Horizon: Zero Dawn

[daniel77733]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Shu kept saying 2016 whenever he was asked about it so that's pretty much why it's being listed as a delay.

February 28th, 2017 is fine by me but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets delayed an extra few weeks but stays in March. Horizon looks great and reminds me a lot of Enslaved which I enjoyed a lot. And seeing that there's a limited edition as well as a collector's edition tells me that Sony is going all out for this new IP and hoping to position it as one of the faces of PlayStation going forward.

With all of that said, im disappointed that it was delayed but at the same time, I was expecting it once Gran Turismo Sport had it's release date finalized and announced.

Horizon looks great and it's definitely a pre-order and release day pickup for me. It should also do good sales wise as February/March is usually a good time for a new IP to launch. Still hoping Sony shows a long gameplay video next Monday at E3.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Still cannot delay without an official date, regardless who says what. Otherwise it is just 'targeting'. I know semantics and all.

'Pushed Back' would be the proper, and Joystiq Twitter was the only one to use the proper terminology in a sea of semantical interpretations.

Agreed about the strategy and allowing more polish.

[Smallville102001]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

The more polish the better. Sony always strategically places games outside of the 3rd Party Holiday Season.

The box art for both Collector's and Regular are fantastic!

This is the first I had even heard of a collectors edition. Didn't know they where doing one.

[MarvellousOne]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Other than Final Fantasy 15 this is my most anticipated game on my long list. Was hoping it would come out this year but oh well just gives me more time to play ff15

[Sandman42]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

The lead from Guerilla Games said it was a delay, here's his post on the PS Blog

As you can see in the trailer, we’ve decided to push the release date for Horizon Zero Dawn to February 28, 2017. It wasn’t an easy choice to make; we know many of you have been anxious to play the game since we first announced it. However, we also want to ensure that Horizon Zero Dawn lives up to the visuals and gameplay quality that our games are known for. The new date affords us the extra time required to deliver fully on our ambitious vision for Horizon Zero Dawn.

We realize that this decision may not please everyone. At the same time, we’re confident that the advantages of the additional development time afforded by the new date will become clear in the coming months, as we start to share more cool details and videos from Horizon Zero Dawn. We really, really appreciate your patience and continued support, and look forward to bringing you the best game we possibly can in February 2017.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/06/06/horizon-zero-dawn-new-trailer-new-release-date/

Nothing wrong with sites reporting it was delayed. Pushing the date back and a delay mean the same things to me, especially if they were originally targeting 2016.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Well, the story has my interest. I would like to see more gameplay to confirm my anticipation, though.

[daniel77733]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Well, the story has my interest. I would like to see more gameplay to confirm my anticipation, though.

Be sure to watch Sony's press conference as there a long gameplay segment scheduled for the game. The trailer yesterday was so they could announce the "delay" before E3 as opposed to having "February 28th, 2017" at the end of the gameplay video at E3 since majority of gamers would end up talking more about the delay as opposed to what they just watched. Smart move to get the delay out of the way. Now, everyone knows and can just enjoy the gameplay that they will show on Monday night.

[TrustedDegree4]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Was thinking about this game the other day but forgot the name until a commercial popped up. It looking phenomenal and cant wait to get lost in the world. As long as the games good and polished at launch i could care less how long it delayed. Can't wait to play this and Ghost Recon Wildands.

[SportsGamer94]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Raw gameplay, the game looks incredible!

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[The JareBear]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Gameplay footage from E3 is amazingggg

[MarvellousOne]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Raw gameplay, the game looks incredible!

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I just can't wait, this game is on the top of my list to purchase. Really looks amazing!

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

I'm impressed by the different types of weapons and skills you have. It creates a lot of different strategies to keep the game fresh imo.

[daniel77733]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Copied from neogaf, e3 preview and hands on -

Aloy can even reprogram robots herself, although this is apparently a skill learnt a little way into the game, and we note that the demo characters are both already at level 14. As the would-be demon proves a little too much for her, Aloy is set off to find a wildebeest-like robot which she reprograms to become her mount – which she can ride around on and still fire her bow from. Soon enough the demon is brought down, in part also thanks to grapples that fix into the ground and prevent it from jumping.

Aloy jumps and rolls around the landscape with an agility and fluidity that is significantly different from the clunky combat of something like The Witcher 3. There’s a minor stealth element too, where you can duck down and hide in long grass, or creep up on robots from behind for an instant kill. As such, the female lead and use of a bow also brings to mind the modern Tomb Raider games.

When it comes to this world, we've apparently not seen anything yet, either. Guerrilla has revealed that there will be ancient cities to explore and vast old remains of previous civilisations, complete with long dead human inhabitants. We've only encountered small settlements so far, but in her quest to find the answers of her heritage, Aloy will explore enormous areas that once belonged to her original non-robot hunting ancestors. The studio is remaining tight lipped on details but says some of these will be tied into the narrative, others will just be uncovered through exploration.

Adding further depth to its open world, Horizon doesn't just have a main narrative to explore. Side quests of all sorts fill that enormous map just screaming 'waste hours in me.' And Guerrilla knows it. “You might notice some of the blue diamonds [marking missions]. Each one of those is a side quest," explains the lead quest designer. "You can talk to people and figure out what their problem is, give them some help if they need it. We have a hierarchy of quests."

"We have the main story and then below that we have Tribe quests which are kind of national level. So think of each of these tribes having big picture problems that affect everyone. Then below that there are the more personal stories. Those are some of the things that we’ll see in a place like Mother’s Crown where someone has something that’s very important to them - it’s very urgent but it doesn’t affect the entire world.”

Aloy is part of the Nora Tribe, which is but one tribe of several in the game. They're not incredibly advanced, technologically, but Aloy has a special device which allows her to track the robots in any given area, to see their patrol lines, and to scan them for any goodies they might possess. Other tribes will occupy larger settlements, which can be visited – though not all of the other humans in the game will be friendly towards Aloy. Also available for investigation, sometimes with story relevance and sometimes just for fun, will be the ruins of our Earth as we know it today – Horizon is set 1,000 years after an unspecified cataclysmic event, called simply "the fall", turned everything to ****, and nature has very much reclaimed the planet, albeit alongside these strange machines. Expect to see familiar wildlife sharing grazing areas with the robots. "Robots have become part of the ecology," we're told.

Aloy's pretty handy when it comes to a scrap, but she's certainly not invincible. Robot attacks, even from the more docile variants, cause a lot of damage, so the player must keep Aloy moving in combat situations. One great way to do this is to convert a machine to serve as a mount. I do this with a Broadhead, rather like a bull, as seen in the E3 2016 gameplay trailer, but you can also switch the more aggressive Watchers to your side, and they'll fight beside you. Riding the Broadhead around a luscious, verdant environment really had me thinking back to The Witcher 3, and all the wonderful depth that game offered last year.

Aloy also has multiple melee abilities, including a power attack where she slams down a blade onto her enemy with extreme force. In addition to these, Aloy has throwable bombs, one of which is a fire bomb that spreads a blaze upon enemies and an ice bomb that slows down enemies for a period of time. She's also very nimble, able to dive, roll, and slide in some circumstances to avoid attack. The game also makes use of several audio cues, including intensifying music, to help let you know when trouble is nearby.

In the demo I saw, Aloy was already outfitted with some powerful abilities. As with other RPGs, you unlock these as you progress, and you can decide how to fill out your skill tree. This was only referenced, but not discussed at any length in the demo. However, a cool feature is that the skill tree menu will show you Aloy performing her abilities before you decide to assign one.

Outside of her weapon arsenal, Aloy has a scanning ability that lets her look over a scene and see where enemies are and what loot they will drop. This also provides information about what level the enemy is and what kind of attacks they are most susceptible to. This is pivotal information to have when determining which enemies to take on and which you might want to run away from. As for the loot, Machines drop Shards when you kill them, which can be spent when you return to town to buy weapons and clothing, among other things. Additionally, Zero Dawn has a crafting system, though Guerrilla is not yet sharing any specifics on the nature or extent of this.

During a hands-on session that followed the demo, I got to try out some of Aloy's ranged and melee abilities in a sequence where I was challenged to complete a number of objectives. These included things like taking down a set number of watchers and overriding bigger creatures and then riding them to attack a group of other Machines. It was intense and challenging, in part because the enemies are quite intelligent, never staying in one place for too long and attacking from all sides. It's thrilling to be in a battle with these unique-looking beasts. And the numerous ways in which you can defeat them brings about an element of strategy that I was not expecting.

Definitely not happy that Horizon was delayed to February. UGH.

[CMH]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

I had no idea this was open world. Thought it would be similar to Tomb Raider, Uncharted, or God of War.

Open world intrigues me. I'm excited for this title but a 15 hour game is different from a 100 hour one. My expectations for it have changed though I'm optimistic it will meet many of them.

[Flawless]

Re: Horizon: Zero Dawn

Game Informer October Cover

Guerrilla Games surprised and intrigued many when it debuted its new franchise, Horizon Zero Dawn, at E3 in 2015. The Dutch developer is best known for its work on the Killzone franchise, but after toiling on that series for over a decade, decided it was time to change things up. Horizon Zero Dawn is an open-world action/RPG starring a fierce redhead named Aloy. She must survive in a post-post apocalyptic world where machines have taken over and humans are living in a primitive state at the bottom of the food chain. We traveled to Guerrilla Games’ studio in Amsterdam to find out how Horizon Zero Dawn became a reality and why the team wanted to try a new genre.

Throughout our trip, we discovered more about Aloy and where her journey takes her. As a resourceful hunter with a bow, Aloy has always been fascinated with technology and the ancient relics from the past. Growing up as an outcast with no parents, she searches for the truth about her origins, but she also finds more than she bargained for about the dangers of the world and why it has been changing. We got up and close and personal with new machines such as the laser-blazing, hyena-like Scrapper. We also went hands-on with a new, early portion in the game, where we encountered a side quest and saw more of the game’s machine ecosystem in action. Animals travel in packs, and often come to each other’s aid, meaning victory rarely comes easy. Our cover story is packed with information about the tools that Aloy has at her disposal to stand a chance against these mammoth beasts, the lore of this strange backdrop, and what types of side content is available in this vast open world.

Horizon Zero Dawn launches on February 28 for PlayStation 4.

Watch the trailer, featuring new gameplay from Guerilla Games' action-RPG, teasing Game Informer's month of exclusive content on Horizon Zero Dawn rolling out at gameinformer.com/horizon

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