A long time ago, I bought Horizon Zero Dawn and never got the chance to beat it. I was reminded of this when Magic: The Gathering released a Secret Lair celebrating its sequel with the Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair x Horizon: Into the Forbidden West cards set. Since I was never able to finish Zero Dawn on account of me being notorious for not finishing open world games, I figured I would never get to fully play what everyone says is a really great adventure. And so, when the remastered version of Zero Dawn came out for the PlayStation 5, I decided to give it a try with an eye to actually finishing this time.
Stepping back into the colorful world of Zero Dawn made me incredibly happy. I always liked the main character Aloy, and Ashly Burch did an incredible job with her voice acting. That said, the gameplay is where Zero Dawn shines, and the map feels open but not empty. Additionally, hunting, gathering, and side quests make traversing the world actually worth it. I remember the first time I faced a Thunderjaw, and it was stressful and intimidating. Eventually, it was just another machine to kill as I knew what parts to knock off in order to render it nonoperational.
This remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn put me in a weird spot. I am still not a huge fan of paying full price for a new version of a title that is over six years old. On the other hand, I do appreciate being able to buy a game that has all the DLCs that came later already there as part of the package. With certain titles, I think it’s not very nice to tell gamers “tough luck, no DLCs for you without paying even more.” There has to be some sort of a middle ground between providing bundled games and trying to get blood from a stone.
The Last Of Us is one of the most egregious examples of this issue. The first entry released in 2013, only to have a remaster come out the very next year. But then there were more remasters, with the latest one releasing in 2022 for the PlayStation 5. While I appreciate quality of life upgrades that remakes often incorporate as technology improves, there comes a point where all of the improvements in the world don’t warrant the price tag attached to a brand new release.
Additionally, I would make an argument that all of the time spent making remasters could be spent making new titles or pushing the boundaries of the video game art. Even if you want to male remasters, I will argue that there are plenty of cult classic type titles that could be remastered. For example, ones like Legend of Dragoon, Agarest War, or Lost Odyssey would be great candidates.
These are titles that have been lost to another era basically and desperately need quality of life updates and an introduction to a brand new audience. And they would likely be more commercially successful than remaking something that was brand new only a few years ago.
That is not to say that this isn’t being done well currently. Columnist Vincent Mahoney is absolutely in love with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and has played it well into the night for quite a while now. Tales Of Graces f and The Last Remnant also really needed their updated remakes. Their remastered versions were like playing a whole new title and, in the case of The Last Remnant, stopped it from being the broken mess it was originally. I just wish we could maybe put a moratorium on remastering games until they are at least ten to fifteen years old. Not really, but it would be kind of nice if that made room for some titles that really need remastered.
Ultimately, Horizon Zero Dawn’s remastered version reminded me why I so enjoyed Aloy’s journey in the first place. Its world remains vibrant, the combat remains engaging, and the DLCs integrated into this edition make the experience feel complete. That said, the bigger question isn’t whether Zero Dawn was worth revisiting—it clearly was—but whether the industry’s current obsession with creating remasters so soon after the releases of their original versions is the best use of creative energy. While I’m grateful to finally finish this adventure, I hope developers also turn their eyes toward forgotten classics that truly deserve a second chance.