#16
Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
YoY: +3
The best open-world game I've ever played, the best game of 2017, and in general one of the absolute best games of its generation, Horizon Zero Dawn rekindled my interest in open world games as a whole back in 2018 when I played it for the first time. It turns out that all it took was an interesting setting to pull me in, after series like Assassin's Creed pushed me away with their yearly releases and dull, repetitive side quests and pointless busywork.
Open world games in general need to have something special to truly make me care. Something like the Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor, getting to play as Batman in the Arkham games, or the brilliant style of Yakuza 0. Horizon Zero Dawn falls right into this category with its setting and design. The wonderful main character, fun gameplay, and interesting story is just a great bonus to all that. It's the reason why my most anticipated game of 2022 is Horizon Forbidden West rather than Elden Ring, and why I'm finally starting to consider getting a PS5.
