# Horizon Zero Dawn

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Horizon Zero Dawn and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its story and world, which people say holds up well. Critics find the gameplay stale and report frame rate drops.

## Why people recommend it

- Strong story and storytelling (3 comments): "The best reveal was not that he accidentally liquified the biosphere, but that he doomed generations of re-seeded humans" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46902908)) "Horizon zero dawn and forbidden west have a good story and storytelling but gameplay wise it's a bit stale." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48669518)) "I did like "Gaia" in Horizon Zero Dawn (game) because it made a great story though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46090846))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Breath of the Wild](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild.md): 27 recommend
- [The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time.md): 17 recommend
- [Shadow of the Colossus](https://hackerapproved.com/p/shadow-of-the-colossus.md): 14 recommend
- [God of War](https://hackerapproved.com/p/god-of-war.md): 12 recommend
- [The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom.md): 12 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Horizon Zero Dawn", https://hackerapproved.com/p/horizon-zero-dawn/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).