So when Sony released the recent “remaster” of zero dawnI was cautiously optimistic. Any kind of PS5 rework that isn't half-hearted should reduce loading times, right?
Machines make it difficult to enjoy the view.
Machines make it difficult to enjoy the view.
Many more people in the cities. It's starting to feel a little crowded!
Many more people in the cities. It's starting to feel a little crowded!
Everything about the game looks good.
Everything about the game looks good.
Many more people in the cities. It's starting to feel a little crowded!
Everything about the game looks good.
I wanted to immerse myself in the world of zero dawn only for a few hours, but I ended up playing the entire game and its expansion, The frozen jungle, during the last few weeks. The arrow-based gameplay, complex story, and voice acting were still fantastic, and the remastered elements were much more than just a cash-in. Even the little things, like the way the PS5 controllers' adaptive triggers mimic the tension of a bowstring, felt perfect.
I wasn't expecting to dive back into the game world for so many hours, but I had a great time doing it and wanted to spread the word to those who might be looking for an engaging single-player experience on vacation.
big changes
When it comes to major changes, the remaster has three.
First, the game loads fast. It feels like a PS5 title from the ground up. Death (and the reloads that come with it) no longer make me want to throw my controller across the room during difficult battles. It's great.
Secondly, the game looks amazing. It's not just a matter of increasing the resolution to 4K and calling it a day. Sony states that the game features “over 10 hours of re-recorded conversations, mocap, and countless graphical enhancements that bring the game to the same visual fidelity as its critically acclaimed sequel.” Additionally, the game's characters have “been updated, bringing them in line with current-gen advancements in character models and rendering.”
This isn't just marketing nonsense. The faces look incredible, even in the close-up cinematic interludes, but what really caught my attention was the lighting. From the moment a young Aloy wanders into a cave and finds an electronic device connected to a skeleton lying peacefully in a ray of sunlight, the revamped lighting engine makes its presence clear. No, it's not “realistic”: everything looks like a postcard. But I found myself pausing the game just to watch the sunlight scattered by a snowstorm or the sunrise over a mountain range. The lighting interacts with a volumetric set of effects that bring swirling fog and dust to life like few other games I've seen. When Aloy goes through a winter storm, leaving footprints in the mountain snow as she walks, the effect is magical. (Until a Glinthawk appears, screams and attacks.)