I absolutely adore the Horizon series. Zero Dawn, for me, is one of the best action-RPGs of the last decade, and its sequel, Forbidden West, continued that legacy by retaining what worked and expanding on the best parts. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered gives next-gen (or current-gen?) players the chance to revisit where Aloy’s story begins, with the added benefit of a significant graphical update.
The opening cinematic introduces us to young Aloy as she learns her way around Nora lands, living as a tribe outcast due to her “guilt” of being motherless. This leads to numerous training sessions with her guardian Rost, all while the tribe keeps her at a distance, following their strict laws. It’s not until she is taunted by a boy from the tribe that Aloy resolves to win “The Proving” and become a Nora Brave—a warrior of the tribe.
Throughout this story setup and character development, the game’s beauty truly shines. With a strong emphasis on the environment—trees, grass, and more—it’s not just the characters in the foreground that stand out. Tall grass in hiding areas looks especially lush and dense, enhancing the illusion that Aloy could seamlessly blend into these patches for cover.
The graphical upgrades extend beyond greenery; water and snow areas have been significantly enhanced as well. Snow, in particular, now benefits from The Frozen Wilds treatment, with realistic deformation and movement in all snowy regions, adding depth to the immersive experience.
“Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered gives next-gen (or is it current-gen now?) players the opportunity to take a trip back to where Aloys story begins with the benefit of a significant graphical update.”
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered offers three performance options to suit different player preferences: 30fps, 40fps, and 60fps, each with varying levels of graphical capability. Being partial to a higher frame rate, I opted for the 60fps setting, and even with the slight reduction in resolution, the game looked stunning at every turn.
Whole areas of the game, like the Ring of Metal sequence early on, look incredible, especially when you take a moment to appreciate the textures on small huts or buildings that you can sneak through. This extends to the overworld as well, where the overgrown areas of the old world look authentically neglected and forgotten, as if they’ve been left to decay for hundreds of years.
I did encounter a couple of minor issues during my time with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. Occasionally, Aloy’s hair would clip through her face or body during dialogue scenes—sometimes a braid would pass through her face or shoulder. While this wasn’t game-breaking, it did break immersion for a moment. This didn’t happen in every dialogue scene, but it occurred just often enough to be noticeable.
“…Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is a fantastic update to a fantastic game and brings it on par visually with its successor at minimum.”
Another minor issue involved some of the dialogue scenes. More than once, I noticed that the spoken dialogue didn’t quite sync with the character’s mouth movements—sometimes the speech was just a bit behind, making the dialogue feel less immersive. However, once the scene ended and I could move freely again, the issue faded quickly as it’s easy to get lost in the game’s immersive world.
Combat in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered remains as enjoyable as ever, with Aloy’s physical attacks feeling deliberate and weighty—each swing of her spear feels like it requires genuine effort rather than just a button tap. With the option to use stealth with the bow, there’s almost always a way to sneak through an encounter. Combat feels challenging, even on lower difficulty settings, and the satisfaction of taking down a tough group of machines using strategy and a trusty dodge button is as rewarding as ever.
With that all said, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is a fantastic update to an already fantastic game, visually bringing it on par with its successor. I’ll be replaying this one for a while, especially with the Frozen Wilds DLC and New Game+ available, plus the option to import a previous save from the PS4 for an early boost with levelled weapons—if you have them, of course.
