The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn Review

Score

Summary: The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn is a beautiful addition to the game and takes you into its creation with the stunning concept art and interesting information

5

Game art!

With a game this beautiful, you would hope that someone would collate the amazing artwork which helped create this immersive blockbuster for the PlayStation 4 and the gaming gods have listened thanks to writer Paul Davies, Guerrilla Games and Titan Books. Welcome to The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn, a book that focuses on this entertaining game that is set in the distant future which has seen mankind revert back to tribalism after a post-apocalyptic disaster of epic proportions.

In the game, players control Aloy, an outcast of the Nora tribe who fear the technological remnants of the past but for our young heroine, she seeks answers and goes into the heart of darkness. At its core, Horizon Zero Dawn is third person action adventure that boasts an engaging story, sturdy gaming mechanics and some truly amazing graphics which makes this one of the most detailed games on this console and this art book takes us behind the scenes.

Littered with gorgeous concept art, this hardcover book also collates information from the creative team as you are given a unique insight into their characters, tribes, locations and creatures from the game. Furthermore, the book is beautifully presented and is split into ten sections that include the following areas;

Foreword
Nora
Carja
Oseram
Bandits
Banuk
Eclipse
Machines
Ruins &
Acknowledgements

The foreword of The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn is by Rolan Ijzermans who is the assistant art director of the game. He begins about the excitement that the creative team felt when they started their journey in making this game which dates back to 2010. Furthermore he goes on to discuss how they wanted to make this post-apocalyptic look quite unique as nature has reclaimed much of the land except for those mechanical beasts that still walk the lands. Needless to say, it was a challenge yet rewarding experience and after playing the game and then reading this book, you can really appreciate the effort of the very talented creative team behind the game.

The character profiles in the game are quite stunning, especially the 14 page spread of Aloy as you are taken through the various steps of her creation that is matched with flawless illustrations. You even see the process behind her hairstyle as the developers try and capture that look which would appear in the final game. Add in her unique clothes and equipment plus the full page images and it’s not only a true work or art but you can actually see the dedication and love gone into it.

The book even goes into the many wondrous locations in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn, including the culture of these futuristic yet post-apocalyptic tribes. I also enjoyed looking at the other tribes such as the Oseram and the ‘bandits’ which was a stark contrast to the Nora. However besides the images of Aloy in her section, my second favourite part of this book is on the amazing machines that were seen in the game. This includes initial designs and even a scale to show how large some of these mechanical machines are.

Interestingly enough, Guerilla approached a robotic consultant in order to help them add some realism into their game and how they may better function in this post-apocalyptic world. The last part of the book focuses on the ruins left behind after this disaster and after 1000 years, nature has truly claimed them back. From churches to sports grounds, the artwork that accompanies this section is quite surreal with the creators using a technique called organic degradation to give these buildings and areas that realistic weathered look which may occur over the centuries.

Final Thoughts?

The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn is a beautiful accompaniment to this amazing game and if you’re a fan of this game or video game art in general, this books is filled with stunning imagery and information about one of the most highly anticipated games on the PlayStation 4. Kudos to Paul Davies and Guerrilla Games on producing this book which is available at all good book stores and is distributed in Australia by New South Books.

Book Details

ISBN: 9781785653636
ISBN-10: 1785653636
Audience: General
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 192
Published: 28th February 2017
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 30.1 x 22.8 x 2.1
Weight (kg): 0.57