That's it. It's done. I've just completed Horizon Zero Dawn, and it was a hell of a trip!
The game is really beautiful, particularly in the Frozen Wilds. The snow getting trampled during a fight still amaze me.
The rhythm between main quest and side quest is well mastered. You get the side quests by small batches if you follow the main quest, and it's rather quick, but still fun, to complete them before going back to the main quest without having completely forgotten what was all about.
The gameplay is smooth. All the weapons complete each other well, and it's a pleasure to activate the focus, get the information you need, like the elemental weakness of your foe, then switch to the right tool to tear it to pieces.
The story is spellbinding. The more you discover, the more you want to get more. The audio logs and textbooks hidden all over the world are short enough to keep you in the game, but still provide much lore that you always want to dig deeper.
The mostly natural outdoor environments with highly technological sci-fi components, tainted with pre-historical
creatures and contemporary historical events, is really well mixed and gives a truly original world that we don't get to
see that often, and thus are very eager to discover.
This also successfully creates a unique atmosphere that supports the storytelling amazingly, but also helps efficiently
in keeping the suspension of disbelief for a smooth playing experience.
On a more technical note, what a pleasure to be able to play this with one click on Linux (Fedora 36), even enjoying the full support of a comfortable Nintendo Pro Controller, without going through hacks here and there to maintain the stuff working for the six months I passed playing the game. Maybe 2022 was the year of the Linux desktop after all?
Jokes aside, kudos to all the developers and maintainers of all those systems, Linux, Fedora, Wine, DXVK, Proton, Steam, etc... It's a pleasure to enjoy the result of all your efforts running at full speed in high resolution and graphical settings! Take those screenshots as rewards.
Aloy contemplating Rost's house after all her adventure
A view of the Nora Sacred Land from Rost's house