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[01011001]

I don't like stealth. Setting traps is the opposite of fun time.
... I did upgraded stealth tree a bit just for crits from cover and from behind. I try to start every fight from stealth. But I used traps maybe 3 times. Not fun making enemies walk into traps

stealth is indeed boring as hell, and trapping enemies doesn't take skill or real strategy either, scan tracks, place trap, wait... real great lol.

I usually try to go the action route, which says a lot because in almost every game with a stealth option I use that stealth option, but here? god no

60fps + gyro aiming also makes the game way more manageable at the harder difficulty levels

 

[remember_spinal]

At literally no point in the first game did I ever get confused or stuck on where I was supposed to go 10 hours in I find this game frustrating in understanding exactly where this linear game wants me to go.

No other complaints other than completely awful directing on where to proceed at times

I dont understand how you can get lost, you click on the quest and the maps draws you a line directly to where you need to go. If anything the game is a little too hand-holdy

 

[Represent.]

im addicted to photo mode.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Took down my first Oliphaunt.
I hope I didnt wear out the dual sense. I was leaning on those sticks hard.
I ran across one giant turtle blocking a cave entrance and noped out of there. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[isoRhythm]

I would hate to be a machine in your path...

 

[shubik]

Took down my first Oliphaunt.
I hope I didnt wear out the dual sense. I was leaning on those sticks hard.
I ran across one giant turtle blocking a cave entrance and noped out of there. Maybe tomorrow.

the bigger enemies are such spectacle to fight! I beat the first elephant yesterday and that thing fucked me up for over an hour. Finally figured out, that there is a bigger weapon nearby that I can pick up and struck that fucker hard.

I honestly can't name a different open-world game with more interesting combat mechanics than this. The game is simply incredible.

 

[Represent.]

I would hate to be a machine in your path...

i died the instant i unpaused

 

[sendit]

At literally no point in the first game did I ever get confused or stuck on where I was supposed to go 10 hours in I find this game frustrating in understanding exactly where this linear game wants me to go.

No other complaints other than completely awful directing on where to proceed at times

Agreed. However, quest are broken down in to different types. I think what you're looking for is the main quest lines under the "Main" side bar navigation in the quest menu.

 

[SeraphJan]

im addicted to photo mode.

The night view is beautiful!

 

[Anos Voldigoad]

Thats average biceps size for any women tennis player

You mean Fashav's?

 

[VeganElduderino]

The night view is beautiful!

I think i'll use this for laptop wallpaper

 

[SeraphJan]

I think i'll use this for laptop wallpaper

Totally, this game had wallpaper level of graphic fidelity, holy shit 9th gen

 

[Represent.]

The night view is beautiful!

It’s blowing my mind. Games have truly come a long way. Loving this game despite its flaws. PS5 has come into form

 

[Represent.]

I think i'll use this for laptop wallpaper

Awesome

 

[Anos Voldigoad]

Anybody with c1 lg oleds what do you do with all the text and icons on the screen ,scarred of burn in.

Running C7 oled here since 2017. Constantly use to consume movies and I game on it more than 6 hours everyday. Sometimes I just let those live youtube videos running edm music for 10 hours straight. No burn ins

 

[TrebleShot]

Yes and I had similar complaints. The game was always overrated when it comes to gameplay but this is just more

Ok so it’s just not for you then. Fair play

 

[Certinty]

I sort of regret getting this. I didn’t like the first game and thought maybe this would maybe win me over but it hasn't. No doubt a much better game but it's just so boring in my eyes. The open world looks beautiful but it feels so dull at the same time and the story and gameplay is nothing special.

I'll probably just play through the main story and not bother with the rest, at least that doesn't seem overly long.

 

[Fess]

another few hours in and I am SOOOO close to turning off voice audio... holy shit that damn bitch can't shut her fucking mouth!

literally EVERY FUCKING obstacle you come across that damn bitch has to have some comment on in how to get across or what to do next, jesus fucking christ

it is in times like that where you just feel who the actual people are these modern AAA games are made for

Lol
I love the game but yeah, agreed, it’s like it’s made for kids, they don’t even let you think about a problem for two seconds until she starts talking to herself and give hints.
I didn’t realize it can be deactivated though. will definitely try that.

 

[cormack12]

Where is the first bow thar can shoot purgewater arrows?

 

[Fess]

Just a Plainsong area photo, I don’t think this is too much of a spoiler but for those who want to go in blind I’ll place it under spoiler. First visit at this place and I went there during the night. It looks so good! Superb design for that whole area, the geometry, textures, lighting, everything. People who complain about the visuals don’t know what they’re talking about. Performance mode gameplay screen shot

Spoiler: Early game area

 

[The artful mincer]

the bigger enemies are such spectacle to fight! I beat the first elephant yesterday and that thing fucked me up for over an hour. Finally figured out, that there is a bigger weapon nearby that I can pick up and struck that fucker hard.

I honestly can't name a different open-world game with more interesting combat mechanics than this. The game is simply incredible.

There's no linear games either really at least in the 3rd person shooter space

 

[GymWolf]

Yeah climbing is kinda bad, janky and make no sense sometimes having 2 perfectly identical wall of rocks but only one is climbable, it is better than the first game and you have more freedom but it is far from optimal.

Some minor jank in general movements aswell, sometimes she stuck on some geometry.

I love the new weapons and weapons ability and the story is great for people who loved the scifi part of the first one.

I'm like 25 hours in and i feel like i just scratched the main plot, lol. (this is a plus not a minus for me)

New dinobots are wild, enemy variety is ace.

Melee is super strong, not sure wtf journalists did in their runs...i'm constantly KOing mofos with the charged heavy attack, or charging the resonator to do massive damage, and i'm playing on very hard where you are done in 2 hits.

Sidequest and digital acting are mindblowingly good coming from the first game.

 

[GymWolf]

Finally got a blue Hunter bow and the combat is immediately better. No idea why they put so much emphasis on hitting only weakpoints this time around but it got really frustrating with some enemies jumping around constantly. With the slicing hunter bow, i finally have decent rear damage which helps me shoot off components in one hit.

The story is still the game’s strongest suit. Or rather writing. Once again the sci fi stuff is really well done and meticulously explained. Bungie just goes there is no time to explain while horizon presents a literal thesis on the backstory. Its exceptional writing.

Have you found tearblaster arrows??

What do you mean with decent rear damage?

 

[The artful mincer]

Yeah climbing is kinda bad, janky and make no sense sometimes having 2 perfectly identical wall of rocks but only one is climbable, it is better than the first game and you have more freedom but it is far from optimal.

Some minor jank in general movements aswell, sometimes she stuck on some geometry.

I love the new weapons and weapons ability and the story is great for people who loved the scifi part of the first one.

I'm like 25 hours in and i feel like i just scratched the main plot, lol.

New dinobots are wild, enemy variety is ace.

Melee is super strong, not sure wtf journalists did in their runs...i'm constantly KOing mofos with the charged heavy attack, or charging the resonator to do massive damage, and i'm playing on very hard where you are done in 2 hits.

Sidequest and digital acting are mindblowingly good coming from the first game.

How is the general difficulty compared to ultra on zero dawn?

 

[Fox Mulder]

stealth is indeed boring as hell, and trapping enemies doesn't take skill or real strategy either, scan tracks, place trap, wait... real great lol.

I usually try to go the action route, which says a lot because in almost every game with a stealth option I use that stealth option, but here? god no

60fps + gyro aiming also makes the game way more manageable at the harder difficulty levels

You can use traps in combat too like throwing down trip wires as you run or roll around to take off huge chunks of life or armor. Doing the hunting grounds teaches how to use multiple weapons and tactics.

 

[Kerotan]

Sony x90j led owner here. Any recommended HDR settings?

 

[GymWolf]

I've switched the spoken language to italian and I'm just using subtitles. It makes everything sound exotic.

Use another language, italian va is usually horrible.

 

[shaddam]

Finished it at dawn, so after it I went to sleep
It's a massive improvement on every side, most importantly the actors feel alive now. I mostly focused on the main story with some side quests and exploration, and it was ofer 27 hours for me. I need a little break and I will platinum it I'm sure.
I liked the subtle forshadowing from zero dawn. I wished that they expand that story, and they did it. They also tell the story better this time, but it's till important to try and find notes
Compared to killzone where you have to read wikipedia to get some idea about Vekta and Helghast
The photomode looks brilliant. I'm not talented, but I can't wait what others will make

 

[GymWolf]

How is the general difficulty compared to ultra on zero dawn?

Noticeably easier, but i still die a lot because dinobots are not your run of the mill open world throw away enemies.

I died like 20 times against the shell snapper lol.

A good challenge but not super brutal like ultra hard.

 

[GymWolf]

I have to say, this new stash system is dumb as fuck. Just let me hold potions or whatever. I mean it doesn't even make logical sense that I find something in the wild and it's sent across the map magically to my stash. This is probably the dumbest design decision I have ever seen in a game of this nature.

It is stupid but it is super comfy, and it still had some tension during combat because the small pause you need to take to recharge the potions from the stash can be potentially deadly in the heat of the combat, i died many times while doing that (but i'm on max difficulty level)

Picking obiects with zero animations like tushsima or ac games looks dumb as fuck but nobody hate that.

 

[evanft]

I gave it another shot. Here are some thoughts so far.

Negatives

• The climbing is improved from HZD, but after BOTW it feels old. It’s basically a better version of Uncharted, which is fine, but to see it in a big open world game like this is disappointing.
• Ashly Burch seems to be purposefully deepening/aging her voice. In the first game she basically sounded like Ashly Burch, while in the second it’s like someone told her to change her voice. I don’t like.
• Ally talks to herself too much. I know that medicine is going to the stash. I’ve been playing for like 12 hours.
• The melee combat, at least so far, is still bad. I was really hoping they would fix what was one of the worst parts of the first game, but for some reason they didn’t. This is exacerbated by the fact that the machines are much more aggressive than before and encounters often end up in close quarters combat much more frequently than in the first game.
• The FOV is not wide enough. I can’t see what’s going on when things get crazy and I end up getting thrown around with no sense of what’s happening.
• Machines have been made way too aggressive, imo. The best part of HZD was the “combat puzzle box” nature of the encounters. You were encouraged to think situations out and were rewarded for careful planning. In HFW, however, machines go to RUSH RUSH RUSH ATTACK mode in 0.3 seconds, turning the game into a generic third person action game when this happens.
• I don’t like how instead of having an elemental sling with multiple types of ammo, you now have individual slings for each element. Maybe this changes down the line, but right now it clutters my inventory and essentially eliminates the benefits of having six weapon slots in the wheel
• It feels like Aloy gets knocked down way too easily. Make combat annoying at times.
• The skill tree is just too god damn big. I understand the desire to expand it, and I certainly appreciate that some things that required unlocking before are now available by default, but they went too damn far.
• Why the fuck did they feel the need to add machine strike? At no point while playing HZD did I think to myself, “You know what this game needs? CHESS!” They spent time on this instead of fixing performance mode.
• Fast travel should be free, not requiring packs. This may be one of the things that changes later, similar to HZD, but right now it’s annoying.
• The default setup for the focus is horrendous. Luckily you can change it to work more like the first game.
• Why do I have a limit on the number of traps/tripwires?
• The weapon upgrade system was not needed.
• Performance mode IQ looks like shit. The CB rendering combined with the massive amount of geometric detail leads to a ton of noise/aliasing on my 80” 4k screen. It’s a noticeable downgrade over every other PS5 game I’ve played with a performance mode, like AssCreed Valhalla, Demon’s Souls, or Ratchet and Clank. It’s not something you’re really going to see in screenshots or low quality YouTube videos, either, which makes discussing it online frustrating. You really need to see it in motion on a 4k display, even better if it’s a big one.

Positives

• FUCK ME THE CHARACTER MODELS HOLY SHIT.
• The overall presentation and storytelling is from a completely different planet compared to the first game. Dialogue scenes don’t feel weird or stilted anymore. The writing is also somehow even better.
• This may be the best looking/designed open world I’ve ever experienced. It doesn’t feel like there’s miles and miles of empty crap or copy/pasted environments. There’s something to look at or do almost everywhere. Just seeing a new area is a joy in itself.
• Ranged combat is even better than before. It just feels so much tighter and more fun.
• The quests are really some of the best I’ve seen in an open world game.
• Everyone is so fucking horny for Aloy. Thirst King Avad, amirite?

I think a lot of my negatives may go away as I play the game more, but it feels like they didn’t listen to the main criticism of the first game, namely that it took too long to really get going. It also looks like the negatives outweigh The positives, but I’m just being hypercritical because I just played the first game on PC, so it’s fresh on my mind.

 

[GymWolf]

Are there any skills to make drawing arrows quicker?

If it is like the first game, you can put handling coils on weapons to speed up their use.

Also various bows have various speed, the small one can shoot before reaching max tension so it is better for rapid fire.

 

[BadBurger]

It is stupid but it is super comfy, and it still had some tension during combat because the small pause you need to take to recharge the potions from the stash can be potentially deadly in the heat of the combat, i died many times while doing that (but i'm on max difficulty level)

I warmed up to it a bit after my little hissy fit, but I still think it would be better if they offered an option for a more traditional system.

 

[Spaceman292]

Use another language, italian va is usually horrible.

I don't speak italian, I have no idea if it's bad or not.

 

[rofif]

Ok so it’s just not for you then. Fair play

I still enjoy it and want to play it. Kits not too bad even if I don’t enjoy combat a lot

 

[cormack12]

I gave it another shot. Here are some thoughts so far.

Negatives

• The climbing is improved from HZD, but after BOTW it feels old. It’s basically a better version of Uncharted, which is fine, but to see it in a big open world game like this is disappointing.
• Ashly Burch seems to be purposefully deepening/aging her voice. In the first game she basically sounded like Ashly Burch, while in the second it’s like someone told her to change her voice. I don’t like.
• Ally talks to herself too much. I know that medicine is going to the stash. I’ve been playing for like 12 hours.
• The melee combat, at least so far, is still bad. I was really hoping they would fix what was one of the worst parts of the first game, but for some reason they didn’t. This is exacerbated by the fact that the machines are much more aggressive than before and encounters often end up in close quarters combat much more frequently than in the first game.
• The FOV is not wide enough. I can’t see what’s going on when things get crazy and I end up getting thrown around with no sense of what’s happening.
• Machines have been made way too aggressive, imo. The best part of HZD was the “combat puzzle box” nature of the encounters. You were encouraged to think situations out and were rewarded for careful planning. In HFW, however, machines go to RUSH RUSH RUSH ATTACK mode in 0.3 seconds, turning the game into a generic third person action game when this happens.
• I don’t like how instead of having an elemental sling with multiple types of ammo, you now have individual slings for each element. Maybe this changes down the line, but right now it clutters my inventory and essentially eliminates the benefits of having six weapon slots in the wheel
• It feels like Aloy gets knocked down way too easily. Make combat annoying at times.
• The skill tree is just too god damn big. I understand the desire to expand it, and I certainly appreciate that some things that required unlocking before are now available by default, but they went too damn far.
• Why the fuck did they feel the need to add machine strike? At no point while playing HZD did I think to myself, “You know what this game needs? CHESS!” They spent time on this instead of fixing performance mode.
• Fast travel should be free, not requiring packs. This may be one of the things that changes later, similar to HZD, but right now it’s annoying.
• The default setup for the focus is horrendous. Luckily you can change it to work more like the first game.
• Why do I have a limit on the number of traps/tripwires?
• The weapon upgrade system was not needed.
• Performance mode IQ looks like shit. The CB rendering combined with the massive amount of geometric detail leads to a ton of noise/aliasing on my 80” 4k screen. It’s a noticeable downgrade over every other PS5 game I’ve played with a performance mode, like AssCreed Valhalla, Demon’s Souls, or Ratchet and Clank. It’s not something you’re really going to see in screenshots or low quality YouTube videos, either, which makes discussing it online frustrating. You really need to see it in motion on a 4k display, even better if it’s a big one.

Positives

• FUCK ME THE CHARACTER MODELS HOLY SHIT.
• The overall presentation and storytelling is from a completely different planet compared to the first game. Dialogue scenes don’t feel weird or stilted anymore. The writing is also somehow even better.
• This may be the best looking/designed open world I’ve ever experienced. It doesn’t feel like there’s miles and miles of empty crap or copy/pasted environments. There’s something to look at or do almost everywhere. Just seeing a new area is a joy in itself.
• Ranged combat is even better than before. It just feels so much tighter and more fun.
• The quests are really some of the best I’ve seen in an open world game.
• Everyone is so fucking horny for Aloy. Thirst King Avad, amirite?

I think a lot of my negatives may go away as I play the game more, but it feels like they didn’t listen to the main criticism of the first game, namely that it took too long to really get going. It also looks like the negatives outweigh The positives, but I’m just being hypercritical because I just played the first game on PC, so it’s fresh on my mind.

Some good/valid points there. I'd pull these two up:

• Fast travel should be free, not requiring packs. This may be one of the things that changes later, similar to HZD, but right now it’s annoying.

I mean it is 90% free, given the proximity and frequency of camp fires. Just go to a fire, press circle and you can travel to any other fire free - given there is usually one next/in settlements it's fine I guess?

• Why do I have a limit on the number of traps/tripwires?

Probably an inelegant solution to the first game where it was exploited in cauldrons like the below. But you can upgrade it in the skill tree

• The weapon upgrade system was not needed.

I kind of like it, it's probably a byproduct of adding more weapons. You can choose which ones to upgrade that you use


The rest I can kind of make my peace with or they aren't particularly opinions that are 'out there'.

• The overall presentation and storytelling is from a completely different planet compared to the first game. Dialogue scenes don’t feel weird or stilted anymore. The writing is also somehow even better.

I agree with this 100%, I'm actually invested in all these stories and tribes. Not like ZD where I was like 'meh, more carja' skip cutscene.

 

[Fess]

I’ve never seen a dev that gets picked apart for graphics as much as GG… it’s kinda insane since they always raise the bar lol

Yeah it’s wild. It’s lots of fans too, some are extremely harsh for some reason and calls performance mode trash or that it looks like an early PS4 title, I don’t get it. Then we have the console warriors too added on top.

I filmed some traversal in the supposedly bad looking performance mode today, and swap to resolution mode. Make sure to change quality to 60fps. Looks absoluely phenomenal. I’d say anyone who says it looks bad is plain trolling.

 

[Dibils2k]

after about 10 hours, i wouldn't give more than an 8 out of 10, visually stunning but rest is so similar

solid sequel but didnt take the extra step for me. but again not my final outcome, maybe game does new stuff later

 

[Lunarorbit]

Same for me. Ridiculously slow

Guess you need to max out the melee skills first

I added the melee damage plus skill and dudes don't even live long enough to repulsar them. Agreed it does take a while to ratch it. I'm level 18 and have 18 pts in warrior and it's seeing results finally. I think once I go further west and the guys get stronger it will be more useful. Infiltrator skills are wicked useful for me too.

Don't even have any points on traps. Opps

 

[TrebleShot]

after about 10 hours, i wouldn't give more than an 8 out of 10, visually stunning but rest is so similar

solid sequel but didnt take the extra step for me. but again not my final outcome, maybe game does new stuff later

I see aLot of takes like this but the combat, environments and story continuously expands, 10 hours is fairly low to make such a real judgement but if your not feeling it fair enough.

 

[Fess]

I see aLot of takes like this but the combat, environments and story continuously expands, 10 hours is fairly low to make such a real judgement but if your not feeling it fair enough.

I thought it was awesome after 10 minutes, I think it’s perfectly fair to say if someone don’t like HZD then they won’t like HFW. HZD was my #2 GOTY so besides the climbing this was the sequel I wanted, it’ll most definitely be on my GOTY list.

 

[THEAP99]

Im actually very pleased with what I've played so far except the fact that the villages are ur bog standard looped npc activities with no interaction

 

[alienator]

i think i found master chief!

 

[decisions]

I think it is incredibly dumb that Aloy comments on sending items to the stash. That is obviously a game mechanic and not something that is actually happening in her world, why is she commenting on it? It’s the only the time the game breaks the 4th wall, but it feels like Aloy doesn’t think she is.

 

[ANDS]

Machines have been made way too aggressive, imo. The best part of HZD was the “combat puzzle box” nature of the encounters.

Cmon now. What encounter in HZD didn't go Ropecaster-Elemental Arrow (probably freeze)-Plink-to-Death. Or Corruption Arrow from afar. The aggressiveness of the machines is dialed up (even on machines that were far more relaxed in the first game) but this means fights aren't over before they've begun and that at least there is some variety to things.

 

[Low Moral Fibre]

Yeah it’s wild. It’s lots of fans too, some are extremely harsh for some reason and calls performance mode trash or that it looks like an early PS4 title, I don’t get it. Then we have the console warriors too added on top.

I filmed some traversal in the supposedly bad looking performance mode today, and swap to resolution mode. Make sure to change quality to 60fps. Looks absoluely phenomenal. I’d say anyone who says it looks bad is plain trolling.

Even with an offscreen video and after YouTube compression the shimmering is very obvious in your video. If you don't notice it then great but literally every place I've looked has people complaining about it. If you sit far enough back or have poor vision you probably won't notice the aliasing and shimmering but go a little closer to the TV and honestly tell me you don't see it. Stand close to your TV to simulate having a huge TV filling your FOV then do the exact same thing with literally any other Sony first party game (maybe not Returnal) and if you don't see a huge difference in image stability then I would seriously see about getting glasses as you maybe have astigmatism or something.

So many arguments here are really about different things - everyone I have seen is complaining about the image quality not the quality of the textures or geometry. People posting zoomed in photomode screenshots of peoples ears and saying look how great it looks are really missing the point as the issues are in motion. Another issue is that hitting the screenshot button in performance mode lets the CBR kick in and gives a much cleaner image after a few frames as it has identical frames to work with so such images are presenting a situation that you will literally never see in performance mode gameplay.

Resolution mode is a little oversharpened but looks otherwise great but I tried all weekend to get my brain to accept the motion at 30fps and it won't so it is 60fps or bust for me.

I've posted a load of videos but here is yet another from the PS5 direct capture - watch this on the screen you game on and if you can't see how compromised performance mode is when he toggles back and forth then I'm going to be as bold as to say that the issue is your TV or your vision.




I'm definitely not happy about the image quality in this game but really am annoyed at people like DF for not pointing out the obvious when they will often do 400% zooms on stuff no human would ever notice. Maybe GG have done the absolute best they could have done with the limits of the PS5 but if tech sites had told me truthfully what to expect I would have cancelled my pre-order. I guess more fool me for pre-ordering these days anyhow.

John now agrees the IQ is poor but why didn't he point that out in the video rather than sounding like an advert for the game.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

Things to nitpick: climbing mechanics are a tad wonky. I've been stuck in geometry a number of times, and you can also do a skyrim and jump up like a goat to climb to places where there are no climbing points.

Animations when riding a machine are also weird. Even at full speed, when you stop the machine comes to what seems to be an immediate full stop, no momentum whatsoever. And terrain negotiation while riding is also wonky.

This is just my personal appreciation, and like I said, things to nitpick in an otherwise good game.

 

[SlimySnake]

Have you found tearblaster arrows??

What do you mean with decent rear damage?

Tear damage *

You get them in a lvl 17 story mission

 

[Interfectum]

Played for about 10 hours over the weekend:

+ graphics of course
+ music is better than it has any right to be
+ great sidequests
+ <3 Aloy
+ great mini-game!

- Climbing seems somehow worse, coming straight off of Ghost of Tsushima it's really rough
- Quality and performance modes both need more tweaking
- lots of little bugs that hurt the overall package

 

[lh032]

Im actually surprise on the difference of particles qualities between resolution and performance.

particles look like ass on performance, its like 240p or something