In 2017, I, like many people, was enamored with the wealth of open world adventure games that had come out during that year. The two I was the most excited for was of course, Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn.  The former because of the eons we were waiting for a new mainline Zelda game, and the latter due to the awesome art style. 

When HZD came out however, I was too busy ingesting all of the Sony IP I had missed out on most of my life (I had just gotten a shiny new PS4). During the Spring of 2017, I was caught up in the absorbing story of The Last of Us after miraculously avoiding spoilers for four straight years. The summer was spent Hanzo-maining in Overwatch. The Fall was when I was sinking 300+ hours into Breath of the Wild.

So when I finally got through enough of my backlog to get to HZD, I had already heard awesome things about it, including how it took place in post-post-apocalyptic Colorado and that you could actually go visit Red Rocks in the game. So when I finally sat down to experience it, I admit I was pretty disappointed. Perhaps it was the hype, or that the game’s willingness to try new and interesting things made it a bit of a barrier to entry, or maybe it was just the god awful dialogue.

The farthest I got during that first playthrough was the tutorial section, including all the tedious moments with Aloy as a child. There were two things that turned me off from the game, one was the exposition from Rost in the opening moments. Exposition should always be weaved into the narrative, and Rost’s exposition was less of a weaving and more of a whacking. Over the head.

For a game so beautiful, it’s really jarring to not let those opening visual moments of the world bring you into the immersion, but instead have that experience interrupted by a lot of one-sided talking that really feels like you have to hear it.

The other thing that really bothered me was why the Nora tribe, seemingly led by women, would exile unwanted children for being motherless. Or why the tribe would even have a concept of exile, instead of something like a prison. Granted, this is meant to show humanity in a more primitive state, so at first I thought okay. But then you find out a mere five minutes later that exiles are not exiled from Nora land, but are just exiled from those rad party huts.

So I put down the game, unimpressed, and decided to come back to it when I had more patience. The following April also would bring us the latest God of War game, so I needed the rest of my time to replay the first three games before release. Then God of War came, and I loved it, played it, platinum’d it, and drank quite a bit of mead while doing so (which shall all be covered in a future post). When that was done, and I decided it was time for my annual liquor cleanse, I put both God of War and the horn of mead down, and picked up a game with 0 alcohol related pairings to it: Horizon: Zero Dawn.

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I picked it up right where I left off, which is after the kid tutorial sections, and when Aloy is told to go out and get fire arrows. I got through some of the side quests, took down a few machines, and marveled a little at how pretty it looked on my Ps4 Pro and 4K HDR TV that I had picked up in anticipation of God of War. I still wasn’t bought though.

It wasn’t until after the Proving chapter, where Aloy is attacked by a rival tribe, Mother’s Heart is left in shambles, and we learn that Aloy being motherless is actually a big freaking deal (img), that it finally clicked for me. That was the point it started to feel like Mass Effect: Post Apocalyptic Colorado Version (which might just be everything I’ve ever wanted). I was hooked because of the gripping story, particularly the mystery of Aloy and why she was found deposited outside of the “Goddess” that the Nora worshipped. I still didn’t really understand why if Aloy was such a messiah, the Nora would see fit to exile her, but I was in anyway.

The next month or so was some of the most immersive storytelling I’ve ever experienced. Discovering landmarks, fighting increasingly more difficult enemies, and progressing through the story just made things better and better. I especially liked the character of Sylens and his morally ambiguous character arc, particularly as it contrasted with the morally stout Aloy, who forms a reluctant partnership with him in order to discover the mysteries of the world. It was one part detective story, one ground opera, and one part Game of Thrones-caliber religious fanaticism-meets-compelling-characters that ate up my entire summer.

When I finally put the game down, I was turned completely around on my opinion of the game, and it has crept to the top 5 of my favorite games of the last ten years.

A little over a year later and I’m drawn back into the game. Aside from the already mentioned glorious visuals and compelling story, one thing I can say for certain about this game that I couldn’t say when I first started: it is much, much better the second time around.

Those opening moments have a completely different context after you’re educated on the story, particularly in how the Nora tribe talks (and hilariously, how the Nora are considered the wildest of the surviving human tribes). Knowing how much Rost means to Aloy, and how their relationship ends with Rost dying to save her, has so much more weight the second time around. At first, I thought Rost was just some humorless version of Tormund with worse hair. Now, I realize that he really, truly cared about Aloy, but wanted to make sure she had all the tools to live a life that he could not.

I also thought that the story’s lack of levity was a pitfall. On second playthrough though, I realize that the main theme of HZD is tragedy. The human race has devolved to a primitive state without any knowledge of where they came from. Each major character has lost someone, either to the violent machines or the brutal world that they must endure. Yet despite the tragedy, the world is still beautiful. The people still thrive. And even a motherless orphan can become the savior that this brutal and unforgiving world needs.

And as it turns out, there IS a perfect drink pairing for this game. Which I’ll cover in an upcoming post!