HORIZON ZERO DAWN REMASTERED: THE MACHINES NEVER LOOKED BETTER
8.5 of 10 bananas. Robot dinosaurs, a lost world mystery, and a fresh coat of paint.
By the Alpha. PS5 disc listing. Updated Oct 2026.
Platforms: The PS5 disc is the Amazon button. PC on Steam has it too. The Remastered release is not on PS4, though the original game is. Owners of the original on PlayStation can upgrade digitally for a small fee, so check that before you buy the disc. At my check the listing was sold by a third-party seller and shipped by Amazon.
Get Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered for PS5 on AmazonSit with me a moment. A Thunderjaw is the size of a house, made of metal, and covered in weapons. The first time I shot its disc launcher loose, picked it up, and turned it on the beast, I knew this game understood something most open worlds forget: give the player a plan, then let them improvise.
What It Wants To Be
Guerrilla's 2017 PS4 hit, rebuilt by Nixxes for PS5 and PC in October 2024, with The Frozen Wilds expansion included. You play Aloy, an outcast hunter in a far future where machine animals roam the ruins of our world. The remaster upgrades lighting, faces, animation, and foliage to sit closer to Forbidden West.
What Works
Machine combat is still the best part. Scan a beast, find its weak parts, tear off its armor, and use its own gear against it. The mystery of what happened to the old world is one of the best sci-fi stories in games, and it pays off. The remaster looks stunning, with fresh motion capture and much better faces in conversations. Frozen Wilds adds a tough snowy region.
What Breaks
Listen well. Human enemies are dull next to the machines. Side quests are often fetch errands. Climbing feels stiffer than in Forbidden West. And if you already own the PS4 version, this is the same game with a better face, so the cheap digital upgrade is the smart path, not the full price disc.
Who Should Play
Play if you never played the original and want the best way to start Aloy's story before Forbidden West. Skip if you finished it on PS4 and do not care about visuals. Then read my Horizon Forbidden West verdict.
STRENGTHS
- Machine hunting with tactical weak points
- A great sci-fi mystery
- Big visual upgrade with better faces
- Frozen Wilds included
HONEST COSTS
- Dull human enemies
- Fetch quest side content
- Stiff climbing
- Thin value for returning players
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