kintsukuroiandtheartofkints-blog

[kintsukuroiandtheartofkints-blog]

Is anybody else in love with Horizon Zero Dawn's photo mode lol. Alot of blue #horizonzerodawn

[kintsukuroiandtheartofkints-blog]

Oh boy, this hair. I love it tho. #natural #braidout #sunnymorning

[kintsukuroiandtheartofkints-blog]

Wandering “Horizon: Zero Dawn” Blind

So over the last few days, I’ve been eating the hours of the day away by playing Horizon Zero Dawn. A game I’ve been waiting for since the reveal at E3. I was an instant fan.

I happen to be quite the lover of The Witcher 3, and Horizon gave me the same vibe. After release, I realized it gave a lot of people that vibe. And that’s the vibe wanted, and that's the vibe I got playing Horizon.

The world is so vast, so alive. So much to explore, like really explore. For the first two days, I walked/jogged/ran everywhere. and I mean everywhere. I didn’t use my fast travel until I was specifically seeking out cauldrons, hunting grounds, bandit camps or corrupted zones.

And I loved every second of my mountless journey. I’m a diagnosed video game hoarder so picking plants consumed a lot of the journey. Silently hunting Watchers, Grazers, Striders, Chargers and Broadheads. Or facing off with Sawtooths, Snapmaws and Ravagers.

Occasionally I’d cross paths with civilians who were getting attacked by Sawtooths or more often Watchers, Lancehorns and Scarppers. *Remember to talk to the people you save, they give you reward boxes :). I often mistook bandits for civilians and ended up saving them too, only to have to turn around and kill them at the end.

Tactically tagging enemies and laying down traps over an area to prepare for a big fight is one of my favorite things to do in Horizon. Each battle is different and almost always require thought. Other RPGs (or games in general) usually allow a player to get so strong that even once difficult enemies become easy prey. I never felt that with Horizon. My strategy and weapon selection grew and I became stronger. Yet, still, I can never go up to a Thunder Jaw or Storm Bird, hit it haphazardly a few time, and keep it moving. No. Harder enemies always require tactic and skill.

I loved every second of it.

So in my wonder, I wondered “what it wold be like to explore this vast world blind.” Blind meaning no HUD (that’s “heads up display” in case you may not know).

Ask anyone, finding your way in an open would RPG with no map or compass is not easy. a matter of fact, I’ve never done it. Which is why I decided to do it with Horizon. A game, who’s world, I love.

I often find that while playing an open world game my eyes stay glued on either the minimap, the waypoint, the compass, or anything else that tells me where to go. I never actually really pay attention to the world around me. I even often miss collectibles this way.

So after turning off the HUD (aside from the waypoint destination yellow diamond, I can’t figure out how to turn it off *shrug) I made my way from SPOILER: Rost grave to Grave Hoard. In case you’re wondering, that's a 2138 travel distance from the eastern south point of the map to the eastern northern point of the map.  

If I wanted to find my way, I had to pay attention to the world. Now, I didn’t make getting to Grave Hoard my only goal, I wanted to explore the world without distractions first and foremost.

And in doing so I noticed tiny details I doubt I would have paid attention to otherwise.

First, I noticed that Scrappers, machines that harvest scraps from destroyed machines, will show up if you kill a cluster of enemies.

Let me explain.

There is a patch of land near the beginning of the game just east of the bridge passed Mother Heart where Watchers watch and Striders graze (I wish they were Grazers). I’m a stealthy approach kind of player so I silently take down the lot.

I was equipped with the Nore Silent Hunter Heavy customized with 81 points of stealth and I had the skills Low Profile and Silent Sprint which made me harder to detect. Allowing me to sprint up to machines, slide near them then silent strike all without detection from the heard. I can also sneak up to duos of machines, Silent Striking them back to back without notice.

After clearing the field in less than a minute I noticed a faint blue light emanating over the field followed by the grind of machine gears against metal.

My Focus revealed that it was two Scappers, trotting from over the field to, well, scrap the machines I left behind. One, already at work.

I was amazed. The machines worked in the game just as they would if you were actually in the world. I know this sounds given. “Of course that makes sense.” But I barely see this kind of attention to detail in video games. To see that the designers took the time to add life in the game made me love it even that much more.

I eventually turned the HUD on and continued to Grave Hoard, but I definitely plan on exploring the world from a much more appreciative view some time in the very near future.

*Photo taken in photo mode.