Is Horizon Zero Dawn the Best Open-World Action Game We’ve Seen in Recent Years?

Better than all the rest?
best, open world, games, ps4

vs. Far Cry 3

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Far Cry 3 was a hit that came seemingly out of nowhere. You would think that a third entry in a series would already have a huge following, but that wasn’t the case with Far Cry. While its predecessor was well received, it was Far Cry 3’s more densely populated world, new combat options, and interesting enemy in the form of Vaas Montenegro that made the third entry that put the series on the map in a big way. But it was the world that truly made the game a star.

Like the world of Horizon Zero Dawn, Far Cry 3’s is filled with varied locales and dangerous wildlife that you must always be aware of, even when fighting humans trying to shoot your head off. While they aren’t mechanical, there is the same sense of wonder when you first encounter each type, a wonder that quickly becomes fear when a honey badger tears you apart in the blink of an eye. The locations are open to you, although the further you go, the deadlier things become so you must rely on your wits and the tools you acquire.

The variety on offer helps Far Cry 3 stand out quite a bit in comparison to the latest Sony exclusive. You have your bows (which are quite fun to use with their varied ammunition), but you also have an assortment of firearms, explosives, and traps that you can use to make enemy lives a complete hell. Using the tagging system (which is all the rage in open-world games these days), you can set up complete strategies that employ stealth, loud gunplay, or a mixture of both. The crafting system allows for upgrades when out in the wild for the ability to carry more goodies of death, and for some useful concoctions to make the hunt easier.

Far Cry 3 does handle the balance between hunt and human interaction quite well, and that’s why it still holds up today, able to challenge what Guerrilla Games has accomplished. However, Horizon Zero Dawn does have the leg up in two solid areas. The first is the use of its world in a way that everything ties into the central plot rather than feeling like pieces of different situations. Far Cry 3, like many Ubisoft games, uses towers which are fun traversal puzzles, but they didn’t lend themselves completely to the islands you explored. The use of the Tallnecks in the world Aloy explores, though, never breaks the illusion that you’re in a world controlled by robots. The Tallnecks feels as much a part of the game as ravagers. Sure, they work the same way as the towers in other open-world games, but you never feel as if you’re leaving the action to approach one because they’re so entrenched in the game’s lore.

The second is combat, which is fun in Far Cry 3, but the urgency is dialed up to 11 when you have a mechanical T-Rex bearing down on you. There’s a larger sense of dread as you move about, with simple traps and methods working on most humans and smaller machines, but those quickly going out the window when you come across certain behemoths like Rockbreakers, Thunderjaws, and even the tricky Stalkers. You’re not just dealing with a tiger that may maul you, or a honey badger that might bite your ankles to death. These are lethal war machines, mounted with powerful weaponry, and more cunning than any real animal. The hunt becomes central to the entire game rather than just an option and that helps fighting for your life really stand out.


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Author
Ishmael Romero
Just a wandering character from Brooklyn, NY. A fan of horrible Spider-Man games, anime, and corny jokes.