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[rofif]

Or they could just give reviewers finished games since the review score plays a large part in how a game performs…

The excuses for this are absurd.

They have reviewers the finished game. Gold disc version is finished and accepted. Reviewers probably play with day1 patch anyway

 

[3liteDragon]

Did WaPo break the embargo?

Yea, embargo officially lifts in 1.5 hours but these guys posted the review an hour ago. Only review out there so far.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Bugs, that’s unfortunate, reviews are rarely updated so now we’ll probably see pre-release bugs lower the score forever even though the bugs has probably been fixed before the rest of us even gets to touch the game. Media needs to adapt to modern times, games aren’t ready to be scored on day 0.

I hope most of these bugs get fixed with the day one patch. In a sprawling, big, open-world with so many different mechanics, some of the bugs are forgivable, especially without the day-one patch.

 

[Fredrik]

If combat was a big part of the game and it was broken then I dont thinknit should score a 90 meta.

This aint the late 90s where ganes were far more genre specific.

Zero dawn is a narritive heavy RPG also, its story director was a story director from fallout new vegas.
Most AAA Games these days are not just one genre, especially open world games.

HZD is not a RPG, no more than Assassin’s Creed or Tomb Raider. It’s an action adventure with a skill tree and having weak quests and dialogues is in no way making the game fall flat if the things it’s really focused on is great.

And your talk about genres blending and games should have no weak areas is weird. What you’re saying here is essentially that upcoming Starfield needs to have Souls level melee combat and Halo shooting and Flight Simulator flying and No Man’s Sky base-building to deserve a 90+ score. Bummer, I really thought it could be a GOTY contender this year, guess I was wrong then.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Of course she is. Nude, wet nude, booty ass nude, whatever. I am not posting this stuff here

 

[Airbus Jr]

10/10 or

 

[aclar00]

I always keep saying "make new games, not sequels". But then we would never get UC2, uc4, Dark Souls sequels, Final Fantasy 7, tlou... so yeah I am starting to feel the HYPE

Even a fairly decent game should get a sequal, especially if its something unique. A lot of dev time is spent hashing out the
basics of the game such as mechanics that a lot of intricate details and experiences get left out. Sequals (especially on the same system) generally allow the devs more time amd creative freedom.

Dont get me wrong, there are a few sequals thay didnt quite live up to the first.

 

[Fredrik]

I hope most of these bugs get fixed with the day one patch. In a sprawling, big, open-world with so many different mechanics, some of the bugs are forgivable, especially without the day-one patch.

Problem is, the critics are all rushing to play through the game before the release, they won’t have played the game with the day 1 patch when they score the game. It’s why I really hate reviews nowdays. So many games are getting lower score than deserved. And it’s even worse if it’s a game as a service game, they never get a relevant score.

 

[Fredrik]

Or they could just give reviewers finished games since the review score plays a large part in how a game performs…

The excuses for this are absurd.

They shouldn't send the game out for review with bugs then.

Those days are gone unfortunately. Games can have patches and big updates even years after release. What use is a day-0 score at that point? It’s a score for a version nobody can ever play.

 

[SlimySnake]

lol the WaPo review just ends. No conclusion. No real summary. Weird.

Sounds positive enough. Graphical glitches are bizarre and popping up half way through reminds me of those infamous stuttering issues in Days Gone that only popped up after you upgraded your bike too much.

Interesting to see them incorporate Uncharted style puzzles. Glad to see them embracing the series' action/adventure roots instead of trying to shoe-horn in RPG elements.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

feel shoehorned in at best (like the tabletop minigame NPCs won’t stop challenging me to play).

I liked Gwent in Witcher 3. Never got my physical gwent cards though. I feel like im going to like this tabletop minigame.

 

[crunchyBiscuits]

It’s a score for a version nobody can ever play.

There are people who play disc only and never connect to the internet.

 

[Inviusx]

feel shoehorned in at best (like the tabletop minigame NPCs won’t stop challenging me to play).

I liked Gwent in Witcher 3. Never got my physical gwent cards though. I feel like im going to like this tabletop minigame.

It wouldn't be an open world third person action game without pointless time wasting minigames.

 

[Sosokrates]

HZD is not a RPG, no more than Assassin’s Creed or Tomb Raider. It’s an action adventure with a skill tree and having weak quests and dialogues is in no way making the game fall flat if the things it’s really focused on is great.

And your talk about genres blending and games should have no real areas is weird. What you’re saying here is essentially that upcoming Starfield needs to have Souls level melee combat and Halo shooting and Flight Simulator flying and No Man’s Sky base-building to deserve a 90+ score. Bummer, I really thought it could be a GOTY contender this year, guess I was wrong then.

No what im saying is that combat in starfield needs to be decent.

Also what even is an RPG these days?
It stand for " role playing game " yes!

I mean a game like fallout 4 and zero dawn you are doing a lot of the same things.

 

[Justin9mm]

I hope it improved a lot from the original. Because graphics and gameplay aside, I still found Zero Dawn to be so fucking boring. I tried probably 5 or 6 times with about 14 hours put in and I just couldn't get into it.

 

[Ezquimacore]

No what im saying is that combat in starfield needs to be decent.

Also what even is an RPG these days?
It stand for " role playing game " yes!

I mean a game like fallout 4 and zero dawn you are doing a lot of the same things.

Games like fallout 4, dragon age and the Witcher are RPGs. On a Rpg game your playthrough affects the story and your character. Games like horizon zero dawn, breath of the wild and assassin's Creed are action adventure games.

 

[Sosokrates]

Games like fallout 4, dragon age and the Witcher are RPGs. On a Rpg game your playthrough affects the story and your character. Games like horizon zero dawn, breath of the wild and assassin's Creed are action adventure games.

There are multiple choices in zero dawn.

 

[JusticeForAll]

First review : https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/horizon-forbidden-west-review/

"The quality of writing and voice acting takes a steep dive compared to the mainline quests and characters. There are a dizzying number of optional activities dotting the world map, some of which are genuinely fun (like mech racing); others, meanwhile, feel shoehorned in at best (like the tabletop minigame NPCs won’t stop challenging me to play)."

That's disappointing. I hoped they would have taken a page out of The Witcher's playbook and make the sidequests just as good as the main one.

 

[Ezquimacore]

There are multiple choices in zero dawn.

On assassin's Creed too and breath of the wild too. None of the choices affect your character or the story. It's called rpg element, but not really. Horizon zero dawn was like a baby between monster hunter and assassin's Creed. Stats and armors are there but also in Halo and cod.

Edit: I would say Valhalla is more of a RPG than Zelda and horizon

 

[SLB1904]

35 min to go...

 

[rofif]

Even a fairly decent game should get a sequal, especially if its something unique. A lot of dev time is spent hashing out the
basics of the game such as mechanics that a lot of intricate details and experiences get left out. Sequals (especially on the same system) generally allow the devs more time amd creative freedom.

Dont get me wrong, there are a few sequals thay didnt quite live up to the first.

It is crazy the sequel took almost 5 years.
You would think with engine, base mechanics and vision from the first game, the dev would take shorter time

 

[Sosokrates]

On assassin's Creed too and breath of the wild too. None of the choices affect your character or the story. It's called rpg element, but not really. Horizon zero dawn was like a baby between monster hunter and assassin's Creed. Stats and armors are there but also in Halo and cod.

Edit: I would say Valhalla is more of a RPG than Zelda and horizon

Gta4 has choices which effect story, would u say that is an rpg?

Anyway what "genre" zero dawn is does not matter to my point, the point is that mission variety is lacking and the story can be dull.

 

[CityHunter1981]

"The quality of writing and voice acting takes a steep dive compared to the mainline quests and characters.

I hope that is not too distracting. I understand that the main writer probably focused on the main quests and other persons had to write the other stuff. However thinking about God of War, all content seemed to be the same quality, regardless if it was optional or main story.

 

[Elog]

and the story can be dull.

Do you really think the main story in HZD is dull? I am honestly asking because that is one of the best stories told in a computer game to date for me. Simply amazing.

Side quests however....

 

[Ezquimacore]

Gta4 has choices which effect story, would u say that is an rpg?

Anyway what "genre" zero dawn is does not matter to my point, the point is that mission variety is lacking and the story can be dull.

To me it was not the best thing ever but for 25 hours it was a cool ride. That's considered short these days by open world standards. The story went from interesting to ok stfu but the gameplay was enjoyable, maybe because I was not trying to do every mission.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I hope there aren’t too many bugs, it’s like literally every big game has issues thanks to effing Covid.

if It’s worth waiting, I ain’t got a problem with that.

 

[rofif]

Do you really think the main story in HZD is dull? I am honestly asking because that is one of the best stories told in a computer game to date for me. Simply amazing.

Side quests however....

The story premise is good and interesting. Sylens is bad and gaia idea is bad.
It's all interesting nevertheless

 

[Sosokrates]

Do you really think the main story in HZD is dull? I am honestly asking because that is one of the best stories told in a computer game to date for me. Simply amazing.

Side quests however....

No, the overall plot is good.

Its just there a lot of story missions which are pretty frivolous and not necessary. Like, go to these outposts and kill these guys, an go here about this tribe or that tribe, some chracters will waffle on about some really boring stuff which just feels like filler. I find the old earth stuff and finding aloys farther interesting, a lot of the other stuff is really boring and hard to follow.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Horizon Forbidden West - Análise • Portugal Gamers

Lançado há 5 anos, Horizon Zero Dawn foi uma mudança radical de direção para a Guerrilla, e uma agradável surpresa para a crítica e para os fãs. Ainda que tivesse várias lacunas, o mundo criado foi apelativo, e 5 anos depois Horizon é uma imagem de marca dos estúdios PlayStation. Também como um...

portugalgamers.pt

>Horizon Forbidden West offers a rich, vast and extremely detailed gaming experience. The universe that Guerrilla created continues to convince and expand, the narrative shines again and takes us to new horizons, with fantastic visuals to accompany. With many of the problems of the original solved, there are some new ones introduced by the complexity of the systems, but that doesn't denigrate from an experience that is altogether extraordinary.
> 9/10

 

[skit_data]

10 mins left til reviews drop

 

[Fredrik]

There are people who play disc only and never connect to the internet.

True, as relevant to modern times as day 0 reviews I guess. Maybe there should be two reviews, one for the day 0 disc release without patches and one for the digital release with updates awhile later.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Strider Highwind]

Push Square: 9/10

 

[Snowdonhoffen]

Horizon Forbidden West Reviews

Horizon Forbidden West is rated 'Mighty' after being reviewed by 191 critics, with an overall average score of 88. It's ranked in the top 2% of games and recommended by 96% of critics.

opencritic.com

So far

EDIT: Now it's at 33 reviews

 

[3liteDragon]

 

[ManaByte]

 

[John Wick]

This should be well above 90 as it seems to be better then the prequel in every way. Unless some dubious critics decide to spoil the party for reasons......

 

[Represent.]

dont think it'll crack 90, looks like high 80s.

game looks great.

 

[emivita]

Probably dropping to 89-88 at the end.

 

[Fredrik]

Also what even is an RPG these days?
It stand for " role playing game " yes!

I mean a game like fallout 4 and zero dawn you are doing a lot of the same things.

It’s a different discussion. A game can have RPG elements like a skill tree and weapon stats without being a RPG. It’s no different than how Cyberpunk has racing and tons of cars but you don’t go around calling it a racing game.
In Bethesda’s games you can create your character’s looks, origin and skill set and your actions in the game will increase those skills, shoot more bow and you’ll increase your bow skills, etc. There is nothing like that in HZD, it’s an action adventure and should be rated as that.

 

[rofif]

Probably dropping to 89-88 at the end.

It's almost impossible to crack 90s because there are always these super weird personal outlier reviews... either for clicks or just personally disliking the game

 

[Ezquimacore]

Do you really think the main story in HZD is dull? I am honestly asking because that is one of the best stories told in a computer game to date for me. Simply amazing.

Side quests however....

The plot is interesting but the story is not well implemented, it's like Xenoblade and enslaved Odyssey of the west had an ugly baby.

 

[Vick]

Yeah, less than a minute of Performance Mode footage was enough to convince myself i need this asap.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[LectureMaster]

Yep, 89 is what I expected exactly .

 

[gow3isben]

Oof looks like the story is just as bad as the original. The lore was great but the execution in zero dawn with most stories through holograph dialogue was awful. And Aloy's performance was also terribly bland.

Also games seems to be a bit buggy.

Graphics, gameplay, enemies, and sidequests seem to be top tier.

 

[skit_data]

Hmm, I expected it to crack 90. Might still do.

 

[Snowdonhoffen]

Yup it'll end around 88-90. It seems like one of the early GOTY contenders.

 

[DenchDeckard]

1080p for 60fps?

just watching the ACG review and that Eye bug thing is so Assassins creed lol. Guess it’s the open world jan.

game looks good but I’m going to wait for some patches.

 

[Fredrik]

8/10 on Gamereactor soured me at first, then I went back and saw that they gave HZD 8/10 as well. So, all good, can’t wait to play it!