Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered offers a range of technical improvements on PS5 and PS5 Pro that actually sound pretty worthwhile
A smoother experience
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One of the most controversial announcements from last night’sSony State of Playpresentation was undeniably the reveal ofHorizon Zero Dawn Remastered. This enhanced version of the 2017 open-world PlayStation game is set to arrive on October 30 and is coming to PlayStation 5 and PC.
While it’s easy to dismiss this release as a pointless upgrade, some of the technical information that was recently shared on thePlayStation Blogis actually quite promising. This remaster is being developed by Nixxes, known for high-quality PC ports of PlayStation software includingGhost of TsushimaDirector’s CutandMarvel’s Spider-Man Remastered.
Horizon Zero DawnRemasteredfeatures fully overhauled character interactions, with hours of re-recorded dialogue and remade motion capture scenes. The audio is being upgraded in more subtle ways too, including a new sound mix with full PS5 Tempest 3D Audio Tech and Dolby Atmos support.
Character models have been upgraded too and, while I’m not a huge fan of Aloy’s glammed-up new look, they are undeniably higher quality with noticeably better depth and detail. A range of improvements have also been made to the world and overall performance, which the post said aims to “bring the game to the same visual fidelity” asHorizon Forbidden West.
Forests look more lush and vibrant, with more plants and more life-like lighting effects. You can see three images for comparison below, one fromHorizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition, another fromHorizon Forbidden WestComplete Edition,and the last fromHorizon Zero Dawn Remastered.
Each focuses some foliage at roughly the same distance from the camera. Although there’s not a huge amount in it,Horizon Zero DawnRemastereddoes look noticeably better than the original game, especially with regards to detail and anti-aliasing. Of course, these are just promotional shots so I’ll be reserving full judgment until I have my hands on a copy of the game,
Even if these visual changes aren’t for you,Horizon Zero Dawn Remasteredwill also offer significantly faster loading times. If this is anything like the jump fromMarvel’s Spider-ManonPS4toMarvel’s Spider-Man RemasteredonPS5, then this alone could be worth the price of admission and a seriously game-changing upgrade that makes one of thebest PS4 gamesevent better.
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TheDualSense Wireless Controllerwill also be fully supported, with the expected haptic feedback and adaptive trigger features. New accessibility features are also being introduced, such as the option to enable sound and haptic feedback when pickups are nearby plus remappable controls and assist toggles.
It should come as no surprise thatHorizon Zero Dawn Remasteredwill take full advantage of the upcomingPS5 Protoo with even greater framerates and more graphical features. For PC players, expectNvidiaDLSS 3 andAMDFSR 3.1 with frame generation support with further details on the way in the future.
All of this might not be enough to incentivize you to part with $49.99 for a copy if you already own the game but, luckily, there is a pretty reasonably priced upgrade path available for current owners. If you already have a copy ofHorizon Zero Dawnon PlayStation or PC, you can pay just $9.99 to upgrade toHorizon Zero Dawn Remastered.
It’s hard to complain at that price really and I’ll certainly be picking it up when it releases on October 31.
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Dash is a technology journalist who covers gaming hardware at TechRadar. Before joining the TechRadar team, he was writing gaming articles for some of the UK’s biggest magazines including PLAY, Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX. Now, when he’s not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.
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