Disappointed

[maniek515]

I was very hyped for Horizon so I finally grabbed it during black friday sale and, oh boy, how big of a let down it was.

 

I don't mean it's crap, absolutely, I just want to start an arguement as I honestly can't understand where all that praise around it comes from. I'll try to point out few things that bothered me the most about HZD and why it turned out to be below my expectations. 

 

1)Combat. I originally started game on normal difficulty and I felt fighting was awesome. It was fairly balanced and, in fact I got my ass kicked few times despite difficulty level when I started to act too bald. But it became repetitive pretty quickly and was more and more boring. Being close to end of the game I was abusing fast travel just to avoid unnecessary encounters. However jewel in that crown was Shield weaver armor which in my opinion completely broke any balance. Even in NG+ on ultra hard combat wasn't challenging at all, I can't remember dying even once. Only difference was amount of time it consumed. 

 

2)Navigation and markers. First of all, no minimap in an open world game. What the fuck Guerrilla? Messed up markers pointing to the road leading to my destination instead of destination itself. Couple of times I was running around like moron just to get to the road while objective was in opposite direction. 

 

3)Climbing. That one was probably most annoying. Looking for handholds in some areas was pain in the ass. Some of them were barely visible in daylight but when weather changed (showing or sandstorm) I literally couldn't see shit. Also limited climbing possibilities stood against free exploration which should be the biggest funfactor in games like that. 

 

After first few hours into the game I was like '80% of mechanics is copypasted from Shadow of mordor but done worse'.

 

Story however was strong part of Horizon. Very strong actually. There were two amazing plot twists that blew my mind and, in general, it felt very fresh among recent games. 

 

That would be it. Like I mentioned I don't intend to start a shitstorm, just want to share my opinion. 

 

6.5/10 from me, cheers! 

[Lorajet]

Nice write-up, appreciate the time you put into what you don't like.  I've been on the fence for this game and was worried about the repetition. ?

[EternalChaos72]

This game is definitely a 10/10 i thoroughly enjoyed this game. There's nothing that i disliked. Guerrilla has outdone themselves yet again. 

[Crispy_Oglop]

I too thought it was a phenomenally good game  

 

For me the mechanics got repetitive eventually, but they still felt satisfying. The story, characters and visuals were the real stand outs for me though. Really looking forward to seeing more of this world.

 

[Edited this post to add more as I thought i'd put something more constructive in a post further down]

Edited December 10, 2017 by Crispy_Oglop

[YemmytheFerret]

Your opinion sure but

 

You are wrong

 

Very wrong

 

[Crispy_Oglop]

40 minutes ago, maniek515 said:

 

After first few hours into the game I was like '80% of mechanics is copypasted from Shadow of mordor but done worse'.

 

Quick question on this one, which of the mechanics were copy pasted?

[ImplyingYouCare]

I've never played Horizon, but I like how OP wrote a decent post about the things they disliked in the game and why, but everyone just says "No, it's good. You're wrong". Even the person with their youtube review channel in their signature isn't trying to refute any of those points.

 

Like guys if you're going to post in a thread like this then it's probably best to at least try to detail why you don't think OP's points are problems with the game, or why you enjoy the game despite it's faults. 

[Dark Layla]

23 minutes ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

 

Quick question on this one, which of the mechanics were copy pasted?

I believe SoM is a hybrid game that copy pasted some batman combat style and AC too..
These "reviews" of 6/10, 5/10 reminds IGN .. is something can't be taken very seriously

There were no implications because the main character is a woman too? or why the machines have a blue light instead of yellow or pink?

Edited December 9, 2017 by Rose Amicitia

[Crispy_Oglop]

1 minute ago, Rose Amicitia said:

I believe SoM is a hybrid game that copy pasted some batman combat style and AC too..
These "reviews" of 6/10, 5/10 reminds IGN .. is something can't be taken very seriously

 

Yeah I would have said that SoM was far closer to AC and Batman than Horizon. Huh

[Dark Layla]

2 minutes ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

 

Yeah I would have said that SoM was far closer to AC and Batman than Horizon. Huh

remember there is only one game that never disappoints : my name is mayo

[Breakingthegreen]

4 minutes ago, Rose Amicitia said:

remember there is only one game that never disappoints : my name is mayo

I was disappointed when I learned that the Vita version didn't have touchscreen support. 

[Dark Layla]

1 minute ago, breakingthegreen said:

I was disappointed when I learned that the Vita version didn't have touchscreen support. 

Eheheheh man that comment made my day! +1 RP

[DividedByMankind]

Nice, everyone is entitled to have their own opinion For me: The game was good, i would easily rate it a 9/10

[Breakingthegreen]

3 minutes ago, Rose Amicitia said:

Eheheheh man that comment made my day! +1 RP

*blushes*

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

@maniek515

 

Combat: I agree it's not one of the game's strong points. The first time of every creature is cool but it becomes same-old after a while.

 

Navigation/markers: didn't have a problem with this and more often than not I'm disabling the minimap in a game.

 

Climbing: I don't recall being that annoyed by it, it's standard Uncharted/Raider type climbing I think. I enjoy Assassin'sOrigins/ZeldaBOTW type climbing more.

 

All in all, it's mostly just a decent game. However, what saves it for me is what you call a strong point as well: the story. Specifically, the big twists. Those hit me so hard and I thought the twists made the game. 

 

Not counting the story, I'd give the game a solid 7 but with the story included it's a 9. I felt a bit let-down until about the first big clues about the history of the world, then it became good and a few twists later it became amazing.

 

For me, a game can be amazing if just parts of it are amazing and none of the other parts are very bad. Sometimes even parts can be bad - Stardew Valley has very bad graphics in my opinion but I still love the game.

[maniek515]

28 minutes ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

 

Quick question on this one, which of the mechanics were copy pasted?

 

Slow-mo while aiming, whole stealth look-a-like, dominating machines (which I used 2 or 3 times because of overall uselessness). Horizon looked to me like Shadow of mordor in different environment but that might be just kind of my thing. 

 

Funny how noone refered to anything I wrote. Combat was dull as shit. Ok, you have different bows with different effect arrows, slings, all these fancy trap devices (Imo using last wasn't worth the trouble) and TWO attacks with spear. Seriously, weak and strong hit, no combos, no spear related skills, nothing. 

Speaking of skill tree, most of it felt like it completely didn't matter. If I had Aloy level 1 with Shield weaver, top shelf bows and Sylens spear, combat would be same as on level 50.

 

Also I forgot to point out 1 more thing, pretty big this one. Loading times. So many people complain about loading being way too long in Witcher 3 but noone seems to see the problem in Horizon...

[Crispy_Oglop]

2 minutes ago, maniek515 said:

 

Slow-mo while aiming, whole stealth look-a-like, dominating machines (which I used 2 or 3 times because of overall uselessness). Horizon looked to me like Shadow of mordor in different environment but that might be just kind of my thing. 

 

Funny how noone refered to anything I wrote. Combat was dull as shit. Ok, you have different bows with different effect arrows, slings, all these fancy trap devices (Imo using last wasn't worth the trouble) and TWO attacks with spear. Seriously, weak and strong hit, no combos, no spear related skills, nothing. 

Speaking of skill tree, most of it felt like it completely didn't matter. If I had Aloy level 1 with Shield weaver, top shelf bows and Sylens spear, combat would be same as on level 50.

 

Also I forgot to point out 1 more thing, pretty big this one. Loading times. So many people complain about loading being way too long in Witcher 3 but noone seems to see the problem in Horizon...

 

That's a very different tone taken in comparison to your original post. It's okay to have an opinion, but it's also okay for people to have conflicting opinions too  it's what makes things interesting  

[Carol]

I agree with the OP. For me, Horizon is an average open-world game, with repetitive gameplay, that gets boring fast. I thought the story was too long and I got to a point that I just couldn’t wait to be done with it. I’m not saying it’s a bad game. In my opinion, it’s average, like I said, and I enjoyed it for what it was. Most open-world games that I played are better and more interesting than Horizon, actually. 

Why is everyone here reacting defensively? The OP didn’t offend anyone. There are always people that think differently from the majority and there’s nothing wrong with that. There also games that “everyone” hated and that I thought were amazing and that I will never forget. 

That said, my GOTY is Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, not Horizon. Also, congratulations OP for not being afraid to say what you think. 

[maniek515]

11 minutes ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

 

That's a very different tone taken in comparison to your original post. It's okay to have an opinion, but it's also okay for people to have conflicting opinions too  it's what makes things interesting  

 

And how was my last post different from original one? Did I go personal in any part? Did I impose my opinion to anyone in any way? Honestly, I don't think so and god forbid I'm not going to.

Edited December 9, 2017 by maniek515

[BG_painter]

Hum... i have the game, but now i might try it in an alt acc first, hehe . tks!

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

32 minutes ago, maniek515 said:

Funny how noone refered to anything I wrote.

 

Sorry that I ninja posted mere minutes before you and immediately made your statement false

 

36 minutes ago, maniek515 said:

 

Also I forgot to point out 1 more thing, pretty big this one. Loading times. So many people complain about loading being way too long in Witcher 3 but noone seems to see the problem in Horizon...

 

I don't recall the HZD loading times as being bad. Did the loading screens have turnable 3D models like Skyrim? Because I'm a sucker for those, it would explain why I didn't notice.

 

I get annoyed myself by the Assassin's Creed loading screens. The one from Origins seems way too long.

 

23 minutes ago, maniek515 said:

 

And how was my last post different from original one? Did I go personal in any part? Did I impose my opinion to anyone in any way? Honestly, I don't think so and god forbid I'm not going to.

 

I think @Crispy_Oglop was talking more about how you sound much more critical of the game in your second post. Though I guess trying to open a discussion about a game's flaws and finding only people who say the game is genius, without explaining why or countering your points will do that to a person.

[Fing3rButt3r3]

Great game. 6.5/10 may be a bit too harsh. but it definitely isnt no 10/10. To me its a A game. Had lots of fun exploring, sure it got boring at times but it wouldnt last too long. Most of the things the OP pointed out didnt bother me much at all. Fast travel? didnt bother using much. I got mounts to ride and could always "walk". Gear? well...its normal mode! wear whatever you want! Doesnt make a darn difference, just look cool....just enjoy it. But yes if your looking for innovation, you probably wont find much here. You got zones to capture,monster parts to salvage for better gear/weapons similiar to games like "Far Cry". For me the game is around a 7.5-8.5. Could use more types of robots, maybe some aerial mounts...then id be super happy!

[maniek515]

4 minutes ago, Cubone said:

 

Sorry that I ninja posted mere minutes before you and immediately made your statement false

 

 

I don't recall the HZD loading times as being bad. Did the loading screens have turnable 3D models like Skyrim? Because I'm a sucker for those, it would explain why I didn't notice.

 

I get annoyed myself by the Assassin's Creed loading screens. The one from Origins seems way too long.

 

 

I think @Crispy_Oglop was talking more about how you sound much more critical of the game in your second post. Though I guess trying to open a discussion about a game's flaws and finding only people who say the game is genius, without explaining why or countering your points will do that to a person.

 

I'm taking it back right now

 

Loading scree was just an image, no animations or 3d models whatsoever. 

 

Oh I guess you're right, I might have gone a little more direct Like you said, I was actually looking forward to see other people's point of view in these matters but then I got posts #3 #4 and #5 so you know... 

[AJ_Radio]

2 hours ago, maniek515 said:

I was very hyped for Horizon so I finally grabbed it during black friday sale and, oh boy, how big of a let down it was.

 

I don't mean it's crap, absolutely, I just want to start an arguement as I honestly can't understand where all that praise around it comes from. I'll try to point out few things that bothered me the most about HZD and why it turned out to be below my expectations. 

 

1)Combat. I originally started game on normal difficulty and I felt fighting was awesome. It was fairly balanced and, in fact I got my ass kicked few times despite difficulty level when I started to act too bald. But it became repetitive pretty quickly and was more and more boring. Being close to end of the game I was abusing fast travel just to avoid unnecessary encounters. However jewel in that crown was Shield weaver armor which in my opinion completely broke any balance. Even in NG+ on ultra hard combat wasn't challenging at all, I can't remember dying even once. Only difference was amount of time it consumed. 

 

2)Navigation and markers. First of all, no minimap in an open world game. What the fuck Guerrilla? Messed up markers pointing to the road leading to my destination instead of destination itself. Couple of times I was running around like moron just to get to the road while objective was in opposite direction. 

 

3)Climbing. That one was probably most annoying. Looking for handholds in some areas was pain in the ass. Some of them were barely visible in daylight but when weather changed (showing or sandstorm) I literally couldn't see shit. Also limited climbing possibilities stood against free exploration which should be the biggest funfactor in games like that. 

 

After first few hours into the game I was like '80% of mechanics is copypasted from Shadow of mordor but done worse'.

 

Story however was strong part of Horizon. Very strong actually. There were two amazing plot twists that blew my mind and, in general, it felt very fresh among recent games. 

 

That would be it. Like I mentioned I don't intend to start a shitstorm, just want to share my opinion. 

 

6.5/10 from me, cheers! 

 

The Killzone series wasn't exactly known for being original either. It was initially seen as Playstation's answer to Xbox's Halo franchise. Halo has three games in the series by 2007 and it was a good reason why the Xbox 360 sold better than the Playstation 3 at launch. Killzone 2 and 3 were seen as decent, but Shadow Fall was met with a lot of criticism and concern. Guerrilla Games probably took that as an indication that they needed to make a new IP, and thus we get Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

I think the biggest draw of Horizon Zero Dawn is the fact that Sony uses the game to boast about the 4K graphics capability on the PS4 Pro. Playing it on a 4K system looks absolutely amazing, I've seen footage of the game at Best Buy and there is a clear difference between playing Horizon on the standard PS4 and Pro.

 

1. You can earn every single trophy in the game playing on Easy difficulty. That's why people rate it a 2 out of 10 in difficulty. There's really nothing remotely challenging about it as long as you use Aloy's dodge move for the various machines. Only the Thunderjaw and Stormbird pose any threat to your character. For the rest it's simply shooting their weak points over and over until they fall down.

 

2. Yeah this was a mistake on Guerrila's end. During my 60 hours with this game I had to click the touchpad no less than 1000 times just to find out where I was going. On quests where I had to transverse across the whole map I had to stop and keep clicking the touchpad just so I know I'm heading in the right direction. Bad design overall.

 

3. The climbing feels not as fluid as it should be. Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy both show very fluid movement in the climbing.

 

The backgrounds were the best graphics in Horizon Zero Dawn. Bar none. But there were times when the fog and snow limited my ability to see anything of notice. Graphics especially in the desert area of the game were terrific. But as I just said, the biggest draw in my opinion is showing what the PS4 Pro is capable of. Sony has used Horizon Zero Dawn to show it's rivals just how powerful the Pro actually is.

 

As many of us gamers know, graphics don't necessarily equal a great game.

 

Shadow of Mordor is a mixture of Batman: Arkham games and Assassins Creed. So that game didn't exactly come up with anything original either, apart from the Nemesis system of course.

 

I thought the story was very 'meh'. It felt far too overdramatic at times. Many of the characters barely had any humor to them. The relationship between Aloy and Sylens never seems to go anywhere. The whole entire time I felt the notion they hated each other. As a matter of fact the only reason they talked to each other was to exchange information on the One Ones, the Civilization predating the various tribes that make up the world of Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

I will give this game credit for putting an angle on a civilization that had superior technology, only to end catastrophically and reduce mankind to loose tribes that can't seem to agree with each other. That was the only thing that intrigued me about the story. Everything else as far as I'm concerned was pretty standard.

[Redgrave]

4 minutes ago, maniek515 said:

Also I forgot to point out 1 more thing, pretty big this one. Loading times. So many people complain about loading being way too long in Witcher 3 but noone seems to see the problem in Horizon...

 

Yeah, after going back to the game to do Frozen Wilds I was surprised by how long the loading times were. I assume that it has to do with the game loading in all the graphics though, since I can't recall a single moment of seeing texture pop-ins or draw distance issues which is one of the things that I feel the game really excelled at while still running at a consistent framerate. 

 

That said I agree about the combat since most of it to me was just using the arrow and the spear while forgetting I had the sling and the other thing. And lots of dodging. I would have liked to have used more gear like I would in a game like the Arkham series. In Horizon, especially in Frozen Wilds, it felt like the arrow and spear were intended while the other stuff were just there if you felt like it. In something like Arkham there's always options no matter what fight you're in and there's many different ways you can beat the enemies there.

 

I can't really comment much on the navigation and climbing since I don't remember having an issue with the navigation and I felt the climbing was good enough and let me get where I needed to. It's also possible the navigation didn't really bother me because I wound up fast-traveling everywhere once I got the backpack.