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Horizon Zero Dawn
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Hands-on Preview: Horizon: Zero Dawn

After raising more questions than answers last year, Guerrilla Games was finally ready to properly unveil Horizon: Zero Dawn at E3 this month, where Stevivor saw an extended gameplay demo and went hands-on for the first time.

Set 1,000 years after the apocalypse, as humans have rebuilt a new society, the machines have existed for as long as this new wave of humankind. Embedded with religious undertones, the people don’t have a rational understanding of the creatures that dominate the landscape. They realise they’re not biologically living organisms, but otherwise can’t fathom their existence. Uncovering the truth about the machines is the central theme of Horizon: Zero Dawn.

The demo you saw during E3 was a modified version of the scene from the final game. Key pieces of information were removed, as to leave the story shrouded in mystery. Uncovering the truth about the normal and corrupt machines is the central theme of Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Horizon Zero Dawn

While humans have forged a somewhat peaceful coexistence with machines for a millennium, the much more dangerous corrupt machines have only recently materialised. Facing an increasingly serious survival threat against the ruthless beasts, Aloy takes it upon herself to find and destroy whatever is causing the corruption, while an apprehensive villager remarks “all we can do is fight and pray to the goddess”.

Picking up the controller, I was able to test the combat techniques in a small section of the massive open world – and yes, you are able to tame and mount some of the machines to make travel less of a burden.

Introduced last year as a master craftswoman, Aloy’s arsenal is the poster child of ingenuity. The machine and natural ecology blend together, allowing her to scavenge for loot to craft new weapons and modify those she already has to target specific enemies. Metal shards, looted from machines, are used to buy near gear and items for quests, but are also required to craft ammo, putting a strain on her precious resources; do you spend precious metal in a fight, or frugally flee to better spend it elsewhere?

Equipped with old world technology called Focus, a survival instinct, Aloy can spot enemies and target their weak points from a distance. Different machines are vulnerable in unique areas and to certain types of weapons; the tougher buggers need to have their armour removed before they can be eliminated.

https://youtu.be/T5Xx3MdqdgM

While she’s a fighter, stealth is at the forefront of Horizon. Success is dependant on well conceived plans of attack, both when attacking corrupt machines in a rampant frenzy, and when hunting a terrified heard for valuable metal. The machines aren’t all out to kill you; some behave more like deer and flee at the sign of an approaching scavenger.

Hiding in tall grass, I experimented with Aloy’s ropecaster to tie-down watchers, the first line of defence, and remove them from conflict. Two successful ropes shackled these smaller machines, and so long as they didn’t take any damage, remained chained to the ground while I battled more pressing threats. Securing them enables Aloy to hack into watchers and override their allegiance to either temporarily fight by her side, or allow her to mount and ride them.

Combat is predicated by a tight loop of taking the time to strategise, then fully committing when it’s time to go. Weapons have a distinctly archaic quality, blending with the innovation of a modern survivor – she uses a bow and arrow, but modifications go well beyond the standard fire and poison tip. Encountering a giant crab thing, with a massive claw and an almost non-penetrative shield, Horizon isn’t afraid to entice flight over fight. In fact, some of the more imposing enemies, like the crab, are easily looted when taken by surprise; after which there’s no point in Aloy sticking around.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Quests are still largely unknown. During the hands-off component of our presentation, we saw Aloy accept a mission to protect another village that had come under attack from corrupt machines, but that’s hardly showing its hands. Upon leaving the apparent safety of her community, we saw a massive, defeated, corrupted machine that almost destroyed the village; perhaps it isn’t so safe, after all.

There is live destruction throughout the world, which will make your playthrough different to mine. Corrupt machines are able to destroy buildings and plough through a dense forest. Some villages could be totally annihilated, while others remain untouched; though it’s unclear how far this destruction ventures into Horizon outside of the main quests. Unforeseen destruction will definitely be there, but we’re not sure if you could return to your base camp to have an unexpected Luke Skywalker mourning moment.

As a side note, Guerrilla told Stevivor it will work with Sony on how Horizon can be support the high-end PS4 Neo. But as it has been confirmed, but not unveiled, the developers weren’t speaking about that in any further detail. Reading between the lines, and the hasty response from one of the two developers to correct the other, we’d suggest there will be some differences when played on Neo – and there might be some weight to reports it will be released this year, considering Horizon’s early 2017 release.

Horizon: Zero Dawn will be released in Australia on 1 March 2017 for PS4.


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About the author

Ben Salter

Ben has been writing about games in a professional capacity since 2008. He even did it full-time for a while, but his mum never really understood what that meant. He's been part of the Stevivor team since 2016. You will find his work across all sections of the site (if you look hard enough). Gamertag / PSN ID: Gryllis.