Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered review

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is something that many feel doesn’t need to exist, given just how good the original looked at the time. However, from the moment you begin your journey as Aloy, it’s clear just how hard Nixxes has gone to make it look as good as it possibly can, and after originally being a cynical curmudgeon about the idea of a remaster, I have to say it was so much fun to step back into this world. Guerrilla created something remarkable at the time, and I will always take any chance I can to replay its epic adventure.

I’m still not convinced people need this version in their lives, especially when the initial entry still looks amazing, but there are definite improvements that make it stand tall against other big PlayStation titles released in the last few years. The world feels much more alive, whether in the way the natural environments breathe or the movements of NPCs in the bigger cities. The way plant life reacts to the changing weather systems, be it the blowing of grass or the rain on the ground, being immersed in the natural world around you is stunning.

The textures have been reworked to make it look as good as it did in Forbidden West, if not better. The cycles of weather and the way the sun marries the landscapes consistently blows you away. Most post-apocalyptic worlds feature broken down buildings and destruction, but Horizon was always about nature reclaiming the man-made world. With Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Nixxes has put the power of the PlayStation 5’s technology to work, improving an already gorgeous game. More foliage, more detail. More of everything, and is all the better for it.

NPCs feel more real. They go about their daily lives and react more to the world around them. You feel like you’re living in a living, breathing world, which is something that the original didn’t quite get right. Animations have been improved and added to, with more motion capture being recorded to give an even better life-like appeal. On top of the way characters move and act, the level of detail in faces and hair movement is incredible. Every blemish and freckle can be seen, showing off even more of the level of detail that’s been added.

While there’s no additional story content here, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered includes the Frozen Wilds DLC. If you never got a chance to play it back when it released, it’s more than worth experiencing this time around. It might sound silly commenting on how realistic the snow falls and reacts when moving through it, but it helps to immerse you into the various biomes unlike seldom games do. Frozen Wilds was an exceptional expansion, and when you already have such an enjoyable base game, it’s a great package to get stuck into.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered has to be seen to be believed. It’s remarkable just how improved it is despite the original looking great anyway. Whether you want to splash out and grab it again is a different matter, although the upgrade path feels a great price point. Unless you’re a huge fan of the series and want to dive into the story of Aloy all over again with better graphics, there’s not really a reason to grab it. The story is the same, as is the gameplay, and when you have so many other titles to get through in 2024, it’s all going to depend on whether you have the time to give it your full attention. But it remains a wonderful game and the remastered edition is the best way to experience it.