12 Best PS4 Exclusives Of The Generation So Far

Aug 31, 2018 August 31st, 2018

1. Horizon Zero Dawn

I've not played a game that blew me away through the sheer amount of thought required to create it, than Horizon.

Everything from its unique 'future-meets-past' art direction to the framing of the world delves into race relations, hierarchies, personal and social philosophies. The individual tale of Aloy is your window to all of these things, leaving each and every discoverable element to be planned and executed with a degree of confidence and profundity I haven't seen in a video game.

See, Aloy herself is on a quest to discover the origins of her own mother, but along the way, developer Guerrilla Games roll together influence from pretty much every major game of the last 10 years. From Mass Effect-style conversation trees to Far Cry hunting and crafting, Assassin's Creed stealth and Shadow of Mordor bow n' arrow combat, Horizon walks a line between Aloy's personal narrative, and the larger act of taking down the hulking robotic creatures that dominate the landscape.

Solving the mystery of what these things are is a huge part of the game, but each one requires a unique set of tactics to take down, ranging from targeting specific components, learning how to put them into weakened states for more damage, temporarily controlling them to fight for you, tearing off projectile weapons to use yourself, killing with stealth, bombing from afar, tying them with ropes, using tripwires - wondrously, it goes on and on.

The vast majority of Horizon is an open-ended explore-a-thon as you attempt to decipher everything about Aloy and this jaw dropping landscape out of time, but the stunning graphics, exemplary score, great character work and mystery narrative get revealed a perfect pace, making a great experience for newcomers and seasoned gamers alike.

I'll be thoroughly astonished if anything tops Horizon, not only on PS4, but for the rest of this generation.