Forgive my language, but killing shit in Horizon Zero Dawn feels amazing. I recently picked HZD back up in anticipation for the sequel, and the second time around I can’t help but stand in awe of how incredible it feels to fight robot monsters with a bow and arrow. I thought I’d cruise right through the main story, but I find myself meandering around the world, taking on every fight that comes my way. The way HZD rewards you for precision, efficiency, and clever tactics is remarkable, and I can’t wait to see how Guerilla Games builds on these systems in Horizon Forbidden West.
The difference between fighting effectively and fighting ineffectively in HZD is night and day. If you wish, you can kill every single beast in the game simply by pelting it with standard arrows until it goes down. The arrows will softly plink off of the armor that covers most of the machines as a single-digit damage number floats into the air. If you get lucky, you might be able to take off an armor plate or break off a canister. You’ll need to dip and dodge constantly, as none of these attacks will slow the machine down at all, but eventually, the beast will fall.
In contrast, if you can exploit the machine’s weaknesses, land precision hits, and use advanced tactics, it’s almost like playing a completely different game. Not only will you kill the machine faster, but the game rewards you tons of feedback to tell you that you’re playing well. When you hit a breakable part with a hardpoint arrow, not only do you get a higher damage number, you also get a flash of purple on the part and a chunky sound. Dealing additional tear damage to the part will eventually break it off and send it flying through the air shooting sparks as the machine staggers.
This is just one of a dozen ways that HZD rewards you for using the right tool for the job. Focusing on a machine’s weakness with precision attacks can completely turn the tide of a battle in your favor. For example, the Shell-Walkers have a power generator on their underside. You can hit this weak spot with normal arrows for bonus damage, but if you strike the power generator with an electric arrow, the Shell-Walker will lose its shield, lighting shots, electric blasts, AND send a shockwave out that damages all nearby enemies. Not only is it an incredibly effective tactic to use, but the visual and auditory stimuli you get from it is so incredibly satisfying that it would be worth it even without the bonus effects. The feedback you get from a good hit in HZD feels like a stadium full of fans standing up to cheer for you.
Exploiting weaknesses can be so powerful at times that it feels like cheating. With a single well-placed tearblast arrow you can instantly knock the cannon off of the top of a Ravager, pick it up, and unleash hell on every machine you can see. You could easily destroy five machines for the cost of a single arrow.
Very few games, if any, reward players this much for playing effectively. Even Monster Hunter, which has a lot in common with HZD, only marginally rewards exploiting the weaknesses of monsters with element types and focused damage. Guerilla Games hit it out of the park with the way HZD rewards smart play, and I can’t wait to see what Horizon Forbidden West does with even more damage types, more complex monsters, and more weapons to use.