Horizon Zero Dawn: Worth Upgrading to Remaster?
During Sony’s recent State of Play showcase, the remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn was officially announced, following persistent rumors since 2022. But is the upgrade to the remaster truly worth it?
Let’s look at some differences the original and the remastered versions.
To start with some positive news, the remastered edition will cost $50 for new players and offers a discounted rate of $10 for owners of the original game.
One notable improvement is the enhanced visuals. In particular, the vegetation and backgrounds have been refined and made more visually appealing. The background — rocks, grass, tree leaves — became more detailed.
There have also been significant changes to the lighting, with the remaster introducing brighter and more vibrant lighting schemes similar to those in the sequel. However, this may detract from the atmospheric charm of the original game.
There have also been subtle changes to the character designs, with smoother textures and revised lighting. In particular, the facial animations have been greatly improved in the remaster. These changes may have been made following some concerns about the awkwardness of the characters’ movements in the original version.
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered features completely reworked character interactions, with hours of re-recorded dialogue and reworked motion capture scenes. The audio has also been improved in more subtle ways, including a new sound mix with full PS5 Tempest 3D Audio Tech and Dolby Atmos support.
The DualSense Wireless Controller will also be fully supported, with the expected feedback and adaptive trigger features. New accessibility features will also be introduced, including the ability to turn on sound and controller feedback when pickups are nearby, as well as remappable controls and assist toggles.
It should come as no surprise that Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered will also take full advantage of the upcoming PS5 Pro, with even higher frame rates and more graphical features. PC gamers can expect Nvidia DLSS 3 and AMD FSR 3.1 with frame generation support, more details to come.
This enhanced version of 2017’s PlayStation game is set to launch on 30 October, coming to PlayStation 5 and PC.
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