Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered Co-Op Review

Paul James: Hey Jess, like me, you’re something of a Horizon aficionado, that all said, let’s lay the foundations for this chat. The talk about a Horizon Remaster or Remake had been kicking around for a while, and I don’t know about you, but when the LEGO game was revealed (which you recently previewed) I thought that was in fact the remake, and I was satisfied. Simply put, I thought it was a bit too soon for a touching up of the original game, and LEGO Horizon Adventures seemed like the perfect compromise. Zero Dawn however is still one of the most visually striking games on the PS4, it received PS5 updates, and is still quite fresh in the memory. It’s fair to say that my first blush impression was that this Remaster, now that it has became official, was that its existence was unnecessary. Once seeing it in action though, my stance has changed a bit. While I still believe that resources could have been commited to another game that needed further work, what Nixxes have done with the original is seriously impressive. What were some of your preconceived ideas Jess and have they changed now that you’ve been playing Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered?

Jess Zammit: Honestly, I’m generally of the opinion that unless the last iteration of a game is at least either two console generations – or a solid decade – old, there’s no need to be even talking about a remaster. I feel it every time they put out a new version of The Last of Us, and I felt it here, even though Horizon Zero Dawn ranks highly on my list of favourite games of all time. For me, it seems based on a philosophy that having the latest and greatest graphics is always going to at least make a game better, if not be a necessity for seeing something as being high quality. I just don’t agree with it. So as much as I will always relish the opportunity to have an excuse to jump back into Horizon Zero Dawn, I approached this remaster with a certain level of cynicism. I presumed it would be graphically more impressive, and take advantage of the extra processing power – and it absolutely does. It looks gorgeous, though in trying to match up visually with Forbidden West I also do feel like they’ve introduced some clipping and awkward facial expressions that I don’t remember being as much of an issue in the first one – so it isn’t a seamless upgrade. But, have my feelings changed? I don’t know. I’m having a great time playing it, because of course I am – it’s a wonderful game, and always has been. Is it enhanced by some of the improvements, like a utilisation of the features of the DualSense controller to make combat more tactile? Sure. It isn’t bad. It’s just hard not to continue to ask questions about why it needs to exist. How did your thoughts change after spending some time with it?