The rumors were true, Horizon Zero Dawn really is getting a remaster.
I have to admit, I'm very excited about it, the trailer looks incredible! My personal favourite improvement seen so far is child Aloy's new look. She always looked really strange to me (her face looks especially off when she's watching the Happy Birthday Isaac! datapoint), but the new child Aloy looks amazing!
I recently was playing some HZD, and the awkwardness of the cutscenes/discussions is honestly quite a difficult thing to adjust to again after seeing how things were improved in The Frozen Wilds, even more so after Horizon Forbidden West, so I'm very excited to see how the one-to-one discussions have been improved!
However, in my experience, remasters can sometimes be an overall downgrade from the original, as while the visuals may be improved, oversights, glitches and other changes can bring down the experience, such as changing the feel the world in a way that it doesn't fit the vibe of the game anymore. From what I've seen of the trailer, I haven't seen anything in the visuals that might be a negative, but we'll have to wait and see to know for sure.
Possible Improvements/Changes[]
Besides the visuals and cutscenes being improved, HZD Remastered is a huge opportunity for Guerrilla Games to add some additional improvements, whether it be tweaking some datapoints, dialogue, or maybe adding whole new things that add to the world of Horizon. I'm not expecting new areas or quests as this is a remaster, not a remake. If these do occur, I'd eagerly welcome them, but I highly doubt we'll be seeing the Claim, Ban-Ur or new characters in HZD Remastered, at most, it'll be new datapoints and/or dialogue.
The Tenakth and Utaru[]
.jpg){kind=link}
I have to admit, I was surprised that the outfits of the Tenakth and Utaru in HFW are noticeably different from those of Ullia, Rea and other generic members of their tribes in HZD, especially Rea's face paint and clothing looking radically different. I wonder if Ullia and Rea will receive new outfits/face paint in HZD Remastered?
Speaking of Ullia, Janeva described the Tenakth as "reavers from the south,"[1] while HFW showed that the Tenakth live far to the west of the Sundom with no evidence of additional territory south of the Sundom. Will Janeva's line be updated to "Reavers, from the west."?
As a final note about the two Forbidden West tribes, if Rea's face paint is changed to be more in line with the Utaru face paint in HFW, the Utaru Plainswalker face paint likely will too since that's the same face paint Rea wears.
The Forbidden West datapoint[]
This intriguing datapoint. It's definitively my favourite one in HZD, due to the massive mysteries around it. I understand that the Forbidden West is a mysterious place to the Carja, but why is there no mention of the Tenakth or Utaru in this datapoint at all? Only tribes that we can't find for ourselves? Yes, Brin mentions that the tales of the tribe that drinks machine blood have gone dark and that the tribe has disappeared,[2] but what about the others?
My theory that I believe is most likely is that while HZD was in development, the Tenakth and Utaru were planned to live south of the Sundom (a tribe or tribes were mentioned to live south of the Sundom in the Sun-Faith[3]), but were retconned to live in the Forbidden West as HFW began development. The evidence I have for this is Janeva describing the Tenakth as south of the Sundom,[1] and that Plainsong seems to be built on the ruins of the Very Large Array, which is in the state of New Mexico, which would place Plainsong southeast of the Sundom, which is in present day Utah. However, the Vista Point overlooking Plainsong describes the area as being named the Western Grand Array,[4] which does not exist as of writing this blog in September 2024, although it could end up being built sometime between now and the time that the Vista Point is made (which was either in the 2050s or early 2060s), or that it is simply exclusive to the Horizon universe and doesn't exist in the real world. Only Guerrilla Games know the answer to this theory.
As for the datapoint, I am especially eager to find and read it in HZD Remastered, I'll be making a special expedition to Blazon Arch as soon as possible to find it. If it's there and remains unchanged, I will continue to be massively intrigued by the continued mystery. If it's gone, I was be equally massively intrigued and will be eager to find Brin and see what he has to say about the tribe that drinks machine blood. If it's changed, than I can't predict how I will feel as that will depend on what it's changed to.
The Metal Flowers[]
A Metal Flower.
In HZD, the Metal Flowers are simple collectibles surrounded by a triangle of purple flowers, while in HFW, they're immovable objects that need to be deactivated with the Vine Cutter to clear the vines for various reasons. Will the Metal Flowers be changed to be more in line with their HFW function, or at least have some evidence of their HFW function? Only time will tell.
Trading Prices[]
In my opinion, the prices of trades in HZD are a little on the expensive side (especially in the early game), and are unreasonably high in Ultra Hard, while in HFW, they are much more reasonable, regardless of difficulty. I hope that these prices will be adjusted to be akin to those in HFW.
Wishlist[]
There are some things that were introduced in HFW that I would like to see added to HZD Remastered, although not things that would break the lore of the world, such as the Pullcaster, Shieldwing, Igniter, Diving Mask and Vine Cutter.
The Stash[]
The best example of something I'd like to see brought back from HFW is the stash, which is a vast improvement over the limited inventory of HZD in my opinion. Admittedly, I'm a huge hoarder in video games and hate having to throw away or sell loot just to make room for more important loot. I think this would be a very easy addition to settlements like in HFW, with lines from Aloy mentioning it as she collects items in HFW being easy to essentially copy and paste into HZD Remastered.
Focus Functionality[]
The Focus.
The small additions to the Focus in HFW, the scan being able to highlight climbable ledges and being able to selectively highlight different components on a machine without them fading away was a massive help to me, especially being able to highlight the components I needed to remove from a machine during a hunt, as the heat of battle often makes me lose track of my specific target. While this would be very helpful to me in HZD Remastered either way, how helpful it would be exactly would depend on the point after the next one.
Painters[]
Aloy wearing the Nora Seeker face paint in HFW.
I much prefer the HFW system of visiting a painter to receive face paint, as opposed to unlocking them by beating the game at particular difficulties and just applying them in the menu. While I would like this newer system to replace the old one, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't.
Also, will the Nora Seeker face paint be in its HZD color or HFW color?
Others[]
Now we're getting into things that I will be surprised if they appear, but I would like to see in HZD Remastered.
Crafting[]
While crafting is a thing in HZD, it's merely to upgrade pouches, not weapons and outfits at a workbench like in HFW. This is likely the sole reason that almost all machines had components that could be collected as an item as opposed to being reduced to shards when collected. If they do bring back this newer crafting system, we could end up seeing new components exclusive to the Trampler. While I feel this would be a very welcome addition to HZD Remastered, I feel doubtful that this will be added.
Food[]
I didn't make much use of food in HFW personally, but I did welcome the lore that they brought to the series and got excited whenever I encountered a cook in a new settlement, including learning about those seen in The Official Horizon Cookbook: Tastes of the Seven Tribes. Again, I feel this is a feature unlikely to return, although I'd love the opportunity to explore more meals never before seen, especially from the Nora and Banuk.
New Weapons/Outfits, and Returning Ones from HFW[]
An Oseram Spike Thrower.
There were a lot of new weapons in HFW, including the Boltblaster, Shredder Gauntlet and Spike Thrower. While the Spike Thrower is talked about by Delah as being a Tenakth weapon that hasn't been replicated in the east,[5] there are multiple examples of Oseram Spike Throwers, including the Last Argument and the Bellowblast, Heartshatter and Pulverizing Spike Throwers, bringing this description into question. Regardless, I'd like to see some weapons as well as outfits be brought back in HZD Remastered, and maybe some new ones, but I doubt that this will be the case unfortunately.
Valor Surges[]
Aloy wearing the Ranged Master face paint.
I enjoyed using the Valor Surges, it really helps hype up the battle as the camera swirls around Aloy as she puts on some new face paint ready to continue the fight or readies her spear for a big Radial Blast. I don't see any lore reason for them to not be added to HZD Remastered, but we'll have to wait and see.
Ryas[]
Ryas.
Yes, I said Ryas. The protagonist of Horizon Call of the Mountain. This one is pure wishful thinking, I realise this is extremely unrealistic, I would be willing to bet shards that he won't appear in HZD Remastered. However, I think there is the tiniest little spark of hope.
We know that Aloy brought Ryas to Dawn's Grasp after he, Kavad and Hami were attacked by machines. She was then sent to escort him to the base of the Sunspear before leaving for Sunfall to deal with the Shadow Carja (likely the quest Traitor's Bounty or Queen's Gambit). Due to the presence of a Fireclaw[6] (which were first released as Aloy infiltrated Cauldron EPSILON[7]), HCotM must take place after TFW,[7] but before the end of HZD as Aloy hasn't disappeared after the Battle of the Alight yet,[8] proving that this canonically takes place during HZD, and thus, during HZD Remastered. If Ryas does appear in HZD Remastered, Dawn's Grasp and the Sunspear would have to as well to avoid continuity errors, which I believe is extremely unlikely as these would be whole new areas. However, unlikely things do sometimes happen, and we'll have to wait until Halloween to finally get some answers.
I decided to pin Ryas onto the end of this blog post because I felt it was reasonable to add him as a final wishful hope, no matter how unlikely it is to happen. If he does appear, one of the biggest questions I have is this: What does Ryas's face look like? xD
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 As mentioned by Janeva during Sunstone Rock.
- ↑ As mentioned by Brin during Acquired Taste.
- ↑ The Sun Faith
- ↑ Vista Point: Plainsong
- ↑ As mentioned by Delah during A Bigger Boom.
- ↑ Horizon Call of the Mountain
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Forge of Winter
- ↑ As mentioned by Varl during Reach For The Stars.