Horizon Zero Dawn Gameplay Roundup: 11 Things You Need To Know

8. Characters Are "Super Rich, Complex"

Various outlets reported that the dialogue and general character work is exemplary across the board, with Engadget in particular stating Horizon's characters were "super rich" and "complex", noting that was a "hard thing to do" considering the amount of time they were allowed to play.

My assumption would be that Zero Dawn's characters exude a similar level of presence to that of Uncharted, where within seconds you know the performances you're watching onscreen have been both motion captured and delivered by actors who 'get' their respective roles.

It must be said that one of the poignant negatives comes from facial animation occasionally meaning mouths get stuck in open positions, and Kinda Funny Games' playthrough also highlighting a weird moment where a character's head looked downwards whilst their eyes stayed glues to Aloy, resulting an unintentional - and very 'Bethesda-animation style' - mishap of sorts.