Horizon: Zero Dawn or a witcher from the world of original post-apocalypsis (opinion)
Eh, Haraszo! Damn a drawing project. Seriously, starting to talk about Haraszen, I immediately want to note that whatever I write there further, this is undoubtedly that now the game industry needs in terms of the approach to developing games in the genre of action-RPG genre. This is the same game, the developers of which looked at the Witcher 3 and realized that in the genre of the action-RPG there were some kind of, and the changes, their mother. The creators of Haraisen perfectly understood that their game would definitely be compared with the Witcher, they were well aware that they really needed to try to just meet the standards given by the witcher. Whether they did them? Whether the guys from Guerrilla Games were able to create their competitor witcher?
I’ll start, perhaps, with the artistic part of the game. There are solid pluses around. And the main character you can empathize and which you know as a result of the game.
I have not tied so much to the main character for a long time. Its character is perfectly spelled out, and the image is revealed, and not only through the plot KAT scenes, but also in places, through side tasks, which, at times, I want to note are not inferior in interest to the main ones, although we will return to side quests, since there are a couple of ambiguous moments there. Ela is not a silent puppet at all. She is outraged and expresses her opinion throughout the game, despite her main motive (which she, thank God, the meteor, the alien, the huge blue-green raccoon, or whoever exits our universe, is very much even available. The game is very clearly coping with its production almost at the very beginning) that pleases, because it is always interesting to observe the reaction of the protagonist to what is happening, but far from all the games of these chapters.There are generally at least any spelled out character in order to release comments of this kind. Continuing to talk about the characters, I would like to note the heroes from the past, "participants of the ENT", so to speak. Despite the much less study, they are also not devoid of characters. It is interesting to observe them, listen to their audio-diapers and watch holograms with their participation. The characters surrounding the Ela in the present are also not deprived of images and images, although, here, it depends on whom to talk about, but most secondary characters can still please. Sometimes they are very interesting to listen to them. They have their own motives, their characters, etc.D (we are talking about secondary plot characters, and about characters from side tasks). In short, with the characters of Haraisen everything is fine. Yes, sometimes you meet 2-3 not very interesting persons (including chapters.a villain of human scum, if I may say so, but it is not much needed for this type of history), but in the rest of the moments, in my opinion, everything is in order with this business. Moving on to the rest of the artistic components of the game, one cannot fail to note the plot. And now, with my confidence, I can say that this is the same part of the game to which I have not the slightest pickup. This is the most unambiguous aspect of the project. The plot is interesting, it is addictive. For the most part, he serves to immerse in the history of the Universe of the Game (in ENT), which, in my opinion, for the first game in the series (obviously, there will be a sequel) a very good solution. The ENT himself is worked out and interesting. He really may claim the title of “original” in a sense. There is information in it, and drama, and between these two moments the balance is designed, in my opinion, just perfectly. The consequences of the next end of the world can also surprise and interest. Indeed, a very interesting mixture of setting, which in the end pours, again, into something, we can say in an original way. And this is not some cheap eclecticism, this eclecticism is high-quality, thoughtful and balanced. It’s nice to look at her and the eye does not cut anything. From the point of view of the plot, all this is explained that it simply cannot please. But what pleases more, duck is that the developers have not forgotten about the characters in this plot. Yes, after all, 80 percent of the disclosure of the main character occurs with the help of the main plot, but how this happens. The main character almost directly associates herself with the “main person” of the ENT of the Universe of the game. Learning the story and approaching closer and closer to unraveling the secrets about what happened and why everything is as it is at the moment, you will not just recognize the ENT, you and Ela become closer. I have not experienced such warm feelings for the main character of any game for a long time. Seriously. And it is for this that I want to praise! Here you have interesting plot and characters in one bottle. All this creates a holistic and full -fledged picture of the narrative. The player is not at all thrown beyond his borders, he really is really interested in what happened there and why this “something” happened at all? However, the character has a motive. They didn’t forget about him either. Scriptwriters are also not afraid to raise and affect some philosophical topics. So, for example, one of the very philosophical disputes led to the level of development of the people that we see in the game. In a word, the plot is the best that is in Haraisen. Well, the last aspect of the artistic part of the game is side tasks. And here the game is already not so definitely good. It would seem why? Yes, a good half of the side tasks is really interesting. However, the second half cannot boast of this. The game has precisely for additional tasks 2 sections “Side tasks” and “business”. The first subsection is, in theory, the sides of the witness level, and the second quests are routine, to extract, delivery, etc.D. There are several problems here at once: firstly, far from always in “side tasks” you will have really interesting quests. At times, they will hardly be different from the "affairs". Secondly, it is “side tasks” that is slightly small for action-RPG in the open world. Yes, half of those that are really interesting, but the side quests themselves would like more. (And we will return to the topic of the world in Haraisen). Also, from the advantages I would like to highlight “Notes/Documents/and T.D ". This aspect in the game is also worked out. Despite the fact that the main plot itself tells us the history of the world, from documents, notes and heads, you can also get a lot of interesting (both informative and touching). Separate mention deserves overview points and the story that they tell. I read nothing more touching and catchy in documents and notes in my life. Here are just applause for the developers. Summing up the intermediate result, we can say that an artistic point of view, Horizon: Zero Dawn is an almost delightful game. In it, the characters are disclosure and interesting, and the plot is exciting, informative and even touching, with its share of drama in the right place, and the quests are considerable interesting, but the latter would like to have more quests themselves, and the concentration of interesting sid-quests to be higher.
Gameplay. With gameplay in Sunny Wins Casino Haraisen in the same way, not everything is as clear as with quests. The game has such a feature: for each aspect, have an almost perfect result and the keyword here is “almost”. The gameplay in the game is presented, in fact, fights with robots or people (yes, yes, there is still parkour ala Assassin’s Creed and research ala witama 3, but 90 percent of time you still have to fight with certain enemies). Closer to the end of the game, the developers decide that it would be nice to start mixing for these types of gameplay, but there is simply nothing, neither good nor bad, no result, and that’s why: battles with robots are made very interesting.
You can try to attack from an ambush by placing traps. You can go into a frontal attack or wrap the robots tools against them either by knocking these same guns from the robots, or by subordinating some number of robots to yourself so that they fight on your side. You can subjugate any robot in the game (about 25 varieties themselves, so that “monotonous tactics” against all opponents in the game cannot and cannot, do not worry, do not worry), but for the possibility of “concluding the union” with the most powerful representatives of incredibly beautifully laid iron, you will have to run around the world and go through the dungeons presented in this game by certain “boilers”where, according to ENT, and "miracle-topos with plastos" are produced ". Dinobots can meet different, each has its own style of fighting, against a certain enemy is good and some kind of specific tactic, which, by self-suicide, introduces a fair diversity in the gameplay. In my opinion, this is the best part of the gameplay. The massacre with people is nothing interesting. Medicly stealth, people themselves, even at the maximum level of complexity of a serious threat, unlike robosaurs, which can easily kill you with only 2-3 shots, do not represent you. But, in spite of boring people, which is not so interesting to wet, in general, the gameplay is still interesting, since we all understand that in this game people want to get expirins from battles with huge cemes and fierce “fighters”. Fortunately, the game is like (undoubtedly interesting experience is able to provide, for which I praise developers once again! However, despite the interesting battles, the game also has an open world. Oh, this open world … a stumbling block of the current Igrodelov. And again (game, how much can you already, well?) Everything is extremely ambiguous. There are sights in it and “towers” (which, by the way, are made very creatively … Yes, throw it, well, who does not like robe-giraffes? Well, they are such milahs, well, seriously!), and the zones for stripping, and dungeons, and the robbers camps, and collectors, the so-called interesting places (which are only 2-3 for the entire map, but they are). But still, sometimes there is a feeling of some dead (in terms of some random and random events) of the world. The game is very missing these very events, in my opinion. Although, if you leave precisely from events, then the world will not seem to be dead for sure. In forests, deserts, mountains – cars and robbers, in cities – people. And in this case, the world is definitely not dead. Be that as it may, but he looks alive, he is alive by ear, for which one cannot but thank the developers. It complements this moment the atmosphere, after all, what is it here ..
Technical aspect of the game. And here (here is the surprise, a) a very ambiguous situation is waiting for us again. Graphics, textures, gamma, filters, work with shadows, work with light, shaders and smoothing – all this just works great and together it gives out a gorgeous picture from which the eyes cannot be taken. Visually, Horizon is just beautiful. I can paint his splendor for a very long time. I don’t even know what praise deserves more: the graphic level of the game or the fact that this level pulls PS4. I have no idea how exactly this black parallelepiped for 200 (earlier for 300 bucks) pulls this level of graphene. However, this is not all. Just beautiful graphics – this is certainly good, but what about the atmosphere? What is with immersion? And with these moments everything is just wonderful! The graphics work perfectly for them. The atmosphere in the game is just as beautiful. She swiftly immerses you in this wonderful world of technological post-apocalypse. A huge, beautiful, proud long -legged, pushing in the steppe, and in the background there are buildings (not the huts or the ruins in which people settled).
From such paintings and the moment just breathtaking. Musical and sound accompaniment in the game is also not level. And here’s what is ambiguous here? It seems that everything is so good and excellent. Both Grafen are suitable, and the atmosphere that is necessary. What is wrong? Facial animation, gentlemen and ladies. Facial animation. That’s what is wrong. And do not think, here you will not meet the nightmare ala Mass Effect: Andromeda, but the technologies of the personal animation itself leave much to be desired. And here is not even a jamb on the part of the developers, since it is the model model of the characters that my tongue will not turn to criticize, because they look great. Banally outdated animation technologies. And it surprises, even causes dissonance, I would say. Such a beautiful and technological game and such outdated animation of faces. It’s even strange somehow. I really hope that this moment will be corrected to Sicvel, because if in 2014 it was still possible to close your eyes for this, then in 2017 this cannot be done at all.
What do we have in the end? And we have the following: an excellent game is not without minuses, which by all means tries to gain a foothold at the level set by the witcher, which is certainly commendable, in my opinion. In places, developers, I don’t even want to scold much for the existing jambs, seeing their diligence and the desire to make a really high -quality game. The game clings and delays both with its plot and gameplay, which cannot but rejoice. If you evaluate the game – 8/10. A project, mandatory, if there are opportunities, to familiarize, but not without minuses.
P.S everything, the above written, is just my personal and subjective opinion that does not claim the title of truth in the last instance!