Does Horizon Zero Dawn Really Need A Remake?

Highlights

Horizon Zero Dawn is beloved for its open world, but does it really need a visual remake? Fans are debating the necessity.
Combat improvements are a possible justification for a remake of Zero Dawn, especially in comparison to its successor, Forbidden West.
Sony’s remake strategy is questionable, with unnecessary remakes like The Last of Us and Until Dawn leaving fans puzzled.

2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn is one of my favorite first-party PlayStation 4 titles. It’s a refreshing take on the post-apocalyptic setting, and as someone who is very picky when it comes to open-world games, Horizon offers one of the best open worlds I’ve experienced in a game. It’s easy to see why Sony has sought to turn this into a more prominent franchise, as it’s such an engaging game that’s more than worthy of your time.

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Recently, however, rumors have been flying that Horizon Zero Dawn is set to receive some sort of remake from Sony. These rumors have reached a fever pitch with Sony removing the original game from the PlayStation Plus service, potentially to replace it with the newly updated version. While it’s currently unclear just how significant of a “remake” this new version may be, a return to Horizon Zero Dawn is a proposition I’m still struggling to find the justification for.

Could It Actually Work?

So far, most of what we’ve heard of this new remake is that it will offer improved visuals. That’s a given with something like this, but much of the early talk has been centered around improvements to the lighting system, textures, animations and models. Now, if I’m being charitable, these visual improvements would surely look limpressive, and considering how beautiful the game’s sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, is, I’m sure an improved-looking version of Zero Dawn would make me say “wow” more often than not.

With that said, does Horizon Zero Dawn truly need a visual upgrade? Zero Dawn is already a visually remarkable game, and the graphics are still incredibly impressive when playing the backward-compatible version on the PlayStation 5. Furthermore, while the game is seven years old as of 2024, the technological leap from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 hasn’t been huge enough that a remaster would be a night and day difference between the original. A noticeable one, absolutely, but not one that would change the way I look at the original game.

Theoretically, a remake of Zero Dawn that brings the combat closer to Forbidden West’s would be welcome. Even then, though, would that, plus some additional accessibility features, really be enough to justify a remake?

The only thing I could see needing much improvement in a remake is the combat. Zero Dawn’s combat, at times, felt a touch bulky and was one of the few things within the original game that could use improvement. The overall flow of the melee combat was rather slow, and it lacked satisfying impact. Enemies often took too long to defeat, because players were forced to focus on a hit-and-run approach.

Forbidden West did smooth it out and make the combat much faster and more intuitive, notably by speeding things up and making Aloy feel a touch less sluggish. Thus, melee combat feels much more intuitive and the title gives players more options than the hit-and-run style. Theoretically, a remake of Zero Dawn that brings the combat closer to Forbidden West’s would be welcome. Even then, though, would that, plus some additional accessibility features, really be enough to justify a remake?

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What Makes A Remake Necessary?

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Generally, there are a few good reasons to remake a video game. One such reason is that you can take a beloved game that’s been touched by time and make it better. Horizon Zero Dawn, despite being seven years old, doesn’t feel like it’s aged particularly badly, or been rendered lesser by the release of another game. Sure, Forbidden West added its share of quality-of-life improvements, but none of them totally invalidate Zero Dawn or make it a game that’s impossible to return to.

A remake could also be a worthwhile proposition for a game that may have been lost in the pack and didn’t sell to the degree that it should’ve. Horizon doesn’t even have that on its side.

Another good reason to remake a game is that it allows developers to take a game that might not have reached all of its potential and create the ultimate version of the game, something more akin to an original vision. Horizon, however, has been a critically acclaimed game since its initial release and was a massive award contender back in 2017. This is not a misunderstood hidden gem that wasted its initial potential, it’s a game that’s hailed as one of the best of its console generation. What reason is there for Sony to fix what isn’t broken?

A remake could also be a worthwhile proposition for a game that may have been lost in the pack and didn’t sell to the degree that it should’ve. Horizon doesn’t even have that on its side. Despite being released just days before the massively hyped The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon still managed to sell over 24 million copies up to April 2023 (as PlayStation Blog reported the following month) and came out on the other end as one of the best-selling games on the PlayStation 4. Sony wouldn’t be reminding everyone of a game they happened to miss out on, they’d just be selling a slightly better version of a game players already own.

Finally, fan enthusiasm is an important factor in a remake. After all, how much sense does it make to remake something that fans don’t want? Take a game like Bloodborne, for example. FromSoftware’s 2015 is a frequent topic of conversation in this regard as, whenever the game is brought up in the news, there’s always some amount of clamoring for a remake. This largely stems from the fact that, since its 2015 release, Sony and FromSoftware have hardly acknowledged the game, not even offering up some kind of next-gen upgrade that allows the game to be played at 60 FPS.

Where Bloodborne has a large contingent of fans who desire a remake, Horizon Zero Dawn doesn’t have that. It’s a series Sony has continued to invest in and develop, and the original game can now be played at 60 FPS on PlayStation, as opposed to the 30 FPS it reached on previous consoles. With Sony’s solid future-proofing of Zero Dawn and the continued attention given to the wider series, it’s easy to see why there’s not exactly an intense amount of fan demand for a full remake, especially in comparison to a title like Bloodborne.

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Sony’s Remake And Remaster Strategy

Horizon Zero Dawn Machine Flying Over Forest

Quite frankly, I just struggle to understand Sony’s rationale when it comes to remakes and re-releases at this point. At a time when the publisher has seen its development budgets increase, I can’t help but wonder why Sony is pouring as much money as it can into remakes and re-releases of games that, frankly, don’t really need them. It feels like this has reared its ugly head throughout much of the PlayStation 5 generation so far, and this is just another example of Sony’s questionable philosophy.

Back in 2022, Sony released The Last of Us Part I, a full remake of the original PlayStation 3 game The Last of Us on the PlayStation 5. It was already a strange proposition, given that The Last of Us had already received a remaster on the PlayStation 4, said remaster being backward compatible with the PlayStation 5. Sony would then go on to release a remaster of The Last of Us Part II, and while it was thankfully just a remaster with a $10 upgrade path attached to it, the final product itself was barely distinguishable from the original title.

Beyond this, it feels like Sony’s not even done with this lineup of re-releases. Later this year, Sony is set to publish the Until Dawn remake, and questions have already been flying about why such a game needs a remake. Early footage of it doesn’t make the game look overly different from its original counterpart, and this is another example of a game that doesn’t seem to need many improvements. Furthermore, while they are very different titles, if a game like Until Dawn (which came out in 2015) doesn’t feel like it needs a remake, what reason could a game like Horizon Zero Dawn, which came out two years later, possibly have to need a remake?

Sony is sitting on a wealth of franchises that have been dormant for years, several of which would be ripe for an excellent remake. It’s confusing, in that regard, that Sony is spending more of its time and resources on remaking games that are already owned by many players, are readily playable on current platforms, and quite frankly, don’t have any need to be remade. Of course, I could end up being incredibly wrong and the Horizon Zero Dawn remake could be a fantastic way to re-experience this incredible game. We’ll have to wait and see, but right now, it simply feels like another folly for Sony.