We played Horizon Zero Dawn on PC and tell you whether MMORPGs can learn something from it.
“What? Horizon Zero Dawn on PC? Are you kidding us? It’s a PS4-exclusive game!” That’s true, but there is a way to play it on PC.
Since the action RPG has been available for a while, we didn’t want to provide you with a regular review. Interested players have probably read that somewhere else long ago. Therefore, we introduce you to the game and share our impressions of it – but with a little twist. We also look at what MMORPGs can learn from this action RPG.
Horizon: Zero Dawn on PC – it works!
I played Horizon: Zero Dawn on PC – yes, really. And with the streaming feature of the PlayStation 4. Quickly installed the app “PS4 Remote Play” on the PC, connected the Dual-Shock-4 controller via USB, linked the PC with the PSN account and the PlayStation 4, and the adventures of heroine Aloy could begin on the computer. One thing upfront: Only with a PlayStation 4 Pro is it possible to stream the game in a resolution of 1080p. With my regular PS4, I played in 720p. Streaming from the console in the ground floor over Wi-Fi to the PC on the first floor worked surprisingly well.
During the almost 40 hours, there were only a few connection interruptions, but the game quickly recovered. There were no noticeable lags, though minor graphical glitches occasionally marred the fun.
Overall, Horizon: Zero Dawn was enjoyable and fluid to play via the PS4 Remote Play feature on PC. The low resolution became hardly noticeable over time. However, I also played some sessions on the PS4 and TV in between to have a direct comparison. And I must say, in 1080p, the title looks a bit better and clearer.
What is Horizon: Zero Dawn about?
But what is Horizon: Zero Dawn actually about? A thousand years in the future, nature has reclaimed the Earth. Humanity has regressed to a barbaric stage and now lives in protected villages. Machines resembling mechanical dinosaurs dominate the world.
You play as Aloy, who as a child was given to an outcast who raised her and taught her everything to survive in the wilderness. This is played out in the tutorial, where you learn the basics as a child and find your Focus in one of the forbidden ruins of the forgotten civilization.
This is a technical device that can scan the environment and objects and displays the information in augmented reality in your field of view. This Focus becomes important later in the game, for example, to find clues or follow tracks and discover weaknesses of enemies.
The actual game begins with the so-called proving, through which Aloy wishes to be accepted into the tribe. But during this proving, events unfold, and a treacherous ambush leads to the heroine being sent out as a seeker to find out what is behind the attack.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is an action RPG where you explore a vast, open game world. The title shares many similarities with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. You control Aloy from a third-person perspective and interact with NPCs, who often have interesting quests for you.
For example, a woman is searching for her brother, whom voices have commanded to kill someone. Or a healer needs soothing medicine to ease a wounded person’s death. In the dialogues, you choose from various options what you want to ask and can sometimes even make decisions about how you want to deal with a person.
Nevertheless, the story is linear
Are you friendly, neutral, or rude? This affects how that NPC reacts to you in the future. However, there are no great decisions that significantly influence the course of the story. The narrative is quite linear. However, you complete numerous side quests alongside the main mission, which tell interesting and exciting stories to some extent.
By completing quests and fighting, you earn experience points, which allow you to purchase new skills. These enable you to deal more damage, find more items, or activate a slow-motion mode for better aiming. The combats are action-oriented.
In melee combat, you choose between quick and light or slow and heavy attacks. You should aim well with the bow, as arrows are scarce and must be crafted from gathered materials or purchased from a vendor. Generally, resource gathering – for example, herbs for healing – plays an important role. Aloy can also set traps with a special crossbow, luring her enemies into an ambush. This makes the fights tactical. New armor and weapons help you take on multiple enemies or larger foes.
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Horizon: Zero Dawn is a lot of fun. In the vast, beautiful world, there are always secrets to uncover and hidden items to find. The quests are diverse and mostly designed excitingly. The fights are enjoyable and offer many tactical options through hiding places and traps.
However, Horizon: Zero Dawn doesn’t quite reach the level of The Witcher 3 for me. It lacks decisions that change the gameplay – and many quests are just too straightforward. I missed the balancing acts between good and evil, as well as difficult moral decisions.
Some dialogues with NPCs feel a bit superficial and lack the depth needed to truly connect with the characters. But that’s nitpicking at a high level.
Because Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the absolute highlights of this still young year. It’s definitely worthwhile for anyone looking for a new open-world RPG with an interesting scenario, stunning graphics, many quests, exciting battles, and a story that holds a few surprises.
What can MMORPGs learn from Horizon: Zero Dawn now?
Guerilla Games’ RPG is a single-player game, and you can tell in many respects. The way the story is told and how you are gradually led through the world as a player probably wouldn’t work in an MMO. While you have many freedoms, they open up gradually.
However, MMORPGs could take a cue from the varied and always exciting world-building. The many hidden secrets that can be discovered everywhere, the hunting areas where machines roam, and the approach of how to fight against them would suit an MMO well. There is hardly any downtime while exploring the areas.
For example, it is possible to sneak up on opponents in various ways, hide in tall grass, and then attack from ambush when the enemy looks in another direction. The ability to find weaknesses in enemies and exploit them with precise bow shots could work well in an MMO and would make combat more tactical.
The freedom of movement of Aloy, who can climb a vantage point to act like a sniper from there, brings a lot of tactics to the game and would create excitement even in group fights in an MMO.
Additionally, tension arises from the fact that health points do not regenerate automatically, and you are always searching for healing herbs and potions, leading you to think twice about whether to engage in a fight against multiple enemies head-on or to devise a special tactic or sneak around enemies. And honestly, the ability to set traps, stretch electric wires, and blow up barrels is undoubtedly something that MMO fans can envision very well for a PvP mode.
If the world of Horizon: Zero Dawn were a sandbox, player groups would have plenty of fun hunting the machines or even fighting among themselves. The post-apocalyptic scenario with the machines dominating the world and humans at the bottom of the food chain would also lend itself well to an MMORPG, as it pleasantly deviates from the fantasy homogeny without straying too far from it.
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In conclusion, Horizon: Zero Dawn is currently a fantastic choice for single-player fans. The game world and especially the trap feature would work well in an MMORPG. And for anyone who owns a PlayStation 4 but prefers to play on PC, the PS4 Remote Play feature offers a way to do so that works quite well.
