Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition

Horizon Zero Dawn for PC is an action role playing game in which you control Aloy, a rare human survivor in the 31st century dystopian landscape.

Humans may be rare, and access to technology is limited, but there is a large population of unfriendly robotic creatures (who were originally created by Big Tech who then lost control of them).

About the Game

Aloy gets by in life by cannibalising the remains of the robotic creatures for electrical components that enable her own survival. She can also use other parts of the creatures to craft weapons and equipment that help her survive and succeed. The machine creatures band together, rather like real life wildlife herds, and will not usually attack one another unless they have been subject to corruption arrows or have been hacked with an Override Tool.

However, they do attack when they sense a threat, but they do tend to use brute force rather than finesse, and they all have differing attack and defence modes. Your various weapons have modification slots that allow you to boost weapons’ offensive capabilities for more dramatic effects, and Aloy wears a small head-mounted scanner called Focus that helps her zone in on her prey. However, The Stalker, in particular, can avoid this with stealth cloaking technology.

Aloy also battles human enemies: there are bandits and a creepy cult to keep clear of, amongst others. Aloy was rejected by her tribe when she was younger, then being adopted and taught all she knows by Rost, her father figure. But she wants to find the truth – no spoilers are forthcoming, other than to say it’s well worth tracing through the narrative as Aloy learns that not only does her identity exist, but that she can change the entire shape of humanity altogether.

The Nitty Gritty

There are various skill trees, that bear unusual names for recognisable skills: Prowler means stealth, Braves are excellent at combat and Foragers are skilled at gathering and healing. You will progress up the skill tree based on your experience from completing quests and making kills, and open out new areas of the map by climbing up the nearest Tall Neck to literally broaden your horizons! Tall Necks are immense, giraffe-like robot creatures.

The map includes a variety of terrains to playthrough, and there is the option for fast travel if you only have a short time to play and want to get on with the quest – otherwise it is more fun to take your time! These terrains include jungles and forests, deserts, and snowy mountains – where your parkour skills come in handy. The open world game has a night and day cycle and dynamic weather to make things more fun.

As well as Tall Necks, there are Striders which are the robotic equivalent of horses, and you can tame yourself one to gain a speedy and obedient mode of transportation. There are also truly immense creatures that appear to be the size of an entire village, that will wow you, even as you work out how to bring it down!

Corruption Zones dot the map and are harder to cross, with corrupted machines that are more aggressive and will actively attack. There are plenty of collectibles and signs of the ‘old world’ all around, many of which are valuable and should be gathered when possible.

To get through the game, Aloy must help other friendlies, complete quests, gather materials, and solve mysteries, not least of which is the mystery of her own life.

Pro-tip: be on the special look-out for a suit of ancient armour that renders Aloy all but indestructible…

Aloy’s Movements to Master

Dodge – get the timing right and Aloy can step out of range effortlessly, giving herself valuable time to take out the enemy

Sprint – it is always useful to put on a good turn of speed when necessary!

Slide – practise this niche skill that will get Aloy out of an enemy’s range or to a treasure before anyone else. It also looks cool!

Roll – there is something about having your character duck and roll that looks and feels amazing as you creep up on unaware enemies, ready to sneak past them or into their domain!

Swim – take to the water to glide silently past vigilant hostiles and also get to places that are inaccessible on foot

Hide – sometimes Aloy will need to lure hostiles into a trap. To this end, she can hide and wait to ambush the unwary as they pass

Parkour – sometimes there is no obvious up or over an obstacle. Put Aloy’s parkour into action and bounce, flip and somersault into tricky places

Zipline – these useful wire cables can get Aloy from up here to down there in a flash!