ADSactly Game Review - Horizon Zero Down
Horizon Zero Dawn
There is something truly inspirational, maybe more of a child like excitement one feels, when you are thrust into brand new story, rich with well conceived lore, spectacular detail and terrifying creatures.
Horizon Zero Dawn is just that kind of game, it is what the 1871 anthropologist, Edward Taylor, would describe as the Hero's journey. A tale that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed. The perfect balance to a story, writers have used this impeccable synergy since tales were told, from J.R.R. Tolkien to George Lucas have mentioned the use of this formulate, as a fundamental in their story telling. The reason is, that it works, something that Hollywood and Rian Johnson, needs to be reminded of again. Sorry, I didn't mean to go there, think happy thoughts Mork.
The game instills an unshakeable sense of urgency in you, right from the beginning of the game, everything is cloaked in mystery, and this is a huge driving force in the game. The need to solve the mystery that lies in the heart of this game would at times would hinder you, as you go off on side quests, rushing through them to get back to the main story line.
Horizon Zero Dawn is set in the future, somewhere is the 31st century, no one seems to know exactly, but people have regressed to a primitive tribal like society.
Why things have gotten to this is also one of the big mysteries that slowly unfolds as you progress through the game. The humans in this world have been completely reduced to a tribal state, and each tribe has their own identity, social hierarchy and beliefs, based on their view of the nature and the world around them. There's seems to be no knowledge of the human existence before them, and refer to the technologically advanced predecessors as the "Old Ones." The developers really added an beautiful layer of lore in the game, as you would walk though the villages, you could listen to elders telling children tales of the gods, monsters and those that came before them.
"While her people bickered, she was the only one who took responsibility. The only one who could." - Aloy
When is comes to the surrounding, it is just breathtaking, it feels like you have gone on the ultimate holiday visiting the best places there are to go in the world.
The old world is very much present, but like the monuments we have from ancient civilizations, so too have our city skyscrapers become relics slowly eroding away with time in this world. Nature has intertwined itself with these structures from a forgotten time, is at times stunningly beautiful and horrific at the same time. The graphics of this are on a next level and I wish I could have played the game on a 4K TV.
The story is centered around our character Aloy, a young vibrant, red haired little girl, an orphan, who is for some mysterious reason cast out and shunned by the the Nora tribe at birth.
She is raised by outcast named Rost, who teaches her to survive is this very harsh and dangerous world, fraught with danger around every turn. We follow her journey as she grows from a baby to teen, to a young warrior women, early on in the game. The playable prologue, which is basically your introduction the the play dynamics, follows Aloy on her first hunting expedition when she is still but a small child. She gets lost in a cave of the Old Ones, a forbidden place to enter, while there she she obtained a Focus, a small augmented reality device that gives her special perceptive abilities. This Focus gives her a almost super ability, which in this world, is very much needed. You have probably been wondering when I would get to it, what are the machines?
The large robotic creatures known merely as "machines" which now dominate the Earth.
Where did they come from? This again is one of the driving mysteries among many that you uncover as you progress though the game, answers only the Old Ones can answer. For the most part, these majestic creatures peacefully coexist with humans, who occasionally hunt them for parts. However, a phenomenon known as the "Derangement" has caused machines to become very aggressive towards humans, and larger and deadlier machines have begun to appear. This is where Horizon’s combat is the most compelling feature, thanks to the variety of 26 different species of animal-like machines that roam throughout the world.
Each of these machine species require a very unique tactical approach strategy to defeat, and to me this was some of the most fun parts of the game. These beasts have several weak points that can be scanned using Aloy’s Focus, and hitting different points can have different results that change the way a fight plays out. These robotic beasts are authentically animal like, and where the developer AI thoroughly impressed me.
Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing, third person game developed by Guerrilla Games, who previously made Killzone Shadow Fall, one of the first PS4 games I ever played.
The game is publish by Sony Entertainment, so because of this, and all that Sony money, it is unfortunately a PlayStation 4 exclusive title, sorry. I would defiantly put Horizon on my personal top three games list of 2017, it's a riveting experience from start to finish. The story was the driving force that made the experience wonderful, the character Aloy's personality, got me caring about her in a more personal way. I really have to commend the the developers for putting together a really well written character, who's sarcastic and quirky interactions felt very human to me.
Overall a stunning game, that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to get lost in a great adventure, in a visually delicious scary world.
In case you missed it, here is the previous game review
Thanks for popping in, hope you liked the post. Please leave me your thoughts and or opinions in the comments below, have a beautiful day.
Game review for ADSactly by MorkRock
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Who doesnt love HZD. Imagine a brilliant meshing of Far Cry and Assassin's Creed—this is the best possible way to help one understand the incredible world of Horizon: Zero Dawn. From start to finish, H:ZD is flawless. The graphics are dope. What i love most about it is that the plot is driven by present day anxieties.
I liked the part you said
The story was the driving force that made the experience wonderful, the character Aloy's personality, got me caring about her in a more personal way. I really have to commend the the developers for putting together a really well written character, who's sarcastic and quirky interactions felt very human to me.
Aloy stumbles across holograms that depict the end of our world in ways that I found surprisingly moving. And when she learns of the small group of scientists who hatched a plot to remake the world, their brilliance — and their daring electrified me.
Awesome review. Thanks @velimir for inviting me here. I have so many thing in common with the adsactly society. I enjoy the posts alot.
Thank you very much for your amazing comments, and great addition.
Very interesting, I've not played video games on a console for some time. Though your post makes a compelling argument to do so. My thoughts are mostly philosophical around the story and it's components.
Suppose the time is the 31st century, probably humans had built computers and machinery to do so much for them, people forgot how to do all the technological magic. Only a hundred years away from that date ourselves if guess. Since there are still machines and they appear to have various forms. I'll hypothesize they likely have an origin machine and creator machine which still exists. Though I'd not likely to let you see it since it's probably got the machines networked, though this is not Terminator, it appears to have similar undertones. Post technological world did not manage to maintain it's knowledge and feel from power. Something that has happened numerous times in our history so far.
Let's try to maintain our knowledge and coordination so future life need not live in these harsh conditions.
I nearly forgot to mention simulation theory, this game appears amazingly realistic, at what point do the characters in game gain enough code to perceive their world such that they are considered Conscious? What could they do to examine their world to determine if it is in fact coded or "real"?
I guess we just have to play it to know.
Very good hypothesis, can't give anything away, best get the game.
You are doing game reviews too??
Best account on Steemit, no doubt.👍
hahaah :D very nice game
SUBLIME!!!! Graphically at the top !! History to spend sleepless nights !! Frankly I have a PC with good power but here we have something really good quality I could not exploit it in 4K HDR Horizon is in its infancy but when you see what he does for a start c is just monstrous. It even puts in a lot more games and not only by its graphics.
Excellent graphics.
SUPER GAME !!!
sounds you are also a game lover, my bf also a game lover.
i Must buy game
wow really? hope you'll enjoy it 😊
its a beautiful game
This looks like a great game and I've been meaning to get around to it for a while. I'll have to pick it up soon.
You should do a review on Wolfenstein 2. :)
Thanks for the content. I upvoted and followed. Keep it coming.
Thanks for the recommendation, just did review on Wolfenstein 1, will definitely do that sometime soon.