Horizon Zero Dawn

I started this game in September and just beat it today.

Wow.

In terms of story anyway - wow.

The funny thing is, I already had the plot completely spoiled to me because I had looked it up in advance, but when I finally made it in to GAIA Prime and I knew what was coming, I was still a bit blown away. I could just imagine what it would be like for someone, who had no idea what was going to happen, to see all this and just have their mouths on the floor.

And then there was the scene at the end with Aloy, and it was just... so touching?

(Okay - Spoilers from here on out - you have been warned)


 Honestly, I found Aloy's... acceptance of Elisabet as her "mother" incredibly sweet. She had Rost, she had a father figure. Then she learned that technically she had no mother, and then she learned she was a clone of a woman named Elisabet Sobeck. Aloy didn't really need to build such a strong connection with Elisabet. She really didn't. She could have accepted the info, accepted she was a clone, had a bit of a crisis and then moved on - but she didn't. She learned about Elisabet, learned about who this person was, and somehow she was able to form a connection with her in a way that I honestly find... I don't know. There is something incredibly, and genuinely, human, about creating a connection like that.

The entire story of HZD in general, both Aloy's story and the story of past Earth. I find it incredibly human. It's filled with so much nuance and poignancy. Not just the travel logs, but that one military general - the one who pretty much lied to everyone. His final log. Then there was Ted Faro's 'breakdown' after Elisabet's death and his reasons for destroying APOLLO. I mean yes, you can write the guy of as a complete megalomaniac/psychopath (what CEO isn't to be honest), I mean some people might just write him off as "evil", but in a way his actions were also very in line with human nature.

And I'm not talking about the "human nature" we often see caricatured in stories and especially video games, with contrived villains and simplistic motives. No. HZD is incredibly human in how imperfect people are, but in how they strive for the best anyway. It's incredibly human in the sense that we have this idea of what we think happened - that Earth was saved by Zero Dawn, and that humans lived - but that actually didn't happen at all. And then, we think, but that's technically okay because Sobeck was around, and she created GAIA and put everything in place for Earth to be rebuilt.... but then we learned that that wasn't the case either.

In the end, essentially what we get from HZD, is that... yes, everything worked out okay, but there were so many fuck-ups along the way and to be honest, not everything is even okay at the end.

It's a game that shows just how incredibly.... flawed humanity is, but in all the best ways as well. It shows humanities flaws, and shows that... despite the flaws - this is what can happen. Despite the flaws, there are ways to work past them. Ways to move forward. Ways to make do with what you are given to achieve the best possible outcome with the circumstances given.

I know I'm not saying much about the game itself, but that's because I was honestly that impressed by the story and the background and detail that was put in to creating this amazing world.

Gameplay wise? I found the controls SO HARD to get a handle of, and even after beating the game and reaching level 50, I still do not think I have a good grasp on the controls. All the wheels were really clunky to me. I'm terrible at any game that requires shooting - especially if you're shooting arrows. The last part isn't a drag on the gameplay so much as it's a drag on me just being a shitty gamer. The menu's were pretty iffy, but manageable. I liked that there wasn't too much choice when it came to modifications/items/weapons so I didn't get freakishly overwhelmed as I tend to do for open world games. The fast travel was nice.

The environment. Oh my god HZD is such a pretty game. I am so glad I played this after FFXV because... I already though the open in FFXV was bland and empty as hell. Imagine if I had played FFXV after experiencing the amazing open world of HZD? I would've been so disappointed I think. Seriously, the open world of HZD was just... so breathtaking, and I never got tired of running around it. Yeah, I fast-travelled quite a bit too, but a lot of times I genuinely didn't mind just running on foot because I never got bored of the areas I was running through. So nice.

The bunkers and ruins occasionally gave me motion sickness. Something about being in an enclosed space, and the lighting... and the focus and the electronics - I don't know, they were nausea-inducing sometimes.

Characters? I liked them in general. Lots of bad-ass ladies. I liked Aloy as a main character. I really liked how they had no room for romance in this game. You know that final bed scene Aloy has? I swear to god, any other game and that would've been a god-damn bed scene *cough*MassEffect*cough*, but not this one! I'm happy. Asexual!Aloy headcanon! Were there any characters I absolutely loved? Not particularly. I liked the relationships Aloy had with Erend, and Nil was... interestingly quirky. I liked the Sunhawk lady whom I forgot the name of, but she was pretty bad-ass. Varl was cute (in a sweet way, not an attractive way). Sylens and Aloy were interesting foils to each other. Sylens is interesting in general, he's very... gray.

The villains - besides HADES? Eh. Your typical crazy cult leader stuff. If anything, they were the least interesting part of the game when it came to plot. Overall though, I loved the different tribes that make up the new earth and how vastly different they are. I also love how fleshed out their beliefs are? Seriously - this game has such amazing world building. So good.

What else is there for me to mention? I wasn't able to collect and read through all the data point stuff (mostly because I'm lazy, but I read the important ones). I did collect all the collectible stuff though, except the power cells. Missed one. Darn. /sigh. Got to level 50, cleared all bandit camps and corrupted zones, tallnecks etc. Only thing I didn't clear were the hunting grounds to be honest.

So yeah, I spent a pretty long time on this game. Amazingly I never really got burned out either. I don't know if I did all quests and errands, but I finished all the ones I found. Unlike a certain other game, the side-quests and errands were actually engaging and I didn't mind doing them.

Fighting in this game? As I said, I'm shit at the controls - still it was fun. Towards the end I did kind of start avoiding fighting the machines unless I absolutely had to. To be honest, I actually really enjoyed fighting Thunderjaws. Everything else - especially anything that flew was a pain in the ass. I enjoyed overriding snapmaws and watching them destroy each other. Same with ravagers.

...and yeah. I think I covered everything I wanted to say about the game?

Overall - solid... 9/10. Minus points because, gameplay-wise it isn't my style. Also, characters were good, but not amazing. The plot really did blow me away though.

I'm really glad I played this game and I cannot wait for a sequel! Also, I will eventually get the DLC, but not anytime soon. I think it's better if I took a short break from the game first and then came back for the DLC. Maybe next year.

My next game? Pokemon Sun!