Horizon Zero Dawn reviews looking good...

[EXCellR8]

haven't been able to sit down and play for a day or so... but I'll hop back into it later tonight. i was really digging it even though i had done a few boring "errands" during my last session

 

[sze5003]

The more I play the more I like it. Especially as I get better equipment. I always try and finish up errands and side quests before doing main quests.

Reminds me how much fun I had playing Witcher 3. It has a similar feel which is a good thing. I just need to get a better bow now but I haven't gone to meridian yet.

Watched some YouTube videos and apparently that's where you get one of the best weapons.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

This game is both beautiful and amazing. I've played it almost all day on Saturday and it's been nothing but fun. My only regret is not getting the newer PlayStation to replace my original PS4

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Regarding the comment I read about NPC's in the wild not doing anything. I've only encountered that situation once and the NPC was attacking a robotic character. Most of the NPCs are within home areas unless they are part of the story line.

My only gripe is there vegetation that is very close to the camera doesn't become transparent. I was in a fight with for robotic animals underneath a bunch of trees and I had to just well away at buttons hoping I would kill them period that was my only moment of frustration this far after about 6 hours of gameplay

 

[cmdrdredd]

One problem I've ran into personally is the different quest types. You have your active quest, main quests, side quests, errands and you can add jobs. Jobs is the odd one where you can set a quest for gathering the required items to craft a pouch upgrade for example but there is no jobs option in the menu. It appears under errands which is odd since it specifically says "create a job". I just find there to be too many headings under quests.

A few things I picked up along the way is to always kill animals you see(not necessarily mechs). The xp adds up quickly and the extra resources for crafting and trading are never wasted. Don't forget to scan the water once in a while for fish too, you will need fish bones etc to craft certain items. Also gather all the resources you come across. Skipping them for the sake of time can hurt when you want to craft elemental bombs or arrows. I find resource gathering/hunting very annoying but have come to accept it as a critical part of the game. Don't forget to upgrade your inventory pouches. You can do this right from the beginning in crafting and I never found a tutorial that mentioned it at all. When you buy a new weapon, do the tutorial quest to learn it's usefulness and get free XP. Don't forget to trade in resources to merchants for metal shards. This is your currency and some items are worth quite a few shards and are acquired easily. There are some items that have no crafting usage, sell these.

 

[sze5003]

The resource gathering is a little annoying. I don't like how you can't buy stuff from vendors without resources. I have a ton of shards and it seems they aren't useable unless I also have animal meat or something else. For example I should be able to buy a travel pack from a merchant without needing fatty meat and 3 other resources.

Fast travel helps you a lot because some of the locations are way out there.

I need to stop doing side quests. Some of them get annoying since it seems to be 3 quests in one once you get to your waypoint. I beat the hunting lodge quest and got the tear blaster. Haven't used it yet but I wish there was one more weapon wheel slot.

I still have some issues finding the best weapon to use all the time so I just mix it up and use everything I have on me until the machines are down.

 

[cmdrdredd]

One odd thing is the weather in this game. It goes by area rather than being random or based on time of day. One area is sunny like midday, run a bit and it is rainy there, run back and sunny unless it's just me. Quite an odd choice.

I think of the merchants in terms of the barter system. Sometimes an item is worth more than a few metal shards and they want a nice skin or rare part as part of the deal. I don't think of it as going to a store and paying money. That kind of makes sense in the game world too.

The map reveal idea is quite clever IMO. They use the game world's lore to explain away the idea taken from assassin's creed and far cry where you climb a tower and unlock an area map scan. The idea that the giant strider thing remembers where it has been and transmits that information to other machines is actually a neat idea and it's not a static tower, it moves and you have to find the right path to jump on it without getting seen or by taking out watchers. It's not as bad as "climb to the perch and magically everything will be revealed" like assassins creed.

 

[Anubis]

got the platinum trophy last night. ~54 hours. I finished the main story at about 50 hours with 92% completion and only missing 1 trophy for Plat. Currently sit at ~95% i think im only missing some of the data scans now. i "believe" ive done all the side quests and errands

 

[sze5003]

I need to check how much of the game I've completed. Probably not a lot as I'm still early in the game. I'm now on the story mission thats level 12 or 15 but I'm level 21. I think it's the pitch cliff mission. Found it kind of challenging as they have tied up machines in that area. Probably best to take out all the guards first then destroy the machines.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Clipping issues with hair and fabric aren't uncommon in other games, but it's also been done better in the past.
At least I haven't run into any major bugs.

I'm only 5 hours into the game, but I did notice the High Matron's hair clipping through her beads, and when I sat down to listen to the story which sounded like a description of the Butlerian Jihad from Dune, I saw a guy scratch his head and his fingers went right through his head.

Also when I went to start it up yesterday, I kept getting "Cannot start Application" errors and had to restart my PS4.

 

[Anubis]

Also when I went to start it up yesterday, I kept getting "Cannot start Application" errors and had to restart my PS4.

that could be because of the 1.03 patch needing the app to restart
happens sometimes with updates

 

[HOOfan 1]

hmm...I think my game is only patched up to 1.02...and I specifically pressed the options button and told my PS4 to look for updates, and was told the game was up to date.

Edit: I just searched HZD latest patch, and all the articles I found about patch 1.03 are from today, so I don't think the patch was live last night when I went to load the game

 

[EXCellR8]

For some reason, not related to console performance, I had a super hard time playing the game last night. I think I'm right around level 17 or so but everything was kicking my scrawny ass. I was actually wondering if they had patched the game to make the machines more hostile or aggressive because I kept reloading only to get pummeled again. Horrible Witcher 3 flashbacks for sure. Didn't seem like any of my weapons (with rare mods installed) did any actual damage to anything; I had to rely on shock traps and silent attacks for the most part.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this game. I like the actual gameplay and the graphics (for a console game) are absolutely stunning. But the facial animations (particularly lip syncing) and the voice acting are absolutely horrible. Almost but not quite as bad as a Bethesda game (Bethesda being notorious for using the same 2-3 voice actors for hundreds of different in-game characters). It is very distracting for what is otherwise a beautifully crafted game.

 

[sze5003]

For some reason, not related to console performance, I had a super hard time playing the game last night. I think I'm right around level 17 or so but everything was kicking my scrawny ass. I was actually wondering if they had patched the game to make the machines more hostile or aggressive because I kept reloading only to get pummeled again. Horrible Witcher 3 flashbacks for sure. Didn't seem like any of my weapons (with rare mods installed) did any actual damage to anything; I had to rely on shock traps and silent attacks for the most part.

I played a bit last night but I've been noticing the same thing as you in general. There hasn't been a patch that I know of. Do you have hard point arrows? For some reason I still haven't got them yet.

My go to is the shock slingshot and fire arrows. Scan the enemies first and then see what elements they are impermeable to.

I think the campaign is rather short I probably have 4 more missions to do or so I think and I'm only level 21.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

For some reason, not related to console performance, I had a super hard time playing the game last night. I think I'm right around level 17 or so but everything was kicking my scrawny ass. I was actually wondering if they had patched the game to make the machines more hostile or aggressive because I kept reloading only to get pummeled again. Horrible Witcher 3 flashbacks for sure. Didn't seem like any of my weapons (with rare mods installed) did any actual damage to anything; I had to rely on shock traps and silent attacks for the most part.

There are areas within the various regions (including the first one) which are notably tougher than other parts of that region. E.g., there is a level 25 bandit camp in the first area, which I beat my head against for a while when I was level 17-18. You might have wandered into one of those areas.

 

[EXCellR8]

Yea I don't know, but I wish there was a way to focus the camera on a single enemy like it Dark Souls... because some of the bots can close the gap in like a second flat. These are usually the times where I'm trying to sprint for tall grass...

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yea I don't know, but I wish there was a way to focus the camera on a single enemy like it Dark Souls... because some of the bots can close the gap in like a second flat. These are usually the times where I'm trying to sprint for tall grass...

Yeah I end up mashing circle to dodge away so I can turn the camera. I would like to be able to target lock to something to keep focus on it.

 

[Anubis]

I played a bit last night but I've been noticing the same thing as you in general. There hasn't been a patch that I know of. Do you have hard point arrows? For some reason I still haven't got them yet.

My go to is the shock slingshot and fire arrows. Scan the enemies first and then see what elements they are impermeable to.

I think the campaign is rather short I probably have 4 more missions to do or so I think and I'm only level 21.

you wont get the hard point arrows until you get one of the "shadow hunter" bows from a vendor, there are 2, the sniper bow and the standard one. the merchants should have them once you get a little into the game, the first sniper bow has them on it as well which you get right after the proving IIRC

 

[EXCellR8]

sniper bow? is that the same thing as the sharpshot bow? I did see those arrows for that...

i will say, though, that overriding the sawtooths is mighty helpful in a pinch. you gotta beat that sigma cauldron in order to "learn" it though.

i may have just had a night of really bad luck... I mean I took down one of those things with the fluid tanks on their backs and it landed right on me. I couldn't move and I had to fast travel to get unstuck lol

 

[Anubis]

no wait i confused hard point and precision, you only get them on the hunterbow

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

How big is the 1.03 patch? I have to DL it when I get home (Turned PS4 off instead of using sleep mode last night)

As for the lip synch issues, I Agree. They exist. In general, the facial animations in cut scenes are pretty bad. Having said that though, it takes the game from a solid 10 to a 9.9.

I think the default difficulty setting is too easy. Once I beat it, I might replay the game on a a harder setting, possibly the hardest.

 

[Anubis]

patch is like 200 megs

 

[EXCellR8]

Game is certainly easier than their previous effort on PS4... shadow fall was downright brutal toward the end. I liked KZ2 and KZ3 but SF was blah.

 

[HOOfan 1]

How big is the 1.03 patch? I have to DL it when I get home (Turned PS4 off instead of using sleep mode last night)

I pretty much have to shut mine down most of the time. Inevitably if I put it into Rest Mode and don't play for 3 or 4 days, I come back and it says it was shut off without being shut down and has to do a HDD check