

An expansion, The Frozen Wilds, was released in November 2017. The game won numerous awards and sold over 24.3 million units by April 2023, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games. Horizon Zero Dawn was praised by critics for its open world, story, visuals, combat, characterization, and the performance of voice actress Ashly Burch however, the dialogue, melee combat, and character models received some criticism. The soundtrack was led by composer Joris de Man, featuring contributions from The Flight. Being set in a post-apocalyptic setting, anthropologists were consulted to authenticate the world's decay over a millennium. The game engine, Decima, was developed for Killzone: Shadow Fall and altered for Horizon Zero Dawn. Development began in 2011 after the completion of Killzone 3, with director Mathijs de Jonge considering it the riskiest idea pitched at the time. The resulting animations can be found at various points throughout the world of Horizon Zero Dawn, such as in the performance of the three-man band playing in Meridian City. Horizon Zero Dawn is Guerrilla Games' first intellectual property since Killzone in 2004 and its first role-playing video game. The composers for Horizon Zero Dawn were invited to the Guerrilla studio to ‘play’ on real-world facsimiles of the tribal instruments seen in the game. The player can explore the open world to discover locations and take on side quests. A skill tree provides the player with new abilities and bonuses. The player uses ranged weapons, a spear, and stealth to combat mechanical creatures and other enemy forces. Vanasha had a small, but incredibly impactful role in Horizon Zero Dawn.In the quest 'Queens Gambit,' Aloy helps Vanasha get Queen Nasadi and her son, the boy king Itamen, out of the Shadow Carja. The plot follows Aloy, a young hunter in a world overrun by machines, who sets out to uncover her past. Horizon Zero Dawn is the first game of the Horizon video game series.
