Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered: Worth the Upgrade or Just a Pretty Pain?
Despite being one of the least-wanted remasters in recent memory, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is earning praise from reviewers. hardware expert Nick Evanson even gave it high marks, calling it “the best version of Horizon Zero Dawn it could be, short of a full remake.” And while it might be hard to resist the temptation to drop £10 on the upgrade to see what it’s all about, some might want to hold off for now. Why? The remaster’s launch has been rocky, to say the least, as it sits at a mixed review rating on Steam.
The issue doesn’t seem to be the visuals—those are as stunning as you’d hope. But depending on the hardware, players are reporting a variety of bugs and glitches. The most common complaints on Steam and forums are sound issues, with multiple users noticing odd audio glitches, especially during cutscenes. One Reddit user, Travbedaman, describes stutters, sound reverb, and small graphic hitches that, while not game-breaking, certainly disrupt the immersion.
In a particularly strange audio bug, some players have found that the game drops its volume in the Windows mixer whenever they pause or interact with another window. User NiceColdPint backs up Travbedaman’s experience, noting visual glitches they’d like patched, while another player, p0rnw0lf, found that the audio bug consistently lowered the game’s volume to 30% in the mixer when interrupted.
Crashes, gamepad issues, and freezes also appear in the laundry list of complaints, but by far the most controversial problem has been the required PlayStation Network (PSN) login, something the original didn’t require. For a single-player game, this PSN requirement has left fans scratching their heads—and plenty are outright annoyed. This extra step is particularly frustrating for PC players who don’t already have a PSN account, forcing them to create an account simply to play a remaster of a game they may already own.
Thankfully, some users have found a workaround. By adding the option “-showlinkingqr” to the game’s launch options on Steam, players may be able to bypass the PSN login. But even with this option, it’s still clear the remaster’s bugs will need a few patches to iron out.
The remaster does have its moments, with visual upgrades that bring the beauty of Horizon’s lush landscapes to new levels. Yet until Sony addresses the major bugs, anyone looking for a flawless revisit might want to wait for those first patches.
