The announcement of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered for the PS5 is filled with people who find the remaster too polished and prefer the original. A developer responds to the criticism and explains what exactly changes were made.
Which game is it about? During the State of Play 2024, several new games were announced, but especially many remastered titles. This includes a revised version of Horizon Zero Dawn for the PlayStation 5, which is set to be released on October 31, 2024, and brings with it the following innovations:
- 3D audio and implementation of haptic feedback
- higher resolution and improved shaders and textures
- better character models
- new motion capture for dialogues and improved camera
Players who own the original version, whether on PC or PS4, can upgrade to the remastered version for only 10 euros.
Aloy appears smudged and made up
What is being criticized? With the release of the announcement trailer on YouTube, many fans of the games are taking a close look at the differences. Many photos from the original PS4 version are placed next to the remaster.
Many players feel that the original version is perceived as better than the revised one (via X). Another point of criticism is that Aloy now looks like she has been given an Instagram filter (via X).
This strongly reminds of the discussion that took place in 2021 regarding Aloy’s appearance: At that time, it was criticized that she was not made up and thus was ‘not feminine enough.’
In Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, the same character and face model is used as seen in Forbidden West. It is somewhat ironic that this very model, which some found ‘ugly’ back then, is now considered too polished by others.
Some even say that Aloy now looks like a controversial AI image with which a user had “beautified” the protagonist back then.
Developer responds to the criticism
The developer Jan-Bart van Beek, who works at Guerrilla Games, participated in the discussion on X. He explains the differences in a post, which you can see here:
According to him, the lighting of the character model has been adjusted, the skin tones have been matched, and the shadows of the hair have also been improved. The slight blurriness of the image, which many were disgruntled about, comes from motion blur.
In the PS4 image, motion blur is off, while it is on in the remastered version. This is how this significant difference occurs.
Additionally, other factors may also play a role, such as the hardware on which the recordings were made. The comparison image of the remaster comes from the stream, so the image could also be additionally compressed.
What other criticisms are there? Many voices express their dissatisfaction that a game from 2017 is getting a remastered version, despite many classics from the PS3 still not having received an overhaul.
At least this time the discussion is not solely about outward aspects of the protagonist Aloy. Her appearance was heavily criticized back then during the announcement trailer for Horizon Forbidden West. In that regard, our colleague Heiko Klinge wrote his opinion: Horizon Forbidden West: Those who criticize Aloy’s appearance have never truly loved games
