I found myself endlessly curious about the surprisingly deep lore of the game's world, its people and religions, and the main character's story arc.
While playing "Horizon Zero Dawn," that list expanded dramatically - outside of delighting in the graceful, smart gameplay systems that underlie the game's narrative focus, I often laughed out loud at Aloy's smart quips (she's the protagonist you see above). While playing games, I often experience a small handful of emotions: frustration, accomplishment, fear. They'll still be talking about how gorgeous it is, how smart and funny its main character is, and how it succeeded commercially in the shadow of a new Nintendo console and a new "Legend of Zelda" game. In 10 years, people will still be talking about innovative things that "Horizon Zero Dawn" does.
Re ps4 s stands for stylish full#
Read our full review of "Spider-man" right here. I never read the comics growing up, and I don't like the few films I saw. I want to be all the way clear here: I don't even like "Spider-Man" as a character.
That it's possible to navigate solely based on my knowledge of the actual Manhattan is incredibly impressive, and a testament to the level of detail in "Spider-Man."īut what's most impressive about the game is that it manages to tell a story and evoke the feeling of a high-budget Marvel superhero film - except you get to play it. It's not quite as large, or as detailed, but it's got all the familiar landmarks you'd expect to see: Union Square, Central Park, and much more.Īs an NYC resident, I found it shockingly easy to navigate the Manhattan of "Spider-Man" without using the in-game map. If you've seen any of the "Spider-Man" movies, you're already familiar with how swinging around Manhattan works - it's nearly identical in the PS4 game, but you're in control.Īnd the version of Manhattan that "Spider-Man" lives in is almost as beautiful as the real thing. It's hard to overstate how much fun basic movement is in "Spider-Man."Įven after devoting more than 30 hours of my life to the game, I never tired of high-velocity traversal.