Thirith on 30/4/2017 at 09:16
Are any of the TTLGers stepping out on their PCs with the PS4 game Horizon Zero Dawn? Technically it's one of the most stunning games I've played, and while I generally prefer virtual cities to virtual wilderness (I think there are cities later in the game, but I'm not there yet) HZD is also beautiful artistically. It's not dissimilar to the usual Ubisoft open world, but it's considerably more subtle about it, hiding its Skinner Box much better than even the best Ubisoft games.
[video=youtube;wzx96gYA8ek]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzx96gYA8ek[/video]
At the same time, as much of a marvel this game is, I can't say I love it, at least not yet. I'm enjoying it, but there's something overly earnest and overly YA about the characters, world and story. It comes across as too heavy-handed, and I wish there were characters that didn't take themselves so damn serious.
Also, I have to admit that I suck at the game. I'm okay when it comes to hiding in high grass, luring machine animals to where I am and killing them stealthily, but as soon as I'm supposed to take down one of the bigger, more dangerous machines, I flail about the place, get hit way more often than I should, and usually just about manage before running out of arrows and health.
Anyway, is anyone else playing this? If so, what do you think of the game? Any tips for this outcast amateur?
twisty on 1/5/2017 at 03:35
This has been on my radar for a couple of months now but I haven't really got the appetite to heavily invest in another vast open-world game at the moment (I'm still juggling a few unfinished ones as it is). I've found that with open-world games the various systems really have to be fun and sophisticated enough to motivate me to stick with it, particularly if the story and characters aren't enough on their own to sustain my commitment. On that note, what's the combat and gameplay like? I must admit that seeing those slow-mo's of the player shooting beasts with her bow and arrow reminds me uncomfortably of the bear battle in Rise of the TR, one of my least favourite parts of that game.
Thirith on 1/5/2017 at 04:22
Combat is really the main gameplay loop, which may be one of the reasons why I'm a bit lukewarm on the game. The combat's definitely varied, but I'm not particularly good at it yet and can't necessarily judge whether it'd appeal to more combat-eager players, and on the whole I prefer games that focus more on traversal.
henke on 15/7/2017 at 09:21
I started playing this a few weeks ago as well, but I've just been dipping into it for short sessions recently. I agree with pretty much everything Thirith said. It's very pretty, but it's not really holding my interest. The open world is wayyy too packed with stuff, feels like you can't walk 50 meters without some dramatic event happening, could've done with more down-time. The stealth is not great, certainly does not live up to that in Mordor or FC3/4. The combat is occasionally brilliant though, at least when fighting humans. When fighting the robo-dinos it's often just annoying.
And the characters and story are just bleh. I think the biggest offender is the main character, Aloy, herself. She's just every generic hero trope packed into one character, and for someone who supposedly grew up in the wilderness, cut off from civilization she is way too well spoken, quick-witted and emotionally intelligent. It would've been both more plausible and interesting if the main character was someone more like Brienne from Game of Thrones, who is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but an amazing warrior. Brienne has clear flaws and strengths, and that makes her interesting. What flaws does Aloy have? That she's almost too pretty?
I don't know. Maybe it's not just Horizon, feels like every AAA action game I've played this year has ended up feeling underwhelming. Gravity Rush 2 got left unfinished. I barely made a dent in Ghost Recon Wildlands and Just Cause 3. While the things that have engrossed me the most have been Shadow Tactics, Strafe, Rain World and Hollow Knight. And I'm not saying that to be some kinda cool gaming hipster either. Clearly I keep buying these AAA action games because I expect and really want to enjoy them, but somehow they're just not doing it for me recently.
Thirith on 15/7/2017 at 09:28
It improves over time. I agree with your criticism, and I still find Aloy bland - the type is done competently enough, but it's not a type I find very interesting - but the better I got at the game's systems the more I enjoyed it. Also, IMO it improves quite a bit if you remove most of the HUD or at least make it appear and disappear dynamically. It still feels like a 7/10 game with 11/10 presentation, but it's definitely not bad.
I didn't know you'd bought Ghost Recon Wildlands! Did you play it on your own? I still think it might make for a good coop game (if the connection problems we had with the beta have been solved, that is), but it'll have to come down in price a lot before I'll buy it.
henke on 15/7/2017 at 10:24
Alright, I'm not gonna give up on it yet. Will keep going a bit further.
I got Wildlands with my graphics card, and yeah I'd definitely be up for some co-opping at some point.
scumble on 6/11/2017 at 14:51
You were playing on hard? I felt I was being brave for not starting on "story" but I clearly don't have the most developed gaming skills. Particularly if I have to aim a bow with a joystick.
I think I have less open world game fatigue because I haven't genuinely got into anything similar since I played Skyrim.
It's working for me so far and I'm not finding it too frustrating. I really struggle with boss battles and got a bit pissed off with the first real one that occurs. I think it was partly down to my incompetence with aim. I couldn't get the weak spots and swore at the game for it letting me hit then. I could probably do better if I kept calm...
Malf on 6/11/2017 at 15:27
I'm playing on hard. Once you get a few levels behind you and some decent equipment, it becomes somewhat easier. But unlike other recent games, not significantly so, meaning you still have to be careful. I've died lots, but rarely have I resented it.
It's really a game about using all of your tools for the right scenario and really examining weaknesses. Even more so than Witcher 3 to be honest. The only enemy that still gives me real issues is the Rockbreaker, and I suspect that's mostly because there's a trick I've missed rather than them being double bastard hard.
I did the last Cauldron yesterday, and the Thunderjaw I had to kill caused me very few problems thanks to the Ropecaster.
Stalkers can be dicks, but by the time you encounter them, you should be able to subvert some of the other machines they're inevitably lurking around. It's especially fun when you find them near Shell-Walkers, as the Stalkers are very prone to their electric attacks.
I highly recommend doing the Hunter trials as soon as you can, as while they teach you a lot about fighting machines, they also get you some very cool weapons if you get all the Blazing Suns.
Oh, and Echo Shells and Wire are your friends.
scumble on 6/11/2017 at 18:48
I'm only a few hours in so this was the Fireback in the first Cauldron. Towards the end of the second attempt I'd got the idea, but part of this is my general lack of patience and having a habit of making games easier so I don't get irate. I think it goes back to losing it when trying to complete Soul Blade on the PS1 20 years ago. I beat up my chair and had to have a lie down...
As battles go it was still engaging. So far I've had more fun running after machines than the bandit camp I've done, where the bandits were incredibly dumb now I think of it. Initially I was thinking the camp was sprawling with NPCs but taking them down was trivial. I've spent plenty of time with Far Cry 3 bandit camps and they seemed more interesting, but they were the core of the fighting in that game.
I certainly will take Aloy over Jason Brody as a protagonist. I agree with Thirith and henke that she it too well spoken for someone who hasn't spent much time with people and was taught everything by another outcast. You'd expect the poor girl to be totally out of her depth going into the village. The problem isn't limited to Aloy, all the characters have modes of speech that wouldn't be out of place if the setting was completely changed to something contemporary. I think it holds together because the tribal culture of the Nora seems quite consistent, in that they are genuinely superstitious about the remains of whatever the previous civilisation was.
It reminds me a bit of my attempt to watch the show Revolution - it's more like current era humans going camping than a real post-civilisation situation. Everyone is too clean and has perfect teeth and skin. It's also silly to see the kind of ethnic diversity that is obligatory apparently, but doesn't make a lot of sense in the context. It would be unlikely that you'd see all that variation in a single small community. I know why it's done but it makes it feel more like a load of people have dressed up and been shoved into an alternate reality.
The environment is certainly gorgeous however, and I can suspend disbelief with the rest of it because it's enough to feel drawn into the world. It's also interesting to see how they've implemented effects with hair and clothing - it's not the same as the hair effects I've seen in ROTR on the PC but it still looks more like real hair than a fixed hair mesh that clips through a character's body.