If you like role-playing games, you're going to love Horizon Zero Down. It is set in an open dystopian world where you get to hunt down large machine-like beasts in an action-packed game.
It has all the necessary mechanics and gameplay to allow you to explore the vast open world and solve the mystery behind it all. Released for the PlayStation 4 a few years ago, Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the most compelling action-role playing games that premiered for the gaming console in many years.
Developed by Guerrilla Games, the game has been praised for its well-rounded story, fluid combat system, huge open world, and much more. To learn more about Horizon Zero Dawn, how to play it, and how to beat the game you're going to want to continue down below.
An Open Dystopian Future
Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing game that uses the third-person perspective. Players get to take control of Aloy, a hunter who uses her skills to track down different objectives in the game while also trying to solve the mystery of what happened to the world before it was overrun by robotic creatures. Aloy soon discovers the truth about the entire world and takes on a quest to stop the secretive figure behind all of it.
Horizon features an open world where you can explore and battle different mechanical creatures each with its unique strengths, attacks, and weaknesses. It is up to the player to determine the creature's vulnerabilities and craft ammunition along the way that will help them throughout combat.
Players can dodge, slide, and roll among other things to avoid enemy attacks while also being able to hide between bushes and other terrains to ambush enemies for quick takedowns.
The game has won several awards and has sold more than 10 million copies in 2019. It then became one of the best-selling PlayStation games in the year it was released. Soon, a sequel was announced called Horizon Forbidden West that would be released for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 sometime in 2021.
What Is the Gameplay Like?
Horizon Zero Dawn does not fail when it comes to action. The game takes advantage of the third-person perspective allowing players to have a clear view of the enemies and take accurate shots at the creatures when in battle. This makes dodging attacks much easier for players. Aloy takes center stage when she is out in the open hunting down robotic creatures.
She uses a wide variety of weapons and traps including tripwires and spears. The game also features a system where you can create your ammunition to counter the type of creature you are dealing with. While it may take some time to master, players can easily adapt to it. Speaking of the combat system, the game provides an easier experience for Aloy to hit the targets accurately by infusing a slow-motion sequence when aiming.
She also gets a headpiece called Focus where she scans the machine creatures to find their vulnerable spots which are helpful during combat. Horizon Zero Dawn features a full story that runs for around 40 hours but players can also get to enjoy different side quests and while most of them are run and fetch quests, they still offer a lot of things to do in-game as well as help sharpen the combat skills.
Tips and Tricks
Keep in mind that Horizon Zero Dawn does not have a tutorial especially with its complex combat system so you will need all the help that you can get. Aloy's adventures can get tough during the early stages of the game so you should be wary of exploring further out in the open.
First, you will need to set your expectations with the game. Horizon Zero Dawn is not the typical action role-playing game where you can slide into action the moment you start the game.
The combat system does not encourage you to constantly swap weapons just to deal a lot of damage instead. Rather it enforces you to think things through when choosing the right weapon, ammunition, and traps for the situation.
Players who typically think that the game promotes gun-blazing action will be sorely disappointed. But that is not to say that the game is not action-packed. Players will just need to be very careful with their encounters as you will be outmatched in the early stages of the game.
Take a Good Look at the Enemy
Look for signs of aggression when dealing with creatures. If the robot creatures do not have any icons above their head, it is likely that the creature has not seen you yet so there is room for a stealth attack rather than going for all-in combat.
This is especially important when dealing with a pack of creatures as they can run you over quickly. Make sure that you are always on stealth mode when dealing with creatures and take advantage of the aggression system in the game.
Kill enemies whenever they are unaware of your presence and if you can't do that, run and hide until you separate them and take them on one at a time.
Travel and Explore
The game has a very vast open world. Players can easily get lost in the beautiful landscape and one can appreciate the highly detailed graphics of the game. Take the time to explore the land to gather resources and even find hidden items along the way.
You might be tempted to travel by foot but there are other methods to travel throughout the different areas in the game if you want to cut down on traveling time. In this game, you can quickly travel to different areas using the campfire that you have just activated.
That way, you can travel through the whole area in a few seconds. To do so, open the map menu and choose the campfire that you want to travel to. You will then fast travel to the designated area but you will need to have a fast travel token to do that in the game.
As you travel around to explore the large landscape, make sure to visit campfires along the way. Campfires are the game's save points so you can manually save your progress at this time. Most campfires are scattered all over the region so make sure to visit each one of them.
Check Out Merchants
You can find that merchants are helpful in this game especially if you want to craft or upgrade your items. While you can find weapons in chests or quests, it is rather rare for you to experience that so might as well head over to the merchants in the game to offer you new weapons to use.
As soon as you head over to a new region, make sure to visit a merchant and check out what they offer. They can be new weapons, armor, or items that will be helpful when hunting down the creatures.
You can also upgrade to better weapons so you can take down higher level enemies faster. Players can check out merchants either at the heart of most settlements or near campsites.
Be a Better Marksman
Horizon Zero Dawn banks on players being good at aiming and skill shooting. Whether you are dealing with large monsters or want to take down foot soldiers with a quick headshot, you need to have a better aim.
You will have plenty of time to master your aim in this game but a few improvements and upgrades to your skill will also help along the way. Learn to fire two or three arrows all at the same time.
This will help you eliminate several enemies at once especially those that need to be cleared immediately. Upgrading this skill also applies to all the arrow types that you use which means they deal more damage and take down enemies fast.
Turn Creatures Into Allies
Around the time you hit the middle part of the game, your quests will become increasingly difficult and traveling can be a perilous experience. Sometimes, it also takes too much time and you can get mauled by packs of creatures along the way.
The best part about the game is that you can turn some of these creatures into allies that you can hop on to ride.
All you need to do is to unlock the ability so you can easily call on an ally creature to become your trusted steed. Additionally, the creature can also aid you in battle and while it does not do a ton of damage, it is quite useful as bait or a distraction.
Conclusion
Horizon Zero Dawn lets you create your own story through exploration while also involving you in the story with its main quest. This Playstation game has a massive combat system, which is one of the biggest attractions to players who enjoy a truly action-packed gaming experience.Â
From moving through the outskirts of a campsite in stealth mode to dodging attacks from large mechanical beasts, Horizon Zero Dawn creates an amazing experience for players. If you're into deep play this game is going to float your boat.
