Horizon: Zero Dawn Review

[JDR13]

Yeah, that Rockmaw in the mine was pretty "easy". I also had to return to it later on because I was quite low level when I first came to that area but later on it was very doable.

The Frozen Wilds fight I meant can be seen in this video (spoiler alert for anyone who has not done this Frozen Wilds quest). The monster is called differently but its design is obviously heavily "inspired" by the Rockmaw.

I was also glad when I was finally done with the Frozen Wilds (and the game since I finished it before FW). A little longer and the game would have overstayed its welcome. I liked it all well enough but it was just about to get a bit tedious on the home stretch.

That's why I'm in no real hurry regarding Forbidden West (if it ever comes to PC at all). The saturation effect from this game and setting is a strong one for me personally. I'll be ready and curious about how Aloy's adventures continue in due time if and when a PC port is coming.

Ok, I remember that fight now. Some guy not far from there gives you the quest to kill it, right? I was wrong about the name btw. It's called a Rockbreaker not Rockmaw, but the quest giver had his own name for that particular one.

I played HZD as soon as it hit Steam in summer 2020, so I'm ready for HFW. I just hope we're not waiting years for the PC port again.

 

[Zloth]

I just tried to use the environment by always staying near a small hill or other obstacle they couldn't smash through to counter their pursuit.

I've been doing that a LOT, including against the fire claw in that video. Some battles don't give you a chance to do that, though, including the one in the cauldron.

The first worm I fought was part of the quest to save the king. It kindly provided a nice cliff to perch on, making it a pretty easy (if expensive) target. (Then I foolishly spoke to the quest giver instead of picking up my loot first. We walked off together to the next stage of the quest, so I got nothing for the monster.)

That quest for the mines. "Hey, some guys vanished down there, could you check it out? You want to go to the center of that big, fenced in, flat area that has some exploding barrels scattered around." Yeah, NO. I didn't know what monstrosity was going to come after me in there, but I was not about to go up against something that needed that big of an area until I was much stronger.

 

[henriquejr]

I played HZD as soon as it hit Steam in summer 2020, so I'm ready for HFW. I just hope we're not waiting years for the PC port again.

A master once said…

 

[Zloth]

The Claws Beneath also had some rocks to perch on - though not nearly as good as the earlier quest. I got hit a few times, but only when it spit boulders at me. It barely broke through my shields.

After that, I did the end game. Victory is mine! (Again, the shielded armor came in hugely handy. IMHO, all you really seem to need is that and a stealth armor for sneaking. You can't get it until near the end game, though.)

 

[JFarrell71]

I pulled the trigger on a PS5 so I can play peak Horizon: Forbidden West when it comes out in 2 weeks. I just hope my Ebay seller is trustworthy.

 

[henriquejr]

I pulled the trigger on a PS5 so I can play peak Horizon: Forbidden West when it comes out in 2 weeks. I just hope my Ebay seller is trustworthy.

Have you got it at MSRP?

 

[JFarrell71]

Have you got it at MSRP?

Unfortunately no, that seems impossible.

 

[henriquejr]

Unfortunately no, that seems impossible.

And I'm thinking of getting the PS4 version of HZD:FW, since I'm not going to get a PS5 anytime soon (because scalpers here too)

 

[JFarrell71]

And I'm thinking of getting the PS4 version of HZD:FW, since I'm not going to get a PS5 anytime soon (because scalpers here too)

Provided it arrives and in good shape, I don't mind hugely because Sony has (imo) much better first party games than Microsoft does overall. I'll get plenty of use out of it. Hopefully it'll be solid on PS4. I have memories of suffering through Dragon Age: Inquisition on the Xbox 360 when that came out and I don't want to repeat the experience. Clothing textures took like 5 extra seconds to load every time.

 

[JDR13]

I'm surprised you'd overpay for a PS5 to play Forbidden West…especially with how many good games are on the horizon (no pun intended).

 

[Zloth]

Huh? Scalpers? Well, I take it that it's a physical copy. Doesn't Playstation do digital downloads?? (I haven't played on console in a loooong time.)

I'm always amazed at how few programmers are needed for games like this. There were only around two dozen programmers for the whole thing (not sure if the AI folks would be called programmers). They had about as many babies born to the entire team!

 

[henriquejr]

Huh? Scalpers? Well, I take it that it's a physical copy. Doesn't Playstation do digital downloads?? (I haven't played on console in a loooong time.)

I'm always amazed at how few programmers are needed for games like this. There were only around two dozen programmers for the whole thing (not sure if the AI folks would be called programmers). They had about as many babies born to the entire team!

IDK if you're referring to my comment above, but I'm calling "scalpers" those who sell PS5 consoles at prices waaay above the MSRP (actually that's not a PS5-exclusive problem, the new generation "XBOX Series" are being sold overpriced as well).

Even if you prefer a digital copy of any given game, we (still) need a physical console in order to download such game and play it. And that's where the scalpers come in. The software (the game) is not being sold at higher prices; the hardware (console) is.

 

[JFarrell71]

I'm surprised you'd overpay for a PS5 to play Forbidden West…especially with how many good games are on the horizon (no pun intended).

Of course I'm not buying it just to play Forbidden West. 2022 is shaping up to be a tipping point when games I'm interested in that are only available on the new hardware start coming out in significant numbers.

 

[JFarrell71]

Huh? Scalpers? Well, I take it that it's a physical copy. Doesn't Playstation do digital downloads?? (I haven't played on console in a loooong time.)

Apparently so if you think you can download consoles.

 

[JDR13]

Of course I'm not buying it just to play Forbidden West. 2022 is shaping up to be a tipping point when games I'm interested in that are only available on the new hardware start coming out in significant numbers.

Eh? I can't think of a single must-have that's being released exclusively on PS5 in the near future.

Don't get me wrong, I'd definitely have one already if they were available in a normal fashion.

 

[Zloth]

Oooo, sorry, I thought you were paying scalpers for a PS5, then paying more scalpers for the game!

 

[JFarrell71]

Oooo, sorry, I thought you were paying scalpers for a PS5, then paying more scalpers for the game!

It's been a couple of years since I've even bought a physical disc. It took me a while, but with the pandemic and figuring out how convenient it is, I'm a complete convert to digital media where games are concerned (I still only buy physical books, though)

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

A huge electronics store ("Saturn") here has a huge wall of physical retail boxes - inclusive discs, of course - but ONLY for consoles ! PS4 included. And Switch. And XBOX.
There is a relatively small PC retail shelf there as well.

Same at Gamestop, but only more extreme (even although the shop is much, much, much smaller than that above mentioned store).

 

[JDR13]

Other than 1 kickstarter I backed (System Shock), I haven't purchased a physical PC game in nearly 10 years. I don't purchase physical books anymore either.

I still prefer discs for console games and plan to continue purchasing them that way. I don't buy a lot of console games though.

 

[JDR13]

Reviews for Horizon Forbidden West started dropping yesterday. They're overwhelmingly positive, but I guess that doesn't surprise me.

https://kotaku.com/horizon-zero-dawn-forbidden-west-ps5-reviews-ps4-releas-1848540093

I wonder how long I'm going to have to wait to play it.