I think this game cements Santa Monica as the best out there (at least in the Triple A space) when it comes to marrying narrative and game design.

I prefer 2018 mostly because of its tighter focus. This game is more ambitious, but as a result there's much more to be nitpicked. Most notably, I think the writing gets too hokey in the last couple hours, but maybe it will work better for me on a replay.

Really appreciate the attention they've put in across these two games to making Kratos a three-dimensional character and actually giving him a satisfying arc.

To set the table here, I think Horizon Zero Dawn is a five-star game, and it's one of my all-time favorites. While I couldn't claim that many of the weaknesses of this entry weren't present in the original game, I am less forgiving of them now in this second entry of the series and Guerilla's second foray into the genre. This game struggles so much with platforming through the open world that you almost dread traveling to a quest marker that's located at a high elevation. It also features some of the most bafflingly frustrating puzzle design that I can remember in a triple-A game.

All that said, everything I loved about the original game is back in spades here. This franchise is probably in the running for the greatest action RPG series of all-time with its masterful fusion of satisfying combat systems, affecting story and character work, and mind-bending lore drops. These games continue to deliver the best sci-fi storytelling of any medium, period.

While the last-minute twist setting up the next game feels a bit uninspired, I have full faith in this writing team to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

P.S. People who complain that Aloy is a boring character are a little bit sus in my mind. Did we play the same game?