Machines, Landscapes, and Beauty – Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a beautiful game through and through. Such visually rich games make me feel that we are reaching an upper limit in terms of how much we can push the graphics in the current cycle.

If you don't believe that, then let me show you how good these graphics have become. All the shots in this post were taken in low to medium settings only.

---

Look at the ground texture, those blades of grass and that beautifully lit sky. Games are getting so photorealistic, and that's why I love to take virtual landscape shots as well.

How about a wide desert shot? The dust storm approaching us from the far side makes it more interesting.

---

This game is filled with dangerous machines, but the protagonist, Aloy, deals with them gracefully. She carries a lot of weapons, combining primitive gear with advanced technology.

---

The night shots are beautiful as well. I am not a fan of nighttime in games, but for this game, I don't have much trouble. The atmosphere in the game is such that it feels good to explore without sacrificing much visibility during the nighttime.

---

---

There are a lot of primitive wooden bridges and other structures made by the tribes in this game. I have shared some in my previous posts as well. They blend well with the surroundings and don't look too out of place in this mountainous region.

---

I started playing with a minimal HUD where most of the elements can be turned off or hidden dynamically until you need to look at them. The game does a good job of hiding most of these HUD elements, so it makes for an even more immersive experience at the end. You could even hide the reticle, but I prefer to keep it on to aim at enemies. So, please ignore that distraction from the next shot.

You can even hunt animals to increase your ammo carrying capacity and other useful items. I love to hunt in games, so I love this part as well. These small animals are very abundant in the game too.

---

There are other clans and tribes in the game. Most of them are not enemies, and even some of them can be found in the open world fighting some machines or in need of assistance. Some just go about patrolling the lands. This all makes it feel like a big living place.

---

The way lighting works in the game makes it such a beautiful game. You can use the photo mode to change the time of day and play with the natural light. Even the shots come looking nice under the moonlight.

---

I will leave you with the final shot where Aloy just overcame a big machine and is now celebrating with a pose standing on top of its dead body lol.

---

Let me know if you liked these shots and which one is your favourite.