Horizon Zero Dawn: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

3. An Intelligent, Progressive Mentality That Maturely Addresses Feminism & Equality

A complex topic to dissect, addressing a feminist agenda in a post-2016 world is enough to make most people run for the hills. Thankfully, Horizon tackles its idea of female representation with real maturity, first framing the Nora tribe as that of a group of religious fanatics, hateful of 'motherless' children like yourself - thereby establishing motherhood as an incredibly important thing - before having Aloy comment or react to a thousand altercations where other protagonists would stay silent.

Across the board you're greeted by a huge variety of characters and NPCs - some will attempt to come onto Aloy, doubt her as a female warrior, deride her position due to the tribe she's associated with, and so on. Guerrilla have really tried to stay away from being 'black and white' when it comes to world views, bolstering the world with a diverse cast, and across the game you'll interact with sects of people from all variations of religious, political and philosophical belief.

When all of this is rolled together, unlike 2013's Tomb Raider which attempted to showcase strength through abuse and fighting back against brutish male figures, there's no specific highlight put on the fact that Aloy is a woman, she just happens to be, which in essence, is the endgame for any mentality striving for abject equality.