Sony has struggled lately to develop new IPs. Almost everyone loves "Astro Bot," but it says something about the current state of the industry that they're digging into the recent catalog to try and satisfy an existing fan base this holiday season instead of bringing gamers to a new universe to explore. And what's especially unusual about this effort in 2024 is that it's not with a third full game in the acclaimed "Horizon" series but with a spin-off and a remaster of the first game. While remaster has become something of a dirty word in a gaming landscape in which it has arguably become too commonplace (and especially in an economy in which people feel particularly burned by buying a game more than once), the PS5 version of "Horizon: Zero Dawn" is gorgeous, a technical upgrade that doesn't just polish the original as much as unleash its full potential. On the other hand, "LEGO Horizon Adventures" is a disappointment as a Horizon game, a LEGO game, or even just a holiday season distraction.
Since the LEGO title is a full new game, let's focus on that first. I can still vividly remember playing the first "LEGO Star Wars" game in 2005, marveling at the ingenuity of developers who found a way to bring that joy of physical play into a digital space. In the same way that kids of my generation would play with LEGOs in a manner that wasn't always "consistent," gamers could mix up the entire Lucasverse, blending characters who never interacted in the films into a new adventure while also reliving some of their favorite moments from the series." Indiana Jones," "Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings" – there was a run there in which every LEGO game seemed like something worth noting on the calendar, and there's a reason so many of them are still so popular. At their best, they can be marvelously inventive, cleverly designed, and filled with secrets for the gamer to discover.
Almost two decades later, there's just not as much life in the LEGO games as there used to be. Perhaps it's because they ran out of properties to explore, but I was hopeful that the deep mythology of Horizon and the remarkable world-building of the two games would be a good fit for the series. Imagine the many landscapes of the two "Horizon" games in LEGO form, along with their varied weapons, enemies, and maneuvers. You must keep imagining because "Horizon Adventures" barely scratches the surface. It's as if the developers looked at concept art and read a few plot synopses but never really played the games. Consequently, it's a series of repetitive levels built around a few minor combat interactions followed by a major one. After finishing the first world, I was excited to see how the game would expand in the second, and so on. The truth is that it really doesn't. There are new monsters and a few new weapons, but "Horizon Adventures" is repetitive even for a LEGO game, which is truly saying something since these games are often built on repeated mechanics.
Perhaps it's because the developers of games based on LOTR and Indiana Jones, for example, have scripts to work from that they can build engaging worlds on those skeletons, but one would presume that two games in which gamers can spend dozens of hours exploring would have led to more variety than what is found in "Horizon Adventures." There are five worlds to explore and conquer, earning the classic LEGO currency that can be used to upgrade your characters and/or customize "Mother's Heart," the base to which you return after each level. LEGO games are inherently (and often charmingly) random, but this one seems the most, blending together items from LEGO City and LEGO Ninjago toy lines into the universe of Horizon in a manner that feels almost like an afterthought. Want a Ninjago dojo in your home base? That's an option. Woohoo.
It also doesn't help that the Horizon games are based on precision–hitting weak points in enemies, stealth maneuvers, attacks from different levels–that just can't be replicated in a LEGO game. So the developers don't even bother. Good luck timing a shot on a highlighted weak point when you can't even move the camera. And why can't you shoot an arrow up from a higher angle or down from a jump? These kinds of restrictions make a very combat-dependent game like this one frustrating.
"LEGO Horizon Adventures" is best viewed as a gateway to a great franchise. I could see kids picking it up on Switch (where I like to play LEGO games more anyway, as it's less easy to see the cracks, and the handheld fits the gameplay) and discovering the story of Aloy (voiced here again by Ashley Burch by the way). If it gets people started with the universe of Horizon before they move over to "Zero Dawn" and "Forbidden West," it will have done some good. (Note: I haven't played the 2023 VR spin-off "Horizon: Call of the Mountain"). That still doesn't mean it shouldn't have been better. Every version of Aloy should stand on its own two feet.
A game that undeniably stands on its own is "Zero Dawn," an experience that Sony clearly considers essential to its legacy. At seven years old and released on the PS4, it's a perfect release for a remaster, and I hope that the recent negative press around rereleased games doesn't hurt it. Because this one is a beauty. From the minute you fire it up, you can sense that you're in a more three-dimensional world. Remasters like "The Last of Us" have made great efforts to refine elements of the natural world like water and foliage. Of course, this post-post-apocalyptic vision fits that perfectly. Every blade of grass looks more detailed, and the backgrounds are stunning. It's one of the better-looking PS5 games, and it gets me excited about where this franchise is going in the in-production third game. (Note: the remastered "Zero Dawn" also includes the excellent expansion "The Frozen Wilds.")
Ultimately, both these releases feel like a carefully designed way to keep the universe of Horizon on the gaming landscape. While I wish I was playing a third full "Horizon" game, the pandemic and the strikes have clearly led to delays in IPs across the board, killing some once-possible games altogether. If this is what it takes to keep Aloy alive, I'll take it. For now.
Review copies of both titles were provided by the publisher.
