Horizon Zero Dawn
I pretty much loved the game. A lot of it is fairly "standard" open world fare. There are collectibles that can be traded for items (or item boxes). There are walking tower robots to climb and override in order to show more of the map. There are scattered bandit camps to be cleared and timed challenge hunting missions that can be optionally done. There are resources to collect for making ammunition and crafting expansions to the various storage bags. There are skills to unlock as you level up and earn experience. There are a ton of side quests around the map...
What stood out to me, though, were the story missions and cauldrons. The latter are underground robot factories that tend to include a combination of platforming and combat resulting in a sort of boss battle and gaining the ability to override a new set of machines. Really any exploration of "old ones" facilities was extra interesting to me.
I don't want to say too much on the main story (though perhaps it's not so spoilery after a couple years?), but it proved a really solid science fiction tale. Some things were apparent to me as a player much earlier than they were to Aloy as a character, but there's still a sense of discovery along the way. There were a few "holy shit" moments as certain details of the past became clear and the magnitude of some things became apparent. The pacing of those reveals felt pretty good, though that may vary depending on how much a player focuses on the main story quests versus all the side activities. And while I was worried the story might wrap up all the main questions, it managed to reach a reasonable conclusion without doing that. A lot of questions remain for sequel exploration including the huge one of what, precisely, set the current events into motion.
I could take or leave the tribal aspects of the setting. They fit okay, but I'm far more interested in exploring the underlying "ancient" technological base. And that makes me want to see more. I don't think I've seen any official notice of a sequel, but I think there's a good chance of it and I hope I get to see it.
What stood out to me, though, were the story missions and cauldrons. The latter are underground robot factories that tend to include a combination of platforming and combat resulting in a sort of boss battle and gaining the ability to override a new set of machines. Really any exploration of "old ones" facilities was extra interesting to me.
I don't want to say too much on the main story (though perhaps it's not so spoilery after a couple years?), but it proved a really solid science fiction tale. Some things were apparent to me as a player much earlier than they were to Aloy as a character, but there's still a sense of discovery along the way. There were a few "holy shit" moments as certain details of the past became clear and the magnitude of some things became apparent. The pacing of those reveals felt pretty good, though that may vary depending on how much a player focuses on the main story quests versus all the side activities. And while I was worried the story might wrap up all the main questions, it managed to reach a reasonable conclusion without doing that. A lot of questions remain for sequel exploration including the huge one of what, precisely, set the current events into motion.
I could take or leave the tribal aspects of the setting. They fit okay, but I'm far more interested in exploring the underlying "ancient" technological base. And that makes me want to see more. I don't think I've seen any official notice of a sequel, but I think there's a good chance of it and I hope I get to see it.
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