Horizon: Zero Dawn studio director explains what's actually changed in the last 7 years with side-by-side screenshots

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Sony) Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered was finally unveiledatPlayStation’s State of Playafter months of rumors and internet grumbles about how we don’t need to re-release games that still look brand spanking new, but one developer has explained exactly what’s changed in the upcoming remaster. Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered’s announcement trailer promised that the 2017 robo-dinosaur romp would be brought up to the same visual quality as its more recent sequel, Horizon: Forbidden West, with over ten hours of new motion capture performance added to scenes where the camera really zooms right up into character’s faces. Plus, improved textures and proper DualSense support. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered - Announce Trailer | PS5 & PC Games - YouTubeWatch On Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered - Announce Trailer | PS5 & PC Games - YouTube Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered - Announce Trailer | PS5 & PC Games - YouTube Otherwise, the trailer kind of struggled to properly emphasize how dramatic the Remastered changes might be because, well, Horizon: Zero Dawn was already a lush video game at release and its free PS5 update only solidified that further. Most people were also probably watching a subpar version of the trailer on social media, making those comparisons even murkier. Guerrilla Games' co-studio director and art director Jan-Bart van Beek then chimed in on social media to delve into the nuts and bolts of what’s actually new, and it turns out the team actually transplanted Aloy’s entire model from Forbidden West into Zero Dawn. A nice bit of added continuity between the two games since they’re only set six months apart. We brought over Aloy’s model fromForbidden west. We also reworked the character lighting to match the look of HFW and improve skin tones. Hair shaders are also improved. The slight blurring you see between ps4 and ps5 is because the PS4 image here has motion blur turned off https://t.co/F0ijlydZBTSeptember 25, 2024 We brought over Aloy’s model fromForbidden west. We also reworked the character lighting to match the look of HFW and improve skin tones. Hair shaders are also improved. The slight blurring you see between ps4 and ps5 is because the PS4 image here has motion blur turned off https://t.co/F0ijlydZBTSeptember 25, 2024 Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered comes out as a $10 upgrade for existing owners on October 31, continuing the series’cursed streak of releasing in the shadow of an even bigger franchise, this time with Dragon Age. Discussions around whether this remaster was really necessary are still up in the air, especially sinceThe Last of Us Part 2 Remastered added an entirely new modeand was still leashed to this same discourse, but we’ll see how it shakes up for ourselves on Halloween. Horizon: Zero Dawn’s facelift comes out just in time for PlayStation’s similarly beefed-up console. Check outeverything we know about the PS5 Pro. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more CATEGORIESPC GamingPS5PS4PlatformsPlayStation CATEGORIES More about horizonThe Horizon curse is far from over as PlayStation’s Zero Dawn multiplayer spin-off might bump into Elden Ring once again in 2025Horizon Zero Dawn remaster continues the series' curse as Dragon Age and Monster Hunter Wilds' beta soak up all the chatter More about horizon The Horizon curse is far from over as PlayStation’s Zero Dawn multiplayer spin-off might bump into Elden Ring once again in 2025Horizon Zero Dawn remaster continues the series' curse as Dragon Age and Monster Hunter Wilds' beta soak up all the chatter The Horizon curse is far from over as PlayStation’s Zero Dawn multiplayer spin-off might bump into Elden Ring once again in 2025 The Horizon curse is far from over as PlayStation’s Zero Dawn multiplayer spin-off might bump into Elden Ring once again in 2025 Horizon Zero Dawn remaster continues the 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origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic 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