Horizon Zero Dawn

I didn’t expect Horizon Zero Dawn to be this good. I doubt I’ll be the only one saying they were surprised that the Killzone developer has been able to deliver a game with such breadth, depth, and consistently rewarding gameplay.

Prehistoric meets futuristic

Across a vast and beautiful open world, Horizon Zero Dawn juggles many moving parts with polish and finesse. Its main activity - combat - is extremely satisfying thanks to the varied design and behaviors of machine-creatures that roam its lands, each of which needs to be taken down with careful consideration. Though side questing could have been more imaginative, its missions are compelling thanks to a central mystery that led me down a deep rabbit hole to a genuinely surprising - and moving - conclusion.

Horizon Zero Dawn is hands-down the best open world game available for the PS4, offering textures of an extremely high quality while maintaining a stable frame rate and providing one of the most impressive gaming experiences available on a console. The storyline is intriguing and will leave you wanting more, and coupled with phenomenal voice acting, provides something of an incredibly high standard. The combat mechanics are smooth and intuitive, allowing players to be creative when tackling the variety of Machines roaming the open world. Essentially, it’s a game that you’ll keep going back to, over and over again, if not for the intriguing story then for the gorgeous, varied open world.