First Horizon review [Engadget]

Status
Not open for further replies.
I mean, am I supposed to have confidence in GG's ability to deliver an amazing story-based RPG, based on their previous works? Personally, if the game turns out genuinely great, that'll be a pleasant surprise to me, because I didn't expect much to begin with.

Visual storytelling to me has always been something that draws me to videogames, as an interactive audiovisual medium. To me, Guerilla Games are masters in this. Although I only have played Killzone and Killzone 2. Those games excel in creating a frighting world, where war is pictured way better than most games or movies I have seen. It really resonated, it was a tour de force.

Horizon looks benchmark setting when it comes to this visual side of storytelling.
 
Man based on some comments the review thread will be a sight to behold

Honestly, the reviews look to be very positive. People are just going to have to shut up and go somewhere else for the most part if they cannot handle it. Horizon looks and seems like a great game. To me it will be up there with the best of them if the story succeeds.
 
I've been following the last few Horizon thread because I'm curious to see how this new AAA exclusive IP ends up doing. It's a rare thing to see from the industry these days and it's cool to watch potential new big franchises from the start. I also want another good game on the market for whenever I'm craving to play an open world game.

It's kind of sad how people are constantly trying to dismiss any positive impression about this game. Any sort of praise from the media is met with tense skepticism. All of the well-written impressions and experiences by The Lamp, SlasherJPC, MiamiWesker, etc (people who have clearly aren't blinded fanboys and can give honest opinions) in the impressions thread are ignored by the concerned people.

Is this game allowed to be good?
All early copies of games are coated with a special neurotoxin that diminishes the brain's ability to criticize. This is a well known fact.
 
It's really gonna go to shit when the 6 from Polygon rolls in

Oh, that's almost tradition.

1368113726727fcutw.gif
 
Is it allowed to be good? It will be good, and people are just going to have to accept Sony has another ace studio doing top quality work. I am no Sony fanboy as the majority of my game collection resides on Steam. But I know a good studio when I see one. And GG is one of the best.

They were on tight budgets and timescales for the PS3 and that system was not easy to develop for. They have their shit down, and it's obvious.

Can improvements be made in places? Sure.
 
i wanted it to be a mp game personally

You wanted this to be a Monster Hunter game, did you?
Visual storytelling to me has always been something that draws me to videogames, as an interactive audiovisual medium. To me, Guerilla Games are masters in this. Although I only have played Killzone and Killzone 2. Those games excel in creating a frighting world, where war is pictured way better than most games or movies I have seen. It really resonated, it was a tour de force.

Horizon looks benchmark setting when it comes to this visual side of storytelling.

GG is good at creating worlds and lore. The writing when it comes to character dialogue is where they struggle a lot with their games.
 
I see bunch of people in this thread didn't pay attention to the actual notable people that GG has been hiring. None of these good impressions are shocking to me at all. But carry on.
 
Just pre-ordered it from Amazon. The 20% off for Twitch Prime members is too good of a deal.

First game I've ever pre-ordered.
 
I see bunch of people in this thread didn't pay attention to the actual notable people that GG has been hiring. None of these good impressions are shocking to me at all. But carry on.

The hires of experienced RPG writers and quest designers has been reiterated countless times. It was just completely ignored.
 
fuck yeah i did
that concept art way back whenever of some guys tugging down that giant satellite dish was cool

im glad guerilla is making a game with feminine lead

but boy a pretty ass robot dino hunter would've been great

I would not be surprised if a MP mode was added for a sequel. The rightly focused on getting the single player done right for a move to new genre. I don't want a co-op campaign though because that doesn't fit with a story driven RPG.

Soo Good!!
755c98d4_o.png


Time to switch my wallpaper from Resident Evil 7 to Horizon.
 
Awesome review and the accompanying pics, even if tiny, so beautiful...

I still have to double facepalm everytime someone comes out to say this game looks generic, lol. I think it looks so unique and unlike anything before. The extreme contrast and blending of nature and technology, the colors and light play...
 
I think what is so impressive to me about this review is that Horizon represents Guerrilla's first foray into the action RPG genre and it was able to make the reviewer fall in love with the open world RPG. And this was with other cornerstone franchises like Dragon Age, Witcher, and Skyrim not clicking for her.

In addition she found Aloy and the narrative themes enthralling. Good characterization and a great narrative are not strengths expected from Guerrilla!

Bravo to them. They picked the riskiest project they came up with over safer options. They self evaluated and made the right hires to execute a new IP in a new genre. All this risk and they even told Sony that their vision wasn't complete without Aloy and this new IP had to be fronted by a female protagonist.
 
Just look at the trend of every Horizon thread, seriously look at it. It's the way people respond to each other, not that they are responding. Of course there are shitposts, but seriously some of the stuff that gets quoted like 50 times in these threads aren't even bad.

Whatever though, carry on

This is going to be the case for practically any exclusive game, unfortunately.
 
This is a really shit review. It's a hype piece that spends its entire time gushing about how fantastic the setting is, and spends negligible time actually talking about playing the game. They might as well be reviewing a book or a movie, because there's barely a hint in this review that indicates it's something we play.

im hyped tho
.
 
This is a really shit review. It's a hype piece that spends its entire time gushing about how fantastic the setting is, and spends negligible time actually talking about playing the game. They might as well be reviewing a book or a movie, because there's barely a hint in this review that indicates it's something we play.

im hyped tho
.

The reviewer probably cares more about setting and story than the game's mechanics, which is fine. Different people play games for different reasons. With that said, I agree it's not a review that has sold me on the game. I'm sure plenty of reviews on Monday will go into detail about its various gameplay systems and from what I've seen in videos and previews, it looks to be a "gameplay focused" experience, which I'm happy about. I honestly don't care all that much about the game's narrative, though I'm happy it seems to be a strong point, for those interested in that aspect.
 
This is a really shit review. It's a hype piece that spends its entire time gushing about how fantastic the setting is, and spends negligible time actually talking about playing the game. They might as well be reviewing a book or a movie, because there's barely a hint in this review that indicates it's something we play.

im hyped tho
.

You will get your Washington Post review for your gameplay fix!! I only trust them.
 
This is a really shit review. It's a hype piece that spends its entire time gushing about how fantastic the setting is, and spends negligible time actually talking about playing the game. They might as well be reviewing a book or a movie, because there's barely a hint in this review that indicates it's something we play.

im hyped tho
.

We will have plenty of reviews that get into the nuts and bolts of gameplay on Monday. But I'd say it is a good thing that Mrs. Conditt liked Aloy and the story because there was a lot of apprehension that Guerilla could deliver on those fronts. These aspects really struck a cord with her.
 
This is a really shit review. It's a hype piece that spends its entire time gushing about how fantastic the setting is, and spends negligible time actually talking about playing the game. They might as well be reviewing a book or a movie, because there's barely a hint in this review that indicates it's something we play.

im hyped tho
.
Is there some rule somewhere that says all reviews must follow a specific structure? A review is nothing more than a writer discussing why they enjoyed the game, a review score nothing but a representation of how much they enjoyed it

Not to derail, but it is thematically related. What do you think of this review: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-20-never-alone
 
Yep. This is a preview of what to come on Monday. If it scores well, it will silence both the doubters and haters, but boys, if it gets like a 6 or 7, the trolls will come right in.
 
Not a bad review,sounds like the games setting is wonderful,I've only seen a small amount of the game on purpose.Hoping it genuinely lives up to the massive hype
 
I gotta say something these Horizon threads are getting really annoying and it's not cause people are saying something you see as negative, it's because every time someone does the rest of you jump down their throats. Mention Ubisoft, 5 posters jump on them, mention Far Cry, same story. That is getting so annoying, not everyone is out to get this game. This is getting just a tad ridiculous, let people voice their opinion.

Yep, can't say anything about the game.
 
Is there some rule somewhere that says all reviews must follow a specific structure? A review is nothing more than a writer discussing why they enjoyed the game, a review score nothing but a representation of how much they enjoyed it

Not to derail, but it is thematically related. What do you think of this review: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-20-never-alone

The review you posted includes a piece towards the end describing the way the game plays in detail:

Most of the time, Never Alone is a peaceful trot through the ice and snow. It's serene, it's meditative.
...
There's a rough difficulty spike at that point; until then, the game had been little more than simple jumps and a few challenging puzzles. Typically, Never Alone has you controlling both characters somewhat simultaneously. They each have slightly different abilities, and they need each other to progress.

Not to mention Never Alone and Horizon are two completely different beasts. Horizon is a game that has been, up to this point, portrayed as a showcase of challenging and complex combat, looting, crafting, and traversing a vast expanse. The story is there, but unlike Never Alone, the gameplay is a highlight. It's complex and varied, and stands as a big question mark for future buyers. I just feel like a video game review ought to capture that in some form.
 
"She's as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen -- and she's the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn."

What an awkward way to close. Naming literally the most obvious names.
 
"She's as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen -- and she's the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn."

What an awkward way to close. Naming literally the most obvious names.

To close what ?
 
Yep, can't say anything about the game.

It can go both ways. It's amazing how y'all both can't seem to grasp that it's also quite annoying to see the same lame criticism about the game in multiple threads in which posters constantly say "Ubisoft" and "Far Cry" rather than let the game stand on its own merits, but sure...the people who are jumping on those comments are the "annoying ones".... carry on.


It's not like those two examples aren't being used in a negative way. No one says this stuff about Zelda but yet with Horizon, it has to be all these things before it's just a new IP. I don't think all criticism is bad but at least detail your issues rather than throwing out the same tired games that everyone constantly compares it to as a cheap cop out.

----

So far so good. I've stopped paying too much attention to this since I don't want to get myself wrapped up in wanting to buy it but it sounds like it living up to some expectations. I guess Monday is when we'll know what's up.
 
To close what ?

LOL I had to look up the Harry Potter character and the Hunger Games person. Don't watch, read, or care about certain tweenage things I guess. I found the review to be pretty decent and well-written.

Not every review has to shy away from abstract expression even in videogames. The game made an imprint on her. She is trying to describe what it means to her. It's fine.
 
"She's as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen -- and she's the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn."

What an awkward way to close. Naming literally the most obvious names.

As opposed to using obscure characters who no one will have heard of as references? Yeah that would have been more effective. /s
 
Preorders are high? I'm asking because preordering the game is 49€ instead of 69€ for a short period of time here in France.

30€ in a few months? :/
 
"She's as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen -- and she's the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn."

What an awkward way to close. Naming literally the most obvious names.

oh no she should have said Germaine Greer.
 
Yep, can't say anything about the game.
Is someone stopping you or others from criticizing? If you offer a criticism and someone disagrees, then you can support and explain your position with counterpoints. That's usually how conversation and discussion works.

Unless you dont actually have points to counter said disagreement....
 
Chû Totoro;230542469 said:
Preorders are high? I'm asking because preordering the game is 49€ instead of 69€ for a short period of time here in France.

30€ in a few months? :/

Buy it in a few months then.
 
Yep, can't say anything about the game.

I dunno. Maybe if you don't repeat the same tired shite that's been trotted out umpteen times you get better responses. The discussion over the human AI, for example or the lack if lock-on for melee - both areas that there's actually been some good discussion.

Coming in with a 3 line 'Hur dur Far Cry ubi towers' post, you're gonna get dogpiled because it's shitposting at this point.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom