Guerrilla Games shocked the world when they unveiled their new IP at E3 2015 with Horizon: Zero Dawn, an announcement that was remarkably sandwiched between The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Taking a break from the Killzone series is just what the doctor ordered as Horizon looks to be another open-world stunner like Shadow of Mordor or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. With its refreshing post-post apocalyptic setting, robotic dinosaurs and a very capable female lead, Horizon could be Sony’s next big marquee franchise with Aloy possibly taking the reigns as the new Sony mascot.
While Naughty Dog hasn’t said the Uncharted series will conclude with Uncharted 4, they have firmly stated that it will be Nathan Drake’s last hoorah, which sets things up nicely for Horizon’s Aloy. We don’t know much about Aloy yet but we do know she comes from a tribe that has learned how to harvest resources from the machines. Her unusually large bow is actually consisted of several robo-dino parts as well as some of her gear.
In the announcement trailer she talks about how her tribe was one of the first to arrive in this world. It’s quite interesting to hear her speak about the humans or “old ones” that came before them; she’s clearly in awe of that previous civilization with all of the towering skyscrapers and advanced technology. I absolutely love how she has no idea who they were or why these robotic dinosaurs roam the land, it cleverly legitimizes the mysteriousness of this new age.
During the gameplay portion, Aloy is seen taking out one of the ‘watchers’, a seemingly defenseless machine that can call out for help, and she’s sympathetic towards it even after killing it. “I’m sorry, little one”, she remarks regrettably. This was a surprising reaction, even though she doesn’t know why these dinosaurs are here, she still respects and accepts their existence.
We see her shooting off and collecting several canisters that were attached to the back of these elk-like robots but she doesn’t kill them. There is a complicated relationship between the humans and these machines and even though she gets viciously attacked by a Thunderjaw, an enormous robotic T-Rex, it appears she feels some sense of connection with these monstrosities. A relationship we can’t wait to explore.
Guerrilla Games is calling this new, exciting franchise a third person open-world action RPG and so far it’s looking like it will deliver. Calling the game Horizon was a shrewd move by Guerrilla, who really is switching gears and taking on something completely new. The talented studio is stepping out of their comfort level and crafting something that may very well come to define the PlayStation 4 and we’re looking forward to when that day comes. Until then, we still have that breath-taking gameplay demo to watch over and over again. By the way, how impressive were those visuals? Sound off in the comments below.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is a PS4 exclusive targeting a 2016 release.
