Michael Briers – Horizon: Zero Dawn
Sandwiched in between The Last Guardian re-reveal and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake during Sony’s E3 presser, Horizon: Zero Dawn could have so easily been overshadowed by the headline acts — starstruck by games that even the wishful thinkers among us didn’t really expect. Such was the remarkable quality of Guerrilla Games’ showcase, though, that Horizon set itself apart from every square inch of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Here is a studio that has been refined and yet restricted by the Killzone IP in generations past; tethered to a generic militaristic shooter with an unyielding commitment to a drab, mud-brown color palette — Shadow Fall notwithstanding. Perhaps that’s why Horizon feels like a breath of fresh air. Not only did Guerrilla’s new IP arguably steal the show for the most jaw-dropping visuals, but the concept of a post-post-apocalyptic war between man and machine is so radically different from a studio that has fought the Helghast fight for Sony since 2004.
When Shuhei Yoshida spoke in the aftermath of that demo, he hinted that Horizon could be nurtured into a new franchise for Sony — and we have every reason to believe him. Set in a far-future where the remnants of humanity have been relegated to tribalistic cave dwellers, Zero Dawn will follow Aloy as she explores a beautiful world wherein humans have been knocked from atop the food chain.
There’s a new apex predator in town, you see, and they can only be described as towering, mechanized dinosaurs. From what we understand, Guerrilla’s eye-catching creations will serve as the crux of the story — how did they come about? Is coexistence possible? And can someone please tell us if we can train one? — and we’re already cautiously optimistic ahead of Horizon: Zero Dawn’s debut on PlayStation 4 in 2016.