If they made a name for themselves with the saga Killzone, the Dutch of Guerrilla Games have decided to change register by leaving Horizon Zero Dawn, an open world that we explore in the third person. PS4 players will tell you that they have folded it for a long time and that they are waiting for the continuation of Aloy's adventures. Don't listen to them and enjoy this perfectly decent PC port.
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View PriceRead ConclusionHorizon Zero Dawn
- A strong heroine
- An original and interesting universe to explore
- Sumptuous decorations
- FROM ROBOT DINOSAURS!
- Jagged scenario
- Sometimes a bit repetitive
It's true, three years is a long time. A time exclusive to the PlayStation 4, Horizon Zero Dawn is one of those titles that illustrate Sony's rediscovery of the PC world. If we had to wait much longer than to enjoy Death Stranding on our AMD / Intel-based machines, we will console ourselves – no pun intended – by saying that we have a complete edition with what this presupposes additional content, various corrections and optimization in order to justify the oversized ego of players equipped with an RTX 2080 Ti. I know, I'm part of it.
Aloy and Vera
On Clubic, we did not have the opportunity to test Horizon Zero Dawn when it was released on PlayStation. So, before going into the specifics of this PC port, it seems appropriate to start with a few general reminders. Horizon Zero Dawn is therefore the 8th game from the Guerrilla Games studio which had never before touched the RPG genre. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world of which we know almost nothing at the beginning of the adventure. Humanity as we know it today seems to have lived through difficult times, its decline is startling and the Earth is dominated by powerful robotic creatures.
We play young Aloy, an orphan raised by a kind-hearted outcast, Rost. While the mystery hangs over the birth of the heroine, the very first hours of the adventure are devoted – Aloy is only six years old – to the first learnings. A tutorial that barely hides its name tells us how to control the young woman, use a bow and interact with the outside world. It is also an opportunity to learn the basics of the interface and to pick up some herbs, some materials that will be very useful later. Horizon Zero Dawn changes tone very quickly, however.
As the question of Aloy's birth arises once again, Rost is forced to explain to his protegee that they are "pariahs" condemned to be left alone and that they are not welcome in the "tribe". ". He adds that there is, however, a way for Aloy to learn more about her origins: she will be able to obtain answers from the High Matriarchs of the tribe, on the only condition that she wins the Hatching test. , a kind of rite of passage that all the young people of the tribe perform before becoming brave, full-fledged warriors. Of course, Aloy only has one thing left in her mind, to prepare for the Hatching and Rost is going to help her.
Guerrilla Games then operates a magnificent eclipse of a dozen years and we find Aloy, a young adult, two days from the Hatching. She's almost ready, but she still has a few things to do with Rost. The latter believes that it is time to tell her that after the Hatching, she will be part of the tribe and that, as he remains an outcast, they will no longer be able to mix. In order to avoid spoiling the story further, we will say no more. Simply clarify that from this moment of the game, Horizon Zero Dawn truly develops its open world and its game system.
Red(head) is dread
Generally speaking, Horizon Zero Dawn doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, and its open world borrows heavily from what fans already know. There is a little bit of Assassin's Creed in its “platform” moments, a zest of The Witcher for certain environments, but above all, a Far Cry Primal inspiration that the developers cannot deny. The vast map of the world of Horizon Zero Dawn is revealed little by little as we progress in the adventure. In a fairly classic way, it consists of regions linked to each other, but sufficiently detached that a fast travel system has been put in place.
As soon as you find a campfire, it is thus possible to save your progress. At any time, you can teleport to a previously explored fire, for a small specific resource. Resource management is another key component of the game. We can harvest it, as we have said, but also and above all pick it up from the corpses of our victims. They are very numerous and used both to prepare treatments and to design weapons / equipment. Crafting is indeed at the heart of the game: it is a matter of gradually discovering new weapons, improving them or finding new possibilities for them.
This is how we learn very early on to make a second type of arrow for our favorite weapon, the bow. Slingshots, cable pullers and... shh, let's not reveal too much, complete a varied arsenal that can be improved via "charms" Horizon Zero Dawn integrates what it takes merchants to get rid of excess equipment / buy some trinkets, villages to obtain new missions and skills to ensure a most rewarding increase in power for our heroine: accelerated harvesting, silent movements, improved precision, slowing down time when hitting are some of the skills to unlock.
For several paragraphs, we have been talking about the fighting. Indeed, despite its open world and its RPG side, Horizon Zero Dawn remains an action game where the fight has more than a say. On an exploration mission, during a rescue or during a collection, you often have to beat mecha-dino or hit humans. There, alas, Guerrilla Games blows hot and cold. We really appreciate Aloy's weapons and their handling as well as her varied skills. We also like the stress of fighting against robot creatures. On the other hand, the attacks against humans are less successful due to behaviors that are a little too stereotyped, unsurprisingly.
JVFR
T'robot to be true?
At this level, the PC port does not change the case and even if Horizon Zero Dawn is just as playable with the keyboard / mouse as with the controller, it does not transform the clashes. To tell the truth, the first launch of the PC version is even rather disappointing: you actually have to fade an endless load (nearly ten minutes on SSD) which, fortunately, does not happen again. This is probably to complete the installation. As a good self-respecting PC player, we immediately visit the options to verify the promises of Guerrilla Games / Sony. First good news, the framerate is indeed unlocked.
We discover a rather complete menu allowing to play on most of the usual parameters from the different anti-aliasing techniques to the choice of the field of vision through different levels of detail on shadows, textures or reflections. Nothing on the other hand on the rendering distance and it is a bit of a shame insofar as the horizon is sometimes a little restricted, RAM of the PS4 obliges. Another regret, if it is not surprising not to find any option related to ray-tracing, one wonders why NVIDIA was not asked for DLSS 2.0 as was the case for example on Death Stranding, it little ago.
JVFR
On our test machine, we kept a constant 60 frames per second at 3840 x 2160 with the details at maximum. On the other hand, owners of older machines should be warned, the recommended configuration (i7-4770K, 16 GB, GTX 1060) involves compromises to have 60 fps in 1080p. More annoying, even in the best conditions, we are forced to do with astonishing limitations: Guerrilla has thus recognized that certain animations – in particular facial expressions – will be in 30 fps whatever your settings. In fact, we even had surprising lip desynchronizations during a few dialogues.
Concerns in the movements of the hair, hangings have not been removed in favor of this port and the anisotropic filtering does not work. Guerrilla Games has recognized the issue and is working to resolve it. If you have any concerns, wait a few days for the day one patch – and why not the day two – to be released before investing. You will enjoy Aloy's adventures in the best possible way knowing that to justify the term complete edition - and its somewhat high price - Guerrilla Games has integrated The Frozen Wilds DLC - which brings a new game area - and some cosmetic additions. Nothing fancy, but it's still good to take.
JVFR
Horizon Zero Dawn : l'avis de Clubic sur PC
In three years, Horizon Zero Dawn hasn't aged a bit. Its open world works with a charm that the power of our big PCs only reinforces. We obviously regret that Guerrilla Games was not able to integrate some improvements related to ray-tracing or DLSS 2.0. We also regret some bugs or graphical inaccuracies that have not completely disappeared with this port, but the developers seem on the spot.
Still, Aloy's adventures are always so pleasant. The variety of situations, the originality of the world and the excellence of the handling of the bow are rare moments in the video game that we appreciated at their fair value. The scenario is certainly not the most inspired, but it does the job and ensures that the player always wants to move forward, to chain missions and, above all, to discover new robotic beasts. A success.
Test carried out using code provided by the publisher.
Horizon Zero Dawn8
Presented at E3 2015, Horizon Zero Dawn was expected at the turn. And the least we can say is that we were not disappointed! Pleasant to play, beautiful to watch, with a badass heroine as impossible as possible, the title of Guerrilla is one of those games that can be savored with great pleasure.
Most
- A strong heroine
- An original and interesting universe to explore
- Sumptuous decorations
- FROM ROBOT DINOSAURS!
The lessers
- Jagged scenario
- Sometimes a bit repetitive
