Horizon Zero Dawn PC Review: Still Great, Less Exclusive [UPDATED]

Update (Aug 7, 2020 10:40): The noted graphical issues below have been resolved by the pre-release patch for Horizon Zero Dawn on PC.

It’s fair to say that the PS4 has had its share of stunning exclusives. From God of War through to Bloodborne, the console’s been home to a number of incredible games. One of the best of these is Horizon Zero Dawn, which is now on the receiving end of a PC release.

Horizon Zero Dawn was developed by Guerrilla Games and was first released in 2017. It immediately became a standout title on the PS4, with gamers falling in love with its game world and characters. The announcement of a PC port came as a surprise, with some anger from PS4 users, but for PC players it was an opportunity to play an acclaimed game with the promise of bonuses like extra graphical enhancements, as well as DLC pack The Frozen Wilds.

It’s a good thing that those graphical enhancements are in place, too. Horizon Zero Dawn‘s game world is one of its strengths, with broad vistas and varied terrains that proved a major test of the power of the PS4 back in 2017. Although Horizon Zero Dawn shouldn’t be much of a strain for PC users three years from its initial release, the introduction of punchy texture, foliage and reflection options do take it up a notch, alongside a worthwhile benchmarking tool to get the best position between smooth gameplay and graphical quality.

Unfortunately the port to PC isn’t all roses. The review build of Horizon Zero Dawn for PC currently has the odd graphical issue, which could break immersion at times. This individual review witnessed occasional glitches, including stuttering during the game’s cut scenes and dialogue sections, with thankfully little impact within actual gameplay. Guerrilla advised that graphical issues should be resolved via a pre-launch patch on Thursday, so by the time the game launches this will be fixed. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take much away from the quality of the game world that Horizon Zero Dawn provides. Its future setting stands out from the crowd, with human settlements living in small tribes following an unknown disaster that destroyed civilization. Instead of bleak, dusty terrain, it’s a world where nature has taken back some measure of control.

There are, of course, the machines that also roam the lands. Moving and acting like living creatures, the machines of Horizon Zero Dawn intensify the game’s unique feel, flitting between the territorial but unaggressive Strider to the predatory Sawtooth and Thunderjaw. Between the natural world’s dominance, the primal technology of the human tribes, and the skulking beasts prowling the lands, it gives Horizon Zero Dawn an evocative feeling of the prehistoric.

The depth of Horizon Zero Dawn‘s game world isn’t just in its vegetation and wildlife, though, as its different hubs of human civilization are also part of the reason why the game is so hypnotic. From the technophobic Nora to the more mechanical Oseram, there’s a depth to the different cultures that come with an impressive scope of history. Most notably, Horizon Zero Dawn avoids the nihilism that so often plagues stories of the post-apocalypse, showing the potential co-operation between different groups in spite of there still being a large, human threat to overcome.

Part of this power comes from the game’s characters. Although they sometimes fall into the trap of being helpful info hubs to give the player context for the game world, a NPC staple as showcased in series like Mass Effect, on the whole the game carefully handles the constructed histories of each tribe through dialogue. Aloy, too, builds into this as a compelling main character with a mystery of her own to uncover.

Add the setting and characters to an intriguing core plot and Horizon Zero Dawn remains a winner. The game handles multiple strands well, with Aloy’s personal plot tying into both the immediate threat of the new world and the history of why civilization initially fell apart. It’s a tragic story but one with hope, albeit a hope that also includes extremely dangerous robots running amok.

It’s these machines that really make Horizon Zero Dawn a must play. All the good lore in the world wouldn’t make up for a dull gameplay experience, but the thrill of stalking and hunting down the machines is still spectacular on PC. An assortment of bows and tripwires are the player’s best bet at surviving in the wilderness, creating a sense of threat that successfully emulates a constantly shifting predator and prey dynamic.

Because Aloy is therefore vulnerable to attacks for most of the game, Horizon Zero Dawn has a tactical nature that few games can replicate. The player needs to learn the patterns and weaknesses of the varied machine types, particularly when up against the most challenging enemies like the always difficult Stormbird. It also helps that the game’s stealth mechanics are tied into the game world via Aloy’s Focus HUD, stopping it from becoming a jarring visual element like Far Cry‘s enemy tracking system.

The plot does force Aloy into fighting human enemies as well. This isn’t as engaging as the game’s machine battles, feeling a little more generic in terms of mixing thoughtful stealth combat with carefully-placed close combat. It works in a similar way to the more recent Assassin’s Creed games in terms of a focus on stealth, but with the ability to be more action-heavy if things go wrong – and doesn’t do a bad job of it.

Add this all together and Horizon Zero Dawn is still a compelling game. The addition of the impressive The Frozen Wilds DLC is a nice bonus, although the core story doesn’t need this to still work well standalone. This means that the PC port is a strong one – with the caveat that those graphical issues are fixed ahead of launch.

Horizon Zero Dawn is therefore a worthwhile buy for PC. It’s easy to see why – the game is still one of the best on the PS4 – although it’s unlikely that those who have previously played the game will feel the need to pick it up just because of its new PC home. If consumers missed out on this console exclusive because they didn’t own a PS4, however, it hasn’t lost any of its power since its initial release, and remains a must-play for those who’ve yet to experience it.

Horizon Zero Dawn releases August 7, 2020 for PC, and is out now for PlayStation 4. Screen Rant was provided with a PC download code for the purposes of this review.

About The Author

Rob Gordon
(637 Articles Published)

Rob Gordon is a writer and musician from Brighton, United Kingdom. A Creative Writing Masters graduate from the University of Exeter, Rob has his roots in fiction writing but also has extensive experience writing about video games and the video game industry. As well as this, Rob is at home with a focus on film and television, particularly when it comes to the realms of horror. Alongside his writing, Rob plays in two UK-based musical acts, the electro-pop band Palomino Club and rock band Titans & Kings, and also lends his vocal talents to the Big Boys Don’t Cry podcast, which reviews and discusses romantic comedies. The bands and the podcast can be found on all good digital distribution platforms, and Rob can also be found on Twitter.

More From Rob Gordon