Even though it’s only been in our lives for a little over seven years, it’s still a very important part of our video game history. I mean Aloy, of course. When Guerrilla Games decided to make an open world game, it borrowed a lot from what already existed, but I still found Zero Dawn to be quite fresh in many ways. Two things particularly stood out: Aloy was a great character and the world was incredibly beautiful. During my hours with the game, I remember thinking it was one of the most technically sophisticated I’d ever seen. I was incredibly impressed with the visuals at the time, and in some ways I feel like this remaster mostly does what these kinds of remasters usually do: it lets us see the game today as we saw it then. You know it’s a visual upgrade, but somehow it still looks the same.
We know the story: Aloy is an outcast from the Nora tribe who, as a child, finds a mysterious object when she falls into a cave. We find ourselves in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have returned to a more primitive lifestyle and coexist with dinosaur-like robots. Suddenly they start to go wild and the reason for this is one of the many mysteries we have to unravel in this adventure.
It’s possible that someone might pick up this remaster to play Horizon: Zero Dawn for the first time, but I think most curious people have already played the original or are at least familiar with it. Since I already know the story from practice, I will delve deeper into this version in order to make a clear comparison. To sum up what I think about the game as such: As a lover of open worlds, I’m someone who really appreciated it when it came out. I liked the atmosphere, the world, the story and the people fighting. For those interested in learning more about the game itself, you can read our analysis of its initial release.
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As I said, more than seven years have passed before I meet Aloy again. In fact, we’re approaching eight. I immediately realize that from a purely technical perspective, there is no doubt that Zero Dawn Remastered looks the way I imagined the game to be when it came to me in 2017. But at the same time I realize that it’s not like that. Regardless, the graphics are top notch and certainly one of the most technically beautiful things you can experience on the console. The lighting in particular is great, but there are also many other things that have been greatly improved. What’s notable is that the populated locations in the game seem much more alive and have more characters. However, there are some strange behaviors from the added characters, wandering in place or in circles in a classic manner. But the surrounding area is much denser and more populated. Making clear comparisons between the state in February 2017 and the state today, there is no doubt that a lot of care and work has gone into raising the bar. There are also many hours of new motion capture work that make the dialogue sequences much more lively.
But… because yes, there is a big “but”, you have to ask yourself whether it really makes sense to remaster a game that is so “young” and still looks so incredibly good. Horizon Zero Dawn looked and looks fantastic, and although this version of the game is very good, one can long philosophize about its necessity. I mean, you could argue that we could have another one in the future that runs at 120 frames and in 8K and where the characters’ faces also look like they do in the cutscenes. It’s something that, again, could be improved if you wanted to. But when the base is already gorgeous, it seems a little unnecessary. There are also some visual defects, so it’s not quite perfect. But on the other hand, we have sequences where Aloy is talking to someone who seems much more alive, we have great weather and lighting effects, and we have settlements with more characters and more life and movement. If you put this remaster next to its sequel Forbidden West, we also have two games that seem more coherent together.
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I also notice that as soon as I start Aloy’s first trip again, I’m hooked again. It’s still a great and entertaining adventure in many ways. The environments are incredible and when the light hits the foliage I stop and use the game’s photo mode. The action sequences against the machines are often absolutely fantastic, plus the expansion is included and if you have the original but want an upgrade, the price of this edition is very affordable.
The game mechanics as such are intact, which makes them a bit limited in some things. My reaction to this in 2017 is that you couldn’t jump up or over things that reached Aloy’s knees, and that the climbing was more involved than in the sequel. But if you haven’t played it in almost eight years or want to experience the adventure for the first time, this version is a good reason to play it again or the best way to play it for the first time. So it’s pretty hard to argue against this remake when it’s so fantastic in so many ways. Although I still can’t shake the thought that it really wasn’t necessary.
