![]() ![]() ![]() It’s a design decision that sticks in my craw when an NPC’s curiosity piques after he or she spots someone sprawled on the ground with an arrow sticking out of its chest from a mile away. That’s a largely satisfying approach, aside from the fact that, like in other half-stealth games like Uncharted 4 or Watch Dogs 2, you can’t hide bodies. Though you’re free to take them on as you please, I found it’s best to take a stealthy approach through the tall grass and pick off these heavily armed NPCs one by one. ![]() While not as engaging as their mechanical counterparts, there are human targets too - many of whom populate the bandit camps peppered throughout this massive open world. Play The Big, Big Wide World You don’t just fight machines in Horizon. Watching them wreak havoc on the field from a place of safety is smugly satisfying. As you upgrade your skill tree, these overrides can last for longer, which allows you to essentially build up a small army of loyal, vicious steeds. Overriding has different effects depending on the machine - some become docile mounts, for example, while others will fight on your behalf, killing their own kind. Alternatively, Aloy doesn’t have to do all the work herself, as she’ll discover how to override the machines’ brains in the field while exploring her world (to tell you how would ruin a wonderful surprise). It’s a shame luring specific machines away from their packs is so time-consuming, though often simple hunts for a single animal evolve into massive fights against several types. ![]() To counter this, there’s generally a silent path to take: hiding in swatches of tall red grass and drawing machines in gives you a chance for a stealth kill, and if by some misfortune you’re spotted, Aloy’s Concentration skill is vital in helping you land an arrow right in that Watcher’s prying eye before you make a quick escape. A lot of the machines roam in packs, with larger beasts flanked by velociraptor-like sentry bots called Watchers, so if you’re not careful you can be outnumbered and devoured within seconds. Play Not that Horizon encourages you just to blindly wander into every fight and start shooting. These beasts have several weak points that can be scanned using Aloy’s Focus (a lore-friendly device that gives you Witcher-like heightened senses), and hitting different points can have different results that change the way a fight plays out. Horizon’s combat is its most compelling feature, thanks to the variety found within 26 distinct species of animal-like machines that roam its great far-future expanse. There’s much more flexibility to be found once Aloy’s out in the big wide world. Though you have some say on the way she responds to situations in the interests of dialogue flavour, she remains largely a well-intentioned character, which is in step with Horizon’s broader story. Nimbly voiced by Ashly Burch (known for her performance as Borderlands 2’s Tiny Tina), she’s a charming character to watch and play as because of the wry wit that tempers her big-hearted heroism some of my favourite smaller moments came from Aloy’s sarcastic interactions with other characters who didn’t get the joke. Play Aloy’s personality helped me care about her journey on a more personal level. ![]()
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