I finished it this weekend, right at 60 hours and still had 3 bandit camps and a crucible to clear, not to mention all of the hunting lodge quests and various collectables.
I don't get get why some are bemoaning the writing or the sidequests, I thought both were pretty well done. I thought the game did a good job of creating the world, the characters, the tribes and their relationships, everything was in context. The sidequests really expanded on the world and the people who live in them. It was a good way to flesh out the characteristics of the Nora, Carja, Banuk and Oseram.
They also did a pretty good job with keeping Aloy a consistent character. I've seen some people deride her willingness to help others given how she's shunned. But early on they establish Aloy's 1st positive interaction with others is because she risked her life to save Teb, She still has little patience for the superstitions and rules of the Nora, Aloy still has a fairly firm moral compass. Aloy can be a bit glib at times, and she shrugs off things that should be completely alien to her, but it doesn't break her character. More importantly, when you are given player choice, those decisions are still done within her character.
I enjoyed the backstory of the whole zero hour event, and the sotry really fleshed out those people who were tasked with carrying it out, at least in its immediacy. I do think the game sort of raced to its main story climax that messed with the pacing a bit and I thought Helis got shortchanged at the end. Minor quibbles.
This is the best new IP I've played since Bloodbourne, I know some people are dismissing it as derivative or formulaic. I felt Horizon took those tropes and applied them in a way that was unique to the world Guerilla created. This will be one of my top 5 games of this year.
