Horizon Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds PlayStation 4 Pro Review

Horizon Zero Dawn was already challenging enough but the latest expansion, The Frozen Wilds, provides the most difficult battles in the entire game. The 15 hours adventure is full of side quests, a brilliant story, and some of the best battles in the game. It shares the same high quality that the core game provided and is easily a must-have for anyone who enjoyed Horizon Zero Dawn.

The story can be played after reaching The City of the Sun, but it's recommended that you complete the main campaign before entering the new area. Although it recommends players reach level 35 at level 50, I was still having trouble with many of the enemies. Once in The Frozen Wilds, you'll explore the mysteries surrounding a new nomadic tribe called the Banuk. 

You enter this new land after learning about new machines within the area, head into the new region, and learn that a powerful daemonic force is causing the machines to become increasingly violent and more powerful. Like the core campaign themes of gods, spirituality and traditions are molded based on the apocalyptic world full of robotic monsters and items left behind by the Old Ones. 

For the most part, Aloy acts as an endearing and welcoming character, able to charm her way into the hearts of almost anyone she finds. If that doesn't work, she can use her skills and talents to pull rank in situations that demand it or provide witty banter to help alleviate the situation. 

Most of the new supporting cast consists of interesting, diverse characters who complement the new area. Most of them are Banuk tribes, but you'll encounter the occasional outsider. Some provide unique side missions that take you to different parts of the map.

While missions reward you with experience and a new resource called Bluegleam, a rare type of mineral used as currency within the region, the quests themselves encouraged me to find them. Each of these adventures sent Aloy on various scavenging, hunting, and rescuing missions that each felt thrilling on their own. There's more focus on platforming here than in the core campaign, which is a welcome addition to help distinguish this expansion from the main adventure.

The Frozen Wilds isn't easy; in fact, it's harder than the main campaign. Enemies here are stronger and more aggressive thanks to the new corruption that infects the land. Here, Control Towers spread toxic material called the daemonic force to the machines, making them stronger and more threatening and healing them. Even at level 50, I found myself easily overwhelmed by daemonic machines.

The Frozen Wilds also introduces brand new enemies to the mix. Each one provides a new challenge to overcome, such as the Scorcher. This massive beast can throw mines, charge forward, and perform a close-range pulse; did I mention everything it does comes with a fire discharge? This is only 1 of the new enemies you'll encounter, and they don't get any easier from the first time you encounter one of them.

You do get a new talent tree called Traveler to invest in. This tree doesn't have much to do with combat and serves mainly for resource gathering and traveling speed. It's a welcome addition when exploring the world, but it's not much of an upgrade for those who already finished the campaign.

What primarily separates The Frozen Wilds from the rest of the game is the environment itself. The far-north region is absolutely beautiful, especially on the PS4 Pro. The snow-covered mountains and fields coupled with pillows of snow dancing in the wind shows how much effort went into ensuring this world felt unique. The atmosphere is complemented with Aloy's constant banter about how cold it is, shivering if you stand still for even a moment.

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds is a phenomenal addition to an already fantastic game. It shares the same quality of the main game and doubles down on feature content with more battles, quests, and challenges. The brand new region is full of exciting adventures and deadly machines that will test even the most veteran gamers. If you own a copy of Horizon Zero Dawn this is a must buy.