Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Review - A Slightly Sharper Look Back

Sony is currently in the mood of remastering - not classic titles, but games released in the previous generation, providing bumps in graphical fidelity and performance on the PlayStation 5. Their recent offering, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, is an upgrade that doesn’t necessarily change how one would perceive the game, but rather makes the 2017 original more visually and technically aligned with its 2022 sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. 

A prettier horizon

Right off the bat, there are noticeable changes as to how the game has improved graphically. I played Horizon Zero Dawn's first three hours on both versions and compared. I noticed that Remastered’s character models are more detailed and crisp when looked at up close, as the characters and their clothes are a bit more detailed. The new lighting effects applied, which make things look similar to Forbidden West, apply a reflective effect during conversations or cutscenes, giving this natural glow to characters depending on the position of the sun.

While more detailed character models are appreciated, I do like that Nixxes spent time improving the animations of lesser characters that populate the world. In the original, I noticed that these characters felt quite stiff and lifeless, barely making any hand gestures or other noticeable body movements while talking to Aloy. This was improved in Remastered, as they show a bit more personality in how they converse. More hand gestures and facial animations are applied to give a more natural conversation. This change now mirrors how lesser characters interact in the sequel, so both games are now aligned on that front. However, how I wish they improved the lip-syncing on both games, as I always thought the it was off on multiple occasions.

Environments have improved as locations feel more natural, especially in lush forests, snowy mountains, or rocky terrain. Horizon Forbidden West has the best-looking environments by today’s standards, and Horizon Zero Remastered is brought closer to the sequel’s quality. This is due to the remaster adding more density to cities and locations as there are more assets applied, making it more alive and at times jaw-dropping. They also applied the snow effects from the Frozen Wilds DLC where appropriate, so now the base game’s snowy locations will affect character clothes as they will naturally be covered in snow. It’s a small detail, but greatly appreciated.

The more options, the better

These improvements are then enhanced with new lighting similar to Forbidden West that bounces off the environment nicely, as light penetrates trees or other objects and naturally shifts as the sun naturally sets. Light reflection on certain objects and terrain has been improved and running water looks more realistic with the improved reflection, making it less glossy. 

All of these improvements didn’t result in any sort of sacrifice performance-wise, as frame rates remained consistent depending on the graphical setting you prefer. Performance mode sits at a consistent 60 fps despite all of these graphical improvements and added assets, and the graphical mode set at 30 fps to deliver higher resolution was also solid. There’s a 40 fps option as well that serves as a middle ground for higher graphical fidelity and added frame rates, but this is only available to those with TVs that support this setting.

Another nice change is the addition of more accessibility options that give players more ways to fine-tune their experience based on how they want to play. If you’ve played Forbidden West, then you’ll be familiar with what is on offer in the Accessibility options as they simply imported the sequel’s options onto the Remaster. 

Players can dictate the amount of guidance the game will provide when going out and exploring the world, lessen the amount of HUD elements that will be displayed (you can play without a HUD), remove the pick-up animation entirely, and even remove the slowdown effect when navigating through the weapon wheel. There are various difficulty modifiers, the ability to have certain actions toggle or hold, and more.

It’s like 2017 all over again

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is a technical and visual upgrade as gameplay and content remain relatively the same, though the full package of the remastered does rope in the game’s only DLC, The Frozen Wastes. There’s no improved AI, balance changes, or exclusive content to enhance the package. This is still the same game set in a post-apocalyptic world where our modern world has fallen, nature has recaptured most of the earth, and mechanical beasts roam the land with humans now living through various tribes with bows and spears, more than capable of thriving in a world inhabited by these unique threats. 

I had a blast revisiting the first game, as this still holds up as a solid open world from Guerilla Games, a developer originally known for their work on the Killzone franchise. Their shift to the open-world genre was a major risk, as this was also a new IP at the time, and it greatly paid off as Sony now considers Horizon one of their flagship franchises, alongside God of War, The Last of Us, and Uncharted.

But playing the first game again made me appreciate the sequel more, as I did find myself missing unique features from Forbidden West, especially the ability to glide, as I found myself feeling the urge to jump off the climb numerous times. The traversal and the ways to travel from one point to the next have improved so much that the first game felt limiting. 

Melee combat remains the game’s weakest point, as using the spear can feel awkward, since there are no combo strings to pull off, or unique attacks to make Aloy deadly if enemies dare to get up close and personal. The melee attacks you can do aren’t as impactful, to the point where my strategy consists of preventing enemies from closing in as much as possible.  The melee was my biggest criticism when I reviewed the original back in 2017, and that remains to be the case. 

The ranged combat with Aloy’s bow is still a big highlight in the game’s combat, as it’s fun planning how you’ll tackle a herd of robot beasts, accessing their weaknesses, setting traps, and putting you in the perfect position to come out unscathed. The intricate design of the robot enemies in this game remains the strongest aspect of why the gameplay loop is fun from start to finish, as attacking specific parts with your bow can give you certain advantages. You can target an enemy’s weapon to completely remove it from the battle, or constantly chip away at a piece of armor to expose a robot’s bigger weakness, like creating an opening to shoot a flammable piece to trigger an explosion. It’s still a satisfying feeling to slowly break down a robot piece by piece, using various ammo types and weapons to topple the biggest enemy types. I can’t get enough of the combat, as long as I engage using my bow. 

The open world is textbook stuff, as it’s a world populated with bandit camps, puzzles, and collectibles that will reward players eager to explore every corner of the massive map. If you’re familiar with open world games and going through a checklist of tasks and sidequests to complete, you’ll have a good amount of content to satisfy your inner completionist. 

For those new to the series, I highly recommend you start with this game, as I still find the story of Horizon Zero Dawn to be better than Forbidden West. Zero Dawn also did a good job of slowly introducing the Horizon universe. Thanks to Aloy being outcast by her tribe at birth, she’s only familiar with her tribe’s lands, so it feels like the player and Aloy are together on this journey to explore this world for the first time, encountering new tribes, new lands, and more threatening robots. Zero Dawn’s pacing is better, so the player isn’t bombarded with too much information, leaving enough mystery and room for the big picture to slowly unfold, then preparing you for what the sequel has in store for those looking for more of Aloy’s journey.

More about the original game and other aspects of it can be found in my original review back in 2017, as I still stand by my assessments regarding Zero Dawn’s strengths and weaknesses.

A solid upgrade, but not essential

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is easily the best way to experience the original game, but it’s not something I highly recommend, as it doesn’t make the original PS4 game obsolete. Anyone picking up the original game on a PS4 or PS5 will still be impressed at what Guerilla Games has delivered. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is just providing options to those who want that extra bump to the experience from a technical and graphical standpoint. If that’s all you want out of this remaster, then you won’t be disappointed at what Nixxes has done in this version of the game.

What I like about Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is that Sony is giving owners of the original game a $10 upgrade for the remaster on their PS5, a reasonable offering despite it not offering additional content. This upgrade doesn’t make it identical to the sequel’s visual and technical quality, just slightly closer to it, as Horizon Forbidden West is still more visually stunning as a PS5 title, but at least when someone moves from Horizon Zero Dawn Remasted to the sequel, the difference in quality won’t have that big of a gap.

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Verdict: 4 / 5 (Fantastic)

PROS

• A solid visual and technical upgrade makes the game more appealing to the eyes

• More accessibility options similar to Horizon Forbidden West

• Multiple graphical options with consistent frame rates, faster load times, and barely any technical hiccups due to the visual upgrades

CONS

• No added incentive for the upgrade beyond the visual and technical upgrade

What I’ve Played 

• Played the remastered with my old file in new game+ and reached halfway through the main story

• Spent the rest of my time with Remastered playing the Frozen Wilds DLC (first time playing)

• Finished the main story of Horizon Zero Dawn back in 2017

*This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided by the publisher

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