Swapping between weapons is literally the whole idea. The game isn't about picking a playstyle, it's about versatility, studying each enemy and adapting to their weaknesses, picking the right tool for the job. You're meant to use everything in your arsenal to give you an advantage, and if you approach the game that way, it works really well. Saying "I'm specializing in fire damage" or "I want to melee everything" is just missing the point spectacularly.
Funny part is alot of enemies can be defeated with the Fire Bow and to specialise in it I just add all 3 Fire mods to make it a Specialised fire bow. Not sure wtf he is talking about
Agreed. Ultra hard mode, try not to touch the middle tree, and no hunter reflex. Silent strike if you have to but shooting a dino-bot down as it's charging right at you and dodging at the very last moment is just too satisfying.
In my opinion, the fact that you have to utilize basically all weapons and ammo types instead of specialize in one or two weapons to play this game efficiently is a feature, not a bug.
That's exactly what I love about this game's weapon system. The thing I hate about Skyrim and other RPGs is that you are only limited to specialising in one or two weapons because of your "classes"; I love HZD's system much more because it lets me use all the weapons without my limited class providing a disadvantage.
i totally only use a couple weapons in this game. just bows with the varying elements. at endgame you customize them for an individual element each. i dig the tripcaster also, but only in the early game before my bow arsenal is built. hated the slings and the ropecaster was meh to me. useful, sure, just not how I wanted to roll.
I pimped out my hunter bow with purple fire mods and it became pretty easy tbh, I used the hunter bow and sometimes the ropecaster as well but you really dont need them to be overpowered
@@Mgl1206 no he was already cast out for sometime before the matriarchs gave him Alloy to raise, you can learn Rosts real reason for being cast out late in the game from Teersa
25:00 Just figured I should point out that it's VERY clear why Rost is leaving, he's trying to remove Aloy's temptation to go visit and talk to him because doing so would cause her to get cast out again. He knows how much she cares about him and he knows that she is loose enough with tribal law to not consider the consequences and reach out to him anyway and is trying to simply take himself out of the equation for what he sees as her own benefit, and him telling her he's leaving BEFORE the proving means that she can't chase him without also abandoning her dreams. It's telling that he actually doesn't follow through with it and still watches over her during the test in defiance of what he informed her, it shows that ultimately he's trying to do what's best for her.
I agree. I just said something very similar in my comment. I guess this one just went over his head. Or just sees it differently, but I thought it was pretty clear myself. Thanks for the imput
Was gonna comment on this too but you already worded it much better than I would have. I was so confused listening to the video and hearing him call Rost selfish and saying he had no idea why Rost would act this way 😂. Maybe he missed some dialogue or smthin
I have issues with some of the points you bring up. These are not plot holes as you call them, but simply misunderstandings and misconceptions on your part. Rost: Rost leaving Aloy before the proving was not really a dick move at all. It's stated in the game that it is forbidden for any Nora to communicate with outcasts. If a Nora gets caught communicating with them, they risk banishment. Rost wanted Aloy to be a part of the tribe and to get the answers she seeked and to not be an outcast anymore. So he parted ways her so he would not impede on that. So she would not risk banishment and ruining her potential success at the proving by seeing him. It's a very selfless action and makes compete sense as other comments have pointed out. The High Matriarches and Aloy's birth: Aloy's 'birth' - not coincidentally - coincided with the derangement of the machines. GAIA self-destructed after sending the signal to the cradle to gestate Aloy. Upon GAIA's destruction, the machines which were previously docile and harmless, began to grow violent and dangerous. 9 months later - Aloy shows up out of the mountain with no explanation of where she came from. Lansra believed that Aloy was a spawn of the 'metal devils' and believed she had something to do with the derangement, and convinced enough of the Nora to agree with her, so they shunned her. If Lansra had her way, they probably would have killed Aloy straight out. Teersa had the idea to give her to Rost to raise, to get her away from the villagers and protect her from Lansra. Making her an outcast was a satisfactory compromise for both parties. Teersa, who believed Aloy was a good sign, was satisfied in that she would be safe with Rost, while Lansra, who believed Aloy was a bad sign, was satisfied in that she would be outcast and kept away from the tribe. Faro Machines: The Faro machines didn't gain ALL energy by the way of Biomass. Biomass conversion was an EMERGENCY energy source in case the primary energy source was depleted and all other fuel sources were unavailable. Because it was an emergency energy source rather than a main one, then the potential ramifications might be less severe. Which explains why there wasn't a major panic or pushback against it until it was too late. Biomass conversion - "The robots utilized a patented system that converted organic matter into fuel when usual fuel sources were unavailable." - Horizon Wiki Self-replication - "The robots' AI allowed them to understand their own structures, and repair and rebuild themselves and others from memory." - Horizon Wiki Humans today use biomass because of it's versatility in being used to generate heat, electricity and used as liquid fuel. So I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Faro Corporation would use Biomass as an emergency fuel source so the robots could self sustain themselves when all other fuel sources were unavailable. Faro used the term "Peacekeepers" when talking to Elizabet Sobeck as a way of excusing the questionable design decision in having a robot use Biomass to repair and maintain themselves in an emergency, as a necessary feature in helping maintain security. And yes, there are holographic recordings in the game of Elizabet Sobeck telling Ted Faro how bad of an idea it was using Biomass as an emergency fuel and self replication for a robot swarm, in the apparently unlikely event that the swarm would go rogue, and that she demanded that he help her clean his own mess up. Because he was too set in his ways of building what he thought would be the most effective military technology and too confident and careless in the machines that his company had created, to see the possible ramifications of what might happen with such an ability being used by a rouge robot swarm. I don't think that this is a plot hole as you stated. Since you worded it as the machines get ALL their fuel from biomass when this isn't true at all, according to the lore presented in the game. It's obvious that this design feature that the Faro Corporation intergrated into their machines was meant to be a last resort, in the event that they got severely damaged or ran out of fuel and couldn't recoup that fuel from any of the usual fuel sources. They obviously intended to keep the machines under control with this emergency biomass conversion ability and self replication ability. As Ted Faro clearly states in the holographic recording with Elizabet Sobeck. This of course spurred out of control when one Faro robot went rouge and caused the Faro plauge. Presumably by slaving the rest of the Faro robots to it's own will. The swarm then could no longer be controlled and consumed all biomass they came across to self sustain themselves, when they inevitabley ran out of fuel and after consuming all other fuel sources. Slaving enemy CPUs - "The robots were able to instantly take control of any enemy automated military hardware by slaving the CPUs to themselves." - Horizon Wiki GAIA's Machines: The designs of the machines isn't a plot hole either. Because it is given a very solid explanation in the game: HEPHAESTUS built the machines that GAIA devised at the Cauldron facilities, under GAIA's overall control. Cauldrons are able to fabricate any technology and material necessary for the creation of any machine. The machines produced were based on both prehistoric and then-contemporary fauna, as per GAIA’s designs. Designs obviously being from Human records of animals through out history. The designs of the machines are all based of off animals that have all roamed the earth at some point in time. There's no contradiction between GAIA's Machines and the Faro Machines. GAIA's Machines were previously docile until the derangement occurred from the Machines being hunted, causing the Machines to become violent towards the humans. Hephaestus then created more combat orientated machines like the Thunderjaw and Watcher, to protect the more vulnerable and productive machines from the humans so they could continue looking after the earth. This is all explained in the game. Sorry dude, but I really don't think you payed enough attention to the story and lore. And I don't think you should be making critiques such as "Plot holes" when you clearly don't possess enough knowledge about the lore of the game to make such critiques. Please do better dude. Do your research into the lore of the game if you've forgotten things, before calling out "Plot holes" that can easily be dubunked with in game references and facts.
Omg thank you i felt like i was going crazy sitting here listening to this nutcase talk. Sayin' stuff like "plotholes" over information and lore that is so very clearly presented IN BASIC DIALOGUE. Like, he got basic symbolism and (not so hidden) hidden intent in so many segments of the game wrong that it made me think he didn't even play the game. Like, he even got the combat system all wrong like you don't "main" a specific element or something, you're meant to use your weapons and elements interchangeably. And oh my lord, the way he said that the design of the machines was a plot hole when they were all CLEARLY designed to look the way they do. THIS FACT IS EXPLAINED IN AN ANIMATED CUTSCENE. There is no possible way he did not understand anything about the basic manufacturing of the machines, ESPECIALLY during both "Deep Secrets of the Earth" and "The Mountain That Fell". Like, did he play deaf and blind during every cutscene?? You're obviously much nicer in your critic on this critic video than me, but you emphasized how I was feeling in such an accurate way that I can't say thank you enough. Someone had to say it and I'm glad you did.
25:23 that's rost acknowledging that Aloy needs to move on from him because once she wins she can't interact with him. He's making it easier on her to break away so she doesn't lose the thing she worked so hard for. Its not selfish, it's more selfless than anything. Yeah him telling it to her right before the proving is a dick move but it's not selfish lol
@@veryblackraven right lol idk how he missed so much stuff from Rost lol. Like it's so obvious Rost took Aloy to hunt to make sure she was ready for the proving and the world out there when he couldn't teach her anymore and I was so confused when Luke was like "i didn't get it"
@@James.Stark.Ben.Edition to me i can see the logic hes trying to get at. But its also strange to think that Rost would understand that lack of logic when he lives in a world VERY different and more primitive than ours. He speaks a few times about how his "tough love" approach doesnt make sense, but it seems like it would make perfect sense that he would have that personality in a world where giant dinosaur murder bots exist? Do i think these primitive people would have some archaic views that arent 100% logical and driven by different values that dont make sense to our 2020 values? Yup.
The game: *Shows Aloy as an infant and then flashes forward with text that reads “6 years later”* Luke: *Goes on for a while about how he has no idea how old she’s supposed to be.*
I also got the impression that he doesn't know when or how Aloy was given to be watched over by Rost, when it's literally the first cutscene you see when starting the game
or the fact that if Aloy passes the Proving it'd be illegal for Rost to even talk to her anymore and he just wanted to draw the line while he still can...
I gotta be honest, I like dialogue choices even when it doesn’t have different consequences. It allows me to portray the character in a way that I identify most with. It doesn’t have to change the story beats to be enjoyable for me.
Yes! You don’t feel pressured into making the “right” choice and can focus on making your choice instead without fear of punishment. A bit like how companions in ME2 could die if you didn’t say the right things like some sort of space bard
Love the lore and story in HZD. Poking around the grave hoard and old military stations and listening to the audio logs of the soldiers was my favourite
(Story) My favorite part was the Project: Zero Dawn main building, hidden below the Shadow Carja citadel. That whole sequence, that big reveal of what Project Zero Dawn truly was was so incredible to me. It was not something I expected of the game. And listening to all the people involved and their multiple moral choices and arguments was compelling. (Bosses) I also loved the second fight against the Kopesh aka Deathbringer. The fact that it can destroy everything was huge and made the battle ten times better. (Gameplay) My favorite fight against a machine is against a Thunderjaw. Majestic, challenging, intimidating, and rewarding. Every time I see one, I must fight it. (Quest) Call me grim or whatever, but my favorite quest/section was when the Nora were attacked. Seeing that green of the grass vanish as Kopesh units lurk around is so... emotional, for some reason. And there's also the fact you fight a Corrupted Thunderjaw at the end... (Aesthetic) I will never forget the sight of a Tallneck for the first time. Or Devil's Thirst. Or the entirety of Frozen Wilds map seen from the top of the Banuk Camp. It looks gorgeous. The game looks gorgeous. I wouldn't call the game a masterpiece, but I will say it is one hell of a game. Fun, engaging, impressive, beautiful... And its story is quite great. At least, the story regarding Elisabet Sobeck and Project: Zero Dawn, anyway.
Hands down my all time favorite PS4 game! The story was awesome, the soundtrack was stellar, the graphics and gameplay were beautiful and Aloy was a very compelling character. I hope to see some more consequence driven decisions in Forbidden West though. I appreciated the options when it came to dialogue but it didn't feel like they had any actual consequences. Except for one side missions where you can either kill some bandits or find them the heart of a robot. CBA with that, just kill them!
Ok I get most of your points but some things are really off: You don't seem like you have paid much attention to the story or the world so you are in no position to criticize it. Age of Alloy is clearly pointed out. Rost's reasoning is clearly stated. Ofc it doesn't make sense in a modern worldview for him to leave alloy but in this world it does. It's a religious standpoint, just remember the Aztecs sacrificed their children to the gods for a better crop yield. Compared to that Rost is very reasonable. Your focus on melee combat doesn't seem rectified. Yes, it's not a beautiful and graceful dance between alloy and the machines but in all honesty, it shouldn't be. You are fighting giant Machines you really should be in fear of dying when coming too close to them. When you end up panicking, shooting all over the place because you added too many machines that's the feeling you should have. making melee strong by giving the machines predictable attack patterns would take away the fear. Roleplay in the sense of making meaningful choices really fell flat. But I get that, the more options and branches there are the harder it gets to find a fitting narrative. And compared to Fallout 4 I really think the game communicated much better than these choices are really just dialog options for the current situation (in-game not the marketing beforehand). I really didn't felt this as branching paths more like different facets of alloy. You are playing her and you can only change the dialog in a way that would still make sense for Alloy to say it. You are playing Alloy and not a self-chosen self-directed character. I don't mind this as long as it is immersive enough. And really thank you for the commentary on the Fallout 4 story. I really hated the main storyline of Fallout 4 that's exactly the opposite of what you want to have for an open-world narrative. Now RPG is really a term that has been shred to pieces by the gaming market. It doesn't really mean anything anymore. In the classical sense, HZD is not an RPG because you can't play a role chosen by yourself. On the other hand, there are a bunch of games out there just called RPG because they have loot and a leveling system, considering this HZD would be an RPG. I think we just have to ignore that term in the future. Marketing of games, in general, seems way off nowadays. No man's sky is the Best example, they promised everything and delivered nothing. We can really thank the Hello games team that they actually improved the game experience instead of running with the money. But still, that's really sad, if they hadn't had a false advertisement they wouldn't have had the money to improve the game. So basically it seems like lying as much as you can is the best option for a developer/publisher.
I think when not comes to rpg games in general one could look at them in levels. Like when it comes to pokemons and hzd it's pretty basic. However look at games like witcher or wow, you get the full experience. So i think the term rpg should be looked at by matter of degree. But yes the rpg genre in general is being seriously milked for cash
@@abnormalnox you're on the right track in terms of looking at RPGs on a spectrum, however I would posit the divide is and has always been between how the term "role-playing" is used. We have 2 schools of thought: 1) it is a role-playing game in that you play the role given to you by the developers/ writers, this is most common in Eastern games and games written with a linear story. When you play final fantasy, you don't get to make choices that can have a multitude of effects on the world, you play the main character of whatever game they'd written. Conversely, in a game like baldur's gate, the expectation is that you would approach the game like any TTRPG: you make your character, and it's YOUR character, and you interact with the story as your character. These games have mostly been developed in America, and you can trace the lineage directly back to dungeons and dragons. Skyrim comes from Ultima comes from fans of Gygax himself. Zero Dawn, of course, pulls from linear games like Uncharted and open world games along the vein of Shadow of Mordor and Assassin's Creed, and if we look at it in that regard it's actually rather expansive with regards to "role-playing". Shadow of Mordor doesn't give you dialogue options, you know?
I think HZD's strongest point was the world it built from a narrative standpoint. if you're a player like me who reads the lore snippets as much as they have energy for, it makes for a really immersive playthrough. Seeing the cultural mannerisms that the people in the world express, and then learning where exactly those things came from probably gave me the best moments that stuck with my poor memory. It really became a game about connecting the past with the future, as you're the only one with enough busted gear to explore the places with the answers. So in that respect at least it completely succeeded as an action adventure game for me. I was honestly really surprised that anybody referred to it as an rpg though, so fair on that: it's not!
Absolutely. When I found the first vantage point, my mind was blown. That was such a great idea to show the past world and made me want to explore everything so I could find more. the world building with the different tribes was also so well done and interesting. Hopefully there's more of this in the new game.
The terrain itself has the game's backstory written into it. In the terrain, in the cultures of the various tribes, and in the machines and animals that inhabit it.
18:35 - The reason Rost brought Aloy out there to hunt the Sawtooth was to teach her his last lesson. From the time she was a child, Aloy has only ever seen winning the Proving and becoming a Brave as a means to an end, a way to finally have the answers she has wanted all her life. But Rost wants to show her that her role as a Brave will involve protecting the tribe that exiled her. He did this by having her fight a machine that had been killing Nora hunting parties. She cannot spend her life fighting only for herself. Also, he probably wanted to throw a bit of "you must be able to adapt to and overcome the unknown" into her training before she left.
Wait. The game doesn't start when alloy is a kid.. it starts when she's a baby and rost is taking her for a ritual to be named.. its b4 the main menu even appears..
@@adampoole948 both "alloy" and "aloe" are pronounced differently than "aloy". of course spelling matters, what are you on about? maebe ay shud stap spälling werdz proppärli sinz itt duzn't maedder enniweiz, rayt?
Ok your critique of Rost’s decision to leave before the proving indicated to me a lack of understanding. The way I read it was Rost was leaving because he knew that Aloy would pass the proving. Meaning she would become a part of the tribe and no longer be an outcast. But since he is still an outcast with no way of rejoining, if Aloy were to continue to associate with him, the laws of the tribe would force her out again. He knew that she would never stop associating with him on her own because he’s basically her father and she loves him. But he feels that living as an outcast for the rest of her life would be terrible. Plus when he is gone she won’t have anyone to call family. versus if she stays with the tribe she’ll have everyone there to call family. In Rost’s eyes him leaving is the best thing for her. It maximizes her potential chances for happiness so like any good father, he is willing to sacrifice everything for his baby girl. Even if that means he has to take himself out of her equation. It’s not a selfish move at all. It’s entirely selfless.
This is literally my most played game of all time thus far. I’ve put almost 350 into it. I’ve 100% it 4 times, and I’ve also just spent dozens of additional hours just fighting machines because I find the combat to be absolutely sublime. One of my favorite games of all time.
@Nigel Henry except the game has been out for nearly 4 years. There is 1,380 days between the launch of the game and this comment. That is 33,120 hours. That means they spent 1/100 of the time playing the game. That isn't having way too much time on your hand. That is just enjoying something so much you want to play it.
I love the combat too, I feel you get better at it by utilising your arsenal against the enemies weaknesses, not based on how much damage each tier of weapon gives over the previous one
The first spear upgrade was in the tutorial area on release, before Frozen Wilds. The last is late in the story when you are given a new spear a couple missions before the finale. They are simple damage upgrades, not the same as the mod slots that Frozen Wilds adds.
He's talking about cauldrons. I never felt the need to use melee or override that often but did them because I enjoyed them. Im not sure he really played the game because a lot of things he brings up as unanswered are answered and some of his commentary is just odd in gameplay. Also, the gameplay footage hurts my feelings...so bad. Fair play to him, he needed content but "the dodge is overpowered"...huh? You're often fighting a hoarde of enemies.. I dont really get his perspective tbh
I’m not really sure what you’re saying here? As if every game has to be solely RPG or action/adventure. If it does both, it can’t be fun. Few games this generation were more worth my time. Agree.....its missing the freedom and exploration of Bethesda. Name other games that do that though, besides Bethesda, and not to mention how painfully obvious it is that Bethesda falls severely short in narrative and writing because of this. Its just a different design. This game was the biggest shock of this past generation IMO. We knew God of War was going to be amazing. We knew Red Dead 2 would be amazing. Spider Man? No brainer. This? Ehhh....I dunno? I honestly picked it up after it was about half price.....and didn’t even play it for a few months. When I did though, I couldn’t put it down. Alloy is probably my favorite female VG protagonist of all-time. I love how sensible and calm she is. When she does get a little emotional, it has way more impact. She sticks up for herself, but in such a grown up manner. You easily empathize with her journey not just to save the world, but to answer the questions, “Who am I? Where did I come from? Who is my mother?” The game has a lot of problems. Its far from perfect, but still.....the world building, the religions, the tribes.....it all makes sense from what we know of the usual human development of various religions throughout history. Some of those cutscenes......the long ones with the big revealing moments, were absolutely fantastic. This is sci-fi fantasy, but nothing feels fake or unrealistic. I’m a little disappointed the next game is cross-gen. I wanted full next gen. The first game is gorgeous, but low frame rate, and bad human enemy AI could really use an upgrade. Didn’t matter though, because what they did well, they did really well. When you first find yourself in an area with a Thunderjaw for the first time. You’re a bit underpowered and your weapons need upgrading.....prolly died five times, but finally defeat it in an epic 20 minute battle......it was amazing. They really did amazing things with sound FX. Each robo-dino has their own set of sounds they make, each attack type has a different sound. The music??? God damn.....so good. Can’t wait to play a third time on PS5.
I think the game would have been leagues better without the skill tree and just stuck with weapon upgrades. The game shines the most when your hunting a tough new robot and are brainstorming ideas on how to take it down effectively using all of you available tools in a similar vein to Monster Hunter. The skill tree is just an arbitrary time sink between you and your eventual mastery of the game and adds nothing in terms of strategy or roleplay. I think the best thing they could do is either add clear progression down a specific weapon path of your choosing allowing you to pick your favorite and master that playstyle. Or drop the RPG mechanics all together and make a purely strategic and equipment based game. As of right now it only does both on an average level.
@Ocean Blue That's the problem. It's not an RPG. The marketing called it an RPG, but it's not. It is an action adventure game with a "skill tree". A VERY small one that only contains number boosts and basic moves that feel like they should be a part of the default set. The skill tree only keeps the game from realizing it's full potential until most way through the game. It doesn't add variety, and it doesn't add customization. All it does is lock alot of your basic pool of options behind a time sink. I gave 2 suggestions on how to fix it. I said abandon the skill tree all together and put all the focus on equipment and combat progression. OR revamp the skill tree to have specific paths on weapon choice and gameplay styles. That would add variety in gameplay and give the skill tree a reason to exist. My favorite genre of game is RPGs, it's nearly my entire game collection. From turn based, to action, to tactical, I play them all. So I'm not just trying to drop the skill tree for no reason. But I don't just play RPGs because there's an experience bar and level system. I play them because you have so much freedom in how you play. You start with nothing. A blank slate character with near limitless possibilities on how you build them up. There's nothing more satisfying than coming up with a character build and then bringing that character to life in game and seeing how it plays in action. You can't do that if your skill tree is paper thin with only basic actions that anyone should already have, and will have fully unlocked by the end of the game. That's not a skill tree, that's just the ability unlock from Banjo Kazooie with an experience bar.
I really love the amount of thought that went into world building in HZD. Each of the tribes are distinct from each other by culture, clothing, environment, etc. NPCs in Meridian will comment on your "dirty rags" if you walk around in your Nora gear, but put on some Carja armor and they'll comment that you clean up nice for a savage. The story and world are really what drew me in and has kept me replaying the game again and again, despite any issues I might have with the combat being repetitive or the character graphics being too stiff.
yeah! the artbook further characterizes just how much thought was put into the game, from the society of meridian to the metal armour that everyone uses. theres just so much
Melee isn’t unpredictable in HZD, it’s intentionally nerfed. The game wants you to use the incredible variety of strategies available via the ranged weapons. I really lied the combat.
So I got OCD, Im always afraid of out of ammo so I play melee 90% of time, and I end up with tons of resource.. I only use range weapon against thunderjaw and stormbird other than that spear all the way, and last I just use fire cuz other elements are suck.
@Ocean Blue yeahh this game gave us variety of way to deal with the enemy, its just me being use to damage build, this is what happen when you play dark souls all the time
Nasrul Haq each element is extremely useful. Piercing damage is perhaps the most useful. I’ve played the game 3 times and primarily used different weapons each time.
Agreed. It's meant to be played ranged, with melee as something to pull out in your back pocket when you're out of options. It's like complaining melee in Call of Duty isn't fleshed out haha
Luke, at 24:48 you call Rost out on his selfishness. Consider this: Rost was raised as a Nora, and he is intimate with their ways. It is why he respects the tribe when they refuse to talk to him. It is something embedded in the culture: one shall not speak to the outcasts. They shall shun them. Meanwhile, Aloy gets frustrated that she can’t talk to that friend of hers at the beginning who is no longer outcast but still needs Aloy’s help to survive. In this culture, many see Aloy as an uncultured outcast, and they will always see her that way because of her being outcast at birth. People will always be looking for reasons to get her outcast again, and Rost knows this. If you remember the game, you’ll remember that Rost urges Aloy to shun him when she is no longer an outcast, as is the way. Since Aloy is Aloy, she won’t do that to her father. She is willing to break rules to see and speak to him. This leads Rost to decide to go far away, so that the daughter he got to raise after he lost his own family (explained in the endgame, blink and you’ll miss it) will get to live a good life with the Nora, and he won’t let her jeopardise that for herself by being around. So, dick move? Think again
Actually during the end there's a huge battle that happens and if you befriend alot of people throughout the world, they all actually show up to the battle and help you out which was really cool to me
Same here...my advice so far: don't rush the game, explore every corner, enjoy the views from the high buildings or mountains...heck, when you encounter the first tall-neck, I stood ontop of the disc and had him circle the building multiple times before finally deciding to rapple down..
I love this game. As someone who was about 9 when Jurassic Park first came out. I remember my jaw hitting the floor when I first saw the dinosaur scene. This game made me feel like a kid again and has come the closest to replicating that moment.
I haven't listen to any internet opinions about this game and after 100 hours with this game I can say only one thing : It's a masterpiece! It's a damn well designed world. Everything is so alive.
41:27 actually they address this in a datapoint that I remember reading. it was like "how did six decades of science fiction not warn us about the dangers of what was to come?" something along those lines. So not really a plothole. They were robots designed for warfare so it makes sense that they would have such an effective and efficient energy consumption method. but it all went haywire after a glitch which obviously isnt supposed to happen, but did anyway
I remember that my initial thoughts on the game was the combat was super basic and enemies were almost unfairly spongey and looking online the time it seemed there was a more than a few who agreed with me. But it was the red maw fight that changed my attitude on that, needing to use every part of my kit in the heat of combat, targeting specific parts really taking in the in game descriptions of the enemy weaknesses, suddenly Bellow backs became canon fodder, a razorback could be felled in sub 1 minute rather than the 10 minutes it mightve taken at the beginning. Harvesting parts of a machine before taking it down became second nature and watchers only took more than one arrow when I failed to hit my shot.
The world of Horizon: Zero Dawn is the most immersive, beautiful, cosy and peaceful world I've ever played in. I think the open world that was created in this game is so damn underrated, it annoys me how no-one really mentions how perfect nature is depicted here.
Luke says ammo is a precious commodity, while he sprays arrows left and right missing half of his shots. I found myself being a wood hoarder, whenever I ran across some I picked it up. So I never had a problem with arrows. I did however tend to stick with my sharpshot bow later in the game most of the time.
Honestly, it seems Luke's approach to combat seriously affected his perspective on it. Characterizing it as a "mad dash" is only going to be true when you're not timing your shots or trying to hit parts of the monsters. The combat in this game is legitimately incredible if you work with the rules it gives you. Besides, I never had to collect wood after awhile. I just bought it at the shops haha
@@hawkxlr Yeah...when you're not paying attention to the description of the robots and their weaknesses, as he seems to have done, and then plinking the heavy armor with ´normal arrows instead of using the knowledge and exploiting the weaknesses, then of course it looks to you like the fighting is bad...
41:08 biomass is the material that everything living is made up of - plants, animals and microbes. Faro machines were therefore able to feed on DEAD things too. This was a huge advantage since these machines were used for combat, so in case they ran out of primary fuel they had a whole ass buffet on the the battleground. I can only assume Ted Faro intended for his robots to feed on the fallen soldiers and maybe the occasional cow or grass, if resources were wearing thin.
The whole storyline and lore of this game is phenomenal! It pulls you in and makes you want to find out more! The lore of the game is so detailed and explains everything so well. Learning the history of the old world and how the machines came to be. And how the Nora tribe came to be was so incredibly engaging. After beating it I wanted to learn more. And it never failed to have an answer. Everything was explained perfectly.
Rost is portrayed as a very traditional man, even though he is an outcast. So it makes a lot of sense when he tells Alloy he has to leave, he doesn't want her to break the law for him. He knows she'll come visit him, and that she's a very good tracker, which is why he chooses to hide from her. However, also since the start of the game, we clearly see that despite his traditional ways, he cares deeply for Alloy, when he agrees to let her keep the focus. This also explains why despite saying he'll go to hiding, he can't help but looking after Alloy during the proving since he loves her so much and wants to keep protecting her. SPOILER: His backstory also says he chose to become an outcast knowingly to save his daughter, which strenghtes his character as deeply traditional loving parent who is willing to break the rules for the ones he loves
This is amazing game and why this qriticue I don't understand but everything in this game give me super amazing experience, story is amazing can't wait for next horizon
@@igorbeuk6298 the gameplay would be a lot smoother than 30 fps, which is what hzd runs at except on pc. But honestly the frame rate never really bothered me too much
I just finished playing it on PC with a 3090 at native 4k, fully maxed out graphics running at 90 to 100fps. Yes, high fps makes all the difference in the world. I couldn't even imagine playing at a paltry 30fps. That would be torture for my eyeballs.
I know some of y’all might disagree with me here but this game become my favorite of all time. I know there are games that exceeded this one in size or scope but the story and character development just really really hit me in a way I’m never gonna forget. Beyond hyped for the sequel.
i totally agree with u. like the way i felt playing this for the first time, discovering the origins of zero dawn & aloys “mother” was a feeling i won’t forget. it rlly is just so unique and absolutely beautiful.
18:39 Dude, did you skip the dialogue? He's teaching her the why of community service, the reason all of these skills are to be used. Not for her own fulfillment, but for the service of the community. Like the Tribe she's been trying to join her whole life. She's not going to just be able to join a tribe and then keep living like a wild outcast. She's going to have responsibilities to her tribe, because of the skills she possesses. it's "with Great Power come Great Responsibility" without the guilt.
Not my all time favorite but an amazing game. Actually I read more of the data points and extra things laying around in this game then any other game ive ever played. They really kept the right things secret and gave just the right snippets. And I loved that you intuitively could tell when it was time for little combat and time to run around and read and listen. They outdid themselves with lore in this game.
I tried it for the first time on PSNow in March this year...and thats all it took - I was taken by its absolutely marvellous world... I didn't complete the game in time by the time PSnow removed it, so I bought it outright...and was able to truly take my time with it. 140 Hours later, I beat the game and am now eagerly awaiting HZD Forbidden west, and read the comics....this is one of my favourite games of the last decade. Absolutely goddamn wonderful, Geurilla really nailed it!
In some ways your lucky since you don't have to wait as long for the sequel. I played it for about the same time and then again on PC. Top five game of the entire generation for me....
@@ecMonify Yeah same. I remember checking how long I played after finishing the last story mission and it was 50. Then I did a bunch more and it was more than 60. Now I'm doing the dlc so I'll see how long it adds.
I moved very slowly through the early and mid game as I chose to be as stealthy as possible and tried to do as much as possible at long range or with stealth kills.
A CRITIQUE BY A PERSON WHO DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE STORY, he doesn't even know Rost was watching Alloy at the Proving, and why Rost chooses to disappear when Alloy become a Brave. Glad that Luke didn't dive deeper into the narrative because he knows too shallow of it.
Wow. You really don't get it. You learn which way to kill which machine. You don't throw the ammo at the machine in a chaotic manner. Fire works on some, electricity on others.
This guy be like: "I wanna game that's about Exploration and finding things out on my own." But then: "Why can't they just tell me where to upgrade my spear!"
HUD is pretty invasive, if you reduce the interface elements it gets even better. For example, the health bar on enemy robots can be taken out, as they will degrade visually as you fight them.
And most robots have some kind of limping animation too, when their nearly defeated. I really like the attention to details such as this, it all adds to the coherence of the world.
The sequel could benefit from stealing some ideas on navigation from Ghost of Tsushima. A more organic less-HUD-based navigation system would not only improve gameplay and visuals, but would fit the themes of this game beautifully.
I’m with you on this. Switched off the in world icons and made all HUD options appear only when I interacted with the touchpad. Really helped me immerse myself into the game.
This games world is genius. The 2nd time i've encountered Snapmaws, one of em was swimming to shore and trowing rocks on the land. didn't make a big deal out of it so I just killed them and moved on. Later on in a mission you learn that the machines were originaly made for good, and that the snapmaws were made for cleansing the waters...Thats when it hit me. I realized that snapmaw that day was not just randomly throwing rocks, he was actually doing his job of cleaning the water and I killed it.
Excellent content, as always. I wished you would have done quick dive into Sylens. Great voice, definitely going to be a big part of the sequel, and it was his chapter up in the snow that gets us the full backstory into why the world became what it is.
I disagree about the world not being a character in this game. I think that the world actively enriches the story and game. I remember one time just spending 10 minutes just looking at this rusted out tank just sitting underneath this massive tree, even before time had taken its toll you could see that it had been through hell, it was as if it was so exhausted after whatever grueling battle it had been in that it had just sat down to rest and never got back up again. contrast this with the machines I had become familiar with by this point in my playthrough. these machines never seemed to stand still, always moving around, going about their assigned tasks like living herds of real animals. I found myself fascinated not only with the picture of this old tired tank but with the world that it came from, that drove me even more to chase down the truth and discover what happened to the "old world" and how this new one came to be. The world fuels your questions. it is full of mystery and joy and tragedy if you are willing to look, even with the answers I still found the world compelling, everywhere I looked I could find and see pieces of what once was and how it all fell apart
I think Rost brushed Aloy off because he would stay outcast, and she would be a part of the tribe. So no conundrum there :D Also one of the prominent NPCs is Sylens, that we get to know, kinda. And he will play a big part on the sequel, which im very looking forward to.
I'm surrently replaying it with my 10y old and I'm in awe about the depth that the game creates by simply combining creatures, weapons and terrain. It's an emergent game design masterclass. Also, world design and story is ace level.
One of the best world building games I ever played. I was so fascinated throughout it, trying to discover how the world became this way and the main story explains it very well. Looking forward to the second game
I remember playing this game on launch with 0 expectations and i was completely blown away by the graphics. Im also a huge scifi fan and it felt like something that can actually happen in the future. When i reached project zero dawn i was speechless. I still feel like this game doesnt get the recogniscion it deserves.
It's not clear? Are you nuts? He wants her to live and be happy with the tribe. He knows he'll be a dangerous distraction. She could get kicked out for returning to him.
i think HZD might've been the first exclusive i played for ps4, but i was already a big fan of the remastered ps3 exclusives like Last of Us and Uncharted. they only got better too
By the end of this game I was so good at it.. I knew how to take down every robot in muscle memory, knew every system of the game and how to run train on everything with the Tearblast Arrow, but I just tried playing again in celebration of this review and I SUCK now, getting wrecked by filthy ravagers
I can confirm you cant still find PS5 out of the shelf without finding it from overpriced mf scalpers. Preordered mine from October 2021 still waiting :) Edit: 35:51 for most of the part thats Kingdom Come Deliverance
i can only say that about Mario Odyssey really... plus i dont see that as such a good thing anyway, theres lot of my childhood games i could point to and say objectively this isn't good anymore
Just some things i got different than you: 1. About the holografic message: she's craving the loving affection that a mother provide. In harsh and primitive times the role of affection giver was more center on the mother than the father. 2. The hunting of the sawtooth is not only about skills. Rost himself speak that the lesson was not about reflexes or how to kill a "beast", was about helping the tribe (that sawtooth killed a lot of brave Nora) and protect those who were her people even when they rejected her. I'm his words "I told you you'll never need them, but I never told they would not need you. " And Alloy don't understand that in that moment. It makes sense with the plot (in my opinion). 3. Rost didn't say he would left because of fear, frustration, etc. He left because he respects the laws of the tribe. He was outcasted knowing about the consequences of his actions but he was a great warrior and very respectful about Nora traditions and laws. He knew Aloy were not. She would break the rules to see him and he wouldn't allow that, so he make the choice to left so she couldn't break the law because of him. 4. The first hours are pretty important. They set the culture, the pain of Aloy, her missions, her traditions, etc.
Im usually not a good sniper, but getting good shooting Robot's weak points felt great. The protagonist felt a little bland; she serious all the time, which makes sense. My main fascination was learning about the different tribes, reverting back to prehistoric governence. The worst part was definitely the final boss. I hate other enemies showing up, ruining the fight.
See it was the total opposite for me. I didn’t care about the tribes or their conflicts. I wanted to know about the Faro ********, and what happened to humanity. I wanted to know what happened to ancient humanity, and where they are going next.
Yeah I agree with everything! I played through the game three times a few months ago and I loved it every time. I'm in love with the map. I'm a big fan of how they all made it beautiful in every corner
I never in my wildest dreams would think a dev team that strictly made kill zone games (forgive me if they made other games, but I'm only familiar with their killzone series of games) would creat such a fantastic RPG, the story is AMAZING, combat was fun even after 60 plus hours, A.I. Was brutal in the best way on the hardest difficulty (the humans were admittedly boring to fight but every machine was a joy to fight/hack/etc) horizon is such a great concept and it was was beautifully conveyed. I loved every Crumb of story I could get my hands on. I can't wait for the sequel!
This was my GOTY that year. I have BOTW and enjoy it but it's never drawn me in the way this game did Hell even AC Origins was far more captivating for me in 2017 Either way this was a damn good year for gaming
My biggest issue was with the character-level writing. The macro-level world building was great: The lore of the tribes and the historical lore was all richly developed and layered, and tribes' geographical centers and religions and music and modes of dress all seem to coincide in ways that made sense but yet were quirky. But I came to this game off of The Outer Worlds. There, virtually every NPC that had a name and had more than generic lines had unique character quirks--a point of view on the world and their community, a sense of humor (or not), personal grudges and biases, and reasons for being in the place they were at that moment: You felt like you were actually meeting a character. By comparison--apart from Rost, Sylens, maybe Olin, and of course Aloy herself--the characters in Horizon Zero Dawn come across as lore- or plot- or quest-delivery systems rather than as *characters* with complex relationships and unique character flaws. This actually improved quite a bit in The Frozen Wilds, so I suspect this is on their radar for the sequel. I still enjoyed this game. A lot. But this is the one area for me where it came up short.
You claim you played the game, but don't understand various things. Were you paying attention? 1: Rost leaves the day before the Proving because Aloy will become an upstanding member of the Nora and he will always be an Outcast. HE SAYS THIS! Knowing Aloy would bend or outright fracture the law, he says he has to leave. 2: The dialog choices affect who shows up in the last few chapters of the game. be aggressive with everyone (with a few exceptions) and you'll only have the bare bones. Treat everyone with intelligence or empathy and there'll be lots of extras to interact with. There's also an achievement for having ALL of the available allies showing up during the endgame. 3: The early side quest, "In Her Mother's Footsteps," offers a +1 to your spear. I don't think anyone knows what that really means. In "The Frozen Wilds," you can acquire modification slots, which are better understood. 4: The High Matriarchs don't have an early change. They remain the same. One thinks Aloy is a curse, one thinks she's a blessing, and the third allows herself to be swayed by the second... just as she was when Aloy was found and given to Rost. Finally, my BIG DREAM for "Horizon Forbidden West" is a pet. A pet that can level up with Aloy, develop its own skill trees, and can be repaired and upgraded. Aloy gains the ability in time to call a mount in HZD. It would be great if it was a machine that she'd grown attached to, maybe even given a nickname. A Sawtooth named "Toothless." A Grazer named "Rudolph." Something!
@Hannah Sheffield I left a comment debunking some of Luke's points. He didn't pay enough attention to the story and lore. Please read if you can and tell Luke about it if possible.
Arguably the best looking game ever at least before ps5. The characters, grass, bushes and machines look so real its almost like real life. What really got me was when I first saw the thunderjaw woow
In the game we find out Rost became an Outcast. Outlanders went into his village and kidnapped hostages, including his wife and daughter. They were dragged out JUST beyond the border of the Sacred Lands and the Nora Braves, including Rost, watched the Outlanders murder them. They did it because they knew it was forbidden for the Nora to go beyond the tribes borders and didn't think anyone would seek revenge but Rost went anyways. Afterwards he willingly became an Outcast for breaking tribal law and years later took in Alloy believing she didn't deserve to be an Outcast.
“Missing magical drive to explore”?? Are you ducking kidding me? As soon as I found the first vantage point, I wanted to walk the entire map front to back to find the other ones to piece the hole story together. Tons of ancient broken down relics of humanity like stadiums and concert venues that really made me want to keep searching. Come on man, you know the thing!
I have never played this but I keep hearing and reading such wonderful things. I played The Witcher 3 because of Luke's review. This one is pulling on me.
A shining example of a game where almost everything makes sense within the game's fiction. Great job of the design and narrative writers. Not a perfect game by any means but these things are rare in games and must be praised.
Again, an excellent commentary, Luke! I find myself agreeing with most of the points you make, but you spin your thoughts in a way I never could. Keep up the good work!
you should analyze bethesdas world design and make some predictions on how they will handle the space game!!!!!!!!! because its going to be interesting.
@Banuner I'm not defending the bugs, but that is not a good comparison. Indie games don't have to look the best, or be 3d open world games. Hollow Knight is a 2d game. Cyberpunk is a massive 3d open world game with a ton in it.
Swapping between weapons is literally the whole idea. The game isn't about picking a playstyle, it's about versatility, studying each enemy and adapting to their weaknesses, picking the right tool for the job. You're meant to use everything in your arsenal to give you an advantage, and if you approach the game that way, it works really well. Saying "I'm specializing in fire damage" or "I want to melee everything" is just missing the point spectacularly.
I thought Luke would have picked up on this and the depth it adds to the game
watching him spam uncharged shots off a big robot's plating *hurts* me. especially when that plating is a weak point he could be severing instead.
Funny part is alot of enemies can be defeated with the Fire Bow and to specialise in it I just add all 3 Fire mods to make it a Specialised fire bow.
Not sure wtf he is talking about
Agreed. Ultra hard mode, try not to touch the middle tree, and no hunter reflex. Silent strike if you have to but shooting a dino-bot down as it's charging right at you and dodging at the very last moment is just too satisfying.
Yes I'm still pissed. No I don't have a PS5 hahahahah fantastic
In my opinion, the fact that you have to utilize basically all weapons and ammo types instead of specialize in one or two weapons to play this game efficiently is a feature, not a bug.
My thoughts exactly, seriously
That's exactly what I love about this game's weapon system. The thing I hate about Skyrim and other RPGs is that you are only limited to specialising in one or two weapons because of your "classes"; I love HZD's system much more because it lets me use all the weapons without my limited class providing a disadvantage.
i totally only use a couple weapons in this game. just bows with the varying elements. at endgame you customize them for an individual element each. i dig the tripcaster also, but only in the early game before my bow arsenal is built. hated the slings and the ropecaster was meh to me. useful, sure, just not how I wanted to roll.
I pimped out my hunter bow with purple fire mods and it became pretty easy tbh, I used the hunter bow and sometimes the ropecaster as well but you really dont need them to be overpowered
Right
I thought they said Rost was leaving because once Aloy was a part of the Nora she wouldn’t be permitted to interact with Outcasts like him anymore
They did...
@justerthought Broke my heart a little bit. That last scene before she leaves for the proving, so bittersweet.
THANK YOU that's absolutely correct, if she spoke to him after being admitted to the tribe she could be cast out again
@@lewisdorgan-formoso5944 only temporarily she wouldn’t be cast out for life like Rost is, I think he got cast out for raising Aloy.
@@Mgl1206 no he was already cast out for sometime before the matriarchs gave him Alloy to raise, you can learn Rosts real reason for being cast out late in the game from Teersa
25:00
Just figured I should point out that it's VERY clear why Rost is leaving, he's trying to remove Aloy's temptation to go visit and talk to him because doing so would cause her to get cast out again.
He knows how much she cares about him and he knows that she is loose enough with tribal law to not consider the consequences and reach out to him anyway and is trying to simply take himself out of the equation for what he sees as her own benefit, and him telling her he's leaving BEFORE the proving means that she can't chase him without also abandoning her dreams.
It's telling that he actually doesn't follow through with it and still watches over her during the test in defiance of what he informed her, it shows that ultimately he's trying to do what's best for her.
cme to the comments to say this but you put it better than i ecer could!
I agree. I just said something very similar in my comment. I guess this one just went over his head. Or just sees it differently, but I thought it was pretty clear myself. Thanks for the imput
Was gonna comment on this too but you already worded it much better than I would have. I was so confused listening to the video and hearing him call Rost selfish and saying he had no idea why Rost would act this way 😂. Maybe he missed some dialogue or smthin
They explained why rost is emotional. He knows she’ll make it- and that after that they won’t be allowed to talk anymore.
I have issues with some of the points you bring up. These are not plot holes as you call them, but simply misunderstandings and misconceptions on your part.
Rost:
Rost leaving Aloy before the proving was not really a dick move at all. It's stated in the game that it is forbidden for any Nora to communicate with outcasts. If a Nora gets caught communicating with them, they risk banishment. Rost wanted Aloy to be a part of the tribe and to get the answers she seeked and to not be an outcast anymore. So he parted ways her so he would not impede on that. So she would not risk banishment and ruining her potential success at the proving by seeing him. It's a very selfless action and makes compete sense as other comments have pointed out.
The High Matriarches and Aloy's birth:
Aloy's 'birth' - not coincidentally - coincided with the derangement of the machines. GAIA self-destructed after sending the signal to the cradle to gestate Aloy. Upon GAIA's destruction, the machines which were previously docile and harmless, began to grow violent and dangerous. 9 months later - Aloy shows up out of the mountain with no explanation of where she came from.
Lansra believed that Aloy was a spawn of the 'metal devils' and believed she had something to do with the derangement, and convinced enough of the Nora to agree with her, so they shunned her.
If Lansra had her way, they probably would have killed Aloy straight out. Teersa had the idea to give her to Rost to raise, to get her away from the villagers and protect her from Lansra.
Making her an outcast was a satisfactory compromise for both parties.
Teersa, who believed Aloy was a good sign, was satisfied in that she would be safe with Rost, while Lansra, who believed Aloy was a bad sign, was satisfied in that she would be outcast and kept away from the tribe.
Faro Machines:
The Faro machines didn't gain ALL energy by the way of Biomass. Biomass conversion was an EMERGENCY energy source in case the primary energy source was depleted and all other fuel sources were unavailable. Because it was an emergency energy source rather than a main one, then the potential ramifications might be less severe. Which explains why there wasn't a major panic or pushback against it until it was too late.
Biomass conversion - "The robots utilized a patented system that converted organic matter into fuel when usual fuel sources were unavailable." - Horizon Wiki
Self-replication - "The robots' AI allowed them to understand their own structures, and repair and rebuild themselves and others from memory." - Horizon Wiki
Humans today use biomass because of it's versatility in being used to generate heat, electricity and used as liquid fuel. So I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Faro Corporation would use Biomass as an emergency fuel source so the robots could self sustain themselves when all other fuel sources were unavailable.
Faro used the term "Peacekeepers" when talking to Elizabet Sobeck as a way of excusing the questionable design decision in having a robot use Biomass to repair and maintain themselves in an emergency, as a necessary feature in helping maintain security.
And yes, there are holographic recordings in the game of Elizabet Sobeck telling Ted Faro how bad of an idea it was using Biomass as an emergency fuel and self replication for a robot swarm, in the apparently unlikely event that the swarm would go rogue, and that she demanded that he help her clean his own mess up. Because he was too set in his ways of building what he thought would be the most effective military technology and too confident and careless in the machines that his company had created, to see the possible ramifications of what might happen with such an ability being used by a rouge robot swarm.
I don't think that this is a plot hole as you stated. Since you worded it as the machines get ALL their fuel from biomass when this isn't true at all, according to the lore presented in the game.
It's obvious that this design feature that the Faro Corporation intergrated into their machines was meant to be a last resort, in the event that they got severely damaged or ran out of fuel and couldn't recoup that fuel from any of the usual fuel sources. They obviously intended to keep the machines under control with this emergency biomass conversion ability and self replication ability. As Ted Faro clearly states in the holographic recording with Elizabet Sobeck.
This of course spurred out of control when one Faro robot went rouge and caused the Faro plauge. Presumably by slaving the rest of the Faro robots to it's own will.
The swarm then could no longer be controlled and consumed all biomass they came across to self sustain themselves, when they inevitabley ran out of fuel and after consuming all other fuel sources.
Slaving enemy CPUs - "The robots were able to instantly take control of any enemy automated military hardware by slaving the CPUs to themselves." - Horizon Wiki
GAIA's Machines:
The designs of the machines isn't a plot hole either. Because it is given a very solid explanation in the game:
HEPHAESTUS built the machines that GAIA devised at the Cauldron facilities, under GAIA's overall control. Cauldrons are able to fabricate any technology and material necessary for the creation of any machine. The machines produced were based on both prehistoric and then-contemporary fauna, as per GAIA’s designs. Designs obviously being from Human records of animals through out history. The designs of the machines are all based of off animals that have all roamed the earth at some point in time.
There's no contradiction between GAIA's Machines and the Faro Machines.
GAIA's Machines were previously docile until the derangement occurred from the Machines being hunted, causing the Machines to become violent towards the humans. Hephaestus then created more combat orientated machines like the Thunderjaw and Watcher, to protect the more vulnerable and productive machines from the humans so they could continue looking after the earth. This is all explained in the game.
Sorry dude, but I really don't think you payed enough attention to the story and lore. And I don't think you should be making critiques such as "Plot holes" when you clearly don't possess enough knowledge about the lore of the game to make such critiques. Please do better dude. Do your research into the lore of the game if you've forgotten things, before calling out "Plot holes" that can easily be dubunked with in game references and facts.
THANK you
Omg thank you i felt like i was going crazy sitting here listening to this nutcase talk. Sayin' stuff like "plotholes" over information and lore that is so very clearly presented IN BASIC DIALOGUE. Like, he got basic symbolism and (not so hidden) hidden intent in so many segments of the game wrong that it made me think he didn't even play the game. Like, he even got the combat system all wrong like you don't "main" a specific element or something, you're meant to use your weapons and elements interchangeably. And oh my lord, the way he said that the design of the machines was a plot hole when they were all CLEARLY designed to look the way they do. THIS FACT IS EXPLAINED IN AN ANIMATED CUTSCENE. There is no possible way he did not understand anything about the basic manufacturing of the machines, ESPECIALLY during both "Deep Secrets of the Earth" and "The Mountain That Fell". Like, did he play deaf and blind during every cutscene??
You're obviously much nicer in your critic on this critic video than me, but you emphasized how I was feeling in such an accurate way that I can't say thank you enough. Someone had to say it and I'm glad you did.
25:23 that's rost acknowledging that Aloy needs to move on from him because once she wins she can't interact with him. He's making it easier on her to break away so she doesn't lose the thing she worked so hard for. Its not selfish, it's more selfless than anything. Yeah him telling it to her right before the proving is a dick move but it's not selfish lol
Exacty. And he explains it right at that moment. It seems like Luke was a rushing through the game a bit, missing some details here and there.
@@veryblackraven right lol idk how he missed so much stuff from Rost lol. Like it's so obvious Rost took Aloy to hunt to make sure she was ready for the proving and the world out there when he couldn't teach her anymore and I was so confused when Luke was like "i didn't get it"
@@James.Stark.Ben.Edition to me i can see the logic hes trying to get at. But its also strange to think that Rost would understand that lack of logic when he lives in a world VERY different and more primitive than ours. He speaks a few times about how his "tough love" approach doesnt make sense, but it seems like it would make perfect sense that he would have that personality in a world where giant dinosaur murder bots exist? Do i think these primitive people would have some archaic views that arent 100% logical and driven by different values that dont make sense to our 2020 values? Yup.
The game: *Shows Aloy as an infant and then flashes forward with text that reads “6 years later”*
Luke: *Goes on for a while about how he has no idea how old she’s supposed to be.*
Mid 50s for sure
@@LukeStephensTV 🤣🤣🤣
Looked it up and she’s 18-19 in the first game
I also got the impression that he doesn't know when or how Aloy was given to be watched over by Rost, when it's literally the first cutscene you see when starting the game
or the fact that if Aloy passes the Proving it'd be illegal for Rost to even talk to her anymore and he just wanted to draw the line while he still can...
I gotta be honest, I like dialogue choices even when it doesn’t have different consequences. It allows me to portray the character in a way that I identify most with. It doesn’t have to change the story beats to be enjoyable for me.
I concur
Agreed. I totally understood how they add fun in uncharted 4, for example, even though they did not change anything.
Yes! You don’t feel pressured into making the “right” choice and can focus on making your choice instead without fear of punishment.
A bit like how companions in ME2 could die if you didn’t say the right things like some sort of space bard
if only the side quests felt more unique, it would've been perfect for me. playing the witcher 3 will do this to you lol.
Exactly!
Love the lore and story in HZD. Poking around the grave hoard and old military stations and listening to the audio logs of the soldiers was my favourite
The first time I saw a tallneck, I was freaked out and fascinated
I loved that too
(Story) My favorite part was the Project: Zero Dawn main building, hidden below the Shadow Carja citadel. That whole sequence, that big reveal of what Project Zero Dawn truly was was so incredible to me. It was not something I expected of the game. And listening to all the people involved and their multiple moral choices and arguments was compelling.
(Bosses) I also loved the second fight against the Kopesh aka Deathbringer. The fact that it can destroy everything was huge and made the battle ten times better.
(Gameplay) My favorite fight against a machine is against a Thunderjaw. Majestic, challenging, intimidating, and rewarding. Every time I see one, I must fight it.
(Quest) Call me grim or whatever, but my favorite quest/section was when the Nora were attacked. Seeing that green of the grass vanish as Kopesh units lurk around is so... emotional, for some reason. And there's also the fact you fight a Corrupted Thunderjaw at the end...
(Aesthetic) I will never forget the sight of a Tallneck for the first time. Or Devil's Thirst. Or the entirety of Frozen Wilds map seen from the top of the Banuk Camp. It looks gorgeous. The game looks gorgeous.
I wouldn't call the game a masterpiece, but I will say it is one hell of a game. Fun, engaging, impressive, beautiful... And its story is quite great. At least, the story regarding Elisabet Sobeck and Project: Zero Dawn, anyway.
Eleuthia-9 the Cradle facility was the stuff of nightmares. Stuck in kindergarten for 2 decades LOL
The whole Hzd universe is just amazing!
Solid game. Whoever programmed this game on base ps4 is a genius
Whoever implies one person. It was a team, gorrila games
@@priyanshsiingh *Guerilla Games...
@@priyanshsiingh I didn’t
@@priyanshsiingh who can be plural
Silverback Games
Hands down my all time favorite PS4 game! The story was awesome, the soundtrack was stellar, the graphics and gameplay were beautiful and Aloy was a very compelling character. I hope to see some more consequence driven decisions in Forbidden West though. I appreciated the options when it came to dialogue but it didn't feel like they had any actual consequences. Except for one side missions where you can either kill some bandits or find them the heart of a robot. CBA with that, just kill them!
First game I ever got a Platinum in
@@poutine_machine besides Spider-Man, it’s the same for me. It’s one of the first games that I’ve wanted to get the platinum.
@@poutine_machine How do you know where to go to Get plat, yt or exploring hundrede of hours?
So agree with you, loved it x
playing it on the ps5, and yes i ditched cyberpunk to complete the DLC
Horizon was a masterpiece and the first open world I played that I enjoyed in a long time after major open world fatigue
Definitely not a masterpiece
@@vicho5960 your opinion, and not a popular opinion.
The only thing I hated about zero dawn is that you couldn’t ride Thunderjaws and Stormbirds
I so wished I could ride Sawtooths when I saw the first one. Or even Watchers and Longlegs!
PS4 limitation apparently
mods are a wonderful thing my friend
@@mariarzyt_3D parity between platforms
Can you fuckin imagine
Ok I get most of your points but some things are really off:
You don't seem like you have paid much attention to the story or the world so you are in no position to criticize it.
Age of Alloy is clearly pointed out. Rost's reasoning is clearly stated. Ofc it doesn't make sense in a modern worldview for him to leave alloy but in this world it does. It's a religious standpoint, just remember the Aztecs sacrificed their children to the gods for a better crop yield. Compared to that Rost is very reasonable.
Your focus on melee combat doesn't seem rectified. Yes, it's not a beautiful and graceful dance between alloy and the machines but in all honesty, it shouldn't be. You are fighting giant Machines you really should be in fear of dying when coming too close to them. When you end up panicking, shooting all over the place because you added too many machines that's the feeling you should have. making melee strong by giving the machines predictable attack patterns would take away the fear.
Roleplay in the sense of making meaningful choices really fell flat. But I get that, the more options and branches there are the harder it gets to find a fitting narrative. And compared to Fallout 4 I really think the game communicated much better than these choices are really just dialog options for the current situation (in-game not the marketing beforehand). I really didn't felt this as branching paths more like different facets of alloy. You are playing her and you can only change the dialog in a way that would still make sense for Alloy to say it. You are playing Alloy and not a self-chosen self-directed character. I don't mind this as long as it is immersive enough. And really thank you for the commentary on the Fallout 4 story. I really hated the main storyline of Fallout 4 that's exactly the opposite of what you want to have for an open-world narrative. Now RPG is really a term that has been shred to pieces by the gaming market. It doesn't really mean anything anymore. In the classical sense, HZD is not an RPG because you can't play a role chosen by yourself. On the other hand, there are a bunch of games out there just called RPG because they have loot and a leveling system, considering this HZD would be an RPG. I think we just have to ignore that term in the future.
Marketing of games, in general, seems way off nowadays. No man's sky is the Best example, they promised everything and delivered nothing. We can really thank the Hello games team that they actually improved the game experience instead of running with the money. But still, that's really sad, if they hadn't had a false advertisement they wouldn't have had the money to improve the game. So basically it seems like lying as much as you can is the best option for a developer/publisher.
I think when not comes to rpg games in general one could look at them in levels. Like when it comes to pokemons and hzd it's pretty basic. However look at games like witcher or wow, you get the full experience. So i think the term rpg should be looked at by matter of degree. But yes the rpg genre in general is being seriously milked for cash
@@abnormalnox you're on the right track in terms of looking at RPGs on a spectrum, however I would posit the divide is and has always been between how the term "role-playing" is used. We have 2 schools of thought: 1) it is a role-playing game in that you play the role given to you by the developers/ writers, this is most common in Eastern games and games written with a linear story. When you play final fantasy, you don't get to make choices that can have a multitude of effects on the world, you play the main character of whatever game they'd written. Conversely, in a game like baldur's gate, the expectation is that you would approach the game like any TTRPG: you make your character, and it's YOUR character, and you interact with the story as your character. These games have mostly been developed in America, and you can trace the lineage directly back to dungeons and dragons. Skyrim comes from Ultima comes from fans of Gygax himself. Zero Dawn, of course, pulls from linear games like Uncharted and open world games along the vein of Shadow of Mordor and Assassin's Creed, and if we look at it in that regard it's actually rather expansive with regards to "role-playing". Shadow of Mordor doesn't give you dialogue options, you know?
I think HZD's strongest point was the world it built from a narrative standpoint. if you're a player like me who reads the lore snippets as much as they have energy for, it makes for a really immersive playthrough. Seeing the cultural mannerisms that the people in the world express, and then learning where exactly those things came from probably gave me the best moments that stuck with my poor memory. It really became a game about connecting the past with the future, as you're the only one with enough busted gear to explore the places with the answers. So in that respect at least it completely succeeded as an action adventure game for me. I was honestly really surprised that anybody referred to it as an rpg though, so fair on that: it's not!
I wholeheartedly agree with you!
Absolutely. When I found the first vantage point, my mind was blown. That was such a great idea to show the past world and made me want to explore everything so I could find more. the world building with the different tribes was also so well done and interesting. Hopefully there's more of this in the new game.
The terrain itself has the game's backstory written into it. In the terrain, in the cultures of the various tribes, and in the machines and animals that inhabit it.
Amazing game to me, story is above anything else in gaming world
im personally a sucker for any game, film, show, or book set in my homestate of Colorado
18:35 - The reason Rost brought Aloy out there to hunt the Sawtooth was to teach her his last lesson. From the time she was a child, Aloy has only ever seen winning the Proving and becoming a Brave as a means to an end, a way to finally have the answers she has wanted all her life. But Rost wants to show her that her role as a Brave will involve protecting the tribe that exiled her. He did this by having her fight a machine that had been killing Nora hunting parties.
She cannot spend her life fighting only for herself.
Also, he probably wanted to throw a bit of "you must be able to adapt to and overcome the unknown" into her training before she left.
Wait. The game doesn't start when alloy is a kid.. it starts when she's a baby and rost is taking her for a ritual to be named.. its b4 the main menu even appears..
If you restart or play NG+, it skips that intro cutscene.
Aloy*
@@asianhavoc1872 it uh.. doesn't matter how you spell her name. Alloy, alloy, aloe.. lol
@@adampoole948 okay Adahm
@@adampoole948 both "alloy" and "aloe" are pronounced differently than "aloy". of course spelling matters, what are you on about? maebe ay shud stap spälling werdz proppärli sinz itt duzn't maedder enniweiz, rayt?
Ok your critique of Rost’s decision to leave before the proving indicated to me a lack of understanding. The way I read it was Rost was leaving because he knew that Aloy would pass the proving. Meaning she would become a part of the tribe and no longer be an outcast. But since he is still an outcast with no way of rejoining, if Aloy were to continue to associate with him, the laws of the tribe would force her out again. He knew that she would never stop associating with him on her own because he’s basically her father and she loves him. But he feels that living as an outcast for the rest of her life would be terrible. Plus when he is gone she won’t have anyone to call family. versus if she stays with the tribe she’ll have everyone there to call family. In Rost’s eyes him leaving is the best thing for her. It maximizes her potential chances for happiness so like any good father, he is willing to sacrifice everything for his baby girl. Even if that means he has to take himself out of her equation. It’s not a selfish move at all. It’s entirely selfless.
This guy tends to make things way more complicated and overelaborated than they really are.
This is literally my most played game of all time thus far. I’ve put almost 350 into it. I’ve 100% it 4 times, and I’ve also just spent dozens of additional hours just fighting machines because I find the combat to be absolutely sublime. One of my favorite games of all time.
I mean, it is the most beautiful game world I’ve ever seen. What difficulty mode do you play?
@Nigel Henry except the game has been out for nearly 4 years. There is 1,380 days between the launch of the game and this comment. That is 33,120 hours. That means they spent 1/100 of the time playing the game. That isn't having way too much time on your hand. That is just enjoying something so much you want to play it.
I love the combat too, especially when you know it by heart and it feels so powerful
Its my only plat
I love the combat too, I feel you get better at it by utilising your arsenal against the enemies weaknesses, not based on how much damage each tier of weapon gives over the previous one
Those spear upgrades are part of the Frozen Wilds DLC, which comes in the complete edition of the game. Spear upgrades were an afterthought
The first spear upgrade was in the tutorial area on release, before Frozen Wilds. The last is late in the story when you are given a new spear a couple missions before the finale. They are simple damage upgrades, not the same as the mod slots that Frozen Wilds adds.
He's talking about cauldrons. I never felt the need to use melee or override that often but did them because I enjoyed them. Im not sure he really played the game because a lot of things he brings up as unanswered are answered and some of his commentary is just odd in gameplay. Also, the gameplay footage hurts my feelings...so bad. Fair play to him, he needed content but "the dodge is overpowered"...huh? You're often fighting a hoarde of enemies.. I dont really get his perspective tbh
@@Ryattt81 This was painful to watch lol so much wrong about this vid my head is spinning.
I’m not really sure what you’re saying here? As if every game has to be solely RPG or action/adventure. If it does both, it can’t be fun. Few games this generation were more worth my time.
Agree.....its missing the freedom and exploration of Bethesda. Name other games that do that though, besides Bethesda, and not to mention how painfully obvious it is that Bethesda falls severely short in narrative and writing because of this. Its just a different design.
This game was the biggest shock of this past generation IMO. We knew God of War was going to be amazing. We knew Red Dead 2 would be amazing. Spider Man? No brainer. This? Ehhh....I dunno?
I honestly picked it up after it was about half price.....and didn’t even play it for a few months. When I did though, I couldn’t put it down. Alloy is probably my favorite female VG protagonist of all-time. I love how sensible and calm she is. When she does get a little emotional, it has way more impact. She sticks up for herself, but in such a grown up manner. You easily empathize with her journey not just to save the world, but to answer the questions, “Who am I? Where did I come from? Who is my mother?”
The game has a lot of problems. Its far from perfect, but still.....the world building, the religions, the tribes.....it all makes sense from what we know of the usual human development of various religions throughout history.
Some of those cutscenes......the long ones with the big revealing moments, were absolutely fantastic. This is sci-fi fantasy, but nothing feels fake or unrealistic.
I’m a little disappointed the next game is cross-gen. I wanted full next gen. The first game is gorgeous, but low frame rate, and bad human enemy AI could really use an upgrade. Didn’t matter though, because what they did well, they did really well.
When you first find yourself in an area with a Thunderjaw for the first time. You’re a bit underpowered and your weapons need upgrading.....prolly died five times, but finally defeat it in an epic 20 minute battle......it was amazing. They really did amazing things with sound FX. Each robo-dino has their own set of sounds they make, each attack type has a different sound.
The music??? God damn.....so good.
Can’t wait to play a third time on PS5.
You get an A for your essay
@@cyan3714 😆😆😆
It's one of the most unique and interesting worlds in fiction. The lore is great too
I think the game would have been leagues better without the skill tree and just stuck with weapon upgrades. The game shines the most when your hunting a tough new robot and are brainstorming ideas on how to take it down effectively using all of you available tools in a similar vein to Monster Hunter. The skill tree is just an arbitrary time sink between you and your eventual mastery of the game and adds nothing in terms of strategy or roleplay.
I think the best thing they could do is either add clear progression down a specific weapon path of your choosing allowing you to pick your favorite and master that playstyle. Or drop the RPG mechanics all together and make a purely strategic and equipment based game. As of right now it only does both on an average level.
@Ocean Blue That's the problem. It's not an RPG. The marketing called it an RPG, but it's not. It is an action adventure game with a "skill tree". A VERY small one that only contains number boosts and basic moves that feel like they should be a part of the default set. The skill tree only keeps the game from realizing it's full potential until most way through the game. It doesn't add variety, and it doesn't add customization. All it does is lock alot of your basic pool of options behind a time sink.
I gave 2 suggestions on how to fix it. I said abandon the skill tree all together and put all the focus on equipment and combat progression. OR revamp the skill tree to have specific paths on weapon choice and gameplay styles. That would add variety in gameplay and give the skill tree a reason to exist.
My favorite genre of game is RPGs, it's nearly my entire game collection. From turn based, to action, to tactical, I play them all. So I'm not just trying to drop the skill tree for no reason. But I don't just play RPGs because there's an experience bar and level system. I play them because you have so much freedom in how you play. You start with nothing. A blank slate character with near limitless possibilities on how you build them up. There's nothing more satisfying than coming up with a character build and then bringing that character to life in game and seeing how it plays in action.
You can't do that if your skill tree is paper thin with only basic actions that anyone should already have, and will have fully unlocked by the end of the game. That's not a skill tree, that's just the ability unlock from Banjo Kazooie with an experience bar.
I really love the amount of thought that went into world building in HZD. Each of the tribes are distinct from each other by culture, clothing, environment, etc. NPCs in Meridian will comment on your "dirty rags" if you walk around in your Nora gear, but put on some Carja armor and they'll comment that you clean up nice for a savage. The story and world are really what drew me in and has kept me replaying the game again and again, despite any issues I might have with the combat being repetitive or the character graphics being too stiff.
yeah! the artbook further characterizes just how much thought was put into the game, from the society of meridian to the metal armour that everyone uses. theres just so much
Melee isn’t unpredictable in HZD, it’s intentionally nerfed. The game wants you to use the incredible variety of strategies available via the ranged weapons. I really lied the combat.
So I got OCD, Im always afraid of out of ammo so I play melee 90% of time, and I end up with tons of resource.. I only use range weapon against thunderjaw and stormbird other than that spear all the way, and last I just use fire cuz other elements are suck.
@Ocean Blue yeahh this game gave us variety of way to deal with the enemy, its just me being use to damage build, this is what happen when you play dark souls all the time
Nasrul Haq each element is extremely useful. Piercing damage is perhaps the most useful. I’ve played the game 3 times and primarily used different weapons each time.
Agreed. It's meant to be played ranged, with melee as something to pull out in your back pocket when you're out of options. It's like complaining melee in Call of Duty isn't fleshed out haha
Anagnost the dead giveaway is how few options there are fir melee
Luke, at 24:48 you call Rost out on his selfishness. Consider this: Rost was raised as a Nora, and he is intimate with their ways. It is why he respects the tribe when they refuse to talk to him. It is something embedded in the culture: one shall not speak to the outcasts. They shall shun them.
Meanwhile, Aloy gets frustrated that she can’t talk to that friend of hers at the beginning who is no longer outcast but still needs Aloy’s help to survive. In this culture, many see Aloy as an uncultured outcast, and they will always see her that way because of her being outcast at birth. People will always be looking for reasons to get her outcast again, and Rost knows this.
If you remember the game, you’ll remember that Rost urges Aloy to shun him when she is no longer an outcast, as is the way. Since Aloy is Aloy, she won’t do that to her father. She is willing to break rules to see and speak to him.
This leads Rost to decide to go far away, so that the daughter he got to raise after he lost his own family (explained in the endgame, blink and you’ll miss it) will get to live a good life with the Nora, and he won’t let her jeopardise that for herself by being around.
So, dick move? Think again
The only game that made me cry at the end of the game. Like srsly. I cried.
And red dead 2
@@ductboss6789 Don't remind me :(
Actually during the end there's a huge battle that happens and if you befriend alot of people throughout the world, they all actually show up to the battle and help you out which was really cool to me
I am 25 hours into this and loving every single second of it. Brilliant game. Mind blowing
Same here...my advice so far: don't rush the game, explore every corner, enjoy the views from the high buildings or mountains...heck, when you encounter the first tall-neck, I stood ontop of the disc and had him circle the building multiple times before finally deciding to rapple down..
I love this game. As someone who was about 9 when Jurassic Park first came out. I remember my jaw hitting the floor when I first saw the dinosaur scene. This game made me feel like a kid again and has come the closest to replicating that moment.
The machine combat *is* an elegant dance when you recognise their tells & attack patterns.
I haven't listen to any internet opinions about this game and after 100 hours with this game I can say only one thing : It's a masterpiece! It's a damn well designed world. Everything is so alive.
41:27 actually they address this in a datapoint that I remember reading. it was like "how did six decades of science fiction not warn us about the dangers of what was to come?" something along those lines. So not really a plothole. They were robots designed for warfare so it makes sense that they would have such an effective and efficient energy consumption method. but it all went haywire after a glitch which obviously isnt supposed to happen, but did anyway
I remember that my initial thoughts on the game was the combat was super basic and enemies were almost unfairly spongey and looking online the time it seemed there was a more than a few who agreed with me. But it was the red maw fight that changed my attitude on that, needing to use every part of my kit in the heat of combat, targeting specific parts really taking in the in game descriptions of the enemy weaknesses, suddenly Bellow backs became canon fodder, a razorback could be felled in sub 1 minute rather than the 10 minutes it mightve taken at the beginning. Harvesting parts of a machine before taking it down became second nature and watchers only took more than one arrow when I failed to hit my shot.
The world of Horizon: Zero Dawn is the most immersive, beautiful, cosy and peaceful world I've ever played in. I think the open world that was created in this game is so damn underrated, it annoys me how no-one really mentions how perfect nature is depicted here.
Luke says ammo is a precious commodity, while he sprays arrows left and right missing half of his shots. I found myself being a wood hoarder, whenever I ran across some I picked it up. So I never had a problem with arrows. I did however tend to stick with my sharpshot bow later in the game most of the time.
Honestly, it seems Luke's approach to combat seriously affected his perspective on it. Characterizing it as a "mad dash" is only going to be true when you're not timing your shots or trying to hit parts of the monsters. The combat in this game is legitimately incredible if you work with the rules it gives you. Besides, I never had to collect wood after awhile. I just bought it at the shops haha
@@hawkxlr Yeah...when you're not paying attention to the description of the robots and their weaknesses, as he seems to have done, and then plinking the heavy armor with ´normal arrows instead of using the knowledge and exploiting the weaknesses, then of course it looks to you like the fighting is bad...
Hands down one of the best looking games on the Ps4.
Got it on PC. Even with initial glitches, best gaming experience in many years.
41:08 biomass is the material that everything living is made up of - plants, animals and microbes. Faro machines were therefore able to feed on DEAD things too. This was a huge advantage since these machines were used for combat, so in case they ran out of primary fuel they had a whole ass buffet on the the battleground. I can only assume Ted Faro intended for his robots to feed on the fallen soldiers and maybe the occasional cow or grass, if resources were wearing thin.
The whole storyline and lore of this game is phenomenal! It pulls you in and makes you want to find out more! The lore of the game is so detailed and explains everything so well. Learning the history of the old world and how the machines came to be. And how the Nora tribe came to be was so incredibly engaging. After beating it I wanted to learn more. And it never failed to have an answer. Everything was explained perfectly.
Forbidden West awaits. :D
One of the best games I ever played. Story is 10/10. Including rpg lore snippets
Rost is portrayed as a very traditional man, even though he is an outcast. So it makes a lot of sense when he tells Alloy he has to leave, he doesn't want her to break the law for him. He knows she'll come visit him, and that she's a very good tracker, which is why he chooses to hide from her. However, also since the start of the game, we clearly see that despite his traditional ways, he cares deeply for Alloy, when he agrees to let her keep the focus. This also explains why despite saying he'll go to hiding, he can't help but looking after Alloy during the proving since he loves her so much and wants to keep protecting her.
SPOILER:
His backstory also says he chose to become an outcast knowingly to save his daughter, which strenghtes his character as deeply traditional loving parent who is willing to break the rules for the ones he loves
Melee? Melee against the corruptor? Did you even play this game? Fire arrows. It's weak to fire. The is a bow-based game. Melee is entirely secondary.
This game needs a PS5 patch that unlocks its frame rate so it pushes 60fps. Make a great game that much better
This is amazing game and why this qriticue I don't understand but everything in this game give me super amazing experience, story is amazing can't wait for next horizon
@@igorbeuk6298 the gameplay would be a lot smoother than 30 fps, which is what hzd runs at except on pc. But honestly the frame rate never really bothered me too much
I just finished playing it on PC with a 3090 at native 4k, fully maxed out graphics running at 90 to 100fps. Yes, high fps makes all the difference in the world. I couldn't even imagine playing at a paltry 30fps. That would be torture for my eyeballs.
Abso freaking lutely. Like wtf are they waiting for.
I know some of y’all might disagree with me here but this game become my favorite of all time. I know there are games that exceeded this one in size or scope but the story and character development just really really hit me in a way I’m never gonna forget. Beyond hyped for the sequel.
i totally agree with u. like the way i felt playing this for the first time, discovering the origins of zero dawn & aloys “mother” was a feeling i won’t forget. it rlly is just so unique and absolutely beautiful.
18:39 Dude, did you skip the dialogue? He's teaching her the why of community service, the reason all of these skills are to be used. Not for her own fulfillment, but for the service of the community. Like the Tribe she's been trying to join her whole life. She's not going to just be able to join a tribe and then keep living like a wild outcast. She's going to have responsibilities to her tribe, because of the skills she possesses. it's "with Great Power come Great Responsibility" without the guilt.
Not my all time favorite but an amazing game. Actually I read more of the data points and extra things laying around in this game then any other game ive ever played. They really kept the right things secret and gave just the right snippets. And I loved that you intuitively could tell when it was time for little combat and time to run around and read and listen. They outdid themselves with lore in this game.
Update: Luke has a PS5 as of a couple weeks ago.
Fun fact:
I didn’t ask
I tried it for the first time on PSNow in March this year...and thats all it took - I was taken by its absolutely marvellous world...
I didn't complete the game in time by the time PSnow removed it, so I bought it outright...and was able to truly take my time with it.
140 Hours later, I beat the game and am now eagerly awaiting HZD Forbidden west, and read the comics....this is one of my favourite games of the last decade.
Absolutely goddamn wonderful, Geurilla really nailed it!
In some ways your lucky since you don't have to wait as long for the sequel. I played it for about the same time and then again on PC. Top five game of the entire generation for me....
The DLC to horizon zero dawn introduced other weapon types like a flamethrower and an electric gun blaster
The forgefire and stormlinger. Don't forget the icerail
A game that totals 25-30 hours? What were you doing? Speed running? Took me 85 hours for first play through with DLC.
yeah, think my first playthrough took 65 hours. that was before the dlc came out
@@ecMonify Yeah same. I remember checking how long I played after finishing the last story mission and it was 50. Then I did a bunch more and it was more than 60. Now I'm doing the dlc so I'll see how long it adds.
I moved very slowly through the early and mid game as I chose to be as stealthy as possible and tried to do as much as possible at long range or with stealth kills.
@@VespoLiveGaming same. The stealth kills were so satisfying. Especially when taking down larger machines.
@@cameronmehrdad5145 but the best was creeping up on two Thunderjaws and overriding one of them!
A CRITIQUE BY A PERSON WHO DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE STORY, he doesn't even know Rost was watching Alloy at the Proving, and why Rost chooses to disappear when Alloy become a Brave.
Glad that Luke didn't dive deeper into the narrative because he knows too shallow of it.
Wow. You really don't get it. You learn which way to kill which machine. You don't throw the ammo at the machine in a chaotic manner. Fire works on some, electricity on others.
This guy be like: "I wanna game that's about Exploration and finding things out on my own."
But then: "Why can't they just tell me where to upgrade my spear!"
HUD is pretty invasive, if you reduce the interface elements it gets even better. For example, the health bar on enemy robots can be taken out, as they will degrade visually as you fight them.
And most robots have some kind of limping animation too, when their nearly defeated. I really like the attention to details such as this, it all adds to the coherence of the world.
@@ge-orc8286 yeeess that too, I forgot to mention it
The sequel could benefit from stealing some ideas on navigation from Ghost of Tsushima. A more organic less-HUD-based navigation system would not only improve gameplay and visuals, but would fit the themes of this game beautifully.
I’m with you on this. Switched off the in world icons and made all HUD options appear only when I interacted with the touchpad. Really helped me immerse myself into the game.
@@ge-orc8286 not only that. You'll see sparks coming out when you're getting close as well.
This games world is genius. The 2nd time i've encountered Snapmaws, one of em was swimming to shore and trowing rocks on the land. didn't make a big deal out of it so I just killed them and moved on.
Later on in a mission you learn that the machines were originaly made for good, and that the snapmaws were made for cleansing the waters...Thats when it hit me. I realized that snapmaw that day was not just randomly throwing rocks, he was actually doing his job of cleaning the water and I killed it.
Excellent content, as always. I wished you would have done quick dive into Sylens. Great voice, definitely going to be a big part of the sequel, and it was his chapter up in the snow that gets us the full backstory into why the world became what it is.
I disagree about the world not being a character in this game.
I think that the world actively enriches the story and game.
I remember one time just spending 10 minutes just looking at this rusted out tank just sitting underneath this massive tree, even before time had taken its toll you could see that it had been through hell, it was as if it was so exhausted after whatever grueling battle it had been in that it had just sat down to rest and never got back up again.
contrast this with the machines I had become familiar with by this point in my playthrough. these machines never seemed to stand still, always moving around, going about their assigned tasks like living herds of real animals. I found myself fascinated not only with the picture of this old tired tank but with the world that it came from,
that drove me even more to chase down the truth and discover what happened to the "old world" and how this new one came to be.
The world fuels your questions. it is full of mystery and joy and tragedy if you are willing to look, even with the answers I still found the world compelling, everywhere I looked I could find and see pieces of what once was and how it all fell apart
I think Rost brushed Aloy off because he would stay outcast, and she would be a part of the tribe. So no conundrum there :D Also one of the prominent NPCs is Sylens, that we get to know, kinda. And he will play a big part on the sequel, which im very looking forward to.
I'm surrently replaying it with my 10y old and I'm in awe about the depth that the game creates by simply combining creatures, weapons and terrain. It's an emergent game design masterclass. Also, world design and story is ace level.
One of the best world building games I ever played. I was so fascinated throughout it, trying to discover how the world became this way and the main story explains it very well. Looking forward to the second game
I played this at a friends house, fell in love with it. Bought a ps4. Loved every minute of it.
I remember playing this game on launch with 0 expectations and i was completely blown away by the graphics.
Im also a huge scifi fan and it felt like something that can actually happen in the future. When i reached project zero dawn i was speechless.
I still feel like this game doesnt get the recogniscion it deserves.
It's not clear? Are you nuts? He wants her to live and be happy with the tribe. He knows he'll be a dangerous distraction. She could get kicked out for returning to him.
Horizon ZD & God Of War were the last 2 large beautiful epic great story games that released bug free. Still holding up to this date.
7:06 "and by now I'm sure you can just get a PS5 off the shelf"
Reporting From December 2021: no you can not.
This is odd timing, I just started my first play through of Horizon Zero Dawn and I’m loving it so far.
Same im enjoying it a lot. Perfect timing indeed
I got a ps4 pretty late so this was the first game I ever played on it and OMG, it was a hell of a welcome
Same for me. I bought the Father's Day Edition and the first game I purchased was HZD. Love it all around!
i think HZD might've been the first exclusive i played for ps4, but i was already a big fan of the remastered ps3 exclusives like Last of Us and Uncharted. they only got better too
I think about this game almost every day.
This was my favorite game of the PS4 generation, I absolutely loved it.
By the end of this game I was so good at it.. I knew how to take down every robot in muscle memory, knew every system of the game and how to run train on everything with the Tearblast Arrow, but I just tried playing again in celebration of this review and I SUCK now, getting wrecked by filthy ravagers
I can confirm you cant still find PS5 out of the shelf without finding it from overpriced mf scalpers. Preordered mine from October 2021 still waiting :)
Edit: 35:51 for most of the part thats Kingdom Come Deliverance
The only game of that generation that made me feel like how I did playing games as a kid.
i can only say that about Mario Odyssey really... plus i dont see that as such a good thing anyway, theres lot of my childhood games i could point to and say objectively this isn't good anymore
Hello past Luke, its been 8 months and i still have to see a Ps5 in stores
*Game* offers dozens of weapons, most supporting very different munition types and customizations. 😱
*Reviewers:* I wish there were more weapons. 🤷♀️
Just some things i got different than you:
1. About the holografic message: she's craving the loving affection that a mother provide. In harsh and primitive times the role of affection giver was more center on the mother than the father.
2. The hunting of the sawtooth is not only about skills. Rost himself speak that the lesson was not about reflexes or how to kill a "beast", was about helping the tribe (that sawtooth killed a lot of brave Nora) and protect those who were her people even when they rejected her. I'm his words "I told you you'll never need them, but I never told they would not need you. " And Alloy don't understand that in that moment. It makes sense with the plot (in my opinion).
3. Rost didn't say he would left because of fear, frustration, etc. He left because he respects the laws of the tribe. He was outcasted knowing about the consequences of his actions but he was a great warrior and very respectful about Nora traditions and laws. He knew Aloy were not. She would break the rules to see him and he wouldn't allow that, so he make the choice to left so she couldn't break the law because of him.
4. The first hours are pretty important. They set the culture, the pain of Aloy, her missions, her traditions, etc.
Im usually not a good sniper, but getting good shooting Robot's weak points felt great. The protagonist felt a little bland; she serious all the time, which makes sense. My main fascination was learning about the different tribes, reverting back to prehistoric governence. The worst part was definitely the final boss. I hate other enemies showing up, ruining the fight.
See it was the total opposite for me. I didn’t care about the tribes or their conflicts. I wanted to know about the Faro ********, and what happened to humanity. I wanted to know what happened to ancient humanity, and where they are going next.
I don't know about anyone else, but the world of this game never left me.
In the DLC they did add some pretty cool and unique weapons. Give it a shot is was a lot of fun!
they really leaned hard on the feminist angle in the dlc. it was kinda annoying.
25:24 He left because she would go see him. Karst nearly got shunned for talking with her. Rost didn't want to get her kicked out of the tribe
The combat was amazing, hope they stick to it. Having multiple ways of defeating an enemy its something i havent found in any other game
Yeah I agree with everything! I played through the game three times a few months ago and I loved it every time. I'm in love with the map. I'm a big fan of how they all made it beautiful in every corner
Amazing story, a true science fiction story, which means it builds on the world in current state, no futuristic fantasy bullshit...
Dude I was scared to fight the robots for like the entire intro up til the last third of it or so. They executed that masterfully
An analysis on Bethesda’s design would definitely be interesting!
I never in my wildest dreams would think a dev team that strictly made kill zone games (forgive me if they made other games, but I'm only familiar with their killzone series of games) would creat such a fantastic RPG, the story is AMAZING, combat was fun even after 60 plus hours, A.I. Was brutal in the best way on the hardest difficulty (the humans were admittedly boring to fight but every machine was a joy to fight/hack/etc) horizon is such a great concept and it was was beautifully conveyed. I loved every Crumb of story I could get my hands on. I can't wait for the sequel!
This was my GOTY that year.
I have BOTW and enjoy it but it's never drawn me in the way this game did
Hell even AC Origins was far more captivating for me in 2017
Either way this was a damn good year for gaming
My biggest issue was with the character-level writing. The macro-level world building was great: The lore of the tribes and the historical lore was all richly developed and layered, and tribes' geographical centers and religions and music and modes of dress all seem to coincide in ways that made sense but yet were quirky.
But I came to this game off of The Outer Worlds. There, virtually every NPC that had a name and had more than generic lines had unique character quirks--a point of view on the world and their community, a sense of humor (or not), personal grudges and biases, and reasons for being in the place they were at that moment: You felt like you were actually meeting a character. By comparison--apart from Rost, Sylens, maybe Olin, and of course Aloy herself--the characters in Horizon Zero Dawn come across as lore- or plot- or quest-delivery systems rather than as *characters* with complex relationships and unique character flaws.
This actually improved quite a bit in The Frozen Wilds, so I suspect this is on their radar for the sequel.
I still enjoyed this game. A lot. But this is the one area for me where it came up short.
You claim you played the game, but don't understand various things. Were you paying attention?
1: Rost leaves the day before the Proving because Aloy will become an upstanding member of the Nora and he will always be an Outcast. HE SAYS THIS! Knowing Aloy would bend or outright fracture the law, he says he has to leave.
2: The dialog choices affect who shows up in the last few chapters of the game. be aggressive with everyone (with a few exceptions) and you'll only have the bare bones. Treat everyone with intelligence or empathy and there'll be lots of extras to interact with. There's also an achievement for having ALL of the available allies showing up during the endgame.
3: The early side quest, "In Her Mother's Footsteps," offers a +1 to your spear. I don't think anyone knows what that really means. In "The Frozen Wilds," you can acquire modification slots, which are better understood.
4: The High Matriarchs don't have an early change. They remain the same. One thinks Aloy is a curse, one thinks she's a blessing, and the third allows herself to be swayed by the second... just as she was when Aloy was found and given to Rost.
Finally, my BIG DREAM for "Horizon Forbidden West" is a pet. A pet that can level up with Aloy, develop its own skill trees, and can be repaired and upgraded. Aloy gains the ability in time to call a mount in HZD. It would be great if it was a machine that she'd grown attached to, maybe even given a nickname. A Sawtooth named "Toothless." A Grazer named "Rudolph." Something!
@Hannah Sheffield Exactly. It gets a very solid explanation.
@Hannah Sheffield I left a comment debunking some of Luke's points. He didn't pay enough attention to the story and lore. Please read if you can and tell Luke about it if possible.
Arguably the best looking game ever at least before ps5. The characters, grass, bushes and machines look so real its almost like real life. What really got me was when I first saw the thunderjaw woow
This game was my favorite in 2017. I'd love to see what they do for the sequel.
In the game we find out Rost became an Outcast.
Outlanders went into his village and kidnapped hostages, including his wife and daughter. They were dragged out JUST beyond the border of the Sacred Lands and the Nora Braves, including Rost, watched the Outlanders murder them. They did it because they knew it was forbidden for the Nora to go beyond the tribes borders and didn't think anyone would seek revenge but Rost went anyways. Afterwards he willingly became an Outcast for breaking tribal law and years later took in Alloy believing she didn't deserve to be an Outcast.
FINALLY! Hzd has been one of my favorite games for quite some time now and i cant wait for forbidden west😭
“Missing magical drive to explore”?? Are you ducking kidding me? As soon as I found the first vantage point, I wanted to walk the entire map front to back to find the other ones to piece the hole story together. Tons of ancient broken down relics of humanity like stadiums and concert venues that really made me want to keep searching. Come on man, you know the thing!
I have never played this but I keep hearing and reading such wonderful things.
I played The Witcher 3 because of Luke's review.
This one is pulling on me.
The witcher 3 is my fav game ever, this one is also one of them ive had a great time with it. Play it for sure.
A shining example of a game where almost everything makes sense within the game's fiction. Great job of the design and narrative writers. Not a perfect game by any means but these things are rare in games and must be praised.
Not just "good for a game", but a solid piece of science fiction writing in general, IMHO.
Trash
@@aslipp exactly
NGL you got a lot of the plot details wrong here.
I fell in love with this game before I even owned a PS4. Used to play on the Xbox One but swapped to PS4 to play this, and it blew my mind!
Again, an excellent commentary, Luke! I find myself agreeing with most of the points you make, but you spin your thoughts in a way I never could. Keep up the good work!
6:50 the PS5 issue hasn't changed a year later.... sorry past you
you should analyze bethesdas world design and make some predictions on how they will handle the space game!!!!!!!!! because its going to be interesting.
@Banuner like cyberpunk
@Banuner I'm not defending the bugs, but that is not a good comparison. Indie games don't have to look the best, or be 3d open world games. Hollow Knight is a 2d game. Cyberpunk is a massive 3d open world game with a ton in it.