We didn’t need it, but still – I'm glad we got the remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn.
Launched all the way back in 2017, the original game was our first introduction to Aloy, the bow-wielding, robot dinosaur-slaying hero of the dystopian future.
She’s our guide into the massive open world of the game, a world into which we’re plunged as Aloy seeks to solve the mystery of her birth and of the story behind how we got all those cool-looking robot dinosaurs in the first place.
For a game that’s eight years old, the original still holds surprisingly well in terms of graphics – but the remaster, made for PS5 and (presumably) the PS5 Pro, takes things to a whole new level.
Similarly to the remaster for The Last Of Us 2, this new version of Horizon concerns itself mainly with upgrading what we see on the screen. But it is gorgeous. The lighting feels ten times more natural thanks to a tricked-out new rig.
Faces are more detailed; the textures look so much more immersive. Apparently, a fair amount of dialogue was re-recorded for this – honestly, not that I could tell, but it’s nice to know.
And that’s before we get onto the world itself. The long red grasses in which Aloy conceals herself now move aside as she passes through. The world feels denser and more populated – with people, with animals and most importantly with dinosaurs. When you come across a viewpoint, it looks stunningly beautiful – as beautiful as anything you’d see in Horizon Forbidden West, its 2022 sequel.
Those dinosaurs have always been Horizon’s best selling point. There’s something weirdly satisfying about stalking and taking out a T-Rex sized beast armed with nothing more than a tricked-out bow and arrow, and this game gives you that in spades.
Yes, the gameplay still feels slightly rudimentary, but gosh darn if it doesn’t still give you an adrenaline rush. And this time, the game makes full use of the PS5 controller, including haptic feedback, trigger tension and well-timed vibrations to make battles feel more edge-of-your-seat.
The other bonus to this game is how cheap the upgrade is. For £9.99, you can’t really argue with the price – or the fact that the upgrade comes complete with the game’s rather excellent DLC, The Frozen Wilds.
With 10-plus hours of extra gameplay from that, as well as the chance to push the PS5 to its limits, why would you not buy it? This is the definitive version of Horizon Zero Dawn, and doesn’t it look good.
Available now on PlayStation and PC
