Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered’s New Visuals a Good Omen for Next Game

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Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered's New Visuals a Good Omen for Next Game

As a seasoned gamer who’s seen the evolution of gaming graphics over the past few decades, I must admit that Sony’s decision to remaster Horizon Zero Dawn came as a pleasant surprise. Despite the initial skepticism about its necessity, the graphical upgrades, particularly the enhanced character animations, have truly elevated this game to a whole new level.

2024 is approaching, and it’s unlikely that many PlayStation gamers anticipated Sony announcing a remake of the game Horizon Zero Dawn. However, during their September State of Play presentation, Sony confirmed they were indeed doing so. The remastered version, named Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, is scheduled for release on both PS5 and PC on October 31. Given its close proximity to the launch of the PS5 Pro, this remaster could be an excellent game to test on Sony’s new mid-generation console. However, some might argue that this remake’s release doesn’t quite justify its existence because there are many classic PlayStation games that arguably deserve a remaster more urgently, leading some to perceive it as a simple cash grab.

Fortunately, the remastered version of “Horizon Zero Dawn”, titled “Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered“, brings several notable visual upgrades to the original game. It boasts improved vegetation, advanced lighting effects, revamped textures, higher-quality mesh detailing, denser NPC populations, and more intricate character models, among other advancements. The most striking improvement in “Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered“, however, lies in its character animations. This re-release of Guerrilla Games’ open-world RPG incorporates over 10 hours of fresh motion-captured data, resulting in NPC dialogues appearing far more authentic than before. These new animations are indeed so convincing that they set a high standard for the next major installment in the “Horizon” series.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered’s Impressive Animations Lay the Groundwork for Horizon 3

Horizon Zero Dawn Still Holds Up, But Its Animations Aren’t the Greatest

Hard to imagine, but the initial release of “Horizon Zero Dawn” dates back over seven years, first appearing exclusively on PlayStation 4 in 2017. Later, it made its way onto Windows PC in 2020. In terms of visual appeal for its era, this game was truly exceptional. When compared to contemporaries like “Bloodborne” and “Dragon Age: Inquisition,” the graphical prowess of “Horizon Zero Dawn” was unparalleled. Even today, it continues to impress visually, and with a 60 FPS patch on PS5, it runs smoothly as silk on Sony’s latest console generation.

While Horizon Zero Dawn is generally well-received, one area that may not measure up is the facial animations. In certain dialogue sequences during gameplay, some characters’ motion capture appears stiff or awkward. This can create a strange sensation, often felt when interacting with less important NPCs in the game. As a result, the animation and character models of Horizon Zero Dawn have been frequently criticized since its launch.

Horizon Forbidden West Was a Major Improvement Over Its Predecessor in Terms of Visuals

As a dedicated gamer, I can happily confirm that the visual overhaul in Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, truly outshines its predecessor. The facial expressions and motion capture in Guerrilla’s 2022 action RPG are noticeably superior and more authentic. Despite being a cross-generation game, Guerrilla has managed to exploit the full potential of the PlayStation 5 with Horizon Forbidden West. It comes as no surprise that the animations in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered are based on those in the critically acclaimed sequel, setting a new benchmark for quality.

Horizon 3’s Animations May Be Even Better Than the Ones in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

Based on how stunning Horizon Forbidden West and the remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn appear, it’s easy to speculate that the visuals in Horizon 3 will be even more impressive. As part of Guerrilla’s planned trilogy of Horizon games, Horizon 3 is still a few years from release and could potentially be a PlayStation 6 game. Leveraging the power of next-generation technology, Horizon 3 might feature exceptional facial and body animations that rival those seen in games like Hellblade 2 or the UE5 demo of The Matrix Awakens.

Inside Guerrilla’s studio, their own Decima Engine has demonstrated its ability to create stunning animations and high-quality graphics without sacrificing performance. This is evident in games like “Forbidden West” and “Death Stranding”. Given this track record, it’s reasonable to anticipate that the next “Horizon” game may feature even more sophisticated NPC interactions than those found in the remastered version of “Horizon Zero Dawn”.

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2024-10-29 18:35