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E3 2015 Preview: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a game to be excited about. It’s a new IP from a studio that’s spent the better part of a decade developing one (mediocre) franchise, with little room for creative freedom or growth. Sure, Killzone has some pedigree and it has its fans, but it’s never been an amazing franchise. It’s a standard FPS with an interesting setting and pedestrian mechanics. Horizon is the polar opposite.

An open world action-adventure RPG set in the post-post apocalypse (Guerrilla’s term); Horizon sees humanity taken back to a primitive state. Humans live in clans and tribes and resemble simpler, pre-industrial revolution civilisation. They rely on trading, foraging and hunting to get by; however, these humans aren’t hunting any regular animals. The world of Horizon, which may or may not be Earth according to Guerrilla’s cryptic descriptions, is inhabited by all manner of robotic fauna. What I was shown behind closed doors at E3 featured all manner of cybernetic creatures ranging in size from that of a small dog up to an elephant or above.

What these robots are doing in a post-post apocalyptic world when everything else is so primitive is but one of the mysteries of Horizon. Set 1,000 years after an event that set humanity back, this is a title that is rife with unanswered questions, vagueness and puzzles that begged to be solved. As Aloy – Horizon’s protagonist – players will explore this vast world on a quest that’s, well…not all that clear at this point. Guerrilla is keeping very tight lipped about much of Horizon, promising players that there is a deep and engaging story, just one they’re not yet ready to talk about.

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When I asked the developers about the size of Horizon’s world they glibly responded that it was “big” and refused to give an indication of the size or compare to other games. They did say that they liked to think of terms of content and that Horizon’s map would contain a huge number of things to see and do. They did reiterate that the map was very large.

Aloy is a typical human in this world. She hunts and explores to support her tribe and is respected among her peers for her skills. Interestingly, while I never saw any animal other than the robotic kind, her clothes are leather and fur, interwoven with mechanical parts, wires, cogs and the like. Aloy gives off a Native American vibe in her look and also actions. She respects the land and the robotic creatures.

During the demo, when she killed any of them, be they snake like security bots or deer-like creatures which held required resources; Aloy comforted them and thanked them for their sacrifice. Aloy doesn’t kill for fun or for sport. She only takes what she needs and even then she feels respect for the sacrifice of these robotic animals. It seems that Aloy views them as living creatures and perhaps as they’ve been around for so long she doesn’t know any better.

The demo concluded with a massive battle against the Thunderjaw. Looking like an enormous robotic T-Rex, battling the Thunderjaw was a brilliant showcase for the combat systems being employed. It’s a massive, plated enemy with a range of weapons, all designed to take Aloy out. However, the particular Thunderjaw found in the demo was carrying some battle scars from a previous battle.

Some of his armour plating had been removed and there were spears sticking out of his chassis. These missing plates had exposed his power source and main computer, or his heart and brain if you prefer. By utilising her line caster and pinning the Thunderjaw in place, Aloy was able to do more damage and eventually shut the Thunderjaw down.

Horizon looks absolutely breathtaking and Guerrilla is promising a full day/night cycle and no loading screens ever. The lush garden world looks vastly different to other post-apocalypse games and that’s due to the passage of 1,000 years after whatever event led this world to its fate. Nature has reclaimed the planet with cities and skyscrapers in the distance showing signs of collapse and of plant life taking back the space. It’s a fascinating and gorgeous setting for a game and the juxtaposition with the robotic fauna creates a very eerie, interesting and curious world. One that I’m very much looking forward to exploring.

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While Guerrilla isn’t ready to reveal much of anything of Horizon: Zero Dawn what we’ve seen so far is hugely intriguing and one of the most exciting new IPs I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in quite some time. This is the developer’s first attempt at an action RPG, but so far all seems well. We’ll have to wait until 2016 to find out.

Horizon: Zero Dawn will be exclusive to PS4.


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DeltaPhoenix08