Horizon: Zero Dawn is an open world role-playing release according to Guerrilla Games, but many have questioned whether it will really live up to that description. The title's official strategy guide certainly seems to indicate as much: it's a whopping 552 pages, which is almost on par with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's guide.
Now this doesn't necessarily mean much; we don't know how the pages are being utilised, after all. But it does suggest that you can expect a dense adventure; the guide to Mass Effect Andromeda – albeit by a different publisher – is only 464 pages, and few have concerns about the size and scale of that game.
We just hope that the quests are worthwhile. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is really the standard bearer in that regard, as practically every mission in Geralt's outing is brilliantly written and expertly designed. There are definitely still question marks hanging over the title, but if it can deliver… Boy, we could have a huge hit on our hands.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source amazon.com, via amazon.com, reddit.com]
Comments 25
The story and quests are really the only question marks left about this game and yes The Witcher is clearly the standard bearer as far as that is concerned. We know it looks great and I can't wait to see this on my Pro and from the videos the combat looks outstanding with lots of variety to how you can take these down, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the larger enemies have well over 50 different hit points to be damaged.
This is the game I'm most looking forward to this year so let's just hope that the story is even half as good as the rest of the game appears to be.
I'm gonna have to wait on this one. Breath of the Wild is gonna steal my spring!
I would totally buy models - like 6" to 8" models of the robot dinosaurs in this game. I mean, even if the game sucks a shelf full of Robot Dinos is awesome.
What we also have to remember though is that Guerrilla Games recruited some of the staff from CD Project Red specifically for 'side quests' and the main storyline was written by the person that wrote Fallout New Vegas.
The gameplay they showed at E3 2016, the one where they jumped on the back of a robotic 'bison' and tackled the infected creature that jumped around a lot was actually a 'side quest' mission that was picked up from a nearby village. Its not part of the main storyline. I wouldn't be surprised if the first E3 showing where the Thunderjaw shows up after Aloy was harvesting from the herd of animals was a side quest for another village or person.
Its clear that most of the beasts have weakness to something - like fire and multiple hit-points and various attacks too. Most you could probably ascertain yourself by studying them, coming up against them etc but you could also read the 'guide' - not that I will as I want to find this out myself. No doubt the guide could help to locate specific resources and beasts, know where they are most likely to be found etc and how they can be used in crafting etc. It could give more information on the tribes, their beliefs etc too as well as the usual quest guidelines/rewards.
Well that's put me right off. I want to just get into the game and expect it to be intuitive friendly. Last thing I want is to plough through minutiae of subtle loadout differences for various scenarios, concoctions, enemies and environmental variations.
@nathanSF You don't need a guide to play the game - its optional. Even CoD, Uncharted, Tomb Raider and other games like this have an official strategy 'Guide'. As stated in the above info, even Mass Effect: Andromeda, Skyrim etc have official guides released too but they are NOT essential.
Its NOT supplied with the game and required reading (like old game manuals) but a guide like Prima produce telling you every secret, how to beat every mission/side quest etc - a cheat book if you will.
"Guerrilla? Your guide is ready for print!"
@BAMozzy: "Guerrilla Games recruited some of the staff from CD Project Red specifically for 'side quests' and the main storyline was written by the person that wrote Fallout New Vegas"
That is the most promising thing I've read about the game!
@BAMozzy
HI. Thanks, yes I get that - last guide I bought was Final Fantasy X, or was it X2 when I played with my kid. But 500+ pages implies more of an online course than a game., It also implies that if you want to get the most out of a game then some kind of guide would help. Which then implies that you could end up missing out on a lot of whats in the game if you just dive in and play your own way and come across stuff by chance.
Either way we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand I want to get as much as I can from the game - which means getting the guide. On the other hand I just wanna have fun.
As for Fallout, I found that a bloody ordeal and gave up on it - collecting junk and stuff. More like a dystopian survival version of Steptoe & Son.
@nathanSF I sometimes play trough the game one time and then use a guide just for all the secret stuff.
@Neolit Its a collectable, but what's great with official guides is having the info available from the get go. Using something like game faqs or trophy hunter sites is hit and miss, especially in the first week of a games release. You can use the book to fill in on additional background info too!
I ended up buing the official ffxv guide this Christmas and I did not reget it. The sidequest checklists, the artwork and the maps helped me enjoy the game more. For the record it is ~320 pages.
@Neolit I hadnt bought one in years...untill final fantasy 15 came out. I bought the collectors guide, almost to help commemorate its release. It has some nice artwork in it. Staying well away from the walk-through section and spoilerville though
This is great news, and I'm well chuffed that Future Press are handling it.
They did a fantastic job with the Bloodborne guide, so I'm looking forward to an in-depth look at Horizon as well.
Nice. Hopefully this is a meatier game than I expect it to be. It'd be nice to have a fantastic new first-party I.P. on Playstation.
I agree this could be a good sign. However, I have a few strategy guides in my collection and you see some funny stuff like how the Marvel vs Capcom 3 strategy guide has almost 100 more pages than the Dragon Age Origins strategy guide. Fallout 4 removed all skills from the game and generally took the series even further away being an RPG and closer to being an open world FPS, yet its guide is far larger than the Fallout New Vegas one, the latter having more complexity than any other Fallout.
@Neolit A lot of it is due to collecting, but it's also because it's a lot easier in many ways to use a book than to fiddle around with a guide on your phone. Sure, you can't use CTRL+F but the maps are far better and clearer, and with a book you can instantly jump to any page. The info is generally laid out better since it's a professional product rather than something some guy threw together between uni classes. Full colour tables with images rather than ASCII tables on GameFAQs or whatever.
The artwork they have all over the place also makes it a pleasant experience beyond just being a purely practical one. There's also the sense of tactility that people can enjoy, like how people can prefer reading an actual book to an ebook. There's even a slight RPing element in some cases, with RPG guides sometimes being written in an in-universe kind of way, so it feels like you're actually using, say, a real Vault Dwellers guide within the Fallout world.
@nathanSF Almost every game has a guide! Like I said even games like Call of Duty, Uncharted etc has guides! Linear games that have a very obvious pathway through the game has a guide. They tell you things like around the next corner will be 4 enemies grouped together so prepare a grenade to take all 4 out in one go - but without the guide, you still go around the corner, still see the 4 enemies and make decision/react to it as you would in that situation - you wouldn't prepare a grenade before walking round the corner but that's more enjoyable because its reacting rather than following instruction and having that spoiled by knowing whats around the corner. Do you need these to get the 'most' out of the game - NO. You may turn to one to find the few collectables that you missed but you don't need a guide. Most guides repeat a LOT of what's actually in the game and can be found out by actually playing. Things like the Witcher 3's Potions, ingredients and Beastiality for example which will be revealed as you play in game, can be given to you in the guide and repeat basically verbatim what the in-game 'guide' will say.
Quests/stories are 'spoiled' by guides too. They tell you exactly where to go, what to do, what the next stage will be and the outcome/reward for completing it will be before you actually get there. You could just follow the in game map directions, follow the quest instructions and find out what the next stage is as you play - the game has a map and compass pointing you to the area you need to go to without having to use a guide to work that out.
No doubt the guide will tell you the upgrades available, recommended upgrades/levels for certain areas - especially as you can free roam anywhere right from the start. Maybe it will give you recommended tactics/levels/gear to tackle certain beasts - like target the ranged weapon first with an explosive arrow to blow it off the Thunderjaw and then use that to inflict as much damage as possible and then aim for the weak spot to finish it off - harvest it for 'X' parts... However you could beat it a completely different way, a way that suited your playstyle, your gear and equipment (maybe you don't have explosive arrows or resources to make them at the time) etc.
Point is you are not going to enjoy a game more by having a 'guide' telling you how to play, telling you where to go and spoiling the story etc. You may need a guide for help on a very specific thing - like finding a hidden secret/collectable but generally you do not need a guide.
@BAMozzy This is all true.
depending how well it's organised, presented, i might be interested. mass effect 2's strategy guide was excellent.. ME3's used a total different structure, and was rubbish. :-/
@Neolit I have no idea. Usually those strategy guides are really nothing more than a cheat or just a collectible.
@BAMozzy That... Actually worries me. I don't know why but it does if that was the sidequest.
@taylorsparks294 Why? its just A side quest not the side quest.... Clearing an area of a 'corrupted' for a neighbouring/nearby village isn't that unusual as a Side Quest and not that different from some of the Witchers (or other RPG) side quests either. Its just something to show at E3 that's not part of or revealing too much of the main story.
@BAMozzy
What? Witcher 3 has beastiality? I must have missed that romance option. It's a fairly big game....I should probably get the guide...😋
The 14th, that's when it WAS going to release. I just checked my order and it says the release date is now March 27, 2017! I decided to wait for my Players guide before playing as it is to big to restart once I get it. Now I have to wait another week and a half! Anyone know why the date was pushed back?
Tap here to load 25 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...