As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming under my belt, I must say that the remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn has me genuinely excited! Being an accessibility advocate, I’m thrilled to see features like custom difficulty settings, Easy Loot system, and remappable controls catering to various player needs. And let’s not forget about the DualSense support which promises a more immersive gaming experience with its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.
Sony’s pattern of enhancing its more recent successes persists with the release of “Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered,” set for October 31st on both PS5 and PC. This project is overseen by Guerrilla Games and Nixxes Software, with the latter known for producing numerous high-quality adaptations of PlayStation games.
Instead of merely capitalizing on the original’s popularity by simply remastering it, both teams have put forth an incredible effort to enhance visuals, update various aspects, and breathe life into the world. Here are 15 key points to consider before diving into Horizon Zero Dawn: The Remastered Edition.
4K and Faster Loading Times
In simpler terms, “Horizon Zero Dawn” has been running in 4K resolution for both PS4 Pro and PS5. But now, it’s providing this high-definition experience with significantly reduced load times (travel between settlements is promised to be “lightning-fast”) and numerous visual enhancements. The first noticeable change is in the depiction of foliage.
Enhanced Foliage
The Horizon series emphasizes nature significantly, especially since it’s set in a post-apocalyptic world where flora and fauna are making a comeback. Although Horizon Zero Dawn boasted stunning vegetation, Nixxes aimed to elevate it to the level seen in Forbidden West. In an article on the PlayStation Blog, senior environment artist Patrick Blankenzee disclosed that this involved improvements to “shaders, textures, geometry, and foliage interaction.
In “Horizon Zero Dawn”, we’ve enhanced every single vegetation element, adding numerous new features across a vast array of plants, shrubs, blossoms, and trees. This makeover has been applied to hundreds of different types. Interestingly, the team went back to the original design sketches for inspiration, introducing fresh foliage for various biomes such as rainforests. Furthermore, they improved the riverbanks by introducing more biodiversity to align with the vision depicted in the concept art, according to Blankenzee.
A Living World
In Horizon Forbidden West, the cities and towns felt incredibly lifelike, but there were areas in Zero Dawn that could’ve benefited from a touch more vivacity. The remaster not only boosts the number of Non-Player Characters (NPCs) substantially, but it also enhances their liveliness. They now have more options for postures like standing, sitting, and working; their routines are more diverse; and even recycled animations are used to construct fresh scenes.
According to senior technical game designer Brian van Nunen, there’s a lady feeding geese at the well in Meridian, using an old animation for sowing. Furthermore, the bridge leading to Meridian has seen substantial enhancements, making the environment feel more alive and active.
Improved Terrain
In Meridian and Daytower locations, Nixxes chose to redesign the floors from scratch, enhancing them with high-definition geometry and textures, new materials, and additional features. They also swapped out the existing terrain materials for higher quality options from Forbidden West, tailoring them to fit the style of Zero Dawn. Additionally, you can anticipate both deformable sand and deformable snow, a feature previously exclusive to The Frozen Wilds, appearing in other areas as well.
Revamped Lighting
In the Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, the lighting system, particularly environmental lighting, has been significantly revamped by Nixxes. This involves either readjusting or completely redesigning the lighting to maintain the same atmosphere and align it with the slightly modified artistic direction. The light intensity now employs Physically Based Rendering Values, making familiar locations appear even more stunning than before, with an unprecedented level of detail.
More Detailed Character Models
It was clear that Nixxes would incorporate a large portion of their work from Horizon Forbidden West into enhancing character models for the remaster. As Blankenzee stated, they upgraded several shaders to boost visual quality and adjusted the models so they respond more effectively to the new lighting in the remastered version.
We’ve provided a detailed movie-like representation for both Aloy’s adult and child models, complete with fine facial details like peach fuzz, enhancements in hair, eye, and material aspects. An often overlooked feature is the response of companion characters to weather changes, now extended from just Aloy.
10 Hours of New Mocap Data
To make Zero Dawn as lively as Forbidden West, the remaster features over ten hours of freshly captured motion data. We’ve blended the dialogue from the original game with 2500 new motion capture files, which also includes refining finger movements and adding new facial expressions. This update preserves the authenticity of the original’s acting and direction while elevating the cinematic quality and performances.
Accessibility Features from Forbidden West
If you appreciated the accessibility options in Forbidden West, here’s some great news – these same features are included in the remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn. Along with customizable controls, this includes adjustable difficulty settings and the Easy Loot system, which is a big help for players who prefer not to spend too much time gathering loot. Additionally, you can utilize the motion sensor, modify vibration in various situations, remap controls, activate aim assist, and many other options.
DualSense Support
In the enhanced version, the DualSense controller is utilized more extensively, offering a more immersive experience through heightened haptic feedback and rapid adaptive trigger responses during each action. Customized haptics are integrated across the game, and players can choose to activate haptic feedback and sound notifications for picking up items or interacting with parts of the environment.
Native PS5 Pro Support
Although Guerrilla and Nixxes didn’t provide comprehensive details about the PS5 Pro enhancements for the remaster, they did confirm native support for “exceptionally high-quality visuals at lightning-fast frame rates.” It’s likely that PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution will be incorporated in some way; however, the specifics are yet to be revealed.
Ultrawide Displays and Unlocked Framerates
PC gamers can enjoy the same benefits as PlayStation versions, such as compatibility with Ultrawide (21:9) displays, Super Ultrawide (32:9), and even triple monitor configurations (48:9). They also have the ability to adjust graphical settings and run unlimited frame rates. Additionally, they can experience DualSense functionality, but it requires a wired connection.
Nvidia DLSS 3 and AMD FSR 3.1 on PC
Technologies such as Nvidia’s DLSS 3, AMD’s FSR 3.1, and Intel’s XeSS are all compatible, along with an enhanced version of Nvidia’s DLAA for better image clarity. Notably, DLSS 3 offers frame generation capabilities, and it allows for the activation of Nvidia Reflex to minimize latency.
Playtime
For some newcomers venturing into the realm of Horizon, they might wonder how much they’ll have to explore. According to HowLongToBeat’s data for the Complete Edition, you can typically finish the main storyline in around 30 hours, but if you aim to uncover all additional content, it could take up to 53 hours. If you’re a thorough player who wants to unlock everything, be prepared to invest about 76 hours on average.
Pricing and Upgrade Option
The remastered version of “Horizon Zero Dawn” is available for $49.99 on PS5 and PC. If you previously owned the original game or the Complete Edition digitally, you can upgrade for just $9.99. Players who received the title through the Play at Home Initiative are also eligible for this offer. If you own a physical copy of the original on PS4, you’ll need to insert it to play the remaster. Unfortunately, Sony has stopped selling the individual Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition on Steam. Instead, you can get it free when purchasing the remaster, but for new players, there’s no other option available.
Mandatory PSN Requirement on PC
Unfortunately, similar to other recent single-player games released for PC, this remaster requires linking a PlayStation Network account. This might be disappointing, but for trophy enthusiasts, it comes with a built-in PlayStation interface. On the brighter side, there are always advantages!
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2024-10-24 23:11