Why Horizon Zero Dawn deserves to be as highly praised as The Witcher 3 and Breath of the Wild
Aloy’s adventure was a modern classic, but it doesn’t get the high praise it deserves
Breath of the Wild and The Witcher 3 are regarded as the finest games of this generation, with many gamers arguing over which deserves first place. But sadly, Horizon Zero Dawn gets over-looked for third place, and it definitely shouldn’t. Its unique twist on the action/adventure genre, added to by a highly compelling story and beautiful graphics, makes it a modern treasure: one that even Link would love to pull from a chest.
Horizon Zero Dawn follows the journey of Aloy, a young outsider who never knew her own mother. She trains to be a hunter of machines, which have taken over the world, and changed it completely from how we know it. Information on why this has happened is expertly provided in small, digestible, yet hugely compelling moments which always leave the player wanting to know more. Aloy comes off as a very likeable character: one that we can relate to as we find out information through her, and experience the same sense of discovery. Aloy is one of the great game leads, and the story is one which is unique and will stay with you for a long time.
The plot's fairly similar to Breath of the Wild: a distant land is overrun by dangerous machines, and the player is thrown into this world to uncover the secrets behind it. Breath of the Wild obviously has the Zelda charm which is just unbeatable, but the driving story is very simple, and quite plain. Horizon Zero Dawn, however, captivates the player from start to finish, and keeps them on the edge of their seat. Both have a huge amount of side-quests, but Aloy’s come as more meaningful, despite the charm of Zelda-ness from many in Link’s adventure.
The setting is the star of Breath of the Wild. In each direction there’s something to see, discover or explore. Horizon Zero Dawn is a beautiful game, perhaps the best graphics of any console game, but the landscape doesn’t quite reach the same levels as Hyrule. That isn’t to say that it’s bad. Certainly not. But it doesn’t capture the same magic that Breath of the Wild does.
In comparison, The Witcher 3’s setting lies in third place. Despite its massive size, wondrous cities and hidden secrets, it doesn’t have the beauty of Horizon Zero Dawn. It does have much more exciting minor characters though. Andrzej Sapkowski’s brilliant Witcher novels set a fantastic template for CD Projekt Red to follow, and that shines through with the supporting cast. Other than Aloy, the supporting characters are quite one-dimensional, meaning the side quests lose their meaning. Arguably, the side quests are the best part of The Witcher 3, adding a lot more depth to the game.
The side quests typically have one thing in common, though: fighting. Both games have a variety of challenging monsters which provide a chance to show off the protagonist’s talents. Fighting humans is also a big part of each game, but Horizon Zero Dawn really lacks on this front, with combat becoming much less tactical, and more about swinging at the enemy with no ability to parry or time a well-hit strike. This is where Breath of the Wild truly stands out, with its complete combat overhaul allowing for perfectly timed hits and an intense combat experience.
Horizon Zero Dawn does so much, so well, it reinvigorated the RPG genre in the same way that The Last of Us changed the horror genre. But its setting doesn’t quite have the charm of Breath of the Wild, or the combat experiences. Nor does it quite have the range of characters or plot that The Witcher 3 has. Despite this, Horizon Zero Dawn towers over all other games of this generation to sit firmly in third place: a title worthy of such an incredible game!
There’s a new Witcher game on the way, and the Zelda franchise is far from over, but perhaps a Horizon Zero Dawn sequel could do enough to topple gaming’s behemoths?
