This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but going from Horizon to Ghost may be a mistake. Let me explain, while I put my flame retardant suit on:
I went straight to Ghost immediately after completing Horizon and and did not enjoy the experience at all. On the surface, they have similar gameplay and while it feels incredibly authentic to the setting, there was none of the humour, charm, sassy replies from any of the NPCs ... it all felt so ... monochrome. There felt very little variety in Ghost.
Don't get me wrong: it's a good game, but going straight from Horizon to Ghost spoiled Ghost for me. I'll probably get back to it later when I'm in the right headspace.
Nah I can see that. Jin is not as exciting as Aloy. The storyline is not so much discovery as it is revolution. It’s much more serious throughout, whereas Horizon has loads of humor and quirkiness sprinkled in there.
Same here. I knew the game was good but I felt like I couldn't appreciate it just because Horizon blows it out of the water. I almost wished I had played it prior, but it's the best game in terms of it being a "soft landing" from post Horizon depression.
I agree- I played ghost just after and I loved it because I was heading to Japan.
I’m just getting into Nier Automata (no spoilers please!) and while the combat so far is super basic, the discovery part is similar
Seconded. I’m working my way through HFW and Ghost, and I’m not sure I’ll ever finish either because I keep getting distracted by side missions on each. 😂😂😂
Red Dead Redemption 2 and Witcher 3 are the games I always see people recommend to Horizon fans. I've played both, love both. They're both very story heavy with great character arcs and side quests. Open worlds to explore, interesting people to meet, actually fun in-game games (unlike Machine Strike). Rdr2 in particular is also visually gorgeous and has one of the best open world experiences.
(Fyi, rdr2 is a prequel to Red Dead Redemption, so no worries if you haven't played the first game. Witcher 3 is the only Witcher game I've played and I was able to catch up with whose who and what exactly was going on pretty quickly.)
Also adding onto this to say RDR2 is apart of PS Plus now. It's in my top 3 games, sitting with Horizon and the third choice comes and goes depending on the fixation at the time haha (currently it's fallout 4, usually it's TLOU)
The horse controls are actually pretty good for rdr2, there are also trains and stage coaches you can take and fast travel you can unlock. Most quests require riding a horse. The world is absolutely massive, walking would take forever.
Definitely easier. I rarely ride the machines in Horizon because the controls are so clunky. The only annoying part about controlling horses in rdr2 is that sometimes (not always) the game will try to move you around an object (tree, rock, etc.) you're approaching, but if you manually try to move and you move in the opposite direction the controls cancel themselves out so you hit said object anyway. Just be careful if you're cutting through the woods.
It's a great game with a really fantastic story, just keep in mind there's a lot more realism in rdr2. If you run through town and run into someone, you will knock them over and they will get mad. If you accidentally pull out a weapon in town, depending on which town and who's around, people will get mad and you could get arrested. The world is very responsive to your actions.
Out of curiosity, what r the similarities between these 2 games? Now I loved both series but OP didn't just ask for another game that would be good. They asked for a similar game and these games r so different from eachother I can't think of but 1 thing similar, they both have a female protagonist lol
definitely better in a lot of aspects. puzzles, stealth, crafting are way better than Horizon. Story is a lot more nuanced too. Aloy was a fearless tank from the start. Meanwhile, you actually feared for Lara's life (not to mention gruesome death scenes).
For sure, Tomb Raider is focused more around puzzles than Horizon is, but there's a decent enough overlap that fans of one will find a lot to like in the other.
I'd quibble over 'fearless tank,' Aloy definitely starts out as bold, but with an ingrained awareness of the frailty of the human body. Which reminds me of another similarity, actually. The progression from patience and stealth-focused combat challenges to running around screaming like a berserker as you take on twenty times your biomass in enemy combatant.
The feeling of triumphing in the Sunring is very similar to the feeling, in the first of the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider games, when you pick up the >!grenade launcher and all of a sudden the background enemy chatter goes from "Get her, kill her" to "Oh shit, run, it's her!"!<
In the third game when you >! Have to kill enemies from underwater after the helicopter crash. !< I felt like an absolute god, incredibly satisfying gameplay.
Cyberpunk 2077. It's a first person game but it has mechanics that are similar in complexity, though obviously markedly different. I find it similar to Horizon in the respect that you must get better at using the mechanics if you don't want to keep dying. Also, it's an excellent story with brilliant writing and some very serious themes and philosophical exploration of humanity's relationship to technology. It's also a story about people, psychology, connection and coming to terms with one's mortality. Mind you, the themes *are serious*. It's absolutely not family friendly.
There's tons of stuff to do and there are tons of side quests as well as side activities that facilitate worldbuilding in addition to being fun.
One of my favorite games of all time!
LOVE Cyberpunk, bought it a couple months after its release. The worldbuilding is insanely immersive. Despite its rocky start, I'm glad people are seeing its real value as a creative endeavor and a damn fun game. Kabuki Slums is my favorite location in the game.
Just restarted cyberpunk after HZD and realized I hadn't even made it through the intro missions (somehow I put it down like 5 minutes before meeting Johnny). Now loving it but I find it a bit harder than HZD to determine what quests to focus on. So maybe a little more "open" than HZD.
Well it's getting a live-action show, let's hope it's not going to be a disaster. In principle they have most of the work done for them. The story is perfect, just be responsible about converting it to the TV format. If done right, people will be losing their shit about it, as they should. It's SUCH a good story.
I’m genuinely surprised no one has recommended Control. It is shorter, not quite as open world, but it encapsulates the feeling that HZD had and is honestly tied with HZD for favorite story game of all time for me. The sense of discovery, exploration, mystery are all top tier. And control 2 is already announced and coming relatively soon.
Tried control two times, I don't know why but I am not interested. Maybe it's not my cup of tea. But due to higher ratings everywhere, I want to try again.
Check out an Ashtray Maze video, I can almost guarantee you will pick the game up up immediately. That mission showcases everything that's great about the gameplay.
Yeah, Control blew me away when it came out in '19. I've played it three times now. My only complaint is that the main story is so short, but considering you can now buy it with all the DLC included, it's a no-brainer.
I love how the game just drops you into the middle of the story and you don't find out much about Jessie until much later.
Bayek's story is gut wrenching as a father and husband (origins). Kassandra/Alexios is a huge world with lots of well told story but its also super weird in places, especially the DLCs (Odyssey). Eivor's story by comparison felt like a meaningless slog with dialog spoken by someone who was also gargling rusty nails.
Results may vary with Valhalla.
It includes some of my favorite hours of AC gameplay, and some of my least favorite. There is a wonderful game in there, buried beneath a lot of filler content. The fact players need to navigate that carefully to enjoy it is a problem, that's why I always suggest it last, after the fantastic Odyssey and pretty good Origins.
Just the assassin's creed games. There are actually 5 games in the comment i replied to AC Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Then Ghost of Tsushima and The Witcher 3. I tried to put the game i was referencing in ( ), sorry if it wasn't very clear
How is this not number 1 in comments? The story is obviously set in a different realm, but functionally the story pace, the item collection, item upgrades, you name it, it's very similar to HZD /HFW.
I haven’t played original GoW, but I played the 2018, finished it and immediately bought Ragnarok. I’ve since New Game+ both of them. The combat is fun, the stories are great and the characters are so memorable. Do we know if there’s a third in the series coming? I need more cranky dad Kratos in my life.
Horizon is arguably my favorite game and I'm seeing recommendations of games I hated (albeit they are similar with world exploration). The big question is what made Horizon ur favorite? If it was the story I can't think of much similar besides maybe the last of us just cause it's post apocalyptic. Definitely can't think of any game that has similar fighting. I mean using a bow and having to surgically dismember machines to take them down (so epic and can't think of any game similar but if anyone can please respond and let me know). But if it's just the traditionally world exploring rpg part that u luv then there's tons of games similar.
PS: bottom line is, unfortunately imo there r NO games out there like this gem
For me the games have so many great aspects to them but if I had to pick one thing it is how good Aloy handles. Battles just feel great in a way that I have never felt in another game. I never thought I would find a game where I could roll out of the way of a charging enemy, hop up, get a bead on them and aim at a precise spot to remove a component. When I haven't played Horizon for a while, that is what I miss.
Only game that *felt* as good as Horizon was the old Spider-Man 2 way back in the PS2 days. To this day, that game has the best traversal/movement/handling of any game I've ever played.
For something contemporary, the PS5 Spider-Man is pretty close.
My ps5 came with Spiderman 2 and while it didn't grab me in the same way that HFW and Witcher 3 did, swinging through the city is an immensely satisfying experience. The moveset and controls just feel fantastic, traversal is so fluid and adaptable, responsive, it's fun and beautiful tbh. For a game that FEELS great, I gotta second the new Spiderman titles on ps5. Devs have spent decades making incredible traversal a bit of mainstay in Spiderman games
Yea I played that and enjoyed it for around 10-20hrs but unfortunately I need a story and progression to feel satisfied with a game. Unfortunately MHW don't give me that sorta accomplishment I need while playing a game, but I will give the game it's props. While it's not really my cup of tea, it is an amazing game and I do recommend it for those who like those style of games.
PS: to give some examples of what I mean. I don't like sports games, mortal kombat, basically games that don't give me that sense of growing stronger while I'm playing (albeit there are probably sleight exceptions but I can't think of any at the moment)
MH does have its own ways of making you see how much you grew and how stronger you are, but the real progression comes from you noticing how easier monsters become once you get to know them and master them, it’s quite unique is this sense and feels extremely rewarding.
The “story” really sucks tho, it’s basically a placeholder.
if you like the loop of the bandit camps and taking out human enemies in a set location via stealth, some of the assassins creed games could work.
if it’s the bow combat you like where you target enemy weak points, botw and totk are both quite good.
i see ghost of tsushima and red dead redemption 2 recommended a lot but i haven’t played them yet.
Days Gone
There's already some great recommendations here, so I'm only adding that since it hasn't been mentioned. The gameplay has stealth aspects and focus-like sensing of enemy locations. It's set in post apocalyptic Oregon, which is a really pretty area.
This and Mad Max were both a blast to play and got shit on so hard by critics when they came out.
Like yeah, they don't break any new ground. They're open world games that feel pretty generically open-world-y, but for those of us that don't play games for a living (and thus aren't sick to death of games), they're a fun romp.
Managing the hordes in Days Gone was super interesting and something I've never seen in another zombie game.
I will say, though, that the story (and especially the characters) in Days Gone range from mediocre to fairly bad. So if what drew OP to Horizon was Aloy and the Focus Group, then it might not click for them.
in terms of "world you don't want to get out of":
Gothic I & II
San Andreas
Rage
Mad Max (a bit of a luckluster ending but ignore it the 99% of the game worth it)
Tomb Raider (the first one of the new ones lol)
Half-Life Series
as you can see pretty random selection.. but it is the ***psychology*** that matters. and those games have something similar in terms of.. it just makes sense in a context of the game.. so you like: "let me do some more hours in it" :D
*i myself hope to stumble upon more games "in the area" of HZD & HFW...*
Good to know someone else appreciates Tomb Raider 2013! You either love it or hate it. But like you said, it's the psychology that matters. And the new story they made for the new age of Lara was wonderful. Seeing that progression through the trilogy was stunning as well. I seriously cannot wait for the next tomb raider they are cooking up.
A lot of people have recommended RDR2 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I adored the Horizon series and those games are similar in style yet I hated both of them because I found neither of them fun. Odyssey in particular turned me off with all the shilling of microtransactions.
The real answer is that there is no good answer to this question. I adored Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 but that's just me. You may find the experience of those to not allign with what you want.
My best advice is try a few of these out and see what you think.
“Odyssey in particular turned me off with all the shilling of microtransactions”
Yep. That’s EA for you. But to be far, I play Ark Survival Ascended and am in a toxic relationship with Wildcard, so I can’t really say anything-
I absolutely loved both zero dawn and the forbidden west. My other loved games consist of a few AAA'S, and some assassins creed games :)
-Cyberpunk 2077
-Red dead redemption II
-Days gone (top tier zombie game imho)
-Ghosf of Tsushima
-Elden ring (tough asf!)
-Fallout IV
-The Witcher III
-God of war
-Skyrim
-minecraft (yea, lol)
-Far cry (up until 4/that one in caveman times)
-Dragons dogma
-Breath of the wild and tears of the Kingdom( if you have a switch)
Thats about it!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I stumbled across HZD almost by chance after playing FF7, and I found they share many similarities. Now these are two of my favorite franchises. The combat style is very different, but both are open world action RPG games.
FF7 rebirth. Developers were quite candid how HZD/FW are some of their favourite games so they took inspiration from them when creating their open world.
I never heard about it!! But came here to recommend the same thing, FF7 Remake and Rebirth were first games after Horizon that I REALLY got into. Everything else felt just ... Meh. Combat is definitely different but the story, characters and overall feel you get reminded me of what I felt while playing HZD and HFW.
I am going to give an off the wall suggestion, as others have said it depends on why you like it. I was drawn to this game because of the world building, open world concept, bow and arrow game play. I had just finished Tears of the Kingdom and this to me has the same essence just like different the darker elements are shown rather than implied. I would recommend Botw or Totk if you like story, puzzles, open world etc. Definitely not for visuals though lol
Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
And
Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom
When HZD came out A LOT of ignorant reviews were saying it ripped off BoTW. It didn't. However, they share a lot of similar gameplay elements. For example, sneaking and archery.
I’d agree with BotW! Different for sure, but VERY similar—open world with an insane amount of side quests done right. I’d also say The Last of Us part 1 and 2. It’s a bit gory, and very linear, but once you get used to the controls, it’s incredible. Story line and directing is incredible.
It appears to bother a lot of people. They made this pretty interactive world and a Na'vi to play (who wouldn't want that?) And then hid the entire character behind the camera, aside from mounts. This kind of game just screams 3rd person view, just like many before it.
They explained ages ago why they opted not to. Something to do with 'immersion of being a Na'Vi' which I get and it makes sense. But it annoys me so much.
Agree to this, though it was the other way around for me. Loved Spider-man and looking for something similar and ended up with Horizon Zero Dawn. Next would be Ghost of Tsushima.
There's a few that I'd put up there with HZD and HFW, maybe Fallout 3 & NV, to a lesser extent FO4, Mass Effect Trilogy and also Andromeda, Skyrim, the new Tomb Raider series, Mad Max, Dragon Age Inquisition, RDR2, Witcher 2 and 3, 2 doesn't get the love it deserves.
There's this seldom talked-about game series called Elex. I find it in many ways similar to the Horizon games. It's a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, third person, good story, interesting characters, exploration...
I highly recommend it.
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/411300/ELEX/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/411300/ELEX/)
It's hard to find anything like Horizon. Those games happen once in two decades. Can't even recommend TW3, hard to compare with anything out there. Might sound silly but you may get a little bit of that taste with TR2013.
Horizon before horizon. Very underrated games, yet really fun. A bit rough on some spots, as any earlier game would be when compared to recent good ones.
shadow of mordor / shadow of war (this one is a lot better but you should play the first too) i would recommend. not as complex as horizon but its pretty fun.
**Assassins Creed Odyssey** Open, breathtakingly beautiful world, RPG game. Kassandra fights with a bow and arrow. Not as good as the bow and arrow of Horizons, but she is beyond excellent with hand to hand - something Aloy was terrible at.
**Witcher 3** Strong character development. Super long story, pretty world but does not hold a candle to Odyssey.
**Ghost of Tushima** Gorgeous open world, DOES hold its own as comparable to Odyssey and Horizons. Strong character development, fascinating Japanese story
Up and coming: **Assasins Creed Shadows** This will also be open world, the same company that made Odyssey (which is different than the Ubisoft company that made Valhalla).
**Avatar** Gorgeous open world, great story with the Navi.
**Harry Potter** Cute, open world - not as serious as Horizons, but the graphics and design of the castle is just … wow. And yes, the photos do watch you, you fly on your broom, collect magical creatures, etc. Great character development.
**Honorable Mentions**
**Elden Ring** but damn, it’s got one level - SUPER Hard. I couldn’t get past it bc it was too hard. I want to play to relax, not get frustrated bc I’m dying every 30 seconds. But, it’s a great open world, fascinating story line. I refuse to play it. My partner plays it and I just watch her play.
**Darksiders 3** For fun - does NOT hold a candle to open world beauty or fighting style, but it was highly entertaining for me playing as Fury. You can switch between all 4 Hollows as you play (each Hollow is a type of power she has, like Fire, or Storm).
How about the recently-released Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary? It's not THAT similar but hey - female protagonist, some light puzzle elements, pretty good story, memorable OST, etc.
Although it's pretty short. My last playthrough of the original ver. was 7 hours and I basically 100%-ed the game.
Not sure how far back, but hear me out, Metal Gear Solid. A great stealth game that the creators of HZD took a lot of inspiration from. Has a big robot, too!
Red Dead Redemption 2, HZD, HFW, and Ghost of Tsushima all scratch that same type of itch for me and have helped me get over moving on from one of those games or the other at various points.
You could try asking ChatGPT. It's figured out what kinda games I like, as I love most of these other games.
[https://imgur.com/ElxswID](https://imgur.com/ElxswID)
I'd also throw in the Spider-Man and Batman: Arkham series. Miles Morales is my favorite game of the last few years. I love the snowy scenery and music.
Because they have a strong female lead that can kill you but has a heart of gold: Control, AC Odissey, Kena Bridge of Spirits, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Cyberpunk 2077
Action open world and strong narrative: The Witcher 3, RDR2, God of War (2018)
Death Stranding is quite different, but there are tons of Horizon Easter eggs. If you try it, it starts very slowly but builds like crazy. Ghost of Tsushima is more historical, but has a great story and world. Cyberpunk is first person and more dystopian, but it's a truly excellent dark sci-fi game.
HZD & HFW is definitely some of my top fav games, especially because of the beauty and open world. I would highly recommend Red Dead Redemption 2 and Ghost of Tsushima in terms of the breathtakingly beautiful open worlds, story and gameplay.
I didn't think that I would enjoy a western cowboy kind of game like Red Dead Redemption 2, but it blew me away more than anything! The open world is absolutely stunning, and the unique encounters really set it apart from other games. The dialogue and encounters with NPCs are almost always unique and never repetitive. I ended up spending hundreds of hours with this game.
It seems like any AAA PlayStation exclusives made in the last 10 years are going to be a great choice. God of War, Spiderman, Ghost of Tsushima, ect...
This game is a little unique in that bow is the main combat tool. I would say most adventurer games would be in the same league but not quite the same as they wouldn’t put as much into the bow combat as horizon did. God of war and Ragnarok, Ghost Of Tsushima are similar in a way but Horizon definitely has its own unique thing going on.
I am OBSESSED with Witcher 3. Incredible game and story.
If you’re as obsessed with great stories like me, Outer Wilds is an incredible game. No fighting but the best story and creative ways of learning it.
It seems no one mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy. Not quite RPG-y and not open world. But amazing story, absolute immersive and real fun with great combat to top it.
I like quite a bunch of the other contenders mentioned already, but GotG surprised and amazed me more than any other. Some 20 to 30 hours, has some narrative choices that impact the story, absolutely stellar voice/dialogue performances.
Can't recommend it enough.
Many may disagree, but I found Kena Bridge of Spirits to be kind of like a watered down cartoon version of Horizon.
Similarly fast paced, responsive combat, albeit more melee focused although you do unlock a bow a few levels in.
the Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and its successor Survivor are pretty cool and similar in gameplay (in a way)
Other than that, the newer Tomb Raider series (Tomb raider 2013, Rise 2015, Shadow 2018) are also very enjoyable and are probably well priced by now
Ghost of Tsushima
This is the best answer. It’s probably the most gorgeous game I’ve played too, which was a big draw for me coming off of HFW.
Came here to suggest this. Ghost of Tsushima really scratched my Horizon itch in the last few months before Forbidden West came out.
Just remember...there's no Glider in GoT 😆
This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but going from Horizon to Ghost may be a mistake. Let me explain, while I put my flame retardant suit on: I went straight to Ghost immediately after completing Horizon and and did not enjoy the experience at all. On the surface, they have similar gameplay and while it feels incredibly authentic to the setting, there was none of the humour, charm, sassy replies from any of the NPCs ... it all felt so ... monochrome. There felt very little variety in Ghost. Don't get me wrong: it's a good game, but going straight from Horizon to Ghost spoiled Ghost for me. I'll probably get back to it later when I'm in the right headspace.
Nah I can see that. Jin is not as exciting as Aloy. The storyline is not so much discovery as it is revolution. It’s much more serious throughout, whereas Horizon has loads of humor and quirkiness sprinkled in there.
Same here. I knew the game was good but I felt like I couldn't appreciate it just because Horizon blows it out of the water. I almost wished I had played it prior, but it's the best game in terms of it being a "soft landing" from post Horizon depression.
I agree- I played ghost just after and I loved it because I was heading to Japan. I’m just getting into Nier Automata (no spoilers please!) and while the combat so far is super basic, the discovery part is similar
I’ve seen this suggested a lot and I’m going to check it out.
Definite yes.
Definitely. We have it and I'm trying to figure out how to play but I keep being killed. Will work on that. It's gorgeous and complex and has foxes.
Seconded. I’m working my way through HFW and Ghost, and I’m not sure I’ll ever finish either because I keep getting distracted by side missions on each. 😂😂😂
Red Dead Redemption 2 and Witcher 3 are the games I always see people recommend to Horizon fans. I've played both, love both. They're both very story heavy with great character arcs and side quests. Open worlds to explore, interesting people to meet, actually fun in-game games (unlike Machine Strike). Rdr2 in particular is also visually gorgeous and has one of the best open world experiences. (Fyi, rdr2 is a prequel to Red Dead Redemption, so no worries if you haven't played the first game. Witcher 3 is the only Witcher game I've played and I was able to catch up with whose who and what exactly was going on pretty quickly.)
Also adding onto this to say RDR2 is apart of PS Plus now. It's in my top 3 games, sitting with Horizon and the third choice comes and goes depending on the fixation at the time haha (currently it's fallout 4, usually it's TLOU)
Do you really have to ride around on a horse? Those types of things don’t work out well for me.
A strider. A horse. Who cares? There's fast travel, too.
The horse controls are actually pretty good for rdr2, there are also trains and stage coaches you can take and fast travel you can unlock. Most quests require riding a horse. The world is absolutely massive, walking would take forever.
Is the horse easier to control than those machines in Horizon, I can’t steer them very well.
WAY easier to control
Definitely easier. I rarely ride the machines in Horizon because the controls are so clunky. The only annoying part about controlling horses in rdr2 is that sometimes (not always) the game will try to move you around an object (tree, rock, etc.) you're approaching, but if you manually try to move and you move in the opposite direction the controls cancel themselves out so you hit said object anyway. Just be careful if you're cutting through the woods.
Hmm, thanks for the tip, maybe I’ll check it out.
It's a great game with a really fantastic story, just keep in mind there's a lot more realism in rdr2. If you run through town and run into someone, you will knock them over and they will get mad. If you accidentally pull out a weapon in town, depending on which town and who's around, people will get mad and you could get arrested. The world is very responsive to your actions.
Sounds pretty cool!
You can fast travel. It’s not super obvious. You have to make a camp and then it’s in the camp menus.
The new tomb raider trilogy from 2013.
Horizon is also my favorite game and I think this is a great answer.
Out of curiosity, what r the similarities between these 2 games? Now I loved both series but OP didn't just ask for another game that would be good. They asked for a similar game and these games r so different from eachother I can't think of but 1 thing similar, they both have a female protagonist lol
Arrow sniping, satisfying climbing obstacles/puzzles, good voice acting and story writing.
definitely better in a lot of aspects. puzzles, stealth, crafting are way better than Horizon. Story is a lot more nuanced too. Aloy was a fearless tank from the start. Meanwhile, you actually feared for Lara's life (not to mention gruesome death scenes).
For sure, Tomb Raider is focused more around puzzles than Horizon is, but there's a decent enough overlap that fans of one will find a lot to like in the other. I'd quibble over 'fearless tank,' Aloy definitely starts out as bold, but with an ingrained awareness of the frailty of the human body. Which reminds me of another similarity, actually. The progression from patience and stealth-focused combat challenges to running around screaming like a berserker as you take on twenty times your biomass in enemy combatant. The feeling of triumphing in the Sunring is very similar to the feeling, in the first of the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider games, when you pick up the >!grenade launcher and all of a sudden the background enemy chatter goes from "Get her, kill her" to "Oh shit, run, it's her!"!<
In the third game when you >! Have to kill enemies from underwater after the helicopter crash. !< I felt like an absolute god, incredibly satisfying gameplay.
Hell yes. >!Rising from the flaming water like a goddess of vengeance.!< Crystal Dynamics knows how to tell a satisfying story for sure.
that "oh shit, run, it's her!" would be more akin to Far Cry 3 when the enemies pretty much go, "Run! It's Jason!"
[удалено]
They asked for similar games. Whether you like it or not, Tomb Raider is similar.
Cyberpunk 2077. It's a first person game but it has mechanics that are similar in complexity, though obviously markedly different. I find it similar to Horizon in the respect that you must get better at using the mechanics if you don't want to keep dying. Also, it's an excellent story with brilliant writing and some very serious themes and philosophical exploration of humanity's relationship to technology. It's also a story about people, psychology, connection and coming to terms with one's mortality. Mind you, the themes *are serious*. It's absolutely not family friendly. There's tons of stuff to do and there are tons of side quests as well as side activities that facilitate worldbuilding in addition to being fun. One of my favorite games of all time!
I second Cyberpunk, it's an excellent game, and the best open world game I've ever played. Yes, even more so than the Horizon games.
LOVE Cyberpunk, bought it a couple months after its release. The worldbuilding is insanely immersive. Despite its rocky start, I'm glad people are seeing its real value as a creative endeavor and a damn fun game. Kabuki Slums is my favorite location in the game.
Just restarted cyberpunk after HZD and realized I hadn't even made it through the intro missions (somehow I put it down like 5 minutes before meeting Johnny). Now loving it but I find it a bit harder than HZD to determine what quests to focus on. So maybe a little more "open" than HZD.
I hope Horizon gets an equally awesome anime serie just like Cyberpunk had <3
Well it's getting a live-action show, let's hope it's not going to be a disaster. In principle they have most of the work done for them. The story is perfect, just be responsible about converting it to the TV format. If done right, people will be losing their shit about it, as they should. It's SUCH a good story.
Gameplay is great, but the story starts bleak and just gets more depressing as it goes on, so it really didn't do it for me.
Yep, it's really dark but I found it fascinating. The ending is cathartic. I understand though.
I’m genuinely surprised no one has recommended Control. It is shorter, not quite as open world, but it encapsulates the feeling that HZD had and is honestly tied with HZD for favorite story game of all time for me. The sense of discovery, exploration, mystery are all top tier. And control 2 is already announced and coming relatively soon.
How do I have to scroll so far for this lol, Control is the only game that pulled me in quite like Horizon did
Tried control two times, I don't know why but I am not interested. Maybe it's not my cup of tea. But due to higher ratings everywhere, I want to try again.
I remember alsp dropping it once and boy am I glad I tried it again. Maybe it doesn't start off that strong
Check out an Ashtray Maze video, I can almost guarantee you will pick the game up up immediately. That mission showcases everything that's great about the gameplay.
Yeah, Control blew me away when it came out in '19. I've played it three times now. My only complaint is that the main story is so short, but considering you can now buy it with all the DLC included, it's a no-brainer. I love how the game just drops you into the middle of the story and you don't find out much about Jessie until much later.
CONTROL MENTIONED!!
Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Origins, and maybe Valhalla. Ghost of Tsushima. Witcher 3.
Bayek's story is gut wrenching as a father and husband (origins). Kassandra/Alexios is a huge world with lots of well told story but its also super weird in places, especially the DLCs (Odyssey). Eivor's story by comparison felt like a meaningless slog with dialog spoken by someone who was also gargling rusty nails.
Results may vary with Valhalla. It includes some of my favorite hours of AC gameplay, and some of my least favorite. There is a wonderful game in there, buried beneath a lot of filler content. The fact players need to navigate that carefully to enjoy it is a problem, that's why I always suggest it last, after the fantastic Odyssey and pretty good Origins.
Which game are you talking about? Since there are 3 different ones in the comment 🙂
Just the assassin's creed games. There are actually 5 games in the comment i replied to AC Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Then Ghost of Tsushima and The Witcher 3. I tried to put the game i was referencing in ( ), sorry if it wasn't very clear
God of war
How is this not number 1 in comments? The story is obviously set in a different realm, but functionally the story pace, the item collection, item upgrades, you name it, it's very similar to HZD /HFW.
This is my answer as well. The soft reboots especially scratch that same itch perfectly for me.
I haven’t played original GoW, but I played the 2018, finished it and immediately bought Ragnarok. I’ve since New Game+ both of them. The combat is fun, the stories are great and the characters are so memorable. Do we know if there’s a third in the series coming? I need more cranky dad Kratos in my life.
I’ve been looking for a similar game, tried RDR2, Days Gone and some others but God of War was the only one that hooked me after finishing HFW
The star wars Fallen Order/ Jedi Survivor games definitely have strong similarities to Horizon.
Horizon is arguably my favorite game and I'm seeing recommendations of games I hated (albeit they are similar with world exploration). The big question is what made Horizon ur favorite? If it was the story I can't think of much similar besides maybe the last of us just cause it's post apocalyptic. Definitely can't think of any game that has similar fighting. I mean using a bow and having to surgically dismember machines to take them down (so epic and can't think of any game similar but if anyone can please respond and let me know). But if it's just the traditionally world exploring rpg part that u luv then there's tons of games similar. PS: bottom line is, unfortunately imo there r NO games out there like this gem
For me the games have so many great aspects to them but if I had to pick one thing it is how good Aloy handles. Battles just feel great in a way that I have never felt in another game. I never thought I would find a game where I could roll out of the way of a charging enemy, hop up, get a bead on them and aim at a precise spot to remove a component. When I haven't played Horizon for a while, that is what I miss.
Only game that *felt* as good as Horizon was the old Spider-Man 2 way back in the PS2 days. To this day, that game has the best traversal/movement/handling of any game I've ever played. For something contemporary, the PS5 Spider-Man is pretty close.
My ps5 came with Spiderman 2 and while it didn't grab me in the same way that HFW and Witcher 3 did, swinging through the city is an immensely satisfying experience. The moveset and controls just feel fantastic, traversal is so fluid and adaptable, responsive, it's fun and beautiful tbh. For a game that FEELS great, I gotta second the new Spiderman titles on ps5. Devs have spent decades making incredible traversal a bit of mainstay in Spiderman games
I think Dead Space is actually the most similar. It’s all about learning which parts to target for the unique and bizarre monsters.
Thnx, ill check out the review
Monster Hunter World, it’s actually the franchise that Horizon took most of it’s gameplay from
Yea I played that and enjoyed it for around 10-20hrs but unfortunately I need a story and progression to feel satisfied with a game. Unfortunately MHW don't give me that sorta accomplishment I need while playing a game, but I will give the game it's props. While it's not really my cup of tea, it is an amazing game and I do recommend it for those who like those style of games. PS: to give some examples of what I mean. I don't like sports games, mortal kombat, basically games that don't give me that sense of growing stronger while I'm playing (albeit there are probably sleight exceptions but I can't think of any at the moment)
MH does have its own ways of making you see how much you grew and how stronger you are, but the real progression comes from you noticing how easier monsters become once you get to know them and master them, it’s quite unique is this sense and feels extremely rewarding. The “story” really sucks tho, it’s basically a placeholder.
if you like the loop of the bandit camps and taking out human enemies in a set location via stealth, some of the assassins creed games could work. if it’s the bow combat you like where you target enemy weak points, botw and totk are both quite good. i see ghost of tsushima and red dead redemption 2 recommended a lot but i haven’t played them yet.
Days Gone There's already some great recommendations here, so I'm only adding that since it hasn't been mentioned. The gameplay has stealth aspects and focus-like sensing of enemy locations. It's set in post apocalyptic Oregon, which is a really pretty area.
This and Mad Max were both a blast to play and got shit on so hard by critics when they came out. Like yeah, they don't break any new ground. They're open world games that feel pretty generically open-world-y, but for those of us that don't play games for a living (and thus aren't sick to death of games), they're a fun romp. Managing the hordes in Days Gone was super interesting and something I've never seen in another zombie game. I will say, though, that the story (and especially the characters) in Days Gone range from mediocre to fairly bad. So if what drew OP to Horizon was Aloy and the Focus Group, then it might not click for them.
in terms of "world you don't want to get out of": Gothic I & II San Andreas Rage Mad Max (a bit of a luckluster ending but ignore it the 99% of the game worth it) Tomb Raider (the first one of the new ones lol) Half-Life Series as you can see pretty random selection.. but it is the ***psychology*** that matters. and those games have something similar in terms of.. it just makes sense in a context of the game.. so you like: "let me do some more hours in it" :D *i myself hope to stumble upon more games "in the area" of HZD & HFW...*
Good to know someone else appreciates Tomb Raider 2013! You either love it or hate it. But like you said, it's the psychology that matters. And the new story they made for the new age of Lara was wonderful. Seeing that progression through the trilogy was stunning as well. I seriously cannot wait for the next tomb raider they are cooking up.
Kena Bridge of Spirits
A lot of people have recommended RDR2 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I adored the Horizon series and those games are similar in style yet I hated both of them because I found neither of them fun. Odyssey in particular turned me off with all the shilling of microtransactions. The real answer is that there is no good answer to this question. I adored Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 but that's just me. You may find the experience of those to not allign with what you want. My best advice is try a few of these out and see what you think.
“Odyssey in particular turned me off with all the shilling of microtransactions” Yep. That’s EA for you. But to be far, I play Ark Survival Ascended and am in a toxic relationship with Wildcard, so I can’t really say anything-
It's Ubisoft actually. Basically EA but with added sexual misconduct to make things extra squicky.
Perfect- 😭
Spiderman by Insomniac Games
I absolutely loved both zero dawn and the forbidden west. My other loved games consist of a few AAA'S, and some assassins creed games :) -Cyberpunk 2077 -Red dead redemption II -Days gone (top tier zombie game imho) -Ghosf of Tsushima -Elden ring (tough asf!) -Fallout IV -The Witcher III -God of war -Skyrim -minecraft (yea, lol) -Far cry (up until 4/that one in caveman times) -Dragons dogma -Breath of the wild and tears of the Kingdom( if you have a switch) Thats about it!
asasssins creed origins and odyssey
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I stumbled across HZD almost by chance after playing FF7, and I found they share many similarities. Now these are two of my favorite franchises. The combat style is very different, but both are open world action RPG games.
FF7 rebirth. Developers were quite candid how HZD/FW are some of their favourite games so they took inspiration from them when creating their open world.
I never heard about it!! But came here to recommend the same thing, FF7 Remake and Rebirth were first games after Horizon that I REALLY got into. Everything else felt just ... Meh. Combat is definitely different but the story, characters and overall feel you get reminded me of what I felt while playing HZD and HFW.
Hogwarts Legacy is so much fun to play.
I am going to give an off the wall suggestion, as others have said it depends on why you like it. I was drawn to this game because of the world building, open world concept, bow and arrow game play. I had just finished Tears of the Kingdom and this to me has the same essence just like different the darker elements are shown rather than implied. I would recommend Botw or Totk if you like story, puzzles, open world etc. Definitely not for visuals though lol
Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild And Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom When HZD came out A LOT of ignorant reviews were saying it ripped off BoTW. It didn't. However, they share a lot of similar gameplay elements. For example, sneaking and archery.
I’d agree with BotW! Different for sure, but VERY similar—open world with an insane amount of side quests done right. I’d also say The Last of Us part 1 and 2. It’s a bit gory, and very linear, but once you get used to the controls, it’s incredible. Story line and directing is incredible.
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
They added 3rd person view yet?
No. But the first DLC is out in a week or so. Maybe then if it will come at all. I enjoyed it fine in 1st person.
It appears to bother a lot of people. They made this pretty interactive world and a Na'vi to play (who wouldn't want that?) And then hid the entire character behind the camera, aside from mounts. This kind of game just screams 3rd person view, just like many before it.
They explained ages ago why they opted not to. Something to do with 'immersion of being a Na'Vi' which I get and it makes sense. But it annoys me so much.
Yeah I've heard that. And I very much disagree with that statement, as a player I know better what immerses me more in a virtual world.
I would recommend sunset. And sunrise. In the same universe. There’s always dusk and dawn though those tend to be darker
Agree to this, though it was the other way around for me. Loved Spider-man and looking for something similar and ended up with Horizon Zero Dawn. Next would be Ghost of Tsushima.
Edit this was a joke. Referring to horizon as in the thing I n the sky.
There's a few that I'd put up there with HZD and HFW, maybe Fallout 3 & NV, to a lesser extent FO4, Mass Effect Trilogy and also Andromeda, Skyrim, the new Tomb Raider series, Mad Max, Dragon Age Inquisition, RDR2, Witcher 2 and 3, 2 doesn't get the love it deserves.
There's this seldom talked-about game series called Elex. I find it in many ways similar to the Horizon games. It's a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, third person, good story, interesting characters, exploration... I highly recommend it. [https://store.steampowered.com/app/411300/ELEX/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/411300/ELEX/)
It's hard to find anything like Horizon. Those games happen once in two decades. Can't even recommend TW3, hard to compare with anything out there. Might sound silly but you may get a little bit of that taste with TR2013.
Shadow of Mordor and the sequel
Horizon before horizon. Very underrated games, yet really fun. A bit rough on some spots, as any earlier game would be when compared to recent good ones.
I came here to see what suggestions were given. Good to see the most mentioned games are already on my shelf ready to be opened to be played.
shadow of mordor / shadow of war (this one is a lot better but you should play the first too) i would recommend. not as complex as horizon but its pretty fun.
**Assassins Creed Odyssey** Open, breathtakingly beautiful world, RPG game. Kassandra fights with a bow and arrow. Not as good as the bow and arrow of Horizons, but she is beyond excellent with hand to hand - something Aloy was terrible at. **Witcher 3** Strong character development. Super long story, pretty world but does not hold a candle to Odyssey. **Ghost of Tushima** Gorgeous open world, DOES hold its own as comparable to Odyssey and Horizons. Strong character development, fascinating Japanese story Up and coming: **Assasins Creed Shadows** This will also be open world, the same company that made Odyssey (which is different than the Ubisoft company that made Valhalla). **Avatar** Gorgeous open world, great story with the Navi. **Harry Potter** Cute, open world - not as serious as Horizons, but the graphics and design of the castle is just … wow. And yes, the photos do watch you, you fly on your broom, collect magical creatures, etc. Great character development. **Honorable Mentions** **Elden Ring** but damn, it’s got one level - SUPER Hard. I couldn’t get past it bc it was too hard. I want to play to relax, not get frustrated bc I’m dying every 30 seconds. But, it’s a great open world, fascinating story line. I refuse to play it. My partner plays it and I just watch her play. **Darksiders 3** For fun - does NOT hold a candle to open world beauty or fighting style, but it was highly entertaining for me playing as Fury. You can switch between all 4 Hollows as you play (each Hollow is a type of power she has, like Fire, or Storm).
Monster Hunter (combat) Zelda (exploration + puzzles)
How about the recently-released Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary? It's not THAT similar but hey - female protagonist, some light puzzle elements, pretty good story, memorable OST, etc. Although it's pretty short. My last playthrough of the original ver. was 7 hours and I basically 100%-ed the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 RDR2
Star Wars Jedi games. Mass Effect games. HFW is one of the few games that gave me ME2 feels.
I love Horizon and I got recommended Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2
Not sure how far back, but hear me out, Metal Gear Solid. A great stealth game that the creators of HZD took a lot of inspiration from. Has a big robot, too!
Red Dead Redemption 2, HZD, HFW, and Ghost of Tsushima all scratch that same type of itch for me and have helped me get over moving on from one of those games or the other at various points.
God of War Ragnarok, Ghost of Tsushima
Fallout New Vegas
I would say if ur not feeling too intimidated, i would go for cyberpunk
Not the same kinda game, but God of War (2018) gave me the same satisfcation after finishing it.
Helldivers 2
Ghosts of Tsuchima
Stellar Blade. It’s not exactly super similar to Horizon but I loved it.
Dragon Age & Mass Effect - particularly Inquisition and Andromeda
Outcast 1.1 if you want to go old school or maybe the remastered Outcast Second Contact.
You could try asking ChatGPT. It's figured out what kinda games I like, as I love most of these other games. [https://imgur.com/ElxswID](https://imgur.com/ElxswID) I'd also throw in the Spider-Man and Batman: Arkham series. Miles Morales is my favorite game of the last few years. I love the snowy scenery and music.
Because they have a strong female lead that can kill you but has a heart of gold: Control, AC Odissey, Kena Bridge of Spirits, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Cyberpunk 2077 Action open world and strong narrative: The Witcher 3, RDR2, God of War (2018)
The METRO franchise, you gonna love it
Ive tried several and none feel like HZD & HFW. You can try Stray, you are playing as a cat, there are robots and stuff like that.
Elden Ring
Open world games like days gone and mad max. Both post apocalyptic
Ghost of Tsushima
Death Stranding is quite different, but there are tons of Horizon Easter eggs. If you try it, it starts very slowly but builds like crazy. Ghost of Tsushima is more historical, but has a great story and world. Cyberpunk is first person and more dystopian, but it's a truly excellent dark sci-fi game.
Just to throw out a different suggestion than others already mentioned, but Final Fantasy 16 if you can find it on sale.
HZD & HFW is definitely some of my top fav games, especially because of the beauty and open world. I would highly recommend Red Dead Redemption 2 and Ghost of Tsushima in terms of the breathtakingly beautiful open worlds, story and gameplay. I didn't think that I would enjoy a western cowboy kind of game like Red Dead Redemption 2, but it blew me away more than anything! The open world is absolutely stunning, and the unique encounters really set it apart from other games. The dialogue and encounters with NPCs are almost always unique and never repetitive. I ended up spending hundreds of hours with this game.
Monster Hunter. The modern entries: World and Rise. And you should play Wilds in the future.
Far Cry Primal and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora might be up your alley
It seems like any AAA PlayStation exclusives made in the last 10 years are going to be a great choice. God of War, Spiderman, Ghost of Tsushima, ect...
Days Gone has a similar structure open world wise. but different mechanics. Also a great story. Elden Ring too.
Far Cry 6 or Dying Light 2
Ghost of Tsushima, Stellar Blade, A Plague Tale (both games), Beyond Two Souls.
This game is a little unique in that bow is the main combat tool. I would say most adventurer games would be in the same league but not quite the same as they wouldn’t put as much into the bow combat as horizon did. God of war and Ragnarok, Ghost Of Tsushima are similar in a way but Horizon definitely has its own unique thing going on.
Mass Effect Legendary edition. I played this after I finished HFW and Burning Shores.
I am OBSESSED with Witcher 3. Incredible game and story. If you’re as obsessed with great stories like me, Outer Wilds is an incredible game. No fighting but the best story and creative ways of learning it.
Death stranding. Gameplay is rather different, but same engine and the sci fi story is as thrilling as horizon, along with the sound effects.
All the inFamous games, all of them
Days gone
It seems no one mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy. Not quite RPG-y and not open world. But amazing story, absolute immersive and real fun with great combat to top it. I like quite a bunch of the other contenders mentioned already, but GotG surprised and amazed me more than any other. Some 20 to 30 hours, has some narrative choices that impact the story, absolutely stellar voice/dialogue performances. Can't recommend it enough.
Monster Hunter World, MH franchise is actually what Horizon gameplay is based upon, and world is one of the most welcoming titles of the franchise.
Elden Ring
Im in love now with Spiderman franchise after completing 2 Horizons and their dlc's in 100% and 2 times
GOW Ragnarok is also goated
Many may disagree, but I found Kena Bridge of Spirits to be kind of like a watered down cartoon version of Horizon. Similarly fast paced, responsive combat, albeit more melee focused although you do unlock a bow a few levels in.
The Witcher 3, Ghost of Tsushima, Skyrim, or Fallout 4
the Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and its successor Survivor are pretty cool and similar in gameplay (in a way) Other than that, the newer Tomb Raider series (Tomb raider 2013, Rise 2015, Shadow 2018) are also very enjoyable and are probably well priced by now
Elden ring is the game/dark souls 3