HORIZON ZERO DAWN
Robot hunting at its most electric
For one shining moment, Guerrilla’s new action-RPG makes us completely forget who and where we are. We’re not sweaty journalists in a dark demo room, a halo of bustling E3 bodies pressing against the walls outside. Even the postapocalypse is an aged memory. All we see is the mountains, gold light, blurred green – and we’re running, flying, flowing towards our saving grace.
Our life depends on the machines that populate these plains. At least, it feels like it’s our neck that’s on the line: it’s really Aloy’s. But as we dash among twisted trees in this tiny, sun-shot, snow-speckled portion of the open world, the synthesis begins. The huntress’ powerful form and russet locks sway with tangible momentum. Our breathing mirrors hers. Alarmed, the deer-like Grazer we’ve tracked springs away – but we’re ready. We hit R3 to enter slo-mo Focus mode, then aim our bow at canisters on its exposed back. Exhale… and release.
HIDE AND SHRIEK
More effective than its colossal bosses and rich role-playing structure combined, the sheer vitality of Horizon Zero Dawn is astounding. It pulses and flows like nothing we’ve ever played. From the ballet of bobs, weaves and inch-perfect dodge rolls, to the sizzle of custom-crafted electric arrows and kerchunk of the tactically versatile ropecaster, fantastical
“WE DASH AMONG TWISTED TREES, OUR SYNTHESIS WITH ALOY BEGINS.”
things somehow feel real. We loot the cyber-corpse, snatching mission-critical components along with metal shards we can use to buy gear or craft ammo.
Suddenly, a strangled screech echoes through the valley. Panic-blind, we skid into nearby grass with r, praying for the Skyrim-esque stealth indicator eye at the bottom of our compass to close. A Watcher (a mini robo-T-rex with one eye and zero compassion) hops by our hideout, baffled. The eye shuts, the HUD fades, our heart-rate slows.
BAIT WATCHERS
The story’s set 1,000 years in the future (a mysterious “corruption” has infected once-peaceful machines), but we feel utterly present. Our scanner blows a shimmering geometric bubble outwards. Dotted lines indicate the Watcher’s intended path: away from us. Good. It also lights up a herd of bullish Broadheads on our right. Even better.
We scrabble over rocks, splash down into a sparkling stream and bring up a radial menu with o. Here’s where our ropecaster does its best work. As a tether thunks into the flank of one creature, the others scatter, leaving us to tie him down and scurry over. An option to kill the beast floats up. We poise Aloy’s spear… then flip it over. The back can be used to “override” certain machines, and – in a breathtaking moment that recalls taming Link’s horse Epona in Ocarina Of Time on the N64 – induces our new buddy to let us climb aboard. The D-pad even lets us whistle him over at will. It’s all very Legend Of Zelda.
Less Zelda is the unexpected return of our cyborg raptor pal, who’s drafted in a few Watcher mates for revenge. Hammering q has Aloy kick her heels repeatedly against the Broadhead, which breaks into a gallop as we crane around, bow in hand. A shot into an assailant’s eye staggers the bunch, but they’re fast. A flick of the thumbstick and we switch to the tripcaster, steadying our bucking reticule to shoot an electrified wire between rocks. Bingo. The pack falls.
PRIMAL DREAM
A crab-like machine in the distance intrigues us, so we hop off our mount to investigate. It’s swaggering under the weight of the hexagonal crates on its backs. Our scanner tells us it’s a Shell-Walker, its weak point is its shell-loosening clasp and – in case the giant serrated claw didn’t tell us – it’s “Hostile.”
After we fumble a potential shoot, loot ’n’ scoot move, a ten-minute battle rages. We’re getting shades of a techy, technicolour Dark Souls; deadly attacks (sweeps, charges and electrical groundpounds) are best evaded by accurate dodge rolls. Our Focus ability allows us to pick off his energy shieldwielding right claw with a high-damage fire arrow. A hastily crafted explosive trap finishes him.
When a hand on the shoulder pulls us back to reality, we look at the console, dazed. Guerrilla has already managed to conjure up something that feels exactly as responsive – as alive – as it looks on screen. If packaged alongside an incredible narrative, it’s set to be one of PS4’s finest achievements. Good videogames transport you to alternate worlds. Horizon Zero Dawn is as convincing as if you’d been born there as red-headed Aloy herself. It’s the RPG experience you’ve been hunting. Patience.
“WE’RE GETTING SHADES OF A TECHY, TECHNICOLOUR DARK SOULS IN THE BIGGER BOSS BATTLES.”