I remember being absolutely awestruck when the initial trailers of this game first came out, back around 2017, I think. The setting of the game near instantaneously stood out to me; something that was clearly post-apocalyptic while still having a thriving human society. I was also playing Fallout 3 around that time, so having a world set so far in the future that the world apparently managed to heal just a bit was intriguing, to say the least.
Also, there were robot dinosaurs in the game. Instant favourite.
Alas, my obsession with the game was short-lived, since it was a Playstation exclusive. Damn it Sony! Never before had I been as tempted to try and get a PS4 for myself. I would have, too, if not for the fact that I was in college at that time with no access to a television. I was also broke.
3 years later guerrilla Studios decides to create a PC Port, putting the game on Epic and Steam. I had a discount coupon for Epic at the time, so I thought the time had come for me to finally give this a shot.
Needless to say, the wait was worth it.
Long story short, I have not come across a more stellar example of world-building and lore in recent memory.
The game puts you in the shoes of Aloy, an outcast from a tribe nestled in the midst of idyllic mountains reminiscent of the Alps. At first glance as a player, you might think you’re playing a game set in a tribal era thousands of years in the past, with characters wearing furs and face paint, with no discernible technology to speak of. Focus just a bit and you’ll notice certain oddities in the garb worn by characters all around you. You’ll notice metal head gear. Metal gauntlets. Metal shoulder guards. All consisting of a style in sharp contrast with their other accessories. You’ll realize that their metal gear could be fashioned from the parts of a spaceship today, or automobiles, or anything of the sort. Certain tribes today wear accessories made from animal bone; these tribes possess something similar albeit made of metal.
This brings me to my personal favourite aspect of the world in Horizon: Zero Dawn, the machines.
The wildlife here (if you could call it that) primarily comprises of small fauna like boars, foxes and goats, with the vast majority of beasts being these fascinating bio-robot hybrids. They’re known simply as machines by the locals, and boy oh boy are they in abundance. You’ll come across tiny machines responsible for scouting for threats, to herds of machines similar to the bovines found in our world, grazing peacefully, to scavengers lurking at the edges of a grazing spot waiting for an opportunity, to apex predators varying from t-rex lookalikes to pterodactyls. If you do get the opportunity to get close to these machines, you’ll witness how lovingly they’ve been crafted, how intricately they’ve been designed. Each type of machine stands out from the rest, from design to behaviour.
Speaking of coming up close to machines…
Since machines are a dime a dozen in this world set thousands of years in the future, society has evolved around the proximity of these machines. As a member of said society, you of course need to interact with these machines.
Did I say interact? I meant hunt, of course. This is a tribal society, after all. They’ve got bows and spears!
Hunting a machine, no matter how many times you do it, simply never gets old. The sheer plethora of machines available means that as an adept hunter you’ll need to fight every machine differently. Some machines will be intensely aggressive, while others may be mildly threatening. Some will be content to fire a few shots at you and then back off, while others will hunt you down till the ends of the earth.
The variety in design means that you need to adapt on the fly, scanning the target for weak spots constantly till it becomes second nature to you. Taking out a massive combat-class machine from miles away bit by bit, slowly stripping away its armour and weapons till you close in for the kill never ceases to amaze me. The game thrives on making each encounter feel different. Some machines will have buffs, making them stronger, more aggressive, or more resilient. Other machines nullify stealthy approaches. Hell, even the terrain leads to a different hunt each time. Flat terrains facilitate putting down traps for machines and baiting them onto mines. Hilly terrains facilitate the more traditional stealthy approach. Flying machines rain down hellfire upon you if you’re not quick enough.
I could go on and on about the absolute joy I’ve had in my encounters with machines, not all of them intentional.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke
The above quote serves well to describe the attitude of the locals towards machines and any remnants of technology in general. Hell, they even interpret error messages as messages from their gods. It is truly fascinating.
The true strength of the game lies in the way they ease us, players of the 21st century, into a version of our planet thousands of years in the future. From the get-go, you can’t help but wonder what exactly went wrong, and how mankind thousands of years in the future resembles mankinds thousands of years before civilization. There’s this big void in the history of the world, and discovering its story is incredibly fulfilling.
The true meaning behind Zero Dawn is one of the best reveals I’ve come across.
The game isn’t flawless. I wish we learned more about what the present is, instead of learning about the past. I do wish I could’ve cared for the side characters a bit more. Perhaps an argument could be made for Aloy to be a bit of a Mary Sue.
Despite this, though, Zero Dawn is one for the history books, and I cannot wait to be tempted to get a PS5 once Horizon: Forbidden West comes out. It’s a game that ignites a spark of curiosity within you, compelling you to find out how the world you’re in came to be.
It is a coming of age story that gradually turns into a mad scramble to save the world while figuring out the truth behind things being taken for granted, and it is a ride that will leave you in awe.
Forbidden West has big shoes to fill.
