This will just be a short one, mainly due to already having a grand guest review covering this game. I was going to add some photos in to show how good looking the game is. However I forgot to take any and now the game is uninstalled whilst I wait for the expansion to come out. So sorry about that. After waiting a good few months to purchase this game cause next gen games are fuckin pricey. I was greatly looking forward to finally playing it. For the most part I wasn’t disappointed.
Straight away you are blown away by the visuals, the graphics are incredible. Showing just how far we have come even in just a few years on different generations between both the Horizon games. The machines look fantastic, and are even more fun to hunt. Well for the most part, some are just complete arseholes and they fucking suck to fight. Running into a ThunderJaw early on is a phenomenally bad time. You’ll more then likely just be rag-dolled and missile striked to oblivion. Or some other machine will join the fray and will hit you three times in a row with unblockable attacks one after the other whilst on the ground so you can’t move.
One gripe I had with the first game was the melee combat, and here I don’t feel its any different really. It still kinda blows major ass. You’ve got a couple combos and these new skill tress but ultimately other then the resonator blast it’s not overly improved. Rolling out of the way does jack shit as well, as you still seem to get twatted out with zero contact, and in my case usually off a edge of a cliff. This goes hand in hand with damage as well. I tend to find the damage you receive is off, it always seems to be high even against lower levelled enemies whilst you are wearing good, to fully upgraded top tier armour.
The world map is far bigger and more fun to traverse with more over-ride mounts available along with the new glider. Having more locations to be discovered and they seem to be more concise and densely filled areas. One thing I don’t get is though why nearly all machines are just turbo hostile and immediately want to kill you, even in passing. There are more rebels and rebel camps to clear out, but this time round they are kinda shite to kill as apparently you can take like 9 arrows to the head whilst being set on fire, and still not succumb to death.
The archery combat is brill, along with the new weapons, all coming with a greater selection available to you. A lot of it comes off style over substance, they focussed too much on making the game look incredible, and adding to what the first was missing. I don’t think Zero Dawn was fully fine tuned to what it should be. So in this game they’ve added a few extra bits here and there, that should’ve realistically rounded off the first game. Here we get a far better looking, and bigger world with a few new machines, and underwater sections, but ultimately doesn’t add that much more depth to what was already there. The story especially, continuing directly from where it ended. As it should. It does feel hollow for some reason, very outstretched in some parts, not really capitalising on the amazing story in Zero Dawn.
Before this was graded 8/10 by MoonHeads review. Personally I’d give it 7/10 Positively Tasty.
Which too some may seem lower then it deserves. But I find it’s lacking what made the first one so good, what that is, i’m not too sure. I feel it could be the originality thins out and it ends up sorta hitting the usual story tropes which the first missed. I can point out a few things that bring it down somewhat like the first 6 hours is what the end of the first game should’ve been. Or the tedious human combat,upgraded pouches still don’t hold a lot of arrows, slightly shit wall climbing physics. Some machines aren’t designed that great to fight as they just become a slog on occasion. I feel i’m just nitpicking though, it’s still a fantastic game but I just don’t think it’s quite the sequel it could’ve been.
Released February 18th, Sony Playstation 5.
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