Same Game, Better Graphics. Is Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Just a Cash Grab?

If there’s ever been a controversial franchise for Sony, that would be Horizon. Though Alloy’s outings have received near-universal praise from critics and fans, for some reason, Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, can’t seem to break the same glass ceiling as God of War, Uncharted, The Last of Us, or other of Sony’s most successful hits. Still, the franchise is iconic enough to warrant more than a few revisions and updates, the latest being the aptly-titled Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. Controversial doesn’t begin to describe the launch of this visual update for a game that already boasted some of the most impressive visuals gamers have ever seen.

Horizon Inflation

This remaster is far from cheap, with a steep price tag of $49.99 for new players ($10 for returning ones). In a year that’s seen countless re-releases – including the long-awaited returns of Lollipop Chainsaw, Shadows of the Damned, and even Red Dead Redemption – seeing a game from just seven years ago getting the “remaster” treatment feels wrong, especially considering how Sony has neglected some of its more iconic franchises.

Currently, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered shows fans’ reactions on Steam are “Mixed.” The most common complaint appears to be the most obvious one: did this game really need a remaster? As it stands, most players would likely answer that question with a resounding “No.”

When we hear the term “Remaster,” one can’t help but notice that the only games in dire need of such makeover are those whose visuals no longer hold up to modern standards. On the other hand, remasters are also a great way to bring older games to newer hardware. Zero Dawn suffers from neither of those issues.

Something that still stings about these unnecessary remasters is how they replace their legacy counterparts in digital storefronts. You can no longer buy the original Horizon Zero Dawn on Steam, meaning that new players are forced to pay $49.99 for a seven-year-old game. If that sounds like an awful deal, that’s because it is. Before its delisting, you could get the game’s ‘Complete Edition’ for around $13. That’s no longer the case for Sony’s aging game.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Is Not Modernized Enough

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered looks amazing. The game is easily one of the prettiest PlayStation 5 and PC games of the year – and that list includes Black Myth: Wukong. The remaster brings the game almost up to par with Forbidden West, boasting many of the same bells and whistles that made the sequel such a visual powerhouse.

As amazing as it looks now – and trust me, the difference is downright breathtaking – Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is pretty much the same game you remember from 2017. Don’t expect any groundbreaking gameplay changes here. The only thing I noticed is that you can now skip pickup animations. That’s nice, sure, but I don’t think Guerrilla Games needed a whole remaster to implement that.

When developers like CD Projekt Red could deliver almost entirely new games with each free update, or how Microsoft has bridged the cross-generational gap with its ‘Smart Delivery’ system, the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster feels like something that didn’t need to exist – especially in the same year that saw the release of Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake.

There’s an audience for Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. First-time players get to play an updated version of a classic while returning players can get the game for less than the price of most DLCs. Still, Zero Dawn Remastered feels redundant, keeping the Horizon series in the unfortunate limbo it’s built for itself.

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