I feel conflicted about this title. I don't think it is "One of the Best Open-World Games of This Generation" as Gamespot put it...But I certainly think this game has more to offer than its most outspoken critics.

Its lore is rich , its machine combat exciting, its world breathtakingly beautiful. I think Aloy is a great protagonist and think where the story goes is rather interesting. But I don't blame anyone for not getting to that good stuff before falling off.

This is a game that is brought down heavily by its pace. It takes hours for the real gameplay to start. And for a game with such attention to machine combat you really spend most of the adventure fighting boring humans in low stakes fights that feel like effortless target practice. I think if this game didn't include many of the RPG trappings that bog it down we would have a really tightly made game.

I like Horizon Zero Dawn, I think it's a good game. But I don't think it's a must play, and I don't blame anyone for disliking it.