Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is a worthwhile upgrade, being a robust remaster that greatly enhances the original game’s visuals while introducing options seen in its sequel, according to a new tech review.
The tech experts at Digital Foundry took a good look at the remaster of the first entry in the series by Guerrilla, developed primarily by Nixxes, highlighting how the many improvements included in the game made it a worthwhile upgrade over the original. Like Forbidden West, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered features three performance options – 30, 40, and 60 FPS – which balance visual quality and resolution to achieve the target framerate. All three modes use dynamic resolution scaling, with quality mode aiming for native 4K resolution and the other modes below 1800p. All three modes are roughly the same, and image quality in performance mode is good enough to make it the recommended display mode for most players. In addition, all three display modes hit their target performance perfectly.
While the new display modes are welcome, it’s the visual changes that make Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered a worthwhile upgrade, according to Digital Foundry. Almost every aspect of the game has been tweaked and improved, from the terrain system and foliage to the detail of man made areas, water rendering, which is not as good as in the sequel but definitely improved over the original, lighting, character models, and animations, especially in dialogue sequence. Audio was also improved, with a new mix featuring better surround and 3D audio support.
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered launches on October 31st on PC and PlayStation 5. The remaster will be available for only $10 to owners of the original release.
