Beat the game..29.5 hours on normal (about 15) then easy (15) finished at level 37.
Very interesting game... I wasn't consumed by the hype for this game, but I did think it looked great. I have quite mixed feeling on it. I was excited, saw all the E3 and game conference stuff and it looked great. It's just a solid third person action game. Definitely could be the start of something new. But i'm not like madly in love or like it's the best thing ever.
- The game is gorgeous, the landscapes, lighting, design of the robots, settlements are all awesome. The occasional bug out or lip sync thing stands out alot more than normal because of how great it looks most of the time, however this was very rare. Super kudos to GG for the achievement here.
- Interesting story once it gets going, I quite enjoyed it. I really didn't enjoy the dialogue most the time, it was super video gamey at times and MY GOD Aloy speaking to herself during the entire game really got on my nerves - its so unnecessary and over the top. There were times when Aloy would be pointless talking to herself, an audio diary playing and Slyens talking to me.
- Gameplay is okay, I got frustrated with the climbing most of the time and I often missed arrow shots which I feel were spot on but whatever. I love however that you can pretty much Skyrim up any mountain which is great for taking short cuts. I disliked the fact if you are spotted every single enemy in the area automatically knows your location and you just get overwhelmed.
- Focus. Why does every game need a "detective" cheat mode?? Okay, well I *kinda* get it here, as it links with the story like ancient tech but man, almost every game. Feels cheap.
Over the last four months I played Arkham Knight, Watch Dogs 2, Mad Max and playing open world games is weird. I always lose interest the more I play, every game is full of icons and collectibles and its too much for me. I play the story, a few side missions that interest me. I missed alot of stuff in Horizon but I think I am okay with that. The problem with side missions in this game is they are basically the same thing over and over...
Get side mission. "Investigate area". Open your focus and scan objects, Aloy pointless talks to herself "hmm a barrel, looks used...", continue scanning.. follow trail.... encounter NPC, enemy etc. Mission complete. Literally 90% of the side missions is just this over and over again. Became a real bore.
So yeah, the game is fine. I am happy its over and done with. I do not regret buying or playing it, but yeah probably won't be in my top 10 of the year. I would probably rate it 7/10.