We could feel Sony’s nervousness two years ago after Guerrilla Games’ announced of Horizon Zero Dawn. And that was not a surprise. The developers started a project to join the club of games like Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, etc. But they do not wanted to create just another open world game, they wanted also to include a kind of apocalyptic game, based in the Stone Age with arrow and bows. But they do not wanted to create another Ark Survival Evolved. They wanted to include features like a woman as protagonist and living machines. That was also a little bit irritating for SONY’s boss. Let’s find out, if this risky adventure can convince with itself.

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It is not very important for us if we play a game with a male or female character. More important is how real they feel, how close we get them to know and that they share their feelings with us. Yes, we have to confirm that we had a bad feeling about this game’s character. Guerrilla Games showed us in their previous games typical stereotypes of heroes. We asked ourself, how they want to create and bring this character to life, especially when Naughty Dog also creates great games for the PS. Yes, this game reminds us very much on FarCry Primal, but we also want to show you why we had much more fun with Horizon Zero Dawn.

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This starts with the game’s character. We love how great they brought Aloy to life. We also like it very much, that the game did not start with the main akt. We can see a lot of Aloy’s biography. We can see her growing up and why she is the outsider. And this helps to identify ourself with the character.

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We like it very much that we can feel a charming role playing game flair at the beginning of the game, especially if people turn around because you walk with Aloy by, you hear their comments and you also can talk with no main characters. We love it that you can also ask different questions in this great written dialogues and to get to know more about the world. You also can decide if you would like to react more reasonable, sympathetic or angry. Unfortunately, this has no reactions on Aloy’s permanent growth. This will be more dramatic if you have to choose if you would like to end a mission by killing people or let the live.

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While you travel through the world you will get in already running raids or small battles, can see guards protecting a bridge from aggressive mechanical creatures. All this creates dynamic and credible world. In addition to that you can find breeding grounds. Their gloom is a great variation to the great open nature and ends mostly with a boss-fight. Additionally you get some new skills to manipulate the mechanical creatures. Yes, there is this RPG flair, but it’s only a flair. You can not influence fractions or even develop Aloy rhetorically or morally in addition to their fight-, hunt- and collect-abilities. But we noticed very quickly that Guerrilla Games wanted to create more than just a action packed blockbuster with a fantastic looking scenery. Especially if you play the main quest for more than 25 up to 30 hours. In this time you can see in every corner the narrative ambition to create a believable world. And the great basis for this is a fantastic script that also includes social aspects.

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The society that worship a special being, strict rituals and initiations are presented in many facets. Women are the leaders in the tribe of Nora. But this does not help the motherless girl Aloy. Who was her mother? Where is she from? She especially get more in distance with the other women after she felt into a huge hole and found two important things. At first, signs from a lost civilisation, that even with the greatest Hightech been scared from something unknown and a chip called the focus, that gives Aloy a digital view of the world that surrounds her. She gets from then on holographic informations, she can follow shining traces and analyse clues and enemies from the distance. In addition to that we think that it was a great to slow Aloy down if you use her detective skills. Because of this we can confirm that this game has a great variation between slow parts like this and the hunts filled with action.

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Some games from Bethesda are one great example, how landscapes can tell you stories about the past and what happened. You can see a lot of things while you get on the trip with Aloy through forests, steppes, jungles and snowfields: herds of animals, different civilisations and how they building their villages, apart from the actual main quests you can see old machines, destroyed towers, vehicles that lying half in the water, buried caves and huge steel ribs, and ramps that helps you to reach the top of the hills until you have a fantastic view. From time to time you get from here with the help of Aloy’s focus a look into the past. You can see than for a short time for example an old stadium or other buildings before they been destroyed. Aloy leaves traces in the snow, grasses bend in the wind or by contact, every single hair is recognizable and all the equipment from the leather pocket to the mating tip moves. But not this subtleties or the great weather effects are the reason why it look so fantastic. We noticed very quickly, that the developers focused also on many little things that makes the exploring of the world so fantastic. This game definitely confirms Guerrilla Games’ technical core competence on a terrific way. We are convinced, that this is one of the best looking trips through on open world. Yes, there are also some things that could look much better, for example like the too clean faces, even if you have finished a battle. And yes, many people you met at the beginning of the game looking quite similar, but this all can not change our opinion.

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What we also like are the game’s fantastic looking mechanical animals, that reminds us on robotic dinosaurs. We love how detailed they are made and how real they look. This is not only because the great art-design, very helpful for their living look is the fantastic animation and the variations of their behavior. You can get a fantastic look on small Raptors, some powerful Tyrannosaurus Rex and even some slow brontosaurus by watching them from the distance. There are also machines, which reminds of horses or elks, as well as huge crocodiles in lakes or rivers and huge birds. You can see their

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Only by scanning the with the focus you can see the animals strengths and weaknesses. This is very important to hunt them. Attacks from the front, only by using your bow, are only effective in the first minutes of the game. Yes, we miss something like a button to fix on a target. On the other hand we can confirm that Horizon will be too easy on the lowest difficulty level. Do not understand us wrong, a just simple smashing in a close combat fight is not enough. And the huge creatures can kill you very fast. And the too fast learned punch from the ambush, which allows you for example to kill humans and creatures with only one hit is not enough after a while. Especially if you want to fight against the miserables. This creatures can scan the area around them and uncover you. Many of them are able to attack you from the distance with fire or ice. It is possible to protect yourself by choosing the right closes. In addition to different arrows, Spin and bows, which have a lot of power and are useful from the distance, you can also use other different weapons. You can also use the focus to scan the area and see the creatures’ walking paths. This helps you to place bombs and other traps. It is also possible to hinder the creature’s movement with ropes for a short time. We love how varied the hunts are and that it is more than just a simple targeting and shooting.

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Thanks completed quest you can collect XP-Points. You can use them to raise Aloy’s skills in the following three categories: Hunter, Warrior and Collector. It is possible then to shoot better if you are balancing at the same time, to slamm stronger with your rod or heal much effectiver. Unfortunately, it is very uneffective to raise Aloy’s collector skills, because you will find even without it enough loot. Nearly all weapons and armors have one up to three free spaces in which you can place modifications. This modifications are divided into three levels. This can increase for example the weapons handling or damage.

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Congratulations Guerrilla Games! We are surprised, that Horizon Zero Dawn could entertain us so well. We are happy that you created such a bombastic looking world. Your adventure demonstrates how great animations and the whole scenery can look and also confirm the studio’s technical competence. This is one of the best looking PS4 game at the time. We never thought about, that you could create a game that includes a story, a directing, fantastic quests and a design of the world that can reach the level of the Witcher 3. Aloy is a fantastic character and not only well designed. She feels very real in addition to that. On top of that we are happy that your latest blockbuster includes natural-looking dialogues like in a huge Role-Playing-Game. We love the battles against this great looking machines and the game’s combat system. We love it how great you keep us excited by great labyrinths, though bossfights and other surprises. We think that Horizon Zero Dawn is a must have for every PS4 Gamer.

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