Horizon Zero Dawn Reviews
Horizon Zero Dawn is disappointing. It has a story that I struggled to care about (complete with massive expository dumps—yay), a bland protagonist, and overtly repetitive and constraining missions that worked against its open world sensibilities. When Horizon Zero Dawn hit its rare strides—from its gloomy Cauldrons to traveling across its sprawling vistas—it only made me wish the rest of the game were as worthwhile.
There is much beauty to see in the game's world—such incredible vision and craft exercised in its conception—but it's subservient to a poor story, lackluster combat and, worst of all, an evident paranoia that players won't appreciate the world Aloy inhabits unless it's put within the context of a laundry list of tasks that have to be completed.
Horizon is a remarkably refined and technically brilliant game, but Guerrilla has yet to prove that it can take that next step and produce a genuine classic.
For all the hype that's been extended to Horizon: Zero Dawn, it hasn't managed to fully deliver.
Horizon Zero Dawn is a fascinating premise wrapped in a tortilla of tropes. It has detective vision, radio towers, skill trees, masked load screens (Tony Hawk's American Wasteland gets no credit for popularizing this in 2005, by the way), and a world map littered with billions of points of interest -- all stuff you've seen before. But after you set up and execute a cunning plan to decimate a pack of giant robot crocodiles and that smile hits your face, it's more excusable.
Although the game uses well-known solutions of other productions, it is given in such a way that it does not frustrate and does not bring the thought that it was already somewhere.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Horizon Zero Dawn is an impressive entry this generation. The PS4's capabilities are pushed to its maximum, accompanied by an excellent writing and game design, Guerrilla Games' newest title shines with its gameplay and worldbuilding, even though there's some fixes to be made, especially on quests and the main story. With a sequel probably coming on the PS5, the IP's future looks promising.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Horizon: Zero Dawn is an excellent robot hunting game. When you’re in the thick of fighting one of its fantastic robotic opponents it feels like one of the best games you’ve played all year.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is a triumph with a handful of minor flaws. Exciting combat, an engaging new world to explore, and a likable, confident protagonist combine for a rewarding experience. While I don’t hasten to call this a system seller, I do think that all PS4 owners should give this game a serious look. With such a strong original property, and an exciting fusion of so many quality game elements, it’s clear that Guerrilla Games has a great deal more to offer than reliance on the Killzone series, and I’m excited to see what they’ll be working on next.
All in all Horizon is a fun game, there is loads of content and the story is engaging. However, there is a lack of personality in the side missions as they all follow the same tropes and become slightly boring. The best thing about Horizon is the world in which you play.
If you're a fan of open-world games, horizon: zero dawn will love you from the first play. We didn't have such a beautiful open-world game, and I don't think we're going to have consoles in this generation.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Guerilla Games did an amazing job on creating a nice open world game at first attempt. Yes, there are some issues here and there, but Horizon is still worth playing because of interesting story and solid combat. And holy crap, how gorgeous this game looks!
Review in Russian | Read full review
Horizon Zero Dawn doesn't redefine open world RPGs but it absolutely raises the bar for future additions to the genre. Few projects successfully weave all of their disparate parts together into something both unique and interesting. Guerilla managed to do both in its first non-FPS release while simultaneously incorporating many of those (still optional) parts into the core story.
A few poor decisions are the only things holding back Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s a great game in every sense of the word, but poor fundamental RPG mechanics stop it becoming something fantastic. Let’s hope they get it right in the sequel.
Horizon: Zero Dawn exceeded my expectations in almost every way. Although it has a number of annoying issues, it's still a must-play game whether you usually enjoy open world games or not, as the game delivers a unique experience through a great world and its own unique gameplay style.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Horizon Zero Dawn offers an entirely unique world and a thrilling experience as an action game, complete with a great story and likeable characters. It doesn't reach its grand RPG aspirations, but the highs are so memorable and entertaining that it's easy to forgive the shortcomings.
Brings action acumen to the RPG world with style
A journey of pros and cons, but it's one worth taking.
Horizon Zero Dawn is the prettiest open world game in gaming history. It offers nothing more than what we have already seen, pulling many ideas from other games in this genre. But it does it incredibly well and if you are a fan of open world games - you will love Horizon right away.
Review in Polish | Read full review