We are only in the fourth month of 2017, and already we’ve seen the release of several contenders for game of the year.
There are still a lot of hotly anticipated games on the way, but it’s going to be hard for any of them to change my prediction that Horizon Zero Dawn will still be at the top of the list come the end of December.
A PS4 exclusive, this is developer Guerrilla Games’ attempt at breathing new life into the omnipresent and recently much-maligned open-world action-RPG genre. Calling it a successful attempt would be a massive understatement; Horizon is a masterpiece in every respect, and the most exciting launch of a new IP in recent memory.
Let’s run through a few of those ticks. Graphically there isn’t a console game out there that can touch Horizon, especially when enjoyed in its full ultra-HD, HDR-enabled glory on PS4 Pro. Even in normal HD and on the original PS4 hardware it is a sight to behold, and a new high-water mark. Lots of polygons and fancy effects are of course meaningless if the art design is boring or lacking, but here again Horizon finds itself at the pinnacle, with brilliant and unique character and enemy designs, not to mention the incredible post-apocalyptic setting.
Usually when you hear “post-apocalyptic”, you think dark, dreary, wasteland; not so in Horizon, which puts its own spin on the machines-took-over-the-world trope. This is a world that’s much more lush and green than the one we live in today, inhabited by machines that have more character than a lot of their human counterparts in many other games.
The human non-player characters are even better, married to a great story that you actually feel invested in. The gameplay, characters, setting and story all work together to constantly push you towards wanting to find out more about the mysteries behind this once-familiar but now alien world.
But the world’s story is just one half of the narrative; the other is that of the player character, Aloy, whose journey of personal discovery is one of the most gripping and engaging I can remember.
Great writing and superb voice acting during conversations, combat and exploration make her feel like a fully-realised person, one whose shoes you can’t wait to slip back into after a busy day.
A few more words about the gameplay, because it is here where Guerrilla manages to completely subvert expectations and show that it’s not just CD Projekt RED who know how to do an open-world game right.
It never feels like just a massive map with a soul-crushing amount of icons to clear, ones you suspect were only placed there so the publisher could boast about the amount of “content” on offer.
Make no mistake, there’s an incredible amount of content in this truly massive world, but it all feels fresh and engaging, not like filler. Other developers should take note of how to achieve the prompt perfect balance of focused-on-the-story and let’s-just-go-wander-around impulses.
Combat is engaging and often heart-stopping, testing mind, reflexes and accuracy. Being surprised by the quality of enemy AI has become rare in the last few years, but Horizon manages to do that. If you’re old enough to remember what a revelation the AI in Halo: Combat Evolved was, then you’ll know the feeling I’m talking about.
Horizon Zero Dawn is further proof that we’re living in a golden age of gaming, and if you’ve been looking for a reason to get a PS4, you need look no further.
Score: 9/10
Platform: PS4
