Did you guys regret playing HZD first after finishing HFW? :: Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition General Discussions

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Retrolicious 10 Jul @ 12:01am

Did you guys regret playing HZD first after finishing HFW?

I think it is a matter of fact that there is a huge tonal shift between HZD & HFW, which for some people might feel strange or annoying.

I played HZD & enjoyed the overall story & gameplay hunting loop. But with the knowledge of the prequels story it kinda was hard to get into HFW world without expectations etc.

The Bannuk DLC in HZD was done very well though & seems missed in HFW sadly.

TL;DR
Story revelations of HZD might people confuse, when they start the long tutorial of HFW.
What do you think? Playing prequels in order vs playing HFW fresh without preknowledge.

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Showing 1-15 of 15 comments

didymos1120 has Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

10 Jul @ 3:23pm

Um, HZD came out first. You're supposed to play it before HFW.

VisciousFishes has Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

10 Jul @ 7:54pm

For me, it doesn't matter which game series it is, I would always recommend playing any game series (or duology if that is all we have,) in release order. If there is a timeline separate from the release order then I would recommend release order still, and if you enjoy the series then play it in order of timeline.

Game creators tend to include call backs when games are played in release order. Also, games mature over the series and tend to refine game mechanics, so playing out of release order can be jarring mechanically.

SatoDoge

11 Jul @ 11:33am

I largely regret playing Forbidden West first, I knew I was missing a lot of the backstory/understanding of the lore. It came with my PS5 so I just played it. Still enjoyable, but I wish I could go back in time and play in the proper order.

(Edited for spelling…)

Last edited by SatoDoge; 11 Jul @ 11:34am

Retrolicious 12 Jul @ 1:45am

Originally posted by SatoDoge:
I largely regret playing Forbidden West first, I knew I was missing a lot of the backstory/understanding of the lore. It came with my PS5 so I just played it. Still enjoyable, but I wish I could go back in time and play in the proper order.

(Edited for spelling…)

A sorry for this.
Did you play HZD afterwards? Which game did you like better & did you also notice the huge tonal shift in story telling?

I'm just wondering why some people say that they really enjoy replaying HZD and it is in general looked as a great game. But many say they only play HFW once or got bored along the lines ....
Many say they don't want to replay HFW. Maybe the pacing is too slow and the handholding gets annoying after time?

michaelplehner has Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

14 Jul @ 4:59am

I actually liked Zero Dawn much more than Forbidden West. There were some improvements in the sequel but overall I look at it as a downgrade.

sirkudjon

16 Jul @ 1:59am

Originally posted by didymos1120:
Um, HZD came out first. You're supposed to play it before HFW.

Retrolicious 14 Aug @ 7:14am

Originally posted by sirkudjon:
Originally posted by didymos1120:
Um, HZD came out first. You're supposed to play it before HFW.

Doesn't change the fact that some might still regret playing the game in orders, cause of the tonal shift and big different design in the story of HFW ....

I didn't ask about what you are supposed to do, but instead what you prefered, big difference :3

Did you even read the op ? oO

Last edited by Retrolicious; 14 Aug @ 7:14am

VisciousFishes has Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

14 Aug @ 8:15am

I have been playing the Forbidden West recently. Lots of fun.

What I found was that at the beginning of H:FW you are told the story of H:ZD before you get control of Aloy. Also, with the more advanced controls of H:FW playing H:ZD afterwards is a a step backwards, with simpler controls. Not everything is covered in the intro but there are callbacks while playing H:FW which talk about some of the data points you collect in H:ZD.

ⓀⒾⓦⒾ‰

15 Aug @ 12:05am

playing forbidden west first would be like watching empire before star wars

james01

18 Aug @ 5:34am

Originally posted by didymos1120:
Um, HZD came out first. You're supposed to play it before HFW.

agreed

#10

james01

18 Aug @ 5:53am

OP is confusing, how did you play HZD first if you played it after HFW. I assume you mean:

HFW -> HZD

You will miss a lot of features from HFW to HZD, but you surely have spoiled the story now for HZD which is the greatest of the series so far.

Also you now wont appreciate the improvement in QoL, instead you felt mad/frustrated/disappointed. So all in all you have two disappointments vs one disappointment+one improvements to people who have gone HZD -> HFW. Now please dont drag everyone else to your missery lol just kidding :)

Last edited by james01; 18 Aug @ 5:54am

#11

Dryspace 19 Aug @ 5:56pm

Originally posted by Retrolicious:
Did you guys regret playing HZD first after finishing HFW?

Which one? First, or after finishing HFW? Alright, I understand. You mean: Did you regret having played HZD before HFW?

I can not think of a single video game, book, or movie series that I would regret completing in chronological order of release.

Last edited by Dryspace; 19 Aug @ 6:01pm

#12

zappypotato has Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

19 Aug @ 9:09pm

do you think buying HFW is worth it?

#13

wholt91 20 Aug @ 9:07pm

Originally posted by zappypotato:
do you think buying HFW is worth it?

Absolutely, just don't be surprised when the story is a bit disappointing. HZD has a significantly more interesting story, which I think pretty much ties it with HFW (which instead has much better graphics, freedom (due to the sunwing), world design, audio quality, facial animations, side quests, etc.).

#14