Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered review: A beautiful looking PS5 action hit revamp

It’s been seven years since hero Aloy took to the robot-strewn wilds on Playstation 4.

Horizon Zero Dawn was an excellent new game from Sony in the final days of that console and has since spawned two sequels across PS5 and PSVR2.

And it was a lush looking game as is.

But Sony have decided to pump out a Remastered version of the original, to bring it up to today’s PS5 standards.

I’m not quite sure it was vital.

But the results are impressive.

And this one is really best suited to those diehard gamers looking to delve back into the world of Horizon, or folk who missed out on the game in the first place.

Zero Dawn Remastered is widely the same excellent game.

In a far future where colossal machines roam and rule the Earth, pockets of humanity survive in unique tribes among the lush, overgrown ruins of our long-lost civilisation.

You take up bow and spear as Aloy, a young machine hunter and outcast of her tribe, as she discovers her origins, the truth of this mysterious world, and her own destiny to save it from impending doom.

It’s epic action adventure stuff in large expansive open lands, firing off bows and arrows at giant machine beasties while unravelling the mysteries of your character’s past.

Developers Guerrilla and Nixxes have focused on making the world feel alive and more detailed.

The overgrown natural world around Aloy is incredibly rendered, with lush greenery popping impressively off the screen and vibrant lands feeling truly bustling.

Riverbanks and foliage are enhanced through shaders, textures and geometry, making them more natural on the eye.

There are now more non-playable characters in the villages and outposts you come across. They’re no longer, in some cases, empty feeling and have a realistic populace.

Sequel elements from Forbidden West, such as rocks, plants and buildings, have been used to improve terrain and bring the overall look in line with that 2022 PS5 blockbuster.

They’ve also added in an extra 10 hours of additional motion-capture data for characters.

That means more fluid body movement and facial animation, and it makes the game’s conversations much livelier and in line with those in Horizon Forbidden West.

A lot of work has gone into improving the lighting too to give it a more lifelike feel.

Does all this dramatically change the game? No.

But does it make this much prettier than the original? A bit, yes.

Even on pause, staring closely at the telly, the detail is truly incredible.

So for £45 brand new I wouldn’t say go buy this if you’re an average gamer who’s already played the original and not that bothered about another go as Aloy.

Even with the added Frozen Wilds Expansion, really you’d be paying a high price for a revisit to a slightly better looking world.

But if you’re new to the Horizon franchise, or if you’re so into it that you’re dying to play the first game again at its very very best, then it is worth a revisit.

Especially if you’re able to take advantage of the £10 digital upgrade fee having owned either Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4) or Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition (PS4, PS5).

VERDICT 4/5