Full Game Review

This is Game8's review for Horizon Zero Dawn. Check our game rating and learn how we rated the game based on its story, gameplay, graphics, and its other features. See for yourself whether the game is worth picking up or not!

Horizon Zero Dawn Review Score

Horizon Zero Dawn Review

Gameplay

Layered and Intense Combat

One of the best aspects of Horizon Zero Dawn is its deep combat system. With several weapons to equip, each with different types of ammo, allowing you to approach any combat situation in multiple ways. Ranged weapons feel powerful and pack a punch, and you'll never get tired of tying an enemy down with your Ropecaster or luring enemies into well placed tripwires. There are even traps you can set that further expand your arsenal. With all these tools, boss battles can turn into puzzles as you try to figure out what tools you should use to exploit weaknesses.

A small downside with the combat, however, is the unreliability of using melee. It feels like the melee targeting system doesn't register properly, and you can find yourself at times just wildly swinging at the air. Additionally, executing a Critical Strike on downed enemies sometimes proved unresponsive. A better mixture of melee and ranged combat during encounters would've elevated this game further, but instead you'll find it better to just dodge out of close combat and continue using your bow rather than rely on your spear.

List of Equipment

Intuitive Crafting

Crafting systems in open world gamees can sometimes be detrimental if they slow the game down or even halt gameplay entirely. Nothing's worse than having to pause during combat just to look for an item you need. Thankfully, Horizon Zero Dawn's crafting system is smooth and easy to use. You can pick up resources and craft ammo or traps on the fly within a matter of seconds.

List of Items

Repetitive Side Quests And Activities

While many of the side activities in the game, such as clearing dungeons and revealing the map by going up a vantage point, are done in other open-world games, Horizon Zero Dawn tries to keep them fresh in their own way. Dungeons here are called Cauldrons and provide a mix of combat and puzzles, and the map revealing vantage points come in the form of Tallnecks, giant machines that roam set parts of the world. These unique quirks are appreciated but aren't enough when reaching them requires repeatedly crouching in bushes waiting for enemies to approach to clear the way forward.

Side quests are particularly repetitive as they mostly boil down to fetch quests. They can be boring to play through as you're endlessly told to go to an area, find or defeat something, then go back to claim your reward. While some offer insights into minor characters and the world, these largely felt like missed opportunities to provide more context about the world Aloy occupies, as they could've been more fleshed out mini-adventures similar to side quests in The Witcher 3.

List of Side Quests

Art & Graphics

Beautiful Environments

Whether it's the lush greens of The Embrace, the arid dunes of Rustwash, or the snow-tipped peaks of The Longroam, the game never stops leaving you in awe of its visuals. The world imagined in a post-apocalyptic 31st Century is richly realized, and each region is so different in its environment that you never feel like you've seen the same thing twice.

Varied Enemies

Each enemy type is distinct with entirely unique designs, which helps keep every battle fresh even when you're hours into the game. Their movements feel natural, and their reactions to being tied down or stunned can make you feel a tinge of regret, as they almost feel like live animals, until you remember that they are cold unfeeling machines that feed on biomass.

List of Enemy Machines

Game Length

Perfect Main Story Length

The main story never overstays its welcome, and you'll be entertained all throughout with everything that happens. There's never any downtime or boring sequence as you play through main quests, thanks to its careful build-up and introduction to new parts of the world. There's always something new introduced with each quest so by the time it concludes you'll be more than satisfied with your journey.

Story Walkthrough: List of Main Quests

Tons of Content

The game's bursting with content, from Collectibles, to Cauldrons, to all the Errands and Side Quests you can do, you definitely won't come away from the game feeling like you paid too much. There's even New Game+ to look forward to after you finish the game, a perfect reason to test out harder difficulties for a bit of challenge.

However, it encounters many of the same pitfalls other open-world games fall into, bloating itself with side content. As previously mentioned, having all this content isn't enough if the activities all feel alike. If not for the great combat system and main story, they would've started to feel like chores instead of fun side-tracks from the main quests.

Story

A Narrative Triumph

The lore and backstory of the game are so well-crafted that you'd have forgiven it if the main story fell short. And yet, even that's consistently compelling and will keep you guessing as to what happens next. The plot's slow reveal will keep you invested in the narrative beats, and there are numerous memorable side characters to anchor the story in the humanity that can be found in a machine-infested world.

This is all led by a wonderful main protagonist in Aloy. You will be enveloped in her coming-of-age story as she begins to grapple with her place in the world, slowly transitioning from outcast to hero. Her inexperience with being outside her home keeps you on the same page as her when she encounters new, terrifying machines, or travels to parts unknown. All in all, she's one of the best videogame protagonists and the highlight of a great game.

List of Characters

Horizon Zero Dawn Related Guides

Horizon Zero Dawn News and Game Info