A few weeks ago I gave you my first initial thoughts on "Horizon Zero Dawn." Since then I have completed many more hours of side quests, machine hunting and finished through the story. I have many thoughts on this game and what to expect later on in this franchise's future. My first article over my thoughts were not very fleshed out so this time, I will give you immense detail on what I think of the game. Let's get started!

Aloy's Story

The main character of "Horizon Zero Dawn", Aloy, is a bad ass machine hunter who was raised as an outcast from her main tribe due to being motherless. The event of being motherless is later on explored in Aloy's story has its unraveled. Aloy becomes very crucial in defeating an enemy that will eliminate all organic matter on Earth like it did when it was first created. Along Aloy's story, she forms alliances across the land that later one help her in the last mission.

The peak of the game's story results in a large battle against corrupted machines and the tribes that are against the enemies' evil forces. These forces will awaken more ancient machines and begin to eliminate the entire biomass of Earth. Unraveling this story through ancient recorded holograms was one of the best experiences in the game. I actually enjoyed it more than finishing the game. Finding more parts of the story on what happened to the old world was really excited for me and I wished there was more of it.

Throughout the game, the main part of the story is discovering those ancient recordings and finding out about ancient machines that took out the world. This part of the story was really exciting to me. I loved it. The ending, however, did not give me a sense of satisfaction. I really enjoyed fighting off the waves of corrupted machines with a big gun, but finishing off the final boss or the main enemy did not give me a sense of accomplishment. I really liked Aloy's story and where she came from. This made Aloy a very distinct character from any of the other characters in the game as well as other games.

Overall, Aloy's story is very original and makes you feel close to the character compared to other games. Her immense commitment throughout the game made her feel like a true bad ass. Her secrets are revealed slowly as she learns where she comes from and her purpose makes her character unique.

Machine Combat

Playing throughout the entire story has exposed me to many different types of machines. Each monstrous machine has its own weakness and critical components that require you to harness for different types of resources. Due to these different types of components and weaknesses, taking down these machines require different combat styles. For example, a Thunderjaw, one of the largest machines in the game, will require different weapon use than a Strombird would. Both of these machines have crazy abilities that will kill you if your not too careful.

The Stormbird, an eagle-like machine, is huge and may require you to use the ropecaster to tie it down. The ropecaster will allow the player to tie down the machine to keep it from running or flying off. The larger the machine the more rope it takes. The Stormbird will swoop down and make a bombing run of electric bombs that will cause Aloy to slow down and take damage. Of course, you can disable that ability by removing armor and giving that component a significant amount of damage. It will then cause the machine to attack you much closer rather than a from a distance. This close combat will cause you to change your tactics and will change how the bird reacts.

To keep on top of hunting, "Horizon Zero Dawn" has a basic, but good skill tree.The skills tree is very simple and enjoyable to work toward. Each skill gives you an edge against Aloy's enemies. The skills tree is divided up into three sections that include Prowler, Brave, and Forager. The Prowler section includes skills that will help you stay hidden from enemies and take out enemies silently. The Brave tree will give you the edge in combat by increasing the number of arrows you can shoot at once or by knocking more armor off of machines with your staff. Finally, the Forager skill tree hints to just what it improves, foraging. You can purchase skills here that help you recover more resources when foraging or abilities that help you get around the map.

In all, I really like this combat system. By using a machine's weaknesses and hitting their components off their bodies gives you an advantage over these towering machines. I remember the first time I took out my first Thunderjaw and Stormbird. They were very difficult to kill due to the amount of health they both have and their size. The combat system is very rewarding by being able to loot every component that comes off a machine or looting every human you take out. Higher leveled machines give you better rewards while smaller machines give you rewards respectively. This combat system is really good and is definitely a challenge making it a change from the typical open world combat.

Side Activities

After you have completed the story or even before you do, there are many different types of side quests you can perform. I have completed the story and have still not discovered the last machine. I hope to make that final discovery very soon. The map of this game is huge with four large parts of the map consisting of jungle, temperate forest, desert and snowy mountains. All of these areas hold their own secrets and discoveries. Some of these secret discoveries may be cauldrons which if infiltrated, you will unlock the ability to override specific machines. This will give you an edge against other machines and human enemies.

Other missions include tracking, resource gathering, and machine hunting. All of these side missions feel different and fresh from others. There are usually never too many repeating quests and they all seem to feel new. Hunting lodges give you fun side quests to master the hunting of specific machines by giving you challenges to complete in a specific time frame. These challenges are difficult and may take you some time to master them.

Final Thoughts

"Horizon Zero Dawn" is a great game. Coming from the creators of "Killzone", this studio has done very well in changing genres and delivering an awesome game full of great combat and a great story. The world of "Horizon Zero Dawn" is full of stories to explore and I cannot wait to see what else Guerrilla Games has to offer players. I recommend this game to everyone who is interested in great storytelling and gameplay mechanics because this game offers all of it.