Just started Horizon Zero Dawn and i am not feeling it yet. Any tips are welcome

[Pariah]

Perhaps it's only me, but I rarely see any value in asking others about their own conception of what I'm playing or reading. In the end, these threads are not about exchanging opinions, but finding some sort of validity to what we are already thinking. This is about our own experience, not what anobody else is doing. You'll get positive and negative reactions, it doesn't matter at all; you power through it, and the gain or loss is only yours.

As someone who played Horizon over 100 hours, my only advice is to ignore every opinion except your own. If you are not feeling, drop it, if you enjoy it, go ahead. What we think or say won't change how the game is perceived or how much you enjoy it.

 

[Kalentan]

Perhaps it's only me, but I rarely see any value in asking others about their own conception of what I'm playing or reading. In the end, these threads are not about exchanging opinions, but finding some sort of validity to what we are already thinking. This is about our own experience, not what anobody else is doing. You'll get positive and negative reactions, it doesn't matter at all; you power through it, and the gain or loss is only yours.

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Yup.

 

[TheMan]

If you don't like it, you don't like it. Never clicked with me either- too much stealth and melee felt clunky. I felt it was an overrated game.

 

[Deleted member 5764]

OP, I felt exactly the same way until I moved past the starting area. I'd recommend just mainlining the quests until the point where you get to the "main" open world area. From there, things open up considerably.

Also, once you get to the main city, try to get the upgraded resource pouch and gold fast travel pack as quickly as possible. The game kind of feels like a slog without those.

 

[Begaria]

Do the Hunter Lodges and get the highest possible Mark (Sun Marks I think) you can get - they'll become important later for the best weapons in the game. They also provide a ton of XP, are really fun, and teach you certain things about the combat.

Do the Cauldrons - essentially the dungeons of the game. They're pretty fun, very different from other parts of the game, and reward you with more unlock codes for the robo dinos that you can take over. This provides more mounts, and being able to take control of robo dinos to help you in battle.

Don't skip the sidequests, which has been heavily suggested by almost everyone here. They reward you with a ton of XP, resources, armor, loot, etc. Some of them also affect the final battle in the game. The game is about a 50 hour platinum, so the sidequests don't take too long to do.

Let me throw down some basics for you since I've seen a lot of players make this mistake: this *IS* a RPG. Your weapons and armor actually matter. You need to pay attention to elemental weaknesses, Focus enemies to make their weakpoints glow for easier hitting, and actually use weapons with penetration to knock out weakpoints for massive damage. Don't just stand back and hunker down in one place firing arrow after arrow. Plan your attacks, use stealth to your advantage, override robo dinos to help you fight, hit elemental weaknesses, use rope casters for flying enemies, use trip casters for charging enemies, etc. The combat is the best element in this game.

 

[LiK]

I know some are saying skip the side quests but it should be noted that while ending itself doesn't change, the final mission does have aspects changed depending on what side quests you did or didn't do.

I'd say do them.

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Yea, do everything. Was really rewarding cuz you just get so much lore to the world. Even the collectibles were worth it.

 

[RalliArtEvo]

What is the point of these threads? Either continue playing the game because you enjoy it or don't.

I was immediately enthralled by the game and didn't put it down until i earned the platinum trophy. Others seem to think it was horribly boring...so the only advice is to just play it and see where you land.

 

[Oublieux]

If the game doesn't resonate with you, I wouldn't force it. I was enamored with Horizon Zero Dawn when I first played it, but my biggest gripe is the open world felt like filler and eventually dragged the experience down for me. There was no real purpose to most of the landmass other than to populate it with enemies. Sure, there were a few incentives here and there, but overall, it felt rather barren in terms of actual, rewarding activities.

 

[Kemono]

The game blows. It's the worst PS4 exclusive I've played this gen other than Infamous Second Son.

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Wow, i'm always caught off guard when i read something like this. I really liked Horizon and i even platinumed Second Son. It's not hte best game ever but a solid 8/10 or even more. Even Knack doesn't blow imo and that's surely one of the worst PS4 exclusives around.

But oh well, opinions and the whole shabang. Always bummed to read people not liking stuff.

 

[Kalentan]

Wow, i'm always caught off guard when i read something like this. I really liked Horizon and i even platinumed Second Son. It's not hte best game ever but a solid 8/10 or even more. Even Knack doesn't blow imo and that's surely one of the worst PS4 exclusives around.

But oh well, opinions and the whole shabang. Always bummed to read people not liking stuff.

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Era compared to many sites has a very loud community that really really REALLY hates Horizon.

 

[speedomodel]

I had a blast with this for the first 3-4 hours, but really hit a wall with the combat. Just didn't feel fun and constantly felt like I wasn't doing it right.

Need to give this another go at some point. So far behind on PS4 exclusives...

 

[LiK]

It is a good game.

http:///JTEd.png

Like I know opinions and all but let's not try to create some alternate reality where Horizon was some low reviewed game that the gaming community hated.

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Also sold gangbusters. Can't wait for a sequel.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Perhaps it's only me, but I rarely see any value in asking others about their own conception of what I'm playing or reading. In the end, these threads are not about exchanging opinions, but finding some sort of validity to what we are already thinking. This is about our own experience, not what anobody else is doing. You'll get positive and negative reactions, it doesn't matter at all; you power through it, and the gain or loss is only yours.

As someone who played Horizon over 100 hours, my only advice is to ignore every opinion except your own. If you are not feeling, drop it, if you enjoy it, go ahead. What we think or say won't change how the game is perceived or how much you enjoy it.

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Indeed. It is all about validation.

 

[R dott B]

Like I know opinions and all

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Doesn't seem like you do.

 

[Kalentan]

Doesn't seem like you do.

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Gotcha? I guess?

 

[EatChildren]

• Human combat is dogshit and never, ever gets good, and unfortunately takes up far too much time in the main quests. My advice here would be to try and stealth as much of them as possible. A lot of them are easily cheesable.
• Upgrades do make the game more fun by virtue of simply being stronger and versatile, and thus the more frustrating beats of the game are less so.
• The game world is never really interesting in the sense of stuff to explore and discover, in an organic way. I really liked the setting and worldbuilding, but it's structurally very "gamey" in how it's built and does little to hid this. If you're not finding yourself immersed in the world it doesn't get much better.
• Fighting dino monsters is by far the game's strongest point. If you don't enjoy doing this you're not going to enjoy much of the game.
• Don't stress too much about gear. Find the gear that best fits your play style and stick with it. Unless you're really struggling, in which case gear has various buffs.
• The characters and dialogue never really get more interesting, and always teeter between intriguing and dull. It has its moments, but yeah. Most of the cast is forgettable.

I ended up enjoying Horizon plenty, but it was only after trying to start it twice (I fucking hated a lot of the intro stuff) and pushing through until I got into a groove for how the game plays and what to expect from the worldbuilding. It's got enormous room to improve in a sequel though, as a lot of what the game does has been done far better elsewhere, and the game's overall vibe and mood could do with more ambiguity and discovery through adventuring/interaction. It feels very, very checklisty at times.

That being said, a lot of what frustrated me with Zero Dawn was fixed in Frozen Wilds. The expansion is really, really good. Very little human combat (because it's fucking AWFUL), little emphasis on melee, heavy focus on a strange wilderness to explore mainly populated by dinobots, and many of the quest arcs involve extrapolating on the civilisation that is now gone. If Horizon 2 is anything like Frozen Wilds, I'll be stoked.

But yeah. As others have said, if you're not feeling it just tap out. I liked the game but I honestly don't think you're missing all that much, doubly so if you're not enjoying the fundamental gameplay, like taking down big robots. If that doesn't appeal to you, and you don't derive a satisfaction from working towards these milestones or uncovering the premise and lore, Horizon is just not the game for you. Put it down like I put down Assassin's Creed: Origins, despite the praise it received.

 

[SmittyWerbenManJensen]

Don't get the collectibles. The rewards are trash. Just focus on the main story route and any side quests that seem appealing to you.

Oh, and it's worth getting the items needed for the special armor. That's about it

 

[Garlador]

Doesn't seem like you do.

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No need to get snippy with them. The general consensus is that Horizon is a great game. It sold extremely well and has been well-received by the majority of critics and players.

Every great game has someone who dislikes it. There are people who hate The Witcher 3. There are those that think Dark Souls is garbage. There are many who don't like Breath of the Wild. Etc.

But the consensus is still that these games are all excellent, and if the game doesn't jive with you, that's okay, but that's just because the game doesn't cater to what you're looking for.

For me? Horizon is my absolute favorite game released this console generation, and I've played a LOT of games this console generation. I know it has flaws and failings, but it succeeds so strongly in the areas I wanted it to succeed at that I can't help but think of it as the best new IP released in years. I'm very eager to see how they follow it up.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Heeey ... are you me? Did the very same, even spent some time in the world after that point but it never clicked with me. Don't know what it is about HZD, as it totally fits my criteria for being a masterpiece in my book. But somehow it just isn't.

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I think the thing for me was just that I really don't like the core combat...at all. Aloy is really fragile up close and all of the weapons are ranged, but most of the machines' primary attack pattern is CHARGE DIRECTLY AT THE PLAYER. Which means you have to spend most of every combat encounter running toward the screen like an idiot until you get caught on level geometry and die.

I'm not a big fan of shooter mechanics in general, and shooter mechanics where you can't even focus on killing things because you're so busy running away all the time just really sour an experience for me even further.

Combine that with the fact that the characters and story were pretty bland and the world was just kind of...pretty but empty, and I really didn't have anything to click with.

 

[defaltoption]

Felt the same way, while I loved the character and monster designs and even like you was super interested in the story at first i also felt completely bored and out of it in the open world, just got bored. I might try it again some day, and even will look at the sequel but don't force yourself to enjoy it.

 

[Soul Lab]

This game never clicked with me.
I liked the story, but that's it.
I hope you have a better experience!

 

[Jimnymebob]

Keep in mind that even though the game does its best to promote stealth and the bow/traps, your melee attacks with the spear are really goddamn strong.

 

[Kalentan]

No need to get snippy with him. The general consensus is that Horizon is a great game. It sold extremely well and has been well-received by the majority of critics and players.

Every great game has someone who dislikes it. There are people who hate The Witcher 3. There are those that think Dark Souls is garbage. There are many who don't like Breath of the Wild. Etc.

But the consensus is still that these games are all excellent, and if the game doesn't jive with you, that's okay, but that's just because the game doesn't cater to what you're looking for.

For me? Horizon is my absolutely favorite game released this console generation, and I've played a LOT of games this console generation. I know it has flaws and failings, but it succeeds so strongly in the areas I wanted it to succeed at that I can't help but think of it as the best new IP released in years. I'm very eager to see how they follow it up.

Click to shrink...

Ultimately that was my point. I just don't like it when people try to rewrite history and act like their opinion is how the consensus was.

But you put it much better than I could.

 

[Theorry]

Perhaps it's only me, but I rarely see any value in asking others about their own conception of what I'm playing or reading. In the end, these threads are not about exchanging opinions, but finding some sort of validity to what we are already thinking. This is about our own experience, not what anobody else is doing. You'll get positive and negative reactions, it doesn't matter at all; you power through it, and the gain or loss is only yours.

As someone who played Horizon over 100 hours, my only advice is to ignore every opinion except your own. If you are not feeling, drop it, if you enjoy it, go ahead. What we think or say won't change how the game is perceived or how much you enjoy it.

Click to shrink...

Its not really about that. I ask for tips also. As with every game there can be parts that are not that interesting. If someone is doing everything in the Witcher 3 and feels like a slog. I would recommend to turn off the ? marks and focus in the big side quests and main quest.

 

[Imitatio]

I think the thing for me was just that I really don't like the core combat...at all. Aloy is really fragile up close and all of the weapons are ranged, but most of the machines' primary attack pattern is CHARGE DIRECTLY AT THE PLAYER. Which means you have to spend most of every combat encounter running toward the screen like an idiot until you get caught on level geometry and die.

I'm not a big fan of shooter mechanics in general, and shooter mechanics where you can't even focus on killing things because you're so busy running away all the time just really sour an experience for me even further.

Combine that with the fact that the characters and story were pretty bland and the world was just kind of...pretty but empty, and I really didn't have anything to click with.

Click to shrink...

Got nothing to add. Sums up my experience as well.

 

[Coztoomba]

I've restarted it 3 times making it further each go but always end up dropping it. I know people will say, "it's not for you then, just move on". But I've had games in the past I just need to be in the right mood for and all of a sudden its a different game and it clicks. I think this is one of those games. I want to like it!

As above, I also think it's the core combat that makes me stop.

 

[Watership]

I'm actually playing through it this week. Play through the story, do some side missions/errands. Don't forget to do the tutorials for the weapons, they really help explain how the machine combat works. I find following missions to be more rewarding that just walking around exploring, and doing main missions throws you through a great deal of the world.

Also I think you need to have some quests/challanges activated for them to be cleared Ie, kill 3 machines with a linetrap etc. I'm sure someone here can confirm that.

Overall, it seems your worried about playing it wrong. Just go with what you like and not worry too much about it.

 

[LoNe_eXiLe]

It didn't click with me at all, but I slogged through it because everyone was touting it as GOTY at the time. Gorgeous game, but the combat gets tedious and boring and the story is very uninspiring.

 

[Phamit]

Feel alot the NPC's are the same or act the same.

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This won't change, there are really only a few npc that doesn't act like the stoic standard npc. Most dialogs will be in the same neutral and emotionless tone, sometimes Aloy will make a sarcastic remark.

There are only a handful remarkable side quest, I would stay on the main quest to get to the point where the games gets a bit more interesting. You need to get past the part after beginning as quick as possible. It is just boring. I was thinking the same as you when I reached that part. This will also solve your npc problem since the 3 or 4 best npc and probably only remarkable npcs(besides rost) are part of the main story line.

 

[Deleted member 54292]

Perhaps it's only me, but I rarely see any value in asking others about their own conception of what I'm playing or reading. In the end, these threads are not about exchanging opinions, but finding some sort of validity to what we are already thinking. This is about our own experience, not what anobody else is doing. You'll get positive and negative reactions, it doesn't matter at all; you power through it, and the gain or loss is only yours.

As someone who played Horizon over 100 hours, my only advice is to ignore every opinion except your own. If you are not feeling, drop it, if you enjoy it, go ahead. What we think or say won't change how the game is perceived or how much you enjoy it.

Click to shrink...

This is a really true and honest post. OP, it's always a bummer when you see people rave about something then you get your hands on it and feel like you're missing something. Don't weigh yourself down with the idea that you're doing something wrong or somehow missing the magic others saw, just accept that maybe the game ain't for you which is 100000% okay :)

 

[Bedameister]

Just focus on the main story. Most of the side content is unfortunately pretty bland. If you feel like exploring and do some other stuff do it but the main quest is where the game is actually good.

 

[abellwillring]

It is a stunningly beautiful game but one that did not click for me to be honest. I might go back to it some day, but I honestly disliked the combat quite a bit and found a lot of the quests to be very uninspiring thanks in part to just hating when I had to fight.

 

[rein]

Personally the characters were my least favorite thing about Zero Dawn, i just felt they were empty and robotic. The thing i loved was the exploration and going down to the caves where you learned about the old world.

 

[Buenoblue]

Lol I hate these threads. Just play the game like the rest of us did. If you don't like what your playing then stop playing it. No biggie. Simples.

 

[reminiscingLemon]

Play it on easy and just enjoy the story (it's almost so bad it's good). The world and the sidequests are boring, so don't bother.

Click to shrink...

damn thats brutal, thats the most scathing recommendation i think ive ever seen

 

[Themaddestgamer]

The fun is in the combat and skills. Just put in some more time. If it doesnt click just drop it.

Its one of my favorites this gen honestly

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Loved everything about it. My GotG until Spider-man came along.

 

[Se_7_eN]

Play on Easy
Focus on the Main Quest
Ignore side quests
Don't bother exploring
Don't bother picking up every piece of lore you find.

As someone who LOVES exploring world and finding lore elements in game... Horizon does it so poorly that I gave up about 1/3 of the way through. The constant holding the button to scan objectives, then opening the menu to read them, or the terrible robot voice that you could barely understand, all on top of an uninteresting story line.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Play on Easy
Focus on the Main Quest
Ignore side quests
Don't bother exploring
Don't bother picking up every piece of lore you find.

As someone who LOVES exploring world and finding lore elements in game... Horizon does it so poorly that I gave up about 1/3 of the way through. The constant holding the button to scan objectives, then opening the menu to read them, or the terrible robot voice that you could barely understand, all on top of an uninteresting story line.

Click to shrink...

Playing on easy for Horizon is such a baffling decision for me. The combat is the best part of the game by FAR and playing on easy circumvents that.

 

[Bruceleeroy]

I enjoyed the beginning of the game. Young Aloy and the proving. Now i am in the real open world part and its not really clicking. Feel alot the NPC's are the same or act the same. Do i really need to climb tallnecks to open the world abit?
There is alot of hoarding resources. Do i need it all? Also the stealth feels pretty limited. So can i go full Brave and is that oke for later in the game? Can i focus more on main quests and some sidequests or do i miss some cool stuff?
Anymore tips are welcome. Thanks.

Click to shrink...

I can't emphasize this enough but avoid ALL the side-quests until you're a good 6 hours into the main quest of the game. The game goes from being rather ho hum to a really engaging story and you start getting access to some of the really exciting weapons that open up the combat a lot. I don't know if you're anything like me but I would avoid most of the side quests in general they are pretty weak.

 

[Nakayumi]

Horizon was a bit weird one for me as well. Somewhere along the way, a nice but boring game became and engrossing adventure I fell in love with. At 40 hours in I couldn't put it down and the combat got me hooked, not something I expected after those initial 5 hours.

My tip: don't try to melee stuff, delve into the bow mechanics and ways to use traps so you can start enjoying the combat to its fullest. Get to Meridian and once you're further into the main story and unlocked some good skills, start exploring what else the game has (sidequests/collectibles/etc.).

There is a wonderful game in there, you just need to dig a little to find it.

 

[NediarPT88]

Are people here confusing side-quests with errands or something?

https://horizonzerodawn.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Side_Quests

https://horizonzerodawn.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Errands

Side-quests can be very engaging and most of them offer great combat scenarios. They are also related to the story.

Telling OP to avoid these makes no sense.

 

[Tyaren]

Tallnecks don't open up the map, no, they just chart your map. I guess you could just ignore them entirely. I don't know why one would though. They are not that many in the game and they all pose a unique puzzle how to get on top of them. Especially later ones are really cool imo.
Horizon Zero Dawn is open world, but very story driven, so the world opens up with the story. Maybe just leave any side activities for now until the world is opened up entirely to you.

 

[DrKelpo]

I mostly ignored all of the side quests because I found them completely boring and forgettable. I don't know why, but I had a much harder time building up any interest for people outside the main quest than in other games.

"hey, my sister went missing, I think there are people kidnapping people"
"yeah, good luck with that pal, I'm gonna kill this robot crocodile over there"

The game for me was following up the main story and fighting all the awesome enemies... Had a great time.

 

[Crayon]

Can you ask me the game falls short of great in every aspect except the graphics.

Damn those graphics. Excuse me.

Anyhow, this makes for a very good game, but lacking brightness in any substantial way keeps it from being great. I don't think it's a great game. Then again, my friend liked it a lot even though he's pretty demanding of gameplay and general design.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

I couldn't get into it. Combat and traversal just didn't feel right.

 

[Rendering...]

Get to Meridian ASAP (follow the main quest) and get some purple weapons ASAP (check with some traders on the way to Meridian). Those two things will blow open your options.

At that point you can enjoy exploring the world and sampling as much side content as you like.

It would be a shame if you bounced off this game. The lore and world building are really good. I just 100%ed the entire game yesterday, including the optional collectables that don't contribute to the in-game completion percentage. My favorite part was the plot as told through the main quest and all the audio/text notes you can find scattered through the world. I especially liked the short story from the viewpoints. You can read the corresponding entries from the collectables menu.

My second favorite part was the combat, which gets really damn fun as you unlock new weapons and ammo types. Ammo selection is determined by weapon grade, which is why you should get the purples right away. Their strength will let you take on meaner and more interesting enemies.

BTW, get the stealth armor and the melee attack resistance armor. You won't need anything else.

 

[Van Bur3n]

Give up. It ain't worth playin'. You will regret the amount of time you waste trying to force it on yourself. YOU WILL.

 

[Dlanor A. Knox]

Same op, I found it pretty generic and dropped it after 10 hours, gorgeous game though.

But then again, I started it after playing BOTW for a month, anything would feel bad after spending so much time with one of the GOAT.

I'm willing to give it a second chance once everyone calm down with all those video game releases though

 

[Logan Hardy]

It has some of the best combat system of this generation and one of the best sci-fi story ever in gaming medium imo , although it does start slow.