There’s much more flexibility to be found once Aloy’s out in the big wide world. Horizon’s combat is its most compelling feature, thanks to the variety found within 26 distinct species of animal-like machines that roam its great far-future expanse. These beasts have several weak points that can be scanned using Aloy’s Focus (a lore-friendly device that gives you Witcher-like heightened senses), and hitting different points can have different results that change the way a fight plays out. 

Horizon's combat is its most compelling feature.
Send a piercing arrow into the bulging ‘cargo sac’ of a giant fire-spewing Bellowback, for example, and you'll set off a massive explosion. Down a flying, ice-shooting Glinthawk by destroying the armoured sac on its chest to temporarily freeze the bird, or shoot the cannon off the back of a tiger-like Ravager and pick it up to blast a T-Rex-esque Thunderjaw, who you only just noticed approaching from the corner of your eye during the fight. It’s breathless stuff, and there are no hand-holding tutorials telling you how to best approach the beasts, which makes for more rewarding wins.

After I learned how to fight competently, Horizon continually made me feel like a ridiculously accomplished warrior without sacrificing the vital sense that every major battle could easily result in my death, in large part thanks to the ferocity of the machines themselves. Though they patrol on set routes, even the 'herbivores' will immediately attack when you’re spotted, and will continue to scan for you if you manage to find a hiding place.
On the offense, these robotic beasts are authentically animalistic. Snapmaws – enormous, mechanical alligators – will swipe with their tails and spew ice blasts from their mouths, while tiger-like Ravagers will charge at you with alarming speed for a full body slam up close. Dodging their attacks requires constant use of Aloy’s roll move, all the while using the quick on-the-fly crafting system to build ammo specifically to counter the threat.  

Her upgradable bows feel great to use thanks to her Concentration skill that slows down time.
For Aloy’s part, her arsenal is largely tricked-out ‘primitive’ weaponry. Her upgradable bows and elemental-infused arrows - your primary weapon - feel great to use thanks to her Concentration skill that slows down time, allowing for dead-eye aiming. She also has access to a handful of more elaborate devices like the Ropecaster, which shoots out ropes to immobilize enemies, or the Tripcaster, a weapon that creates explosive tripwire traps at a range. Though these more creative weapons sound great in theory, in practice they’re annoyingly slow and fiddly when you're up against multiple threats, and I found the most challenging machines were too fast and too powerful to use them in a genuinely effective way. Fun to play around with on weaker enemies during more casual hunts, then, but far from crucial when you're up against a wall.

There’s something about being dropped into a brand new game world and finding it to be dense with deeply considered lore, terrifyingly aggressive creatures, and tantalizing questions that leaves an indelible mark on the memory. Horizon Zero Dawn is one of those games, and it carves out a unique identity within the popular action-roleplaying genre. Coupled with wonderfully flexible combat and a story that touches on unexpectedly profound themes, I found it hard to tear myself away from Horizon even after I’d finished its main campaign some 40 odd hours later. 

Horizon’s premise is a big mystery that begs to be solved.
A sense of urgency is established from the get-go, as Horizon’s premise is a big mystery that begs to be solved. The questions raised by protagonist Aloy and the primitive, feral machine-infested open world she inhabits kept me guessing throughout: what’s at the centre of it all? Although Horizon suffers from occasionally corny dialogue that belies its smarts, the broader ideas it prods at - the nature of creation, for example - are remarkably ambitious.

Aloy’s personality helped me care about her journey on a more personal level. Nimbly voiced by Ashly Burch (known for her performance as Borderlands 2’s Tiny Tina), she’s a charming character to watch and play as because of the wry wit that tempers her big-hearted heroism; some of my favourite smaller moments came from Aloy’s sarcastic interactions with other characters who didn’t get the joke. Though you have some say on the way she responds to situations in the interests of dialogue flavour, she remains largely a well-intentioned character, which is in step with Horizon’s broader story.