PS4 Horizon Zero Dawn by Guerrilla Games

[infinitelurker]

I picked this up this past weekend for PC on the Steam sale (ends tomorrow 10/5!) and absolutely loving it so far, about 13 hours in.

I read a very little bit into this thread, but ducked out as I don't want to spoil what appears to be a game that (so far at least) may land way up on my list next to the Witcher 3 as some of the very best gaming experiences I've had.

[Isgrimnur]

I have an Internet friend who loves the game. I fired it up on PS4 over the weekend and I'm almost at 10%!

[Daehawk]

I played it years ago and got to the area with the t-rex like ones after some big high up city. Thats where I stepped away. Ive not gone back. Dont plan to until I can get it on PC and have a PC to run it. I did really love the game though.

[Smoove_B]

I read a very little bit into this thread, but ducked out as I don't want to spoil what appears to be a game that (so far at least) may land way up on my list next to the Witcher 3 as some of the very best gaming experiences I've had.

I think that's fair. Witcher 3 was absolutely my game of the last decade and while nothing has replaced it, HZD was highly, highly enjoyable. The story, the game world, the mechanics - you made a great decision.

[Rumpy]

I really hope they fix the inventory issues for the next game. That was one of my peeves. Even with pouches upgraded to the max, it was far too easy to fill them up, and weapon mods shouldn't be able to max out the inventory.

[Alefroth]

I really hope they fix the inventory issues for the next game. That was one of my peeves. Even with pouches upgraded to the max, it was far too easy to fill them up, and weapon mods shouldn't be able to max out the inventory.

Weapon and outfit mods have separate inventory. Do you really need to carry around 70 of them?

I'm an absolute pack rat in every game, and I do bump up against the regular inventory limit, but it's not unmanageable, especially with the skill that lets you recycle stuff.

[Rumpy]

I really hope they fix the inventory issues for the next game. That was one of my peeves. Even with pouches upgraded to the max, it was far too easy to fill them up, and weapon mods shouldn't be able to max out the inventory.

Weapon and outfit mods have separate inventory. Do you really need to carry around 70 of them?

I'm an absolute pack rat in every game, and I do bump up against the regular inventory limit, but it's not unmanageable, especially with the skill that lets you recycle stuff.

It's not so much that I carry lots of stuff, it's that it's far too easy to max them out, especially when you're on a mission far away from any merchants to sell to. I would regularly run into issues of not having enough space, even after selling tons of stuff. Inventory management is also not great in this game. It needs more balance.

[Isgrimnur]

Bonfires as fast travel.

[Rumpy]

It's not just inventory issues, but more of a combination of UI design leading to Inventory issues.

This does a good job of explaining much of how I felt when using the inventory:
https://www.gamersexperience.com/invent ... zero-dawn/

[Victoria Raverna]

Maybe you're not supposed to keep everything. Can you throw away cheap and low level stuff and only keep the higher level or more expensive ones if you don't have merchant nearby to sell them?

I don't remember much about the mechanic of the game. I remember that I also often max out the inventory but I don't think that is a big problem. I rarely played a game to the end, with this game, I completed the game and the DLC storylines. I think I did all the side quests, too. Or at least all that I picked up.

[raydude]

Bonfires as fast travel.

This. I forget how I did it but somehow I managed to pick up some kind of "golden backpack" that never gets used up for fast travel. Now the only time I hoof it is when I need to travel to an unexplored region.

I also find myself maxing out my inventory to the point where I never pick up any plants except for the healing ones anymore. Part of my problem is that when I clear out some human enemies and find a "boomstick", aka heavy weapon, I carry that heavy weapon until I find some machines and go Rambo on them. I just hate to leave a good boomstick with ammo in it lying around.

[Rumpy]

Maybe you're not supposed to keep everything. Can you throw away cheap and low level stuff and only keep the higher level or more expensive ones if you don't have merchant nearby to sell them?

Part of the issue is in not knowing what's safe to keep and what's safe to dispose of. The UI does a dismal job of giving you that information. Even if I wanted to dispose of or sell something, I'm sometimes lost wondering whether I might need something later.

[Daehawk]

I remember this about the game. Theres some stuff to sell to vendors when you find one but you never know if you'll need most of it. You may need it to craft something later or for mods and stuff. I hate that type inv. Junk should be labeled as junk for merchant or even better have a sell all junk button and not have to worry with what crafting may or may not need.

[Smoove_B]

Part of the issue is in not knowing what's safe to keep and what's safe to dispose of. The UI does a dismal job of giving you that information. Even if I wanted to dispose of or sell something, I'm sometimes lost wondering whether I might need something later.

Having just finished the game a few months ago, I feel like I can chime in. I'm also a loot hoarder and highly resistant to selling things.

That being said, at some point the game starts giving you lots of trash compared to what you need. Assuming you have the recycle trait (you should), making space by converting trash is easy. Similarly, for all of your slotted upgrades at some point you can just start recycling the lower quality ones because you'll get ability to remove (not destroy) ones that are already applied. Like...there's now need to keep low level modifiers when you can just cycle through all your high level ones.

I ran out of space trying to keep things around for crafting in the wild so I get what you're saying to a degree, but it can be mitigated by upgrading your skills and maxing out your carrying capacity.

[Rumpy]

I ran out of space trying to keep things around for crafting in the wild so I get what you're saying to a degree, but it can be mitigated by upgrading your skills and maxing out your carrying capacity.

I can't remember if I ever got the recycle skill or even discovered it. A lot of these things you just happen to discover as there's no real progression. I remember having to leave many things behind even after having gotten rid of lots of stuff. But yeah, the crafting stuff, is where I hit the wall the most. IMHO, I don't feel ingredients should ever have a hard limit. It bogs the game down and decreases the enjoyment on exploring.

I remember this about the game. Theres some stuff to sell to vendors when you find one but you never know if you'll need most of it. You may need it to craft something later or for mods and stuff. I hate that type inv. Junk should be labeled as junk for merchant or even better have a sell all junk button and not have to worry with what crafting may or may not need.

Yes, this is exactly what I mean. It doesn't help that the game has what I feel is a very cluttered UI full of samey looking icons. And it's one thing that frustrated the heck out of me about the game. It's its weakest aspect, IMHO. This is what I hope they improve on in the sequel. Worse is that there's no real way to categorize stuff so you're left scrolling through it all, all the time. The UI does a bad job of communicating the essentials.

[Smoove_B]

I can't remember if I ever got the recycle skill or even discovered it. A lot of these things you just happen to discover as there's no real progression. I remember having to leave many things behind even after having gotten rid of lots of stuff. But yeah, the crafting stuff, is where I hit the wall the most. IMHO, I don't feel ingredients should ever have a hard limit. It bogs the game down and decreases the enjoyment on exploring.

That's the other thing - this game has a game+ and hardcore mode and I think many of the mechanics actually play out a lot differently based on the difficulty level. I was playing on the default level (not story, the easiest) and I rarely had an issue with being able to make or use something (traps, healing, ammo). But I was collecting/hoarding things like they *would* be a problem to obtain (and they weren't). So there was a disconnect between how difficulty scales for that specific game element. How you fix that in a practical way, I'm not sure.

[Rumpy]

I can't remember if I ever got the recycle skill or even discovered it. A lot of these things you just happen to discover as there's no real progression. I remember having to leave many things behind even after having gotten rid of lots of stuff. But yeah, the crafting stuff, is where I hit the wall the most. IMHO, I don't feel ingredients should ever have a hard limit. It bogs the game down and decreases the enjoyment on exploring.

That's the other thing - this game has a game+ and hardcore mode and I think many of the mechanics actually play out a lot differently based on the difficulty level. I was playing on the default level (not story, the easiest) and I rarely had an issue with being able to make or use something (traps, healing, ammo). But I was collecting/hoarding things like they *would* be a problem to obtain (and they weren't). So there was a disconnect between how difficulty scales for that specific game element. How you fix that in a practical way, I'm not sure.

That's true. I hadn't even thought of that angle. I was playing it on Story mode, FWIW, and I'd definitely say there was a disconnect on the difficulties. I think I tried it on Normal before dropping it down. Oh and in terms of difficulty spikes, don't get me started on the end-boss. That thing was effin ridiculous. I'm calling BS on having a timer. It was difficult enough without one. I got it with 10 seconds to spare. Part of the problem is in the destructible cover. It's barely useful if it's only as strong as cardboard. It crumbles far too easily.

[Daehawk]

Is it too easy in story or easy mode? Combat wise I mean. I played it and normal and didn't have a big problem until I left the snow area and encountered the t-rex type guys. Thats where I gave up all those years ago.

[Rumpy]

I wouldn't say it's too easy, no. In fact parts of the game feel rather imbalanced. So, it's nice to be able to switch it up when needed.

[Smoove_B]

I did everything out of order and had insane gear by the time I had to fight the biggest and worst machines. I did not find them hard at all on regular. The last battle (for me) was a fight of hitting specific locations while zipping around like a rabid monkey. It wasn't my favorite fight by any means, but I didn't find it too bad.

As I noted waaaaay upthread, once I changed my play style to match what the designers want you to do (ambush, target components) the game became so much easier. I love laying down traps and tripwires and having the machines stumble through them. Very, very rewarding.

[Pyperkub]

I liked corrupting the large ones and making them fight each other and just sitting back and watching. Aloy didn't have popcorn, but it was pretty cool

[$iljanus]

Since I still have a humble PS4 I decided to replay this after reading this thread. It’s still a beautiful game and I had to laugh at Rost’s parenting skills. I should try that on my daughter, “Katie, follow!” “Katie, homework!” “Katie, dishes!”