The hunting mechanics are excellent. Each group of machines has specific strengths and weaknesses, and the game demands that you don’t attack recklessly or without paying attention to where you shoot. Instead, it highlights key parts of the enemies' structures in yellow, which, when hit by weapons, cause them significant damage. Most of the gameplay revolves around this idea, and Zero Dawn builds upon it with various mechanics that either aid or hinder shooting precision, such as concentration or the erratic movement of enemies.

The fact that many of these machines operate in groups and attack simultaneously is a well-balanced detail that increases the sense of challenge. Additionally, certain types of machines act as mini-bosses and give you little room to breathe and strategize—like the Thunderjaw—further raising the level of difficulty. However, thanks to the hunting and combat mechanics, these encounters remain highly satisfying both during the fights and after completing them.

The story is a strong point in the game, but only in terms of its central idea, as its execution leaves much to be desired. There are two main reasons why the game’s narrative can become dull. First, the overuse of medium shots, which make up—roughly speaking—80% of the game's dialogues. This approach is easier, faster, and simpler than developing elaborate cinematics. The problem is that it makes it extremely difficult to engage the player. It’s like going to the movies to watch a film where the camera stays in the same position the entire time—you’ll be bored within the first ten minutes.

The second issue is the disconnect between narrative and gameplay. Most of the story unfolds through simple dialogues with choice wheels that serve to provide exposition, allowing the player to learn about the world, characters, or the upcoming mission. Rarely does the narrative progress while you control the character; rarely is exposition delivered through cinematics, environmental storytelling, or character body language. Everything feels flat, like a copy of a copy of a copy of the first conversation presented in the game.

Once again, the reason behind this decision is obvious: faster, easier, fewer resources. But, again, this strategy significantly diminishes player enjoyment and the desire to invest time in the story being told. In fact, by the time I reached the middle of the game, I completely lost interest in the story and ended up watching a summary on YouTube after finishing it just to have a vague idea of what I had played.

Zero Dawn builds a post-apocalyptic setting with a tribal aesthetic, where the world is dominated by biotech machines that mimic the behavior and appearance of real animals. Its backstory tells of an inevitable end of the world, marked by sacrifices and difficult decisions, where humanity is doomed to a proxy genocide with the sole purpose of buying time and ensuring a second chance for future generations. And the cherry on top: the protagonist, an outcast since birth, embarks on a quest to find her mother, only to discover that she is actually a clone. A brilliant premise, ruined by poor execution.

And it's not just the main story that suffers from this, but also the side quests, which end up being just as uninspired. At some point, you complete them only for the sake of squeezing everything out of the game rather than out of genuine interest. But once you've reached the peak of progression—max-level armor and modifications, piles of shards, most skill points unlocked—the rewards become meaningless. Even less appealing are the side quests tied to collectibles, like searching for Banuk figures, metal flowers, or mugs, as they provide little insight into the world and serve only to earn achievements, complete the platinum trophy, or obtain reward boxes—things that, at that stage, no longer matter.

To wrap up the topic of the poor execution in the story's presentation, there were two sequences that I truly enjoyed because they largely avoided this issue: the first Cauldron I explored and the mission where you have to climb a towering building to uncover who Elizabeth Sobek was and what led the world to its current state. In both, the environmental storytelling is well done.

In the first, the stark transition from a lush, green landscape to a metallic, blue-toned industrial setting immediately captures the player's attention. Then, realizing that these places are actually factories where machines are created—and that you also gain the ability to control them—feels like the cherry on top. The problem is that after the first Cauldron, all the others feel nearly identical, both in layout and in their final encounters, reminiscent of the repetitive shrine issue in Breath of the Wild. The second mission is my favorite because it tells the story in a much more engaging way—not through lengthy dialogues, audio logs, or dense text, but rather through holograms stored in computer memory. This adds drama and reinforces the urgency of the plot.

Despite all the negatives mentioned, the hunting mechanics ultimately carry the experience and keep the game solid all the way to the end. Compared to dozens of other triple-A titles that try to sell you the same vast yet empty open-world RPG, this one stands out. Its extensive enemy roster, the vastly different strategies required to defeat them, and the level of challenge they present keep the player engaged at all times. Moreover, the way machines are distributed throughout the map is so well thought out that, after finishing off one herd, another is usually just a short distance away, making traversal consistently entertaining. And this holds true despite how empty the world can feel due to the lack of stronger environmental storytelling—something that its contemporary Breath of the Wild or the later Red Dead Redemption 2, both masterpieces, execute brilliantly.