Horizon Zero Dawn: One Year Later

There was a lot of hype around Horizon Zero Dawn, it was a beautiful looking game with a presentation that was entirely distinct. Jumping into the game itself was the next level of quality. I was blown away by the title and knew the experience was going to be something special. It's just that great feeling you get when you play a truly remarkable title and it's not a sense that appears too often. With this title you play as Aloy, she's out to prove herself and get a general sense of where she belongs.

All around her is danger and darkness as this now almost stone age collection of humanity attempt to live among the ruins of a past technical wonder. Within this world are breathtaking scenes filled with wonder and curiosity. They also house dangerous locations, terrifying majestic machines and there's a perfect harmony here. You could honestly just sit there taking in the view for hours and it's all so dynamic in how the time cycles by. The gorgeous environments are one thing, but it's the combination of this with a story and gameplay that make it special.

I really do feel that Horizon Zero Dawn is a perfect game, I couldn't have expected anything more from it. The gameplay was excellent feeling fresh and full of creativity within the open world. It took some skill to master your abilities and the machines were always offering an array of challenges. There are some levels of stealth and that's mixed with intense action situations. I recall fondly battling to the death in a pit, climbing massive ruined buildings and defending a castle from unstoppable forces. Then on top of that there's the story. It's full of mystery, discovery and just pure adventure as you work to understand how the world came to be like it is. It's also rather sad with moments of deep sorrow and shock the further you progress.

I got an idea of what was going on a bit later, but it's still a wonderful surprise and something that's just dark enough. There are so many layers to Horizon Zero Dawn and this game has a bright future of being what I hope is a lengthy franchise. I can just imagine how the world will develop going forward and while I have no idea how the story will evolve, I'm sure there many secrets to discover across this massive landscape. The first expansion brought a good initial look at this, there are clearly many sights to see and places to journey to.

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