REVIEW: ‘Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered’ Is A Worthy Graphical Upgrade (PS5)

When Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered was announced, the prevailing question was, why? The original launched on PS4 in 2018, less than a decade ago. It still runs and plays great on PS5, and the announcement of a remaster felt confusing when so many other games or properties deserved it more. Now, after actually playing it, it’s clear that this is the game’s definitive version. The graphical overhauls are significant, bringing it up to par with its successor, Horizon Forbidden West.

The reworked lip-syncing primarily looks excellent. The show’s star is easily the lighting and foliage, with gentle beams of light filtering through dense foliage. Cities are more alive and packed with passers-by. This isn’t a phoned-in quick rework; it’s significant and carries a reasonable price tag despite some gameplay enhancements from its sequel being missed.

For anyone who hasn’t played the original, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered follows the journey of Aloy, a young hunter. She’s an outcast from her local tribe, scorned for her mysterious birth. As she sets out into the world for the first time, fighting plenty of giant mechanical creatures, she starts to unravel the mystery surrounding herself and the world around her and prevents a world-ending calamity.

The narrative and gameplay still hold up well, though that shouldn’t be a surprise, given that it’s only been eight years. The story is interesting, as players learn about the secrets buried, both literally and figuratively. The combat is still solid, with the tense battles against the massive mechanical creatures still bringing big thrills and white-knuckled brawls.

Not everything translates, though, as some of the quality-of-life upgrades in Forbidden West are missing. Aloy’s mount disappears quickly, leaving the player to find a new one. The fast travel packs are back, which weren’t fun then and still aren’t fun now. It can leave Aloy stranded in awkward spots, with the only resolution being long runs across the map.

The most frustrating is the loss of auto pick-up. It was a fantastic option in Forbidden West, allowing players to pick up things quickly without animations or downtime. The pick-up animation is long enough to make it grind movement to a halt, especially with how often you’re grabbing resources. These features would’ve been excellent to see in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. 

Aloy’s primary weapon is her bow, with the combat largely focused on ranged weapon damage. She has many other weapons to use that may inflict varied elemental damage. Each creature has different weaknesses and sensitive points to target. The reworked melee combat from Forbidden West is missed here. It felt much more fluid and usable in the sequel, so returning to the clunkier combat is unfortunate.

The focus of the remaster is easily the graphical overhauls. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered looks incredible, entirely brought up to par with recent releases and Forbidden West. The foliage density and detail have been completely enhanced, making the world feel much more alive than before. The lighting has been reworked significantly, with sun rays beaming through the treeline as Aloy moves through it.

Cities are much more dense and lived in, as more NPCs wander the streets and interact with the environment. That also extends to companions and other characters, as your companions can react to the environment alongside Aloy. The terrain and environment also look beautiful, with more detail and interaction. It looks gorgeous and is more than just a quick skin over the existing game. It genuinely enhances the experience of playing the game.

The other significant change in the remaster is the characters’ facial animations. Guerrilla and Nixxes added over 10 hours of motion-capture data, reworking lip-syncing across the board. This works to varying effects. Aloy herself looks good, along with many companions and side characters. Some, on the other hand, don’t look as clean. The lower half of the face animates much more than the top half, giving some characters an odd and jarring look as the facial expressions don’t always align. When it works, it looks great but doesn’t always land its mark.

One of the biggest wins for Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is the upgrade path. It costs just $10 for existing owners, making the upgrade much more palatable than Until Dawn‘s recent remake. That cost almost the total price with no path. The $50 price tag is a bit more expensive for new players, given the original could previously be found for half that price before it was changed. It can still be found physically for much less than the digital price tag, so that may be the way to go for new players.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is a worthy graphical update to the beloved original. The overhauled graphics are beautiful, breathing new life into a world many care about. The facial animations, when they work, also look great. While there are missing features from Forbidden West that can make the minute-to-minute gameplay feel dated, it still is a ton of fun to play. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is easy to recommend for new players or franchise fans, especially given the $10 upgrade path. It’s a great way to revisit a PlayStation favorite.