Undoubtedly one of Sony's most popular announcements at E3, we've had a detailed look at the Horizon trailer, and we are going to share a few thoughts on the upcoming open-world adventure.
The trailer began with a women searching a cave looking at a past civilisation that had left markings scattered throughout its walls. The narrator went on to explain how "the old ones" had throughout history gone from cave dwellers to building "incredible cities and towers that reached for the stars". And that "darkness came and the cities faded away".
As the trailer progressed, we saw a young woman named Aloy (the narrator), hunt what can only be described as robotic dinosaurs using an array of different techniques from a third-person perspective. With her electronic bow and arrow in hand, she stealthily approached her prey and dispensed of it one at a time. Suddenly a Robo-Rex (a robot that resembled a T-Rex?) approached from the surrounding trees and caused Aloy to draw on her hunting, and survival skills before she finally dealt with the deadly machine.
The trailer ended with Aloy overlooking her surroundings stating that "the story doesn't tell where the old ones went, or why the machines ruled the lands" before a vast mechanical bird appeared and the trailer ended.
Horizon: Zero Dawn certainly showcased some impressive graphics, however, the narrative stated at the end of the trailer that nobody knows why the world went into darkness, or why the tribes share the Earth with robotic dinosaurs. Hopefully, there will be an explanation to these questions in the full game, and it isn't going to be another title (cough Destiny) that has absolutely no backstory.
Of course, it's too early to start speculating, and hopefully, the story of Aloy embarking on her quest to discover her own destiny will be as good as the visual presentation. The third-person perspective looked sleek, but some of the techniques used for cover and combat seemed a little familiar. Nevertheless, with the promise of having to learn various fighting and hunting patterns of all the world's inhabitants; there should be enough excitement served up as you explore the surroundings.
Horizon whetted the appetite of the E3 crowd, and there's bound to be more news and updates before its upcoming release in Spring 2016.