survive with her guardian Rost, and because of story reasons, comes into possession of an artifact from the old age. On a quest to find out more about her past, the world, and the reason she exists, it takes you up mountains, through forests, rivers and streams, and across the paths of dangerous humans, wild machines, and other environmental perils. It’s a heck of a ride.

Graphics are, in a word, superb. The sprawling landscapes, weather effects and day-night cycles are terrifyingly realistic, even without the additional power of the PS4 Pro. It’s so close to the real thing, you’re going to think you’re in the middle of a film rather than a game. Motion is smooth, and, if you’ve any experience with any current third-person title, you shouldn’t have any problem with the control scheme. There are a lot of things going on though, so you’ll want to spend a little while getting used to switching weapons, using items, and crafting, the critical portions of which can be done right from the game screen, sans pausing, extra menus, or complicated interfaces.