An open world game with a lot of the expected trimmings, for better or worse. I came around to really enjoy the world and lore of Horizon Zero Dawn, and I always felt happy to continue if it meant uncovering more of the mysteries behind how the state of the world in this game came to be. I love Aloy as a protagonist, I feel that she has her own personality that I love to see fit into this heavily tradition-based world.

Much of the side content in the game is pure filler, and realistically has little reason to exist outside of drip feeding bits of lore or just to pad game time. I went out of my way to Platinum the game and although I enjoyed all my time with it, the side content just isn't worth doing most of the time.

The combat is fun and feels satisfying when it clicks. Switching your weapons to better suit a battle feels great, as does taking advantage of enemy weak spots to turn the tide drastically in your favor. It's Monster Hunter-like and I had a good fun with it, although the capabilities of melee fighting could use an overhaul.

The world is beautiful, the lore is interesting, and the moment-to-moment gameplay felt relaxing. I can understand how a game like this is not everybody's cup of tea, and there's absolutely an argument to be made that it can feel like an uninspired in a sea of open world games, but winding down with Horizon Zero Dawn at the end of a long day felt like I was relaxing with a good book and it partially got me to pick up hiking as a more regular hobby which is nice.