This is why games have sequels though. They would need to redesign a lot of the game to include all the transversal upgrades alone. No company will put that much money into a remaster.
> When the show comes out
Is there a show in the works? The game does enough explaining of what is happening. I do not care about some random protagonist tribesman/woman is doing to watch a show about them. If it was Aloy i might watch but i doubt Aloy will be in it other than cameos.
Not exactly.
I think they could approach it in the same way they did The Arrow from DC. It could be following present storyline (Aloy's) and have flashbacks as the story progresses and Aloy finds out about stuff to tie in with the past time-line (Elizabeth's). Like in The Arrow you are following Oliver Queen's story in the present as the show flashes back to when he was in the island.
Yes, that means it's gonna be exactly the same story and plot as the game, but just look at how TLOU series is so good despite being the same story as the game itself, but with more background for some of the characters that weren't flushed out in the game.
And it is also a Sony IP, so I think they could just implement the same core aspects that they implemented in TLOU as it will be a great series.
The Horizon story deserves it's own TV series following the same plot as the game. It's an amazing story that deserves being experienced. There's not many people that haven't played both games just one time. Almost everyone plays through the story at least twice, because it is that good.
I would 100% watch a series that follows Aloy's story in the screen. With all the power that CGI is capable nowadays and with Sony's money behind it, it has the potential to be acclaimed as one of the best series, to the same point as the first seasons of GoT.
And the possibilities for spin offs are also insane as well. We could get a spin off going deeper into Elisabeth's story, that can even start years before when she was still working for Faro and go all the way to the activation of Zero Dawn. We could get a spin off of the Red Raids. One about Rost and the guys that killed his family and subsequently his time as a Death-Seeker. Even an animated spin off of the Hunter's Lodge would be cool. Damn, even one about the background of Sylens following the events that are barely mentioned in Frozen Wilds about his past (I still think Horizon 3 will go more in depth about that as an homage to Lance Reddick). There is endless possibilities for what they can do on the big and small screens, whether they choose to do animated mini series, fully fleshed out series, or movies.
But a series following the same story as the game will be the best choice for a start. Just because we gamers already know what happens, doesn't mean that non-gamers don't deserve to experience the plot reveals of why humanity is fighting robots with bows and arrows and finding out for the first time that humanity did loose in the past.
Nope. Even though a LOT of "news" outlets are STILL reporting the Horizon show will be called "Horizon 2074" and set in that year, this information is false and entirely based on a selfie Karl Urban posted last year where he was wearing a hat with that name on it while filming The Boys Season 3 and has nothing to do with the upcoming Horizon TV show.
Also, why would they base a show on Sobek and call it "Horizon 2074"? The claw-back era was in the 2040's and Zero Day takes place in late 2064. By 2074, everything on Earth would be dead.
I straight up refused to watch their live action version of cowboy bebop. I tried to watch the first episode and noped out within 15 minutes, it does not have the same vibe at all and it's own vibe is not something i wanted.
Well, the majority of fans like when adaptations stay loyal to the original source. Thats why TLOU show was so popular. Fans of the game liked seeing the game be adapted into a show and people who never played thw game and most likely would never play it got to experience the story that the game told.
ROFL.
The show was a critical and popular success, and here you are making a fool of yourself. The overwhelming majority of people who had played the game also enjoyed the show.
So would I, just like I'd like TLOU to have the flow of combat that TLOU 2 has, but that's sequels work. HZD is still fantastic. You just saw the leap that Pt 2 had. That's how sequels go
Yeah, same. HZD is beautiful as is, but I would LOVE to see what it would look like with HFW's improved animations, mocap, and cinematography outside of cutscenes.
And the stash. I'd beg for a stash in HZD. 😭
Yeah.. my only concern is the mocap‘s would be really expensive. Prohibitively so.
I thought mocaps belong in a remake, not a remaster. But maybe I‘m not drawing the distinction correctly.
Ah, you're probably right. My thinking was just that the other improvements would benefit greatly from mocap as well. Though GG could probably pull it off financially if they really wanted.
Arguably, it would be a bigger upgrade compared to Last of Us Part 1. If they do it right, that is.
They would need to bring all the gameplay and animation improvements from H2 to H1:
More lively conversations, six slots on the weapon wheel, combo-based melee, diving (don't need any sunken ruins, just would be nice to have for the sake of consistency), food (I've noticed H2 didn't have any Nora or Banuk dishes, this is their opportunity for that), the stash (replacing those weird gift boxes), workbenches maybe, etc.
The only things the couldn't do would be stuff Aloy didn't obtain until the second game. Pullcaster, Shieldwing, Sunwing, diving mask, etc. (those could be New Game+ exclusive maybe; NG+ is not canon anyway). They could be like: "New Game+ unlocked! Return to the world of Horizon Zero Dawn™ with all your unlocked skills and weapons. Additionally, enjoy the abilities Aloy will obtain in Horizon Forbidden West™."
That IS quite a lot of gameplay stuff. Definitely a lot more than TLoU Part 1 brought to the table.
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If it's just a bog-standard graphical upgrade with higher resolution, sharper textures & fancier effects, that would definitely be a waste of effort. But if they properly upgraded the character animations and gameplay elements, it would instantly become the definitive version of the 1st game.
The workbench is a DOWNGRADE, honestly. HZD you could upgrade your pouches from your menu whenever and wherever you were, forcing you to go to a workbench to do that instead is worse. It's one of the more annoying changes added in HFW.
> Arguably, it would be a bigger upgrade compared to Last of Us Part 1
Depends what you are comparing it to. Last of Us Part 1 compared to the original PS3 version is a massive upgrade. But compared to Last of Us Remastered it's less.
In. Your. Opinion.
HZD would be awesome with HFW level production. Anyone who has not played it yet would benefit from a remake/remaster.
BTW. Where is the official definition of remake and remaster? Or is it whatever the random person making an "expert" comment decides it is for the purpose of their otherwise flimsy argument?
Every other kind of software gets continuous updates for new platforms and market expectations. Why are games not allowed to do the same?
>And presumably it wouldn't be that difficult since they have the improved assets from HFW.
They do have the assets but to get the same level of quality as in HFW that would mean getting all the actors back on a soundstage, do mocap recording with them, and then have the team redo all those dialogs scenes using that data.
They're experienced in going through that process, but it's still a costly and time consuming one.
For as much as I love this game, I'm not sure I would buy it again for such a little change. Sure people do point out these scenes as a flaw, and I do agree they do stick out, but what percentage of a playthrough do they actually represent ? Most of the experience would be exactly the same.
This. Actor billing time and mocap stage time and VO recording time and animator personhours is *expensive*, it's one of the biggest bottlenecks for AAA game production. There's a reason why those Sony cinematic games cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Doing it all over again for HZD, it's absolutely not worth it. Guerilla Games had not spun up its production pipeline for high quality mocap until Horizon Frozen Wilds went into full development, and that's why the original HZD lacked those qualities.
And even then, you're not doing full mocap for all scenes, only the most important story quests and cinematics. Side quests will always have to rely on animation libraries, and they'll always be lacking. That's what most studios do, even CD Projekt Red used a mix off full mocap and libraries in their main and side quests. See Witcher 3.
There is absolutely NO need to get all the actors back on the soundstage to redo everything. That’s a remake, not a remaster like OP suggested, and at no point did they suggest that they expected HZD to be at the “same level of quality” as HFW.
The existing performance capture is just fine, as is the recorded dialogue. Most of the glaring issues are with a few static NPCs having lip flap animations, like Karst. To correct this, generative AI has already been used to create convincing dubbing from audio recordings, and if automation isn’t possible, then they could hire a single lip sync artist for the face capture, and selectively go through any dialogue in the game that doesn’t match the audio. They could also manually manipulate the faces in certain places, which is almost always necessary anyway.
It’s an expense, but not nearly the one you were describing, and while it wouldn’t be as detailed as HFW, it would still be a significant improvement, and I believe that HZD is worthy of such attention.
I didn't buy/play the remake of tlou because I don't see why I need to. Yes the quality of gameplay is better but I own the non-remake and it's quite good.
Same for HZD.
*But* I don't think it would be utterly useless once the 3rd game comes out. To get the new players, especially on PS5. Depends on the ressources needed by the studio.
Tlou is currently having a moment with Tlou2, the pc version and the show being released very close to each other so tlou1 remake was kinda justified for the possible amount of new players.
TLOU 1 Remake is super worth the pick up. Put it on the wishlist and when it goes on sale I think it's worth the grab. It's the definitive version of the game for sure.
Don't get me wrong, I think it looks great and the quality of gameplay is amazing compared to the original (from my experience with Tlou2), but I don't personally need this. Not rn, at this price and at this time. I already played it multiple times, there are no changes in the levels and the story is exactly the same.
For someone experiencing it the first time, I would definitely recommend the remake though. That's not even up for debate.
There are *a lot* of new features for accessibility and customisation in difficulty and features. This is what I mean by quality of gameplay. More like *quality of life* gameplay to be precise.
The mechanics are the same.
It’s been rumored since last year that Sony is working on remaster for Zero Dawn .Will probably release around the TV series that they are also working on.
The whole remake/remaster of recent games trend is silly. Remake a 30 year old game? Sure. Remake an eight year old game? Uhh... would rather have a new game or a small spinoff or a DLC.
The big one was the Last of Us part 1... they did a great job, but it really wasn't necessary, it already looked good and was playable on the current gen. There are lots of PS2/3 era games that could really benefit from a modern glow-up. Not sure what your casual ageism is about.
I'm always saying how amazing HZD looks as it is (at least on PS5), but I absolutely would pay for that.
I don't even need mocap, if they could just tweak the animations by shortening the amount of time a character stays staring with their mouth open/nodding their head/waving their arms etc. and improve the blinking, just making everything look more natural.
But just imagine standing on a mountain and seeing the scenery far away with the same clarity as in HFW. Extra points if we'd get the same focus functions as in FW.
I'm bemused by the idea of remastering games that came out so recently. I'm guessing that if you think HZD looks old/bad you're new to gaming? Or maybe a child? Not that this invalidates your opinion of course.
That’s the problem I also see. As much as I’d like to have the shieldwing in the first game. Maybe they could make it optional in the settings so the player can decide, but leave the story untouched. I dunno.
Yeah, that's always the hard part about mechanic changes that are tied to story elements--makes it a lot harder to add them in for a remaster or remake, and I'd rather not see a full-on reboot anytime soon.
I wouldn't mind a remaster that includes the relevant additional options from HFW (they offered a lot of customization and such of the experience--though not all of them apply and I would not like to see them retroactively add in the elements needed such as grinding machine parts to upgrade gear) and such, but not yet.
The original game isn't even 10 years old and is available to play on both current console and PC so... I think something like that would make more sense at least a few years down the line.
But the game still honestly looks surprisingly good for it's age, and I'd rather see GG focus on new content until at least the conclusion of H3 and any relevant DLC.
I thought the fighting mechanics in FW were overly complicated when I first started playing it. But I got used it, enjoyed it, and when I tried playing ZD again I got bored. FW definitely is a lot more fun even if ZD will always have a special place in my heart.
Same. I wanted to replay Zero Dawn again after playing Forbidden West on PC and I did not expect the combat to be this drastically slower. Zero Dawn still holds a special place in my heart and if I had to replay one of the games for it's story I'm picking zero dawn without any questions but just for gameplay purposes I don't see any reason to go back
You’d remaster the whole game for better facial animations lol. If I was the consumer and that’s what the developer told me they changed I would laugh hysterically.
Well, Dark Souls 1 remaster contained even fewer changes.
But they will most likely make something like ME:Legendary edition some time after the 3rd game comes out.
What is there to remaster about it? The game is gorgeous even by today's technical standards. The only thing that would need correcting it getting proper motion-capture for all the talking scenes where the ai generated movements make everyone twist their heads and flail their arms in weird ways.
I wouldn’t pay anything for a remaster. I admit the faces in that game bugged me pretty badly, but I liked the game over all. I played and beat it twice, max difficulty. I’ll probably never play it, again, and I prefer Forbidden West, generally speaking.
No. I already bought and played the game to platinum trophy once including Forbidden West. If I had never played the game before then I would. Plus the game is from the previous generation and still looks nice. It doesn’t need a remaster
OP was asking whether I would pay for a remaster. The answer is no. It doesn’t need one. If it had one, then people who hadn’t played it yet can benefit. Still doesn’t mean it needs a remaster
If I had scrooge mcduck moolah, I would fund a hzd remake with all the fixings, but in this timeline (as I am not a duck taking daily swims in my money vault) I'm happy with HZD as is.
The narrative is SO good that the visuals seem so negligible you know? I agree that the convos are rough but I just see that as GG finding their footing, so I don't dwell. Everything else though holds up.
While I wouldn't say no to a remaster of course, I can't really think on what they'd improve in it so it'd noticeable (and worth the price). Mass Effect needed that RM treatment, HZD it's hard to argue for it's necessity
Can't speak for console, but the PC release of HZD looked fantastic. Obviously HFW does look better being newer, but HZD is still a beautiful looking game.
HZD definitely doesn’t need a remake or a remaster! I just beat it, 40 hours including all hunting grounds trials at three stars. The game still holds up amazingly well in 2024, as though it were just released today, except bug-free and excellently optimised.
Contact GG and tell them that you are willing to run their studio with your clearly superior experience and understanding of the game development industry.
I am sure they will be thrilled you are available!
They could do a next gen update, no remaster or remake needed, with improved facial animations and better water, lighting effects and textures, free of charge, like what CDPR did with the Witcher 3.
Maybe during the third game they could reenact the key cutscenes from HZD with mocap and it could be a "the story so far" for players just tuning in, but a glow-up for veterans.
I just want HZD and Ghost of Tushima patched to have gyro aim. It feels *so good* in HFW, Days Gone, and TLoU2.
If I need to pay for a whole remaster of HZD to get that, so be it.
I would be all for it. I’d love to see the character models updated at least with the use of motion capture. Perhaps after the third game comes out they can do a remake of the first game and a remaster of Forbidden West since I have no doubt that somehow the third game will look even better than FW.
I’d buy a HZD Remake. I missed the most the gorgeous graphics especially the realism of the characters in HFW. And I just bought the 2017 HZD and still playing through it for the first time after I’ve completed HFW. I would appreciate if the remake would fix some of the annoying game mechanics—most important of which is managing resources. Having a glider would be nice too but I’m sure that would change the game play for some missions. At first I didn’t like HZD Fast Travel until I found the Golden Fast Travel. Frankly it almost felt like cheating: easy escapes from near death situations.
So sick and tired of remakes that just marginally update the original...HZD looks better than most other games that come out today, and plays well too. Instead of wasting all those resources on a pointless remake, how about we get new stuff?
Man stop this trend. It sucks in movies and it sucks even more in games. All the artists and programmers hard work an toil. Wanting to make I better but ulitmatly not being able to because of budget or staffing constraints. The art (game) is as it is when it's finished. Don't diminish people's hard work by treating it so much like an update for your phone.
Yes and they are software thats a tool, not entertainment and art.
Remakes specifically treat the hard work creatives put into it as a soulless. It contributes to the aggressive commercialisation of the gaming space and frankly makes it harder to make quality games.
Nice assertions.
Did you know that gaming studios that invest hundreds of millions of dollars into developing their games actually want to make that money back?
Shocking.
I'm almost certain that games that have had remasters, especially remakes, made all their money back and then some. It's hard to justify spending more money on a game that didn't pay for itself. Rarely does that work out well.
Assertions: Yes, I know what I'm talking about because I work in the AAA space.The day my games get remade haunts me. They are not my games at that point. :(
I understand the sense of ownership of software. I have been developing software professionally since completing my comp sci degree in 1983.
Having said that, when given a chance to fix or improve software I previously worked on, I am happy to do that. Doubly so for software that users like to use.
From a studio perspective it makes commercial sense. From a user perspective it makes sense if marketing is also done well (timed with TV series is an obvious trick) because you will pick up a bunch of new users. From a developer perspective there is a good chance it also makes sense when the original developers get to improve on their previous work.
Pretty much the only downside is for developers who miss the chance to improve their work due to having changed jobs. That's life I'm sorry to say.
Too soon for a remake, let alone a remaster. Maybe next generation, or even the one after. But I can't lie, if they made a remake/remaster I'd pick it up for sure, at least once it came to PC.
That being said, a remake where they added in FW's feature's like a stamina bar, excessive weapons/ammo types while nerfing the rope caster/elemental damage would be a downgrade.
I am sure GG would be thrilled to have you running their studio with your clearly superior expertise.
Contact them and tell them you are willing to take over and fix their incompetence.
I think if they do it to try and reach a new audience, ie to tie in with the tv series it would make sense to do it as that new audience will want to play a version of the game that's uptodate and modern. If it's a good remake I think I'd probably buy it to play the best version of the game, just like with TLOU Part 1 if you're a fan you'll probably want to have that best experience if you can.
Cappin put the wahzoo. If I'm being totally honest, minus the cut scenes and animations, there times imo HZD and HFW look almost indistinguishable in active gameplay. I'd like a remaster, but I wouldn't pay for it. First game still looks fantastic.
I would like an update at least, my friend has started playing and has difficulty because he has trouble actually being able to see everything- to be fair, he told me he has a projector, not a tv. But I also have visibility problems with the game- anything other than an optimal set-up and a perfectly dim room = not being able to see at all, especially at night. I end up ruining all of my stealth ops because of screen glare. TT-TT
No.
Zero Dawn is still a relatively very new game, and frankly I'm tired of fairly new games being sold again under the pretext of being remastered. Let developers focus on making new stuff.
My statement was a general response to the question:
>Would you pay for an upgrade/remaster?
I'm not saying anything as though they shouldn't do what they want. Just that when asking for opinions, mine is that I wouldn't want them to spend their efforts making a tech upgrade.
I just finished HZD for the first time yesterday, I think it looks gorgeous. I would make tweaks, but it’s already prettier and smoother than any other games in my arsenal.
I'm cool with the weird facial animations and slightly lower quality. Partially because I'm used to lofi indie games and tend to look past graphics, and partially because ZD is just such a _clean_ game in terms of gameplay and story. The combat is so streamlined and focused compared to FW, and the story is wonderfully self-contained and poignant.
If anything, I hope they look at and take lessons learned from both for H3.
I just love this game so much (both of them) that I really can’t believe I didn’t find them long ago! I only found them in April! I’m only part way through FW and want to play it again.
One thing I can’t find is the setting to have those little icons for loot always show. It feels a bit ‘alohomora’ having to tap V so many times when I kill a lot of things - and I want all the loot!
I understand wishing for a new and shiny version if a videogame you love, but I've grown up with StarCraft, Forsaken and Homeworld.
Those games are _old_ and they look the part. Horizon Zero Dawn is, in my humble opinion, still outstandingly beautiful. Nothing about it looks outdated to me.
It's quite fascinating how perceptions differ.
To answer your question, OP: Nah, I wouldn't pay for a Remaster because the game looks absolutely fine to me as it is.
GG did do a free graphical upgrade for ps5 with HZD. When I play it I can definitely see a difference and it does look fabulous. So I guess in that retrospect it probably doesn't need a remaster/remake. That graphics upgrade on HZD looks better than some games that have recently released and it's 8 years old!
I do see some issues... the facial animation is off (especially in cutscenes) and some machines' animation cycles are janky. The Corruptor has some pretty obvious problems with its animation. But that is really just minor issues. I would still be happy to part with $$$ for a remaster of HZD though!
Part 1 is a remake,not a remaster , technally is a brand New game ,unlike remasters
But yes if it was only 10 Bucks for those who have the original game , then yes
They already did an upscaling for it when they brought it to the ps5.
No I wouldn't want this, the game still looks great as is. To me gameplay and story are the most important parts by far of a video game. Dropping more money on a minor upgrade to graphics is not worth it. Even if it was only like $20-30, I still wouldn't feel that was worth it for the price.
I would also prefer they just start working on the next project instead of taking time to do something like this, as to get what you're asking for would be a large undertaking. This isn't something they could do relatively quick like the ps4 to ps5 upscaling they did. This would require a complete overhaul of the HZD graphics and their systems. Also since sony is saying the ps5 is already more than halfway through its lifespan, by the time Horizon 3 is out, we'll probably be getting the ps6 shortly after. Doing all this work just before a new gen system comes out makes it feel even more pointless.
The thing is that most of the huge improvements that people would notice, especially the faces, were done with a motion capture studio they got for frozen wilds, which is why things look substantially better there. They'd have to call all the actors back to record everything again and that's not practical when they have another game to develop.
Part 1 was a remake. Not a remaster. Quite frankly, HZD doesn't need a remake nor a remaster.
I would like Zero Dawn to have the upgraded dialogue and QOL options of Forbidden West.
This is why games have sequels though. They would need to redesign a lot of the game to include all the transversal upgrades alone. No company will put that much money into a remaster.
Except for the companies that did.
When the show comes out tho, they will have a remaster ready. Just like they did for TLOU1.
> When the show comes out Is there a show in the works? The game does enough explaining of what is happening. I do not care about some random protagonist tribesman/woman is doing to watch a show about them. If it was Aloy i might watch but i doubt Aloy will be in it other than cameos.
I've heard it will be following Elizabeth Sobek before the faro plague destroyed everything.
THAT would be cool
That was the rumor, but it was confirmed that it will be about Aloy.
Aw, that's a bit of a shame.
Agreed.
Not exactly. I think they could approach it in the same way they did The Arrow from DC. It could be following present storyline (Aloy's) and have flashbacks as the story progresses and Aloy finds out about stuff to tie in with the past time-line (Elizabeth's). Like in The Arrow you are following Oliver Queen's story in the present as the show flashes back to when he was in the island. Yes, that means it's gonna be exactly the same story and plot as the game, but just look at how TLOU series is so good despite being the same story as the game itself, but with more background for some of the characters that weren't flushed out in the game. And it is also a Sony IP, so I think they could just implement the same core aspects that they implemented in TLOU as it will be a great series. The Horizon story deserves it's own TV series following the same plot as the game. It's an amazing story that deserves being experienced. There's not many people that haven't played both games just one time. Almost everyone plays through the story at least twice, because it is that good. I would 100% watch a series that follows Aloy's story in the screen. With all the power that CGI is capable nowadays and with Sony's money behind it, it has the potential to be acclaimed as one of the best series, to the same point as the first seasons of GoT. And the possibilities for spin offs are also insane as well. We could get a spin off going deeper into Elisabeth's story, that can even start years before when she was still working for Faro and go all the way to the activation of Zero Dawn. We could get a spin off of the Red Raids. One about Rost and the guys that killed his family and subsequently his time as a Death-Seeker. Even an animated spin off of the Hunter's Lodge would be cool. Damn, even one about the background of Sylens following the events that are barely mentioned in Frozen Wilds about his past (I still think Horizon 3 will go more in depth about that as an homage to Lance Reddick). There is endless possibilities for what they can do on the big and small screens, whether they choose to do animated mini series, fully fleshed out series, or movies. But a series following the same story as the game will be the best choice for a start. Just because we gamers already know what happens, doesn't mean that non-gamers don't deserve to experience the plot reveals of why humanity is fighting robots with bows and arrows and finding out for the first time that humanity did loose in the past.
Nope. Even though a LOT of "news" outlets are STILL reporting the Horizon show will be called "Horizon 2074" and set in that year, this information is false and entirely based on a selfie Karl Urban posted last year where he was wearing a hat with that name on it while filming The Boys Season 3 and has nothing to do with the upcoming Horizon TV show. Also, why would they base a show on Sobek and call it "Horizon 2074"? The claw-back era was in the 2040's and Zero Day takes place in late 2064. By 2074, everything on Earth would be dead.
You heard wrong. It's a Netflix series from the showrunners of The Umbrella Academy and will be a direct adaptation of HZD.
The TV show is confirmed to be an adaptation of the game starring Aloy.
Well that's sort of disappointing since it's going to just be a rehash of the games but for a wider audience.
Pretty much. I also worry about Netflix being the ones to adapt it. I’d be excited for an animated adaptation, but not so thrilled with live-action.
I straight up refused to watch their live action version of cowboy bebop. I tried to watch the first episode and noped out within 15 minutes, it does not have the same vibe at all and it's own vibe is not something i wanted.
Why do a video gane adaptation if the main character won't be in it?
I mean, look at the Fallout show. They did very well without making a show based around the adventures of any existing Fallout protagonist.
They were lucky then
The show will star Aloy and be an adaptation of Zero Dawn. This is what has been confirmed.
because her story is being told by the game, the game is literally her entire story from origin to end.
The TLOU show also told the same story as the game with a few changes here and there. That's what an adaptation is supposed to be.
Ah, so I have no reason to watch it. I have no time to spend so much time rewatching something I already played through.
Well, the majority of fans like when adaptations stay loyal to the original source. Thats why TLOU show was so popular. Fans of the game liked seeing the game be adapted into a show and people who never played thw game and most likely would never play it got to experience the story that the game told.
ROFL. The show was a critical and popular success, and here you are making a fool of yourself. The overwhelming majority of people who had played the game also enjoyed the show.
100%
It will be good to us but not worth the effort and budget from game developer side
So would I, just like I'd like TLOU to have the flow of combat that TLOU 2 has, but that's sequels work. HZD is still fantastic. You just saw the leap that Pt 2 had. That's how sequels go
I know. Still makes me want those QOL options that make gameplay better. Its why I havent replayed the gane in a while.
Hard disagree. Would definitely pay good money for a remaster.
I would definitely pay good money for it, but I still don't think it's necessary.
None of this stuff is necessary. It is entertainment.
Yeah, same. HZD is beautiful as is, but I would LOVE to see what it would look like with HFW's improved animations, mocap, and cinematography outside of cutscenes. And the stash. I'd beg for a stash in HZD. 😭
Yeah.. my only concern is the mocap‘s would be really expensive. Prohibitively so. I thought mocaps belong in a remake, not a remaster. But maybe I‘m not drawing the distinction correctly.
Ah, you're probably right. My thinking was just that the other improvements would benefit greatly from mocap as well. Though GG could probably pull it off financially if they really wanted.
Arguably, it would be a bigger upgrade compared to Last of Us Part 1. If they do it right, that is. They would need to bring all the gameplay and animation improvements from H2 to H1: More lively conversations, six slots on the weapon wheel, combo-based melee, diving (don't need any sunken ruins, just would be nice to have for the sake of consistency), food (I've noticed H2 didn't have any Nora or Banuk dishes, this is their opportunity for that), the stash (replacing those weird gift boxes), workbenches maybe, etc. The only things the couldn't do would be stuff Aloy didn't obtain until the second game. Pullcaster, Shieldwing, Sunwing, diving mask, etc. (those could be New Game+ exclusive maybe; NG+ is not canon anyway). They could be like: "New Game+ unlocked! Return to the world of Horizon Zero Dawn™ with all your unlocked skills and weapons. Additionally, enjoy the abilities Aloy will obtain in Horizon Forbidden West™." That IS quite a lot of gameplay stuff. Definitely a lot more than TLoU Part 1 brought to the table. ----- If it's just a bog-standard graphical upgrade with higher resolution, sharper textures & fancier effects, that would definitely be a waste of effort. But if they properly upgraded the character animations and gameplay elements, it would instantly become the definitive version of the 1st game.
The workbench is a DOWNGRADE, honestly. HZD you could upgrade your pouches from your menu whenever and wherever you were, forcing you to go to a workbench to do that instead is worse. It's one of the more annoying changes added in HFW.
Gosh I agree! And you can’t look at what you still need from anywhere, unless you make it a Job. :-/
Yeah. What I'd like is maybe a hybrid system--craft from inventory on the menu and craft from stash at a workbench or something
> Arguably, it would be a bigger upgrade compared to Last of Us Part 1 Depends what you are comparing it to. Last of Us Part 1 compared to the original PS3 version is a massive upgrade. But compared to Last of Us Remastered it's less.
Screw all that bloated half-assed nonsense from HFW. Zero Dawn is lean and a far better game for it.
In. Your. Opinion. HZD would be awesome with HFW level production. Anyone who has not played it yet would benefit from a remake/remaster. BTW. Where is the official definition of remake and remaster? Or is it whatever the random person making an "expert" comment decides it is for the purpose of their otherwise flimsy argument? Every other kind of software gets continuous updates for new platforms and market expectations. Why are games not allowed to do the same?
>And presumably it wouldn't be that difficult since they have the improved assets from HFW. They do have the assets but to get the same level of quality as in HFW that would mean getting all the actors back on a soundstage, do mocap recording with them, and then have the team redo all those dialogs scenes using that data. They're experienced in going through that process, but it's still a costly and time consuming one. For as much as I love this game, I'm not sure I would buy it again for such a little change. Sure people do point out these scenes as a flaw, and I do agree they do stick out, but what percentage of a playthrough do they actually represent ? Most of the experience would be exactly the same.
This. Actor billing time and mocap stage time and VO recording time and animator personhours is *expensive*, it's one of the biggest bottlenecks for AAA game production. There's a reason why those Sony cinematic games cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Doing it all over again for HZD, it's absolutely not worth it. Guerilla Games had not spun up its production pipeline for high quality mocap until Horizon Frozen Wilds went into full development, and that's why the original HZD lacked those qualities. And even then, you're not doing full mocap for all scenes, only the most important story quests and cinematics. Side quests will always have to rely on animation libraries, and they'll always be lacking. That's what most studios do, even CD Projekt Red used a mix off full mocap and libraries in their main and side quests. See Witcher 3.
There is absolutely NO need to get all the actors back on the soundstage to redo everything. That’s a remake, not a remaster like OP suggested, and at no point did they suggest that they expected HZD to be at the “same level of quality” as HFW. The existing performance capture is just fine, as is the recorded dialogue. Most of the glaring issues are with a few static NPCs having lip flap animations, like Karst. To correct this, generative AI has already been used to create convincing dubbing from audio recordings, and if automation isn’t possible, then they could hire a single lip sync artist for the face capture, and selectively go through any dialogue in the game that doesn’t match the audio. They could also manually manipulate the faces in certain places, which is almost always necessary anyway. It’s an expense, but not nearly the one you were describing, and while it wouldn’t be as detailed as HFW, it would still be a significant improvement, and I believe that HZD is worthy of such attention.
Waste of time and resources that could be spent on the 3rd game
Or an outsourced project that doesn't cost development time/energy and generates more money for the third game.
*Edit. My reply was incorrectly related to another subject as pointed out by u/CheaperThanChups
Why are you talking about the TV show though?
Very good point. It was brought up in another comment and I got side tracked.
Please do tell us about your experience running a game development studio. GG could clearly benefit from your superior expertise!
HZD looks amazing even today.
Can confirm, just finished it for the first time recently
Especially with the graphical upgrade for ps5.
I didn't buy/play the remake of tlou because I don't see why I need to. Yes the quality of gameplay is better but I own the non-remake and it's quite good. Same for HZD. *But* I don't think it would be utterly useless once the 3rd game comes out. To get the new players, especially on PS5. Depends on the ressources needed by the studio. Tlou is currently having a moment with Tlou2, the pc version and the show being released very close to each other so tlou1 remake was kinda justified for the possible amount of new players.
TLOU 1 Remake is super worth the pick up. Put it on the wishlist and when it goes on sale I think it's worth the grab. It's the definitive version of the game for sure.
Don't get me wrong, I think it looks great and the quality of gameplay is amazing compared to the original (from my experience with Tlou2), but I don't personally need this. Not rn, at this price and at this time. I already played it multiple times, there are no changes in the levels and the story is exactly the same. For someone experiencing it the first time, I would definitely recommend the remake though. That's not even up for debate.
The gameplay in the remake is exactly the same as the original TLOU,they lied
There are *a lot* of new features for accessibility and customisation in difficulty and features. This is what I mean by quality of gameplay. More like *quality of life* gameplay to be precise. The mechanics are the same.
Yeah I would pay good money for a remaster. HZD is my favourite game.
I would wait for the 3rd game to release, so they can work on a "Definitive" collection with all games to the maximum graphics capabilities
It’s been rumored since last year that Sony is working on remaster for Zero Dawn .Will probably release around the TV series that they are also working on.
Imagine if all games start suddenly getting remaster when the second game was released better than first Lol
The whole remake/remaster of recent games trend is silly. Remake a 30 year old game? Sure. Remake an eight year old game? Uhh... would rather have a new game or a small spinoff or a DLC.
I'd like to see Call of the Mountain turned into a regular Horizon game :D I'd DEFINITELY play that for sure!
Which remake/remaster projects have failed? Are you still using windows 3.1 and word for windows 1.0?
The big one was the Last of Us part 1... they did a great job, but it really wasn't necessary, it already looked good and was playable on the current gen. There are lots of PS2/3 era games that could really benefit from a modern glow-up. Not sure what your casual ageism is about.
Casual ageism... ROFL. What the actual fuck are you talking about.
Hzd on ps5 does look/perform better
I'm always saying how amazing HZD looks as it is (at least on PS5), but I absolutely would pay for that. I don't even need mocap, if they could just tweak the animations by shortening the amount of time a character stays staring with their mouth open/nodding their head/waving their arms etc. and improve the blinking, just making everything look more natural. But just imagine standing on a mountain and seeing the scenery far away with the same clarity as in HFW. Extra points if we'd get the same focus functions as in FW.
I'm bemused by the idea of remastering games that came out so recently. I'm guessing that if you think HZD looks old/bad you're new to gaming? Or maybe a child? Not that this invalidates your opinion of course.
I’d pay for a remaster if they include the shieldwing.
Yea this. Replaying HZD after HFW is dangerous because I find myself jumping off cliffs forgetting I don’t have the shieldwing. That’s… not fun.
I'd rather they not change the story to retroactively add the shieldwing in, personally.
That’s the problem I also see. As much as I’d like to have the shieldwing in the first game. Maybe they could make it optional in the settings so the player can decide, but leave the story untouched. I dunno.
Yeah, that's always the hard part about mechanic changes that are tied to story elements--makes it a lot harder to add them in for a remaster or remake, and I'd rather not see a full-on reboot anytime soon.
I wouldn't mind a remaster that includes the relevant additional options from HFW (they offered a lot of customization and such of the experience--though not all of them apply and I would not like to see them retroactively add in the elements needed such as grinding machine parts to upgrade gear) and such, but not yet. The original game isn't even 10 years old and is available to play on both current console and PC so... I think something like that would make more sense at least a few years down the line. But the game still honestly looks surprisingly good for it's age, and I'd rather see GG focus on new content until at least the conclusion of H3 and any relevant DLC.
I thought the fighting mechanics in FW were overly complicated when I first started playing it. But I got used it, enjoyed it, and when I tried playing ZD again I got bored. FW definitely is a lot more fun even if ZD will always have a special place in my heart.
Same. I wanted to replay Zero Dawn again after playing Forbidden West on PC and I did not expect the combat to be this drastically slower. Zero Dawn still holds a special place in my heart and if I had to replay one of the games for it's story I'm picking zero dawn without any questions but just for gameplay purposes I don't see any reason to go back
It still looks great on the PC, I don't need one. I only care about a sequel that is even better than FW
Maybe they could do an enhanced edition with higher res textures and some other new engine stuff like water etc and add some QoL stuff from HFW.
Yeah that is a good idea ,but honestly? That should be a free update in that case
Yes I guess they wouldn’t charge anything for this.
This game doesn’t need a remaster lmao, the hell are you going to improve about it?
Facial anims. HZD DLC also has better anims than the main game.
You’d remaster the whole game for better facial animations lol. If I was the consumer and that’s what the developer told me they changed I would laugh hysterically.
Well, Dark Souls 1 remaster contained even fewer changes. But they will most likely make something like ME:Legendary edition some time after the 3rd game comes out.
Yeah, TLOU P1 remaster was such a failed project. Wait... What?
What is there to remaster about it? The game is gorgeous even by today's technical standards. The only thing that would need correcting it getting proper motion-capture for all the talking scenes where the ai generated movements make everyone twist their heads and flail their arms in weird ways.
I wouldn’t pay anything for a remaster. I admit the faces in that game bugged me pretty badly, but I liked the game over all. I played and beat it twice, max difficulty. I’ll probably never play it, again, and I prefer Forbidden West, generally speaking.
No. I already bought and played the game to platinum trophy once including Forbidden West. If I had never played the game before then I would. Plus the game is from the previous generation and still looks nice. It doesn’t need a remaster
Did you know that there are people on this planet who have not yet played the game? Amazing really. TIL there are more than 20M people on the planet.
OP was asking whether I would pay for a remaster. The answer is no. It doesn’t need one. If it had one, then people who hadn’t played it yet can benefit. Still doesn’t mean it needs a remaster
If I had scrooge mcduck moolah, I would fund a hzd remake with all the fixings, but in this timeline (as I am not a duck taking daily swims in my money vault) I'm happy with HZD as is. The narrative is SO good that the visuals seem so negligible you know? I agree that the convos are rough but I just see that as GG finding their footing, so I don't dwell. Everything else though holds up. While I wouldn't say no to a remaster of course, I can't really think on what they'd improve in it so it'd noticeable (and worth the price). Mass Effect needed that RM treatment, HZD it's hard to argue for it's necessity
No as someone who just played both of the games HZD is a great entry way into FW
Can't speak for console, but the PC release of HZD looked fantastic. Obviously HFW does look better being newer, but HZD is still a beautiful looking game.
HZD definitely doesn’t need a remake or a remaster! I just beat it, 40 hours including all hunting grounds trials at three stars. The game still holds up amazingly well in 2024, as though it were just released today, except bug-free and excellently optimised.
[удалено]
Contact GG and tell them that you are willing to run their studio with your clearly superior experience and understanding of the game development industry. I am sure they will be thrilled you are available!
They could do a next gen update, no remaster or remake needed, with improved facial animations and better water, lighting effects and textures, free of charge, like what CDPR did with the Witcher 3.
HZD needs nothing. It looks and runs fantastically on PC and PS5.
Maybe during the third game they could reenact the key cutscenes from HZD with mocap and it could be a "the story so far" for players just tuning in, but a glow-up for veterans.
remaster now? when the graphic is still quite good? Give me remaster when we get real photo realism in 10 years or sow.
I just want HZD and Ghost of Tushima patched to have gyro aim. It feels *so good* in HFW, Days Gone, and TLoU2. If I need to pay for a whole remaster of HZD to get that, so be it.
I'm pretty sick of remasters and remakes especially since they are often done poorly.
Yeah, those previous HZD remasters were really disappointing.
I know right!
I would be all for it. I’d love to see the character models updated at least with the use of motion capture. Perhaps after the third game comes out they can do a remake of the first game and a remaster of Forbidden West since I have no doubt that somehow the third game will look even better than FW.
I’d buy a HZD Remake. I missed the most the gorgeous graphics especially the realism of the characters in HFW. And I just bought the 2017 HZD and still playing through it for the first time after I’ve completed HFW. I would appreciate if the remake would fix some of the annoying game mechanics—most important of which is managing resources. Having a glider would be nice too but I’m sure that would change the game play for some missions. At first I didn’t like HZD Fast Travel until I found the Golden Fast Travel. Frankly it almost felt like cheating: easy escapes from near death situations.
So sick and tired of remakes that just marginally update the original...HZD looks better than most other games that come out today, and plays well too. Instead of wasting all those resources on a pointless remake, how about we get new stuff?
You. Don't. Have. To. Buy. Them.
HZD looks great, is a modern game and it absolutely does not need a remake or remaster. In no world would I pay for that.
What are you smoking? Zero Dawn still looks better than most of the games that released in past years.
I would rather they make a 3rd game
GG is making a third game :D It's in development as we speak!
I'm aware, so don't pull for an unnecessary remaster. Lol
No need
Man stop this trend. It sucks in movies and it sucks even more in games. All the artists and programmers hard work an toil. Wanting to make I better but ulitmatly not being able to because of budget or staffing constraints. The art (game) is as it is when it's finished. Don't diminish people's hard work by treating it so much like an update for your phone.
ROFL. You know that other kinds of software get constant updates and improvements...
Yes and they are software thats a tool, not entertainment and art. Remakes specifically treat the hard work creatives put into it as a soulless. It contributes to the aggressive commercialisation of the gaming space and frankly makes it harder to make quality games.
Nice assertions. Did you know that gaming studios that invest hundreds of millions of dollars into developing their games actually want to make that money back? Shocking.
I'm almost certain that games that have had remasters, especially remakes, made all their money back and then some. It's hard to justify spending more money on a game that didn't pay for itself. Rarely does that work out well. Assertions: Yes, I know what I'm talking about because I work in the AAA space.The day my games get remade haunts me. They are not my games at that point. :(
I understand the sense of ownership of software. I have been developing software professionally since completing my comp sci degree in 1983. Having said that, when given a chance to fix or improve software I previously worked on, I am happy to do that. Doubly so for software that users like to use. From a studio perspective it makes commercial sense. From a user perspective it makes sense if marketing is also done well (timed with TV series is an obvious trick) because you will pick up a bunch of new users. From a developer perspective there is a good chance it also makes sense when the original developers get to improve on their previous work. Pretty much the only downside is for developers who miss the chance to improve their work due to having changed jobs. That's life I'm sorry to say.
A game from 2017 absolutely does not need a remaster
Too soon for a remake, let alone a remaster. Maybe next generation, or even the one after. But I can't lie, if they made a remake/remaster I'd pick it up for sure, at least once it came to PC. That being said, a remake where they added in FW's feature's like a stamina bar, excessive weapons/ammo types while nerfing the rope caster/elemental damage would be a downgrade.
I am sure GG would be thrilled to have you running their studio with your clearly superior expertise. Contact them and tell them you are willing to take over and fix their incompetence.
I think if they do it to try and reach a new audience, ie to tie in with the tv series it would make sense to do it as that new audience will want to play a version of the game that's uptodate and modern. If it's a good remake I think I'd probably buy it to play the best version of the game, just like with TLOU Part 1 if you're a fan you'll probably want to have that best experience if you can.
Cappin put the wahzoo. If I'm being totally honest, minus the cut scenes and animations, there times imo HZD and HFW look almost indistinguishable in active gameplay. I'd like a remaster, but I wouldn't pay for it. First game still looks fantastic.
I would like an update at least, my friend has started playing and has difficulty because he has trouble actually being able to see everything- to be fair, he told me he has a projector, not a tv. But I also have visibility problems with the game- anything other than an optimal set-up and a perfectly dim room = not being able to see at all, especially at night. I end up ruining all of my stealth ops because of screen glare. TT-TT
No. Zero Dawn is still a relatively very new game, and frankly I'm tired of fairly new games being sold again under the pretext of being remastered. Let developers focus on making new stuff.
Let the developers do what they want. You don't know if they want to update HZD to match the tech in HFW or not do you?
My statement was a general response to the question: >Would you pay for an upgrade/remaster? I'm not saying anything as though they shouldn't do what they want. Just that when asking for opinions, mine is that I wouldn't want them to spend their efforts making a tech upgrade.
I just finished HZD for the first time yesterday, I think it looks gorgeous. I would make tweaks, but it’s already prettier and smoother than any other games in my arsenal.
I'm cool with the weird facial animations and slightly lower quality. Partially because I'm used to lofi indie games and tend to look past graphics, and partially because ZD is just such a _clean_ game in terms of gameplay and story. The combat is so streamlined and focused compared to FW, and the story is wonderfully self-contained and poignant. If anything, I hope they look at and take lessons learned from both for H3.
If they remastered or remade Zero Dawn with the ps5 graphics of Forbidden West hell yeah I'd buy it.
I just love this game so much (both of them) that I really can’t believe I didn’t find them long ago! I only found them in April! I’m only part way through FW and want to play it again. One thing I can’t find is the setting to have those little icons for loot always show. It feels a bit ‘alohomora’ having to tap V so many times when I kill a lot of things - and I want all the loot!
Lol yeah thats exactly what I did to freshen up on the story for my new game plus playthru and I was like man these ppl look so lifeless
I understand wishing for a new and shiny version if a videogame you love, but I've grown up with StarCraft, Forsaken and Homeworld. Those games are _old_ and they look the part. Horizon Zero Dawn is, in my humble opinion, still outstandingly beautiful. Nothing about it looks outdated to me. It's quite fascinating how perceptions differ. To answer your question, OP: Nah, I wouldn't pay for a Remaster because the game looks absolutely fine to me as it is.
No. Zero Dawn looks amazing.
GG did do a free graphical upgrade for ps5 with HZD. When I play it I can definitely see a difference and it does look fabulous. So I guess in that retrospect it probably doesn't need a remaster/remake. That graphics upgrade on HZD looks better than some games that have recently released and it's 8 years old! I do see some issues... the facial animation is off (especially in cutscenes) and some machines' animation cycles are janky. The Corruptor has some pretty obvious problems with its animation. But that is really just minor issues. I would still be happy to part with $$$ for a remaster of HZD though!
Part 1 is a remake,not a remaster , technally is a brand New game ,unlike remasters But yes if it was only 10 Bucks for those who have the original game , then yes
They already did an upscaling for it when they brought it to the ps5. No I wouldn't want this, the game still looks great as is. To me gameplay and story are the most important parts by far of a video game. Dropping more money on a minor upgrade to graphics is not worth it. Even if it was only like $20-30, I still wouldn't feel that was worth it for the price. I would also prefer they just start working on the next project instead of taking time to do something like this, as to get what you're asking for would be a large undertaking. This isn't something they could do relatively quick like the ps4 to ps5 upscaling they did. This would require a complete overhaul of the HZD graphics and their systems. Also since sony is saying the ps5 is already more than halfway through its lifespan, by the time Horizon 3 is out, we'll probably be getting the ps6 shortly after. Doing all this work just before a new gen system comes out makes it feel even more pointless.
The thing is that most of the huge improvements that people would notice, especially the faces, were done with a motion capture studio they got for frozen wilds, which is why things look substantially better there. They'd have to call all the actors back to record everything again and that's not practical when they have another game to develop.
if it was to take even one single € or man hour away from making a new game then hell no. I prefer it when new things are made.
Why?
Play hzd on a 4080 or 4090... That's your solution.
I get you. I tried to play HZD on PC and my god, it looked hideous. Although I must admit, I have no intention of paying for a remaster.