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Horizon Zero Dawn Spoiler-free Impressions (for real this time)

E

Ellite25

Member
Every time I come into this thread I see no impressions (within a page or two of the end of the thread). I still don't know how people feel about it so far.
 
G

gundamkyoukai

Member
demogorgon said:
to be fair UC2 and TLOU are from devs that are very well loved with a huge following and lots of awards. it's a big difference to hype a ND game compared to a RAD game or Hello Games Game
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Truth is RAD PSP GOW games were good .
Which why i think people were hype for there first console game.
Man the order was such a let down .
Also ND before UC2 was no where near as big and had as many awards as they do now .
 
M

MegaSackman

Member
Ellite25 said:
Every time I come into this thread I see no impressions (within a page or two of the end of the thread). I still don't know how people feel about it so far.
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There's a lot of impressions already, people really like it. Don't know if every impression is on first post but probably most of them are, check it out.
 
D

demogorgon

Banned
Basileus777 said:
No it wasn't. There were endless threads even here on GAF about how poor it was looking in preview coverage. In fact many people blamed the press for unjustly giving a poor impression of the game.

The Order getting slammed in reviews wasn't really a surprise.
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WordsintheWater said:
No it was not, trust me, I would know. I defended that game on GAF a whole lot before it released.
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More_Badass said:
First preview that pops up when you search "The Order preview"
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thats what i meant. after people played it that changed. but on the reveal it was getting nothing but praise
I see 133 topics from Jan 2015 and older on GAF alone a majority of it being all praise. it changed drastically in Feb 2015 the release window month with 112 topics most of it negative.

Same with NMS that was hyped up like crazy until the reviews and people playing it
 
H

humansarehorses

Member
Nightengale said:
Never "feels" right for him, not his kind of game, never resonated, etc.

Very controls oriented player, he places big emphasis on how game feels to play.
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Which reads like bullshit. The GB team played Gravity Rush 2 incredibly poorly. They rightfully got chewed out for playing it badly and then shitting on the game for how it plays.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
demogorgon said:
thats what i meant. after people played it that changed. but on the reveal it was getting nothing but praise
I see 133 topics from Jan 2015 and older on GAF alone a majority of it being all praise. it changed drastically in Feb 2015 the release window month with 112 topics most of it negative.

Same with NMS that was hyped up like crazy until the reviews and people playing it
Click to expand...
Well, yeah? On the surface, it did look interesting. Nice graphics, Victorian London, lightning gun, werewolves.

I don't get the point you're making. People praised an interesting trailer and concept, and then people saw more gameplay, played said game, and criticized it
 
V

vivekTO

Member
Ellite25 said:
Every time I come into this thread I see no impressions (within a page or two of the end of the thread). I still don't know how people feel about it so far.
Click to expand...

I hope these helps

The Lamp said:
That makes sense Miami. The one time I tried it, 1 side quest was like 0.46% or something. Multiply by 5 and you get close to your number.

Coffee cups are...
a region where you can find an "ancient vessel," a rare item pick up for trading and upgrading and stuff. I bought a map upgrade to show me where they are. They're actually little coffee mugs and stuff from the distant past. Lol



Yes, includes tallneck.

Maybe the game is only counting time where you're not idle. That would be pretty intelligent. In that case I would agree that I've played 10 hours so far.

For those wondering about how good the side quests are, I have an example I just experienced. It was pretty great.

I was on my way to a cauldron when I ran across some bandits. Didn't know they were until they started attacking me. I defeated them and took their heavy weapon and figured I'd need it on the way to the cauldron.

On the way I find some braves who need help fighting machines because their back up brought the wrong ammo supply box. So I decide to help them.

After some intense fights with my heavy weapon, we notice someone from the group disappeared with some valuable supplies. They ask me to go find him.

I track his trail with my focus and find him not too far away. He explains that he's in debt and needs these supplies to save him from his debtors.

As he explains that, his neck is sliced by a new type of machine. It goes invisible and attacks you with remote controlled bombs and moves like a panther. A really thrilling machine I hadn't seen until just then during this Side quest,

I defeat the machine and return the supplies. Now I'm back on my way to the cauldron, but not without being paid handsomely :)
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Glassboy said:
The graphics are incredible. I don't know if you can even hit nighttime in the first area of the game. Once I got out of there I experienced the beauty of night. The moon and the lighting on the machines look especially incredible at night on my 4K hdr capable tv. I have been taking as many, if by more screenshots that Uncharted 4.

One small complaint is the transitions between weather can be a little harsh at times. One minute there was this heavy rainfall that was beating down and the wind was in full force then shortly after it was completely sunny and not overcast. It can be slightly jarring at times that's all.

The first 7 hours of the game remind me a decent amount of Far Cry 4. There the whole crafting and hunting aspect and the environment looks like Far Cry 4 on steroids. But you get the same tones and colors that are present in that game. I couldn't remember a damn thing about Far Cry 4's story, and thankfully that is not the case here

Yes, the facial animation can be slightly stilted at times but some of the dialogue is so interesting that I find myself going through every option available just to hear more about the world and mystery surrounding it. I already came across the infamous scene and yes it was bad. However, fear not, out of the dozens of other conversations I have had, I have not come across anything that I would say is close to being as poorly animated and voice acted as the infamous scene. I'm actually really digging the story so far and I'm really curious to see where they take it.

Also, Ashley Burch does an amazing job as Aloy. I always will pick the smartass dialogue option whenever it is available because her lines are always clever and her delivery is spot on. I can answer some questions if anybody has some. I am typing on mobile so it may take me a little longer.
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Musician655321 said:
Tfw you realize the optional bandit camps are more MGSV than Far Cry

sXBiN1m.jpg
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The Lamp said:
I like the sidequests so far. They're not elaborate schemes so far like a heist or something from GTAV but they have characters and lore and completing unique tasks with the core gameplay.
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MiamiWesker said:
Enemies take defeated enemy loot confirmed. I have the picture to prove it too. I will post stuff later. I have not seen ants yet, still investigating.

I can't access that location again so I can't tell if it had ants or not. The first area after the intro I see no ants on trees on regular, can pro people see if there are ants on trees outside the beginning
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Musician655321 said:
Ok now I'm starting to love it.

That first area is some Hinterlands shit. Just get the fuck out to where everything opens up.
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Musician655321 said:
I'm playing on Hard and I die after two hits.

ITS LIKE A SOULS GAME DUDE
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O

onemanasylum

Banned
demogorgon said:
thats what i meant. after people played it that changed. but on the reveal it was getting nothing but praise
I see 133 topics from Jan 2015 and older on GAF alone a majority of it being all praise. it changed drastically in Feb 2015 the release window month with 112 topics most of it negative.

Same with NMS that was hyped up like crazy until the reviews and people playing it
Click to expand...
People were hyped for the concept, but when people got to play it it was heavily criticized, not sure why you are doubling down on this. Comparing this to NMS or The Order is laughable. I mean what point are you even trying to makle?

Not hard to see it looked great at reveal, then people played it and things changed, not so with Horizon now is it.
 
C

Cow Goes Moo

Member
saying no man sky was hyped is true

however ignoring the fact that A LOT of people repeated the phrase, well before it's release

"but what do you do"

ad naseum

is disingenuous

a lot of people didn't buy into sean murray's vague descriptions




the equivalent of horizon would be ignoring valid criticisms when horizon does come up

"but guerilla hasn't made "great" games"
"bad writing"
"shadowfall sucked"

but it's so hyped!!!!
 
T

The Big N

Banned
Glad to see good impressions. As a long time Xbox/Nintendo owner this is one of the few games that tempted me to finally cave and pick up a Sony console.

Lets just say I was glad I read one spoiler and found out
you could tame and ride the dinobots
. Not gonna lie, this speaks to me. Curse Nintendo for releasing another console a week after this game came out! My wallet is already hurting, but I keep reaching in!
 
A

Audette

Member
Is it bad I want to know about the ending? A little burned by recent game
FFXV ending
.

I want a story that pays off. I like previously mentioned game for its gameplay but it's too bad the story was short, hurried and played a such a distant part of the sandbox style of the game.

I'm probably getting this instead of mass effect, so I'm hoping this is good. So far the previews have me in high hopes.
 
H

he who dwells

Member
I need someone to tell me if the music is god tier. Lamp said it gave him AC2 feeling so is the music on bar with that game? cause holy fucking shit if so.

Ambient music is sooo important.
 
O

onemanasylum

Banned
Jawbreaker said:
Can't wait for the reviews so we can get a lot of the bullshit out of the way.
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I think reviews will only bring out the Far cry with Robots, Ubisoft posters to be honest, that's the only way they can try and downplay it is my guess, as I am pretty sure it is going to review very, very well.
 
C

CopperPuppy

Member
he who dwells said:
I need someone to tell me if the music is god tier. Lamp said it gave him AC2 feeling so is the music on bar with that game? cause holy fucking shit if so.

Ambient music is sooo important.
Click to expand...

Am curious about this as well. Would really sell me on the game if it could capture a similar atmosphere through ambient music.

Any footage that would show this?
 
D

demogorgon

Banned
onemanasylum said:
People were hyped for the concept, but when people got to play it it was heavily criticized, not sure why you are doubling down on this. Comparing this to NMS or The Order is laughable. I mean what point are you even trying to makle?

Not hard to see it looked great at reveal, then people played it and things changed, not so with Horizon now is it.
Click to expand...

my only point was that many games get overly hyped or overly trashed. especially when it comes to exclusives due to the immaturity of fanboys. 90% of people hyping or trashing the game aren't gonna buy it or don't even own the system.

Personally I'm hyped for horizon. I don't think it'll be a a situation like the order. I got my pre-order in for it like a week or so ago. But i hype things based on how they look. I don't have a platform alliance.
 
N

NathanDiego

Member
onemanasylum said:
I think reviews will only bring out the Far cry with Robots, Ubisoft posters to be honest, that's the only way they can try and downplay it is my guess, as I am pretty sure it is going to review very, very well.
Click to expand...

The haters will change the speech, they will say it is "overrated","honeymoon phase","I don't trust reviews",haters always gonna hate.
 
K

Kiro

Member
Can you change the difficulty in the middle of the game? I'd like to start pretty hard and lower it if need be.
 
T

The Lamp

Member
he who dwells said:
I need someone to tell me if the music is god tier. Lamp said it gave him AC2 feeling so is the music on bar with that game? cause holy fucking shit if so.

Ambient music is sooo important.
Click to expand...

It has great ambient music and soundtrack. I was impressed.

The Horizon theme is catchy and implemented at several points. It's not Ezio's Family but it's nice :)
 
M

More_Badass

Member
demogorgon said:
my only point was that many games get overly hyped or overly trashed. especially when it comes to exclusives due to the immaturity of fanboys. 90% of people hyping or trashing the game aren't gonna buy it or don't even own the system.

Personally I'm hyped for horizon. I don't think it'll be a a situation like the order. I got my pre-order in for it like a week or so ago. But i hype things based on how they look. I don't have a platform alliance.
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I'd argue most people hype things based on how they look. They vastly outnumber the people who get excited for something just because of platform
 
V

vivekTO

Member
Wow!! sony is really going hard on leaks, received three DMCA takedown notice for dropbox,imgur and drive within a day. I should stop linking pics and videos now :p
 
P

Primethius

Banned
vivekTO said:
Wow!! sony is really going hard on leaks, received three DMCA takedown notice for dropbox,imgur and drive within a day. I should stop linking pics and videos now :p
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Sony's brutal about that stuff.

I had a copyright takedown for uploading the credits of UC4 early (just the credits) back when folks were trying to figure out Crash rights and all that.
 
J

Jawbreaker

Member
onemanasylum said:
I think reviews will only bring out the Far cry with Robots, Ubisoft posters to be honest, that's the only way they can try and downplay it is my guess, as I am pretty sure it is going to review very, very well.
Click to expand...

Meh, at that point it's easier to just laugh at desperate attempts to downplay the game.

HeisenbergWW62 said:
Zelda will review higher regardless if it's better than Horizon or not and people will just point to that and say Horizon sucks
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If it manages to score relatively close to Zelda, that'd be a huge compliment for Guerrilla Games — a developer taking their first stab at an open world title with a brand new IP. The Zelda series is among the all-time greats, so expecting this to surpass it is setting expectations way too high. People who bring that argument (if Horizon does indeed score lower) shouldn't be taken seriously. I would expect more of a shit show if the opposite happens regarding scores. Mainline Zelda titles are expected to score above 90.
 
B

Blobbers

Member
Reading the impressions and the general tone of the thread it seems this is by far GG's greatest game yet, with quality of combat comparable to Dragon's Dogma, the narrative is good even in sidequests kinda like in The Witcher 3 and the opening is great but then the game opens up and really becomes something special. The game is long but not too long. A 90+ on MC would not be surprising at this point.

Alright gaf, I'm properly hyped. This is now my second most anticipated game of the gen after Bloodborne.
 
J

Jawbreaker

Member
Ellite25 said:
Every time I come into this thread I see no impressions (within a page or two of the end of the thread). I still don't know how people feel about it so far.
Click to expand...

Badass is doing a great job of keeping the OP up-to-date, so that's really all you need to read if you want detailed impressions.
 
G

GifGafIsTheBestGaf

Member
sleepr said:
The load times with a standard HDD from PS4 are around 15 seconds for respawn and 33 seconds fast travel.
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nice, i dont expect any less from the devs that best used PlayGo and other features of the PS4 to it's best even better than ND

how fast from game icon in your ps4 to playing the game?
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
More_Badass said:
Well, yeah? On the surface, it did look interesting. Nice graphics, Victorian London, lightning gun, werewolves.

I don't get the point you're making. People praised an interesting trailer and concept, and then people saw more gameplay, played said game, and criticized it
Click to expand...
Also, if I remember correctly there were a few comments from the developers that raised some eyebrows (we focus on narrative instead of gameplay), things like that. Then some previews started coming in and you could read (sometimes between the lines, sometimes more explicitly) about certain issues. Then the reviews/impressions came in and that was it.

edit: I see you covered this in the last page.

Anyway, pretty happy about the impressions so far, thank you guys for sharing. I'm considering breaking my "no day one" rule and buying this game next week after the reviews come out. Hype!
 
S

SlasherJPC

Banned
Sorry I'm quite in the thread but I'm at work, can't post, and only now at lunch am I able to say a little.

Horizon wasn't a hugely hyped game for me. It looked great and the premises was very interesting to me. That said having played for 4 hours and still in the "intro" area, I'll admit I'm loving it.

Yes the ambient soundtrack and music is wonderful. There was one moment where I was out exploring, turned around a corner and saw a huge heard of beast. It made me stop and sort of have a "oh crap" moment. That's not to say the encounters have been super hard as of yet but strength in numbers, it was still impressive to see as I dived to hide in a bush.

One thing that really sell me on open world's is just a sense of place and environmental feeling and build up. Red Dead was huge on this for me, as was Witcher 3. I don't know yet if Horizon has hit me quite as strong as those two, but it's giving me those similar feels already and hoping the end of the intro area seals the deal and when the game truly opens up.

Anyways, just some more minor thoughts for now. I really just have to play more this weekend!
 
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