Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Review

Jumping back into Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered feels like you’ve just cleaned a dirty window. Everything looks richer, sharper, and surprisingly alive. Guerrilla Games truly flexed their muscles on the graphics, with lush landscapes, intricately detailed machines, and vibrant weather effects that can almost make you forget these aren’t photos from some adventurous nature photographer’s Instagram. Don’t be surprised if you lose track of time admiring a particularly charismatic robot dinosaur instead of saving the world.

The heart of the gameplay is the balance between stealth and action. You can sneak quietly through tall grass, carefully plotting to outwit enormous mechanical beasts, only to completely botch your plan with one misstep and end up in a cacophony of explosions, arrows, and frantic rolling. The latter is typically how I found it going for me. This ebb and flow between patient strategy and all-out chaos gives combat an edge of excitement. The improved character animations make every bow shot and spear swing feel a little more punchy, as if Aloy herself is daring you to try another approach. Over time, the combat can become a bit familiar, but the number of creative ways to defeat foes, think tripwires, elemental arrows, and hacking enemies to fight on your behalf, keeps things from ever getting too stale, unless you make it your mission to clear out every side encounter in a single afternoon.

While the visual spectacle is a showstopper, it’s the world-building that quietly steals the spotlight over longer play sessions. Horizon Zero Dawn’s intoxicating recipe of ancient ruins, tribal societies, and post-apocalyptic mysteries is still delicious. Dive into side quests and collectibles and you’ll unearth far more backstory than you bargained for, providing context to every toppled skyscraper and cryptic mural. The lore is meticulously layered, so the world always feels as though it existed long before your arrival (and will keep on spinning long after you log off). The remaster doesn’t rewrite the book on storytelling, but with cleaner voice acting and more expressive faces, exchanges between Aloy and her supporting cast land with more heart. Aloy in particular benefits from this glow-up, her personality feeling more nuanced through updated facial animations and better dialogue delivery.

The addition of expanded accessibility options is one of the most thoughtful updates in the remaster. Players previously sidelined by tough controls or limited settings will find a mild sigh of relief in the new customizations, which range from text scaling and control remapping to visual tweaks for colorblind players. It’s a strong gesture toward making the world of Horizon more widely welcoming, which is always refreshing to see in such a highly anticipated return. Accessibility options don’t fundamentally change the core gameplay loop but do offer comfort and flexibility for new and returning players who want to dive, and sometimes tumble through the wilds of the world at their own pace.

That said, not everything is smooth sailing. For every awe-inspiring sunset or heart-pounding chase with a Thunderjaw, there is at least one encounter with a bug that can send you tumbling right out of the experience. Stubborn quest markers, moments where menus freeze without warning, or the occasional crash just when things get exciting can all conspire to remind you that not even the most stunning remaster is immune to technology’s tricky side. Worst still, some persistent gremlins from the original make a cameo, raising their heads in old quest glitches that almost seem to have grandfathered their way into the remastered edition. The frustration can be real when progression halts, but like a machine that occasionally short-circuits, it sometimes feels like an unfortunate part of the adventure.

If you’re someone who gets hives at the sight of too many icons on a map, you may want to brace yourself. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered’s open world is bursting at the seams with tasks, points of interest, collectibles, side quests, errands, and more. Initially, this smorgasbord of activity can feel exhilarating, so much adventure, so little time! Unfortunately, the constant chorus of checklist items and repetitive activities starts dulling the thrill of discovery over long stretches. Clearing bandit camps, hunting down every collectible, or escorting villagers three feet to safety often crosses the invisible line from enjoyable variety to outright busywork, slowly draining the sense of wonder from those hard-fought explorations. It is a fairly solid copy of the Ubisoft open world blueprint that has gotten very tiresome over the years due to the abuse. Some restraint in quest quantity would have allowed the world’s best moments to breathe, rather than shoving every shiny object in your face like an overeager tour guide.

On the role-playing front, the mechanics are designed for accessibility, which can be a double-edged sword. Leveling up feels satisfying, offering new skills and weapons that expand your options, but the underlying systems remain relatively straightforward. Gear upgrades, skill trees, and resource management systems rarely demand deep pondering, so players used to complex RPGs may yearn for more strategic depth or impactful choices. On the bright side, this design makes it easy for newcomers and those who prefer getting lost in the scenery rather than spreadsheets. Ultimately, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered delivers a consistently fun, albeit sometimes shallow, adventure through one of gaming’s most captivating worlds.

THE VERDICT