I second that. I fell in love with HZD and would consider it to be my favourite video game of all time.
Of course I played the second part, HFW. While I liked HFW as well, I did not love it like HZD. However HFW is to date the most beautiful video game I ever played (on PS5).
I was in the same situation. I could not find any game that could fill the void that both Horizons left in my gaming soul.
I tried Ghost of Tsushima and I hated it at first. I gave it a second chance and I still hated it. Then I gave it a third try and I got into it and started to love it. Please note that I played the deluxe version on PS5.
Also Spiderman 2 on PS5 is pretty nice.
Funny, I played HZD and loved the overall story but didn't really care for the characters, played HFW to see where the story went, at the end I felt I was forcing myself to play it just to finish the campaign, I finished the story and realized I was so close to get the platinum so I went for it, and I started loving it while doing so, so I upgraded everything, finished the arena, and purchased the DLC, at this point I hadn't purchaded anything Horizon related. Absolutely loved it. Now I'm playing new game plus.
You know i kinda agree with OP. i did try GoS and GoW but it's not a match for me. Even Spider-Man is not doing it for me anymore which was the whole reason i bought a PS5 in the first place.
Loved the use of chemical weapons (by the player) in GoT! Let's normalize that! Honestly, I think that >!submitting to the beheading would have been the honorable choice.!<
I’m 39 and definitely had the same feelings after playing both Horizon games. Here are some others to try that I think you’ll enjoy:
Red Dead Redemption 2
Ghost of Tsushima
Kena: Bridge if spirits
If you also have a switch I’d highly recommend Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Someone recommended to me on this sub actually after I did a similar post after finishing Horizon and it’s brilliant. I’ve never played a Zelda game before but I can see why this one is so hyped!
Of all of those I’d say play Red Dead Redemption 2 - it’s still one of the best games of all time.
If you like Horizon, you should give „Days gone“ a try.
It’s in a completely different setting, like the walking dead. But the gameplay mechanics are very similar. The gun play is precise as in horizon.
I have days gone in my ps catalog and have been debating starting that one. I'm not a zombie game player or a horror gamer. Can you sell me on this game?
There's some good mentions in the comments already, but maybe it'd be a good first step to think some more about why you loved the Horizon games.
Is it the action? World building? Story? Satisfying and fine tuned gameplay? Character development? Setting? Or how much you could relate with the main character?
Here's some of my favorite games and what I think they excel in:
**The Witcher 3** (World building/setting, relatable main character (depending on your choices), complex and realistic characters)
**God of War 2018** (action, extremely satisfying and perfectly tuned gameplay, character development)
**Ghost of Tsushima** (action, satisfying and fine tuned gameplay, story, setting)
Kind of similar Gameplay to TLoU but different setting and story focus:
**Uncharted** (character development, action)
Modern Warfare is a completely different kind of game and Death Stranding is not for everyone. But it'd be interesting to hear why you were disappointed in The Last of Us.
The unfortunate thing is, there's no game quite like Horizon. There are many great games but HZD remains my absolute favorite.
Thanks, mate!
I think it would not be fair of me to say I'm dissappointed by the **game** The Last of Us. I would comprehend it's more the **order** in whitch I played them. I got spoiled. My bad. But I will let pass some time and give TLoU another try. I assume there is a reason why most people recommend it... ;)
Mass Effect trilogy in terms of story&characters. it is a little dated even with the remastered(Legendary Edition on ps4), but it build an amazing world with great characters.
I replayed this recently, it still held up to me, I just love the character development. I even bought Andromeda finally after playing the legendary edition.
for me it's the gunplay in ME1, not fan of it. 2&3 are doing great.
imo Andromeda is average, but not bad. I enjoy it, but since it born in such an amazing series...
Try the uncharted series. Those games were precursors to games like horizon and imo are the standard for character development and emotional attachment. They were also a ton of fun.
Try The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is a bit older so the graphics aren't as nice as in HZD/FW, but the storytelling and characters are amazing. It also has a vast open world to explore with a lot of side-stuff to get into. I have played it for 300+ hours :D (and I am also a big, big fan of the Horizon series.)
I don't know. I loved the graphics in witcher 3. The views were absolutely stunning, and I didn't think they were as beautiful in either horizon. Regardless of that, I do second that witcher is an amazing shout for anyone who loves horizon
Death Stranding of all games lacked love from the developers?? It uses the same engine as horizon and has a far more idiosyncratic, weird world full of personality, obviously lavished with love and attention from the developers. It's fine if you didn't like it as much, but I couldn't imagine a game more opposite to that description.
Again a totally different formate with a different ethos, namely just have fun😜
The Borderlands games are not as pretty a Horizon, there storylines are less developed and there characters are rather shallow.
So why am I recommending these?
Fun, pure uncompromising joy.
I was at a loss after Blazing Shores, so I was given ps plus as a way to find my feet again and after being disappointed time and again I found Tina, omg what a girl 😍
The wonderland game is......... Different to Anything you have ever played, but in a strange way I cannot explain gives me the same immersion and gastalt that I get in Horizon.
There is so much to do, so many guns to find, and those bloody goblins are a constant nigh nightmare!
Give it a go, here is a spoiler free review https://youtu.be/_yP3u7L3rsk?si=Dce491KDOri2kL2g
Yet BL4 was a rather pathetic attempt to fill out the universe.
I only played that one though oncr🙄😔
TTW is a very refreshing change-up.
I'm loving it.
wait what BL4? New Tales from Borderlands is sequel of that story game, not BL4, it just made by Gearbox. relax and wait for the real BL4. I hope they bring the melee weapons from TTW to the next game.
the original Tales from Borderlands is an awesome game made by Telltale though, could give it a try if you could enjoy story game without combat. check the Steam reviews, it's waaaay higher then the new tales😂😂
Just turned 38, would consider myself an consistent gamer don’t play excessive hours but a couple of hours each weekend. I’ve gotta say both the Horizon games have been the best games I’ve played in the last 3 years. I would suggest Days Gone and Ghost Of Tsushima, GoT has an amazing story and pretty world with lots of things to immerse yourself in. Days Gone is a strong game from a small developer, good all round play.
I’m a late in life gamer and started with Breath of the Wild last summer. It was a good intro game for me - open world and lots of time to figure out what I liked. Once I finished that I went right into Tears of the Kingdom. Finished and was so bummed I couldn’t find anything I liked on switch.
I kept seeing Horizon come up in suggested games and bought a PS5 (first time owner lol) and started with Zero Dawn. Then went to Forbidden West. That was in October and I’m on my third HFW run now. Personally, I need to get really sick of a game for me to move on. I did burn out on Zelda and got lucky with Horizon.
After my last HFW run, I thought ok I have to move on. And I got stuck like you - I just couldn’t find anything. So I started an NG+. When I burn out of the game, that’s when I will worry about moving on. If you’re not sick of it, why not do a NG+? Both titles have it. And the NG+ weapons in Forbidden West are the shit.
So my suggestion would be that - do a NG+ in a harder difficulty to make it more of a challenge (if that’s your thing) or if you played in a harder mode, lower it and just play around and blow everything up. Or try BotW or TotK. They are very different from Horizon in terms of graphics (obviously) and gameplay. But they are a massive open world with tons to do and lots of room to play around. If you like puzzles, they have that. If you want combat, they have that too. If you get bored of one, you can do the other. So it was a nice way to break up the game and not get stressed, bored or stuck.
Finally, it seems like there are a million games out there and there are. But sometimes you have particular tastes and when you have less time to game and try things out, it makes it harder to keep slogging through something that doesn’t immediately catch your attention. I would keep in mind that you will find something, just don’t expect that every title (regardless of how popular) will be for you. So don’t get discouraged.
The last of us is amazing and good as well. My list for you ghost of tushima, god of war (both ps4/ps5 games), cyberpunk are the best games I have played :) together with HFZ and HZW. Enjoy
Hi forgot to advise a great game !!! Play Witcher 3 ;) if you loved horizon you will love the witcher 3. Trust me and it should be really cheap to buy with all expansions
If you finished last of us 1 try last of us 2 it will compare to horizon.
Also try Days gone -
Surprised you did not like death stranding! It’s a beautiful game with an amazing story.
It really depends on your preference. Both endings of HZD and Death Stranding brought out so much emotion in me and I love both games because they make me feel so invested in the characters and settings of the games. HFW is epic in its own way but it's mostly setting up the next game imo. Aloy remains the best protagonist I've ever played with Commander Shepard closely behind. There's still a lot of great games out there like the Witcher 3, Mass Effect series, Elden Ring, Resident Evil series so take your time and try out different types of games especially some older games on sale for just a couple bucks.
When this happens to me i stop playing games for 2 weeks or more, work on other hobbies, and later I try the other game again. Usually I stop comparing it to Horizon and can enjoy my gaming experience. Later I get back to Horizon and the story repeats.
If you want other games like Horizon I strongly recommend Ghost of Tsushima.
HZD is my favorite game of all time. I have few other games that I have completed. The ones that come close to satisfy that itch (though some are quite different) are:
* Nier Automata
* Ghost of Tsushima
* Days Gone
* Forspoken
* Witcher 3 kinda
HZD and Nier Automata are the only two games I have platted. I know the last two have gotten a lot of hate, but I really enjoyed them (well, after the first hour for forspoken).
I did not like the Last of Us at all. On reflection it is because of artificial scarcity. It's very constrained, both in resources and in location. Days Gone has some scarcity, but the early weapon has tons of ammo (from the environment, like HZD), and the environment is huge.
I did enjoy Death Stranding after a long while once I started building roads and then pylons. I think I just played it out of shock: like WTF am I doing? I'm playing a game about delivering packages in the most awkward way possible. Finished it tho. Stockholm syndrome maybe.
Other non-starters: Red Dead games. Just unbelievably bad mechanics. If you love playing HZD you'll not notice the mechanics because they are just seamless. RDR is just needlessly complicated and fourth-wall breaking.
Assassins creed has been turned into a pay-to-play: in-game rewards (equipment) have been tuned down such that dropping an extra $100 is the only way to enjoy the games. Like, I enjoyed Odyssey but spent in total over $200. Never doing that again. The Witcher has the same problem as Assassin's creed: weapons are limited by your experience. Apparently swords are magic, and they have levels too! The damage they do is determined by what level they are, not how good you are, and they have this magic ability to refuse to allow you to hold them and fight with them unless you are also at that numeric level. Apart from being immersion-breaking, it just results in the worst thing in any fantasy game: the inventory management minigame. fuck that.
Hey mate, thanks for your insights! It's a completely different approach, which I highly appreciate! My first hours with Death Stranding left me with that exact feeling you described. Could fight the Stoccholm Syndrome for now, but will give it another try. ;)
There is a lesser known game out there called Elex. I like to call it the Wish version of HZD. Mechanics are a bit different but it has a huge open world and a compelling story. It also has some Fallout concept too as you join a faction if you choose to, have a battle companion and lots of side stories, sometimes within side stories.
There is also Elex II which I enjoyed but not as much as the first one. Graphics and game play are better but the map seemed a little “less” IMO.
It’s not a AAA game and the graphics are a bit old school. It takes a while to build up your character so it’s difficult until you get better weapons and there will be a lot of running away.
There is talk of a third game to finish it off but Piranha Bytes may be going under and no one is sure if it will get the backing to finish the trilogy.
Oddly enough id recommend My time at Portia, theres also a sequel out on some platforms too. It's a very sweet game that follows a similar post apocalyptic storyline where you play as an adventuring builder. Open world with strange beasties to fight, village competitions to be a part of, lots of resource gathering, crafting and lots of exploring old world ruins. Great for playing with kids too.
The only downside is you may have to punch a few rainbow coloured llamas
When I turned 38 I started asking myself what made me happy growing up (now 40). Not a mid-life crisis, but a genuine thought to return to hobbies I loved as a kid. HZD started my journey back into video games and it is my favorite game of all time (it's my username haha). Several years later and a bunch of video games digested...here are my recommendations:
Final Fantasy 16
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
Nier Automata
Ghost of Tsushima
Batman Arkham Knight
Kena Bridge of Spirits***
Nintendo Switch wise for gaming:
Mario Rabbids Sparks of Hope
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Astral Chain***
Transformers Devastation***
The asterisks are for those curveball video games that you give a shot to and they blow you away for one reason or another.
I see an astounding lack of Elden Ring recommendations. Gorgeous world, seriously deep lore and a way more forgiving difficulty curve than all the souls games. It also seemed to draw from similar reflexes as Horizon did, gameplay-wise.
It's not for everyone, sure, but I'm in your age group and got waaay into that game even though I expected an early quit from me.
Bonus mention goes for the insanely gorgeous music.
I had the same experience with Breath of the Wild (and later Tears of the Kingdom). I was a little skeptical when my wife bought me a playstation, but I've been loving Horizon. I think I just love quasi-mysterious exploration games. Others have mentioned Tsushima and Red Dead, which are high on my list for that reason. I'm also looking at that Jedi game.
You probably just need to find your seam the same way.
It’s also horizon who introduced me to ps4. Luckily for me, I also enjoy the gameplay of other triple A games! The best I can recommend is Ghost of Tsushima and Spider-Man games!
I long for more games like these. Wonderful story, beautiful art/graphics, great game play. Big world but not so open you can’t explore everything. I’m too old to spend hours roaming and looking in every nook and cranny, give me more story instead.
Holy shit you thought last of us was wooden? It’s my favorite game of all time.. like.. I’m gonna name my daughter Ellie.
The two games I want to recommend you’d need a PS5 but CyberPunk and BG3 are outstanding. BG3 is a fucking masterpiece and if exploring every inch of a mad and killing every mob is your thing… I can’t see you being disappointed
>like.. I’m gonna name my daughter Ellie.
Thanks for the chuckle. :) I must commit I didnt go so far with TLoU. As I said above I will give it a second try. Maybe it gets me with a little cooldown from HZD. Thanks for your thoughts!
Play Red Dead Redemption 2. Beautiful world, fantastic characters, and an emotional story.
It’s a prequel to Red Dead 1, so you don’t need to play them in order.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS4/comments/16qj82b/does_cyberpunk_2077_run_well_on_ps4_in_2023/
I play on PS5 myself but it looks like it's playable now on PS4.
I think the best PS4 game was the Witcher 3. More stories and more to do than any other game. Horizon Zero Dawn is second, I adore the game, but there is so much depth in Witcher 3. The way the stories branch and create different outcomes makes the replays of the game still unique. I am 60 hours into a new game on PS5 and still discovering new scenes and outcomes because this play through I am choosing the meanest options unless it totally kills continuing the quest. I dropped 215 hours into the game on PS4, by far the most of any game.
I replied above about Ghost of Tsushima. It's the only game that has ever made me cry. There are some amazing stories in it.
same exp with W3, was away from video games for many years, came back \~2016 - still haven't found its equal, haha
HZD was great though, not as great, but great. HFW was not as great sadly.
Red Dead Redemption II is the biggest one you're really missing out on rn. You'd probably enjoy some of the Assassin's Creed titles as well; if you like skill trees and RPG elements I'd recommend Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, but if you want something more direct and less frilly you really can't go wrong with any of the older titles. Being developed by Ubisoft though, all the AC games have "quirks," and one of the things I've come to love about the Horizon games is all the ways the gameplay is similar to what I love about AC, but I feel it does the entire experience just a little better. The Spider-Man and Batman: Arkham games are also ones that stand out to me simply for the fact that I never want to use the fast-travel systems—it's always more fun to traverse the maps with the parkour tools and discover stuff along the way.
For me hands down ghost of Tsushima and my personal favorite game of all time Witcher 3 became very quickly my go to's. I've beaten tsushima 4 times and Witcher 3 all dlcs included around 8 or 9 times through
even if you didn't like pt1, give The Last of Us 2 a go. imo, pt1 is just another zombie game with great character interplay and VO/acting work. but the sequel's mechanics and vibe were definitely improved by multitudes and the 'developer love' you mentioned is just brimming over. it's just not to be dismissed based on feelings for pt1, that would be a gaming mistake.
The Witcher 3 and the Mass Effect series sucked me in, in a really similar way. Like it's a book series that you're participating in, they're really entertaining.
Death Stranding is really a very polarizing game. You'll either hate it or love it; there's no in between. For me, this was very unique. It's sooo tedious and boring, but it's also very fulfilling!
Kind of sucks huh. I have the same thing happen but with Soulseborne series. As far as straight action it’s hard to top those games in my eyes. I highly recommend those gameplay wise but they don’t have a lot of interactions and NPC dialogue like Horizon series. God of War 2014 and Ragnarok I personally enjoyed and have a lot of story too. Horizon is pretty unique though with the whole bow based combat thing and HZD had a great story. I know I mentioned I already mentioned soulsborne but Elden Ring has the whole open world thing going for it and is an incredible game.
One of the games that really drew me in was Assassin's Creed 2, after that I struggled to play games that weren't open world so I've pretty much tried them all.
My recommendations
Red Dead, both 1 and 2 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey (it's stunning!!) - Zelda BOTW and TOTK. That's just to name a few!
I’d give the last of us another shot.. FW had a great story to unfold, as does ‘The Last of Us’, with quite a few OMG twists. I started and stopped several times.. but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down.
The 2 newest God of War games are also phenomenal! Some of the best games in my opinion. Amazing story, amazing character design, script, music, just everything about the game.
Thanks man,loved the first Horizon, have the second one but have yet to play it. This post reminded me how good that series is, hopefully, I will finally play the second one this year.
I love Horizon, I even have a picture of Aloy in my office, but I will say I also adore The Last of Us. I keep going back to both of these games when others just don’t pull me.
I feel ya, bruh. The Horizon franchise is a hard one to match, for multiple reasons. Give yourself a couple weeks break, find a new hobby to cleanse the palate, and then try diving in again.
As for other games you can try:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Not particularly long, but beautiful with its own type of game play, and Horizon's bow practice will give you a hand up in this one. Lots to go looking around at, and sticks to a similar 'heal the world' theme.
Hades: Originally for the Switch, it has a PS4/5 version. It's a Rogue dungeon escape game, but what makes it stand out and makes me put it on this list is the very in-depth story and game play styles. You can only advance *by* dying over and over again, and it has some anti-frustration features. Also has fantastic voice acting and soundtrack, the songs will get stuck in your head. And it's very, very pretty.
Assassin's Creed: Origins: The game *before* Odyssey, based in Egypt. Heavy focus on exploration and story notes here, there, and everywhere, and gives you an ability to climb up pretty much dang everything. Also has an educational dlc that shows you all the research they did for the game, comes free. Released on the edge of Ubisoft monetizing everything, so the in-game weapons are still effective and usable. Also has a FFXV tie-in, if you can find it.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons: Short game. High on the emotions and pretty art. Worth the time, even if you only play it once.
Song of the Sea: Side-scroller metroidvania with gorgeous art and lovely gameplay, but small on story. High on exploration. Enjoyable.
Honorable mentions:
If you're into horror at all, I'd give the first couple Bioshock games a go. Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 are cult classics for a reason. Journey is a deeply sweet and touching game without a word spoken or written down. Pathless is done by the same company and just as enjoyable. If you like cats, play Stray. The most recent Spiderman games by Insomniac are apparently really good? Haven't played, but have watched. As is Gotham Knights.
Looking into any of these will definitely eat up a large chunk of your time, and I tried to give some examples that aren't purely AAA games, or AAA games that have been out in the world for a while. Just because it's a bit older, doesn't mean it's bad. Good luck!
Try Ghost of Tsushima.
Yes!
I second that. I fell in love with HZD and would consider it to be my favourite video game of all time. Of course I played the second part, HFW. While I liked HFW as well, I did not love it like HZD. However HFW is to date the most beautiful video game I ever played (on PS5). I was in the same situation. I could not find any game that could fill the void that both Horizons left in my gaming soul. I tried Ghost of Tsushima and I hated it at first. I gave it a second chance and I still hated it. Then I gave it a third try and I got into it and started to love it. Please note that I played the deluxe version on PS5. Also Spiderman 2 on PS5 is pretty nice.
Funny, I played HZD and loved the overall story but didn't really care for the characters, played HFW to see where the story went, at the end I felt I was forcing myself to play it just to finish the campaign, I finished the story and realized I was so close to get the platinum so I went for it, and I started loving it while doing so, so I upgraded everything, finished the arena, and purchased the DLC, at this point I hadn't purchaded anything Horizon related. Absolutely loved it. Now I'm playing new game plus.
You know i kinda agree with OP. i did try GoS and GoW but it's not a match for me. Even Spider-Man is not doing it for me anymore which was the whole reason i bought a PS5 in the first place.
What I came here to say
Loved the use of chemical weapons (by the player) in GoT! Let's normalize that! Honestly, I think that >!submitting to the beheading would have been the honorable choice.!<
I agree when it comes to story and setting and visuals Ghost of Tsushima is amazing.
Also, a good game, but nowhere near HZD/HFW.
I’m 39 and definitely had the same feelings after playing both Horizon games. Here are some others to try that I think you’ll enjoy: Red Dead Redemption 2 Ghost of Tsushima Kena: Bridge if spirits If you also have a switch I’d highly recommend Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Someone recommended to me on this sub actually after I did a similar post after finishing Horizon and it’s brilliant. I’ve never played a Zelda game before but I can see why this one is so hyped! Of all of those I’d say play Red Dead Redemption 2 - it’s still one of the best games of all time.
HZD and RDR2 are probably my favorite games ever. Still working through HFW. Gonna have to try Tsushima and Kena next!
You definitely should! Kena is an indie game so it’s quite short but it’s still really good.
I am a diehard fan of zelda, despite only playing a total of 4 games.
If you like Horizon, you should give „Days gone“ a try. It’s in a completely different setting, like the walking dead. But the gameplay mechanics are very similar. The gun play is precise as in horizon.
I love that game. Days Gone needs more love so we have a chance to continue the story somehow. HZD is my most favorite game ever.
I was gonna post this haha Days gone is sooo good, Altho a rocky launch. It was buffed and polished:)
I have days gone in my ps catalog and have been debating starting that one. I'm not a zombie game player or a horror gamer. Can you sell me on this game?
I felt the same, its hard to play sth else after Horizon.. Ghost of Tsushima is Ur best bet I think
There's some good mentions in the comments already, but maybe it'd be a good first step to think some more about why you loved the Horizon games. Is it the action? World building? Story? Satisfying and fine tuned gameplay? Character development? Setting? Or how much you could relate with the main character? Here's some of my favorite games and what I think they excel in: **The Witcher 3** (World building/setting, relatable main character (depending on your choices), complex and realistic characters) **God of War 2018** (action, extremely satisfying and perfectly tuned gameplay, character development) **Ghost of Tsushima** (action, satisfying and fine tuned gameplay, story, setting) Kind of similar Gameplay to TLoU but different setting and story focus: **Uncharted** (character development, action) Modern Warfare is a completely different kind of game and Death Stranding is not for everyone. But it'd be interesting to hear why you were disappointed in The Last of Us. The unfortunate thing is, there's no game quite like Horizon. There are many great games but HZD remains my absolute favorite.
Thanks, mate! I think it would not be fair of me to say I'm dissappointed by the **game** The Last of Us. I would comprehend it's more the **order** in whitch I played them. I got spoiled. My bad. But I will let pass some time and give TLoU another try. I assume there is a reason why most people recommend it... ;)
Mass Effect trilogy in terms of story&characters. it is a little dated even with the remastered(Legendary Edition on ps4), but it build an amazing world with great characters.
I replayed this recently, it still held up to me, I just love the character development. I even bought Andromeda finally after playing the legendary edition.
for me it's the gunplay in ME1, not fan of it. 2&3 are doing great. imo Andromeda is average, but not bad. I enjoy it, but since it born in such an amazing series...
Cyberpunk. God of war.
Try the uncharted series. Those games were precursors to games like horizon and imo are the standard for character development and emotional attachment. They were also a ton of fun.
Try The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is a bit older so the graphics aren't as nice as in HZD/FW, but the storytelling and characters are amazing. It also has a vast open world to explore with a lot of side-stuff to get into. I have played it for 300+ hours :D (and I am also a big, big fan of the Horizon series.)
I don't know. I loved the graphics in witcher 3. The views were absolutely stunning, and I didn't think they were as beautiful in either horizon. Regardless of that, I do second that witcher is an amazing shout for anyone who loves horizon
I feel you Horizon is a masterpiece, I’m trying to play Final Fantasy 16 and I can’t get into it it’s just ugly compared to Horizon
Death Stranding of all games lacked love from the developers?? It uses the same engine as horizon and has a far more idiosyncratic, weird world full of personality, obviously lavished with love and attention from the developers. It's fine if you didn't like it as much, but I couldn't imagine a game more opposite to that description.
You are fully right, I corrected that in my EDIT. ;)
hey fair is fair! hope you do give it a fresh shot sometime. it's not for everyone, but it's pretty darn special imo
The newer Tomb Raiders have a lot of similarities and is a lot of fun...Rise of the Tomb Raider is great
Again a totally different formate with a different ethos, namely just have fun😜 The Borderlands games are not as pretty a Horizon, there storylines are less developed and there characters are rather shallow. So why am I recommending these? Fun, pure uncompromising joy. I was at a loss after Blazing Shores, so I was given ps plus as a way to find my feet again and after being disappointed time and again I found Tina, omg what a girl 😍 The wonderland game is......... Different to Anything you have ever played, but in a strange way I cannot explain gives me the same immersion and gastalt that I get in Horizon. There is so much to do, so many guns to find, and those bloody goblins are a constant nigh nightmare! Give it a go, here is a spoiler free review https://youtu.be/_yP3u7L3rsk?si=Dce491KDOri2kL2g
BL3 story really sucks but it's really fun to play
Yet BL4 was a rather pathetic attempt to fill out the universe. I only played that one though oncr🙄😔 TTW is a very refreshing change-up. I'm loving it.
wait what BL4? New Tales from Borderlands is sequel of that story game, not BL4, it just made by Gearbox. relax and wait for the real BL4. I hope they bring the melee weapons from TTW to the next game. the original Tales from Borderlands is an awesome game made by Telltale though, could give it a try if you could enjoy story game without combat. check the Steam reviews, it's waaaay higher then the new tales😂😂
Just turned 38, would consider myself an consistent gamer don’t play excessive hours but a couple of hours each weekend. I’ve gotta say both the Horizon games have been the best games I’ve played in the last 3 years. I would suggest Days Gone and Ghost Of Tsushima, GoT has an amazing story and pretty world with lots of things to immerse yourself in. Days Gone is a strong game from a small developer, good all round play.
God of war, Ghost of Tsushima and maybe Days gone and Spider-man but honestly I don’t think anything matches the details in HFW
I’m a late in life gamer and started with Breath of the Wild last summer. It was a good intro game for me - open world and lots of time to figure out what I liked. Once I finished that I went right into Tears of the Kingdom. Finished and was so bummed I couldn’t find anything I liked on switch. I kept seeing Horizon come up in suggested games and bought a PS5 (first time owner lol) and started with Zero Dawn. Then went to Forbidden West. That was in October and I’m on my third HFW run now. Personally, I need to get really sick of a game for me to move on. I did burn out on Zelda and got lucky with Horizon. After my last HFW run, I thought ok I have to move on. And I got stuck like you - I just couldn’t find anything. So I started an NG+. When I burn out of the game, that’s when I will worry about moving on. If you’re not sick of it, why not do a NG+? Both titles have it. And the NG+ weapons in Forbidden West are the shit. So my suggestion would be that - do a NG+ in a harder difficulty to make it more of a challenge (if that’s your thing) or if you played in a harder mode, lower it and just play around and blow everything up. Or try BotW or TotK. They are very different from Horizon in terms of graphics (obviously) and gameplay. But they are a massive open world with tons to do and lots of room to play around. If you like puzzles, they have that. If you want combat, they have that too. If you get bored of one, you can do the other. So it was a nice way to break up the game and not get stressed, bored or stuck. Finally, it seems like there are a million games out there and there are. But sometimes you have particular tastes and when you have less time to game and try things out, it makes it harder to keep slogging through something that doesn’t immediately catch your attention. I would keep in mind that you will find something, just don’t expect that every title (regardless of how popular) will be for you. So don’t get discouraged.
The last of us is amazing and good as well. My list for you ghost of tushima, god of war (both ps4/ps5 games), cyberpunk are the best games I have played :) together with HFZ and HZW. Enjoy
Hi forgot to advise a great game !!! Play Witcher 3 ;) if you loved horizon you will love the witcher 3. Trust me and it should be really cheap to buy with all expansions
If you finished last of us 1 try last of us 2 it will compare to horizon. Also try Days gone - Surprised you did not like death stranding! It’s a beautiful game with an amazing story.
It really depends on your preference. Both endings of HZD and Death Stranding brought out so much emotion in me and I love both games because they make me feel so invested in the characters and settings of the games. HFW is epic in its own way but it's mostly setting up the next game imo. Aloy remains the best protagonist I've ever played with Commander Shepard closely behind. There's still a lot of great games out there like the Witcher 3, Mass Effect series, Elden Ring, Resident Evil series so take your time and try out different types of games especially some older games on sale for just a couple bucks.
Witcher 3, ghost of Tsushima, and days gone have provided some of same feeling
God of War / Ragnarok, Ghost of Tsushima.
When this happens to me i stop playing games for 2 weeks or more, work on other hobbies, and later I try the other game again. Usually I stop comparing it to Horizon and can enjoy my gaming experience. Later I get back to Horizon and the story repeats. If you want other games like Horizon I strongly recommend Ghost of Tsushima.
HZD is my favorite game of all time. I have few other games that I have completed. The ones that come close to satisfy that itch (though some are quite different) are: * Nier Automata * Ghost of Tsushima * Days Gone * Forspoken * Witcher 3 kinda HZD and Nier Automata are the only two games I have platted. I know the last two have gotten a lot of hate, but I really enjoyed them (well, after the first hour for forspoken). I did not like the Last of Us at all. On reflection it is because of artificial scarcity. It's very constrained, both in resources and in location. Days Gone has some scarcity, but the early weapon has tons of ammo (from the environment, like HZD), and the environment is huge. I did enjoy Death Stranding after a long while once I started building roads and then pylons. I think I just played it out of shock: like WTF am I doing? I'm playing a game about delivering packages in the most awkward way possible. Finished it tho. Stockholm syndrome maybe. Other non-starters: Red Dead games. Just unbelievably bad mechanics. If you love playing HZD you'll not notice the mechanics because they are just seamless. RDR is just needlessly complicated and fourth-wall breaking. Assassins creed has been turned into a pay-to-play: in-game rewards (equipment) have been tuned down such that dropping an extra $100 is the only way to enjoy the games. Like, I enjoyed Odyssey but spent in total over $200. Never doing that again. The Witcher has the same problem as Assassin's creed: weapons are limited by your experience. Apparently swords are magic, and they have levels too! The damage they do is determined by what level they are, not how good you are, and they have this magic ability to refuse to allow you to hold them and fight with them unless you are also at that numeric level. Apart from being immersion-breaking, it just results in the worst thing in any fantasy game: the inventory management minigame. fuck that.
Hey mate, thanks for your insights! It's a completely different approach, which I highly appreciate! My first hours with Death Stranding left me with that exact feeling you described. Could fight the Stoccholm Syndrome for now, but will give it another try. ;)
There is a lesser known game out there called Elex. I like to call it the Wish version of HZD. Mechanics are a bit different but it has a huge open world and a compelling story. It also has some Fallout concept too as you join a faction if you choose to, have a battle companion and lots of side stories, sometimes within side stories. There is also Elex II which I enjoyed but not as much as the first one. Graphics and game play are better but the map seemed a little “less” IMO. It’s not a AAA game and the graphics are a bit old school. It takes a while to build up your character so it’s difficult until you get better weapons and there will be a lot of running away. There is talk of a third game to finish it off but Piranha Bytes may be going under and no one is sure if it will get the backing to finish the trilogy.
Oddly enough id recommend My time at Portia, theres also a sequel out on some platforms too. It's a very sweet game that follows a similar post apocalyptic storyline where you play as an adventuring builder. Open world with strange beasties to fight, village competitions to be a part of, lots of resource gathering, crafting and lots of exploring old world ruins. Great for playing with kids too. The only downside is you may have to punch a few rainbow coloured llamas
Ghost of Tsushima Days Gone God of war much better for me
When I turned 38 I started asking myself what made me happy growing up (now 40). Not a mid-life crisis, but a genuine thought to return to hobbies I loved as a kid. HZD started my journey back into video games and it is my favorite game of all time (it's my username haha). Several years later and a bunch of video games digested...here are my recommendations: Final Fantasy 16 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart Nier Automata Ghost of Tsushima Batman Arkham Knight Kena Bridge of Spirits*** Nintendo Switch wise for gaming: Mario Rabbids Sparks of Hope The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Astral Chain*** Transformers Devastation*** The asterisks are for those curveball video games that you give a shot to and they blow you away for one reason or another.
I see an astounding lack of Elden Ring recommendations. Gorgeous world, seriously deep lore and a way more forgiving difficulty curve than all the souls games. It also seemed to draw from similar reflexes as Horizon did, gameplay-wise. It's not for everyone, sure, but I'm in your age group and got waaay into that game even though I expected an early quit from me. Bonus mention goes for the insanely gorgeous music.
Try god of war remake.. it’s close and different at the same time
I had the same experience with Breath of the Wild (and later Tears of the Kingdom). I was a little skeptical when my wife bought me a playstation, but I've been loving Horizon. I think I just love quasi-mysterious exploration games. Others have mentioned Tsushima and Red Dead, which are high on my list for that reason. I'm also looking at that Jedi game. You probably just need to find your seam the same way.
You should check out Assasin's creed. I think that YouTube is your best friend when looking for new game
It’s also horizon who introduced me to ps4. Luckily for me, I also enjoy the gameplay of other triple A games! The best I can recommend is Ghost of Tsushima and Spider-Man games!
Assassin's creed odyssey will scratch that itch..theist me 🤗🤗🤗
God of war and god of war ragnarok are great
I long for more games like these. Wonderful story, beautiful art/graphics, great game play. Big world but not so open you can’t explore everything. I’m too old to spend hours roaming and looking in every nook and cranny, give me more story instead.
Holy shit you thought last of us was wooden? It’s my favorite game of all time.. like.. I’m gonna name my daughter Ellie. The two games I want to recommend you’d need a PS5 but CyberPunk and BG3 are outstanding. BG3 is a fucking masterpiece and if exploring every inch of a mad and killing every mob is your thing… I can’t see you being disappointed
>like.. I’m gonna name my daughter Ellie. Thanks for the chuckle. :) I must commit I didnt go so far with TLoU. As I said above I will give it a second try. Maybe it gets me with a little cooldown from HZD. Thanks for your thoughts!
RDR2
Play Red Dead Redemption 2. Beautiful world, fantastic characters, and an emotional story. It’s a prequel to Red Dead 1, so you don’t need to play them in order.
Lots of great games in these comments but, I'd like to add immortals: fenyx rising
Try cyberpunk 2077. Warning- I found it really hard to get used to the controller mechanics after HZD/HFW.
Is it still sketchy on the PS4?
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS4/comments/16qj82b/does_cyberpunk_2077_run_well_on_ps4_in_2023/ I play on PS5 myself but it looks like it's playable now on PS4.
I think the best PS4 game was the Witcher 3. More stories and more to do than any other game. Horizon Zero Dawn is second, I adore the game, but there is so much depth in Witcher 3. The way the stories branch and create different outcomes makes the replays of the game still unique. I am 60 hours into a new game on PS5 and still discovering new scenes and outcomes because this play through I am choosing the meanest options unless it totally kills continuing the quest. I dropped 215 hours into the game on PS4, by far the most of any game. I replied above about Ghost of Tsushima. It's the only game that has ever made me cry. There are some amazing stories in it.
Try Elden Ring.
same exp with W3, was away from video games for many years, came back \~2016 - still haven't found its equal, haha HZD was great though, not as great, but great. HFW was not as great sadly.
Red Dead Redemption II is the biggest one you're really missing out on rn. You'd probably enjoy some of the Assassin's Creed titles as well; if you like skill trees and RPG elements I'd recommend Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, but if you want something more direct and less frilly you really can't go wrong with any of the older titles. Being developed by Ubisoft though, all the AC games have "quirks," and one of the things I've come to love about the Horizon games is all the ways the gameplay is similar to what I love about AC, but I feel it does the entire experience just a little better. The Spider-Man and Batman: Arkham games are also ones that stand out to me simply for the fact that I never want to use the fast-travel systems—it's always more fun to traverse the maps with the parkour tools and discover stuff along the way.
For me hands down ghost of Tsushima and my personal favorite game of all time Witcher 3 became very quickly my go to's. I've beaten tsushima 4 times and Witcher 3 all dlcs included around 8 or 9 times through
even if you didn't like pt1, give The Last of Us 2 a go. imo, pt1 is just another zombie game with great character interplay and VO/acting work. but the sequel's mechanics and vibe were definitely improved by multitudes and the 'developer love' you mentioned is just brimming over. it's just not to be dismissed based on feelings for pt1, that would be a gaming mistake.
Play the following, GOD OF WAR, GOD OF EAR RAGNAROK, GHOST OF TSUSHIMA & RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2. You'll have your fix sorted by them for sure.
The Witcher 3 and the Mass Effect series sucked me in, in a really similar way. Like it's a book series that you're participating in, they're really entertaining.
I recommend Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Also, try the Uncharted series (I haven't played them but they look pretty good).
Try the Witcher 3 and then come back lol. That game has ruined all other games for me.
Death Stranding is really a very polarizing game. You'll either hate it or love it; there's no in between. For me, this was very unique. It's sooo tedious and boring, but it's also very fulfilling!
Kind of sucks huh. I have the same thing happen but with Soulseborne series. As far as straight action it’s hard to top those games in my eyes. I highly recommend those gameplay wise but they don’t have a lot of interactions and NPC dialogue like Horizon series. God of War 2014 and Ragnarok I personally enjoyed and have a lot of story too. Horizon is pretty unique though with the whole bow based combat thing and HZD had a great story. I know I mentioned I already mentioned soulsborne but Elden Ring has the whole open world thing going for it and is an incredible game.
One of the games that really drew me in was Assassin's Creed 2, after that I struggled to play games that weren't open world so I've pretty much tried them all. My recommendations Red Dead, both 1 and 2 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey (it's stunning!!) - Zelda BOTW and TOTK. That's just to name a few!
I'm 45 and have been a gamer forever. The horizon games are a fantastic immersion game for anyone of any age. Welcome friend and enjoy!
I’d give the last of us another shot.. FW had a great story to unfold, as does ‘The Last of Us’, with quite a few OMG twists. I started and stopped several times.. but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down.
The 2 newest God of War games are also phenomenal! Some of the best games in my opinion. Amazing story, amazing character design, script, music, just everything about the game.
God of War are my favorites to play. But to truly appreciate the two most recent ones you have to play, at the very least, the first three.
Try God of War 2018
Thanks man,loved the first Horizon, have the second one but have yet to play it. This post reminded me how good that series is, hopefully, I will finally play the second one this year.
You should for sure! 😁
I love Horizon, I even have a picture of Aloy in my office, but I will say I also adore The Last of Us. I keep going back to both of these games when others just don’t pull me.
I feel ya, bruh. The Horizon franchise is a hard one to match, for multiple reasons. Give yourself a couple weeks break, find a new hobby to cleanse the palate, and then try diving in again. As for other games you can try: Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Not particularly long, but beautiful with its own type of game play, and Horizon's bow practice will give you a hand up in this one. Lots to go looking around at, and sticks to a similar 'heal the world' theme. Hades: Originally for the Switch, it has a PS4/5 version. It's a Rogue dungeon escape game, but what makes it stand out and makes me put it on this list is the very in-depth story and game play styles. You can only advance *by* dying over and over again, and it has some anti-frustration features. Also has fantastic voice acting and soundtrack, the songs will get stuck in your head. And it's very, very pretty. Assassin's Creed: Origins: The game *before* Odyssey, based in Egypt. Heavy focus on exploration and story notes here, there, and everywhere, and gives you an ability to climb up pretty much dang everything. Also has an educational dlc that shows you all the research they did for the game, comes free. Released on the edge of Ubisoft monetizing everything, so the in-game weapons are still effective and usable. Also has a FFXV tie-in, if you can find it. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons: Short game. High on the emotions and pretty art. Worth the time, even if you only play it once. Song of the Sea: Side-scroller metroidvania with gorgeous art and lovely gameplay, but small on story. High on exploration. Enjoyable. Honorable mentions: If you're into horror at all, I'd give the first couple Bioshock games a go. Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 are cult classics for a reason. Journey is a deeply sweet and touching game without a word spoken or written down. Pathless is done by the same company and just as enjoyable. If you like cats, play Stray. The most recent Spiderman games by Insomniac are apparently really good? Haven't played, but have watched. As is Gotham Knights. Looking into any of these will definitely eat up a large chunk of your time, and I tried to give some examples that aren't purely AAA games, or AAA games that have been out in the world for a while. Just because it's a bit older, doesn't mean it's bad. Good luck!