Horizon: Zero Dawn Wiki – Everything you need to know about the game

Horizon: Zero Dawn is an upcoming open world action-adventure game being developed by Guerrilla Games that will be released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 4. The game is the first original IP  Guerrilla has worked on since it first developed Killzone back in 2004. This is the first attempt by the developers to make this particular kind of a game. It’s expected to release sometime in 2016, though an official release date has not yet been named.

Guerrilla had to fight off rumors that the game would be pushed back to 2017, but the developer maintains it has a target of the Holiday season of 2016 as the official release window.

Development

Guerrilla Games began officially working on Horizon: Zero Dawn in 2011 after the company said it had more than 40 ideas in a pitch meeting that took place after the completion of Killzone 3. With the concept of a young girl moving through a world that is populated by robots that share the vague appearance of animals, the company had a team of at least 10 and as many as 20 begin to work on a prototype of the game. The company has said that the prototype that was subsequently created had many ideas and designs that have actually found a way into the game to this day. Built on the Killzone: Shadowfall engine, the game is set to run at 1080p/30fps.

Once Killzone: Shadowfall was finished in 2013, the entire Guerrilla Games team was able to devote all of its attention to putting together Zero Dawn. The developers have gone to great lengths to make sure that the menus inside the game are simple and easy to navigate especially when it comes to crafting, which plays an important role in surviving in the game. The company made the conscious choice early on that they would not include a tutorial because they want players to have to figure out from the very beginning how to get along in a world where humans are not the dominant species. Guerrilla Games wants people to be able to play around with how the main character interacts with the environment rather than having something pointed out to them.

Pictures of creatures that looked like robotic dinosaurs were first leaked on the web on September of 2014 and the code name for the game – Horizon – was also divulged. The photos also showed the protagonist using her signature crossbow as well as another of the characters that has since been confirmed to be in the game. At E3 2015 the company officially unveiled the game with a full reveal trailer.

Story

Horizon: Zero Dawn takes place long after some sort of apocalypse has left most of mankind long gone. The game kicks off during a period of time when the world’s largest cities have fallen to ruin and the dominant races on the planet are robotic dinosaurs and animals. Those humans who are still around live in packs of small townships and the culture resembles the period of time known as the “dawn of man.” The people in Horizon: Zero Dawn do have some technical knowledge as they are able to make use of robot parts gathered by members of various hunting parties.

The robotic animals have a great number of different breeds, starting with the smaller creatures and then progressing onto larger creatures that take on the size and shape of the T-Rex or Wooly Mammoths. The main protagonist, Aloy is someone who has been tasked with hunting these creatures down and using their spare parts for all sorts of different reasons. Crafting takes place here as well as when it comes to making weapons that will be strong enough to take down the biggest robotic creatures. The story will also help players unravel the mystery of just what happened that allowed these robots to be so prevalent and show where they came from.

At one point in the trailer, Aloy makes the comment that the balance between the machines and the people will not be able to remain but she will be ready  when the change comes. While some groups of humans are nomadic in nature, others have set up vast cities where the leaders live like kings. Communicating and dealing with these different tribes will be another important part of the gameplay.

Gameplay

The main character takes on the robotic creatures using the combination of a spear and a bow with several different kinds of arrows including flaming and combustible weapons. Arrows shown in gameplay and announcement trailers include electric shots and grappling lines to tie down larger robots allowing her to then use a spear or knife to dismantle and disarm them. The character appears to be gathering materials for the people of her community.

Crafting plays a large role in the game, allowing the player to upgrade weapons as well as upgrade and create armor and clothes. The battle between robotic animals and humans consists of stealth, melee, and ranged attacks depending on the enemy and the situation taking place during a hunt. There are combo moves made available for some take-downs and finishers when an enemy is close to losing the battle. This can also be a quick combination of button pressing and aiming in order to fire off a number of arrow shots in rapid secession.

As the player progresses through the game, they are able to level up their character. The character is said to be severely out matched when she takes on some of the bigger dinosaurs but will eventually progress to a level where she will be well suited to take on the giants.

Characters

Aloy is the main character in Horizon: Zero Dawn. The red haired huntress is also the narrator of the early part of the story, which lays out to some degree why the world is the way it is. There are other characters, including her father and members of her village, who make an appearance but they were unnamed in the official announcement trailer for the game at E3. There are other tribes of humans throughout the world.

Several of the robots have their own names including the large dinosaur-bot Alloy takes down in the announcement trailer. Guerrilla Games has dubbed this particular robot Thunderjaw.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game