As it says on the tin, Horizon Zero Dawn is $20 this week. Everyone knows by now that it's compelling, beautiful, and fun. But really, this post is about the $15 expansion that released earlier this month.

I talked a little bit about it earlier, but I wanted to make a proper post for it, so here we go. The Frozen Wilds is exactly what an expansion should be. Rather than picking up after the game ends, it has a narrative that exists alongside the main game, and which enriches the world. It introduces new characters with unique perspectives, and develops an entire culture which was only seen briefly during the main game.

Every image in this post is a real screenshot taken in the game's Photo Mode.

A great thing about The Frozen Wilds is that you can start the expansion at any point in the main game, but much like the main game, dialogue changes throughout depending on reaching certain milestones in the story, because Aloy grows as a character throughout the course of the main game (There are at least three different ways that a conversation with a certain character can play out simply from starting the expansion at different points in the story). That said, the Banuk lands are known for being unforgiving, so I wouldn't recommend starting until you're about level 30 or so (even a seasoned vet like me was getting his butt kicked).

Anyway, on to what I love about the expansion.
First, it's a great showcase of lessons that Guerilla has learned from the main game. There are improvements, tweaks, and just a general sense that they're headed in a great direction with the franchise going forward. Everything from animations to enemy encounters, and even the conversations have been upgraded from the main game (not that the base game was a slouch in these categories, either, though some folks will be really happy that the conversation animations have been overhauled). At times, the expansion feels designed to showcase specific improvements (though it's sadly through one-and-done examples sometimes, such as the single Tallneck in the expansion).

In fact, let's use that very example as a way to show how they do a minor sidequest like that right, and the little things that I like about it (Minor spoilers!):

If you don't watch the video, the tl;dr version is that there is a sidequest available in the game, but it's initially just presented as casual NPC dialogue, without the game telling you what you should be doing. It just presents a scenario, and a hint as to the location, encouraging exploration. Once there, players are clued in to what they should do, and it's up to them to solve the issue. The game makes the steps required fun, and succeeding has a permanent effect on the game world, while opening up more NPC dialogue (and ultimately, this proves to be much more helpful to players later on). If players don't specifically do this sidequest, it will be brought up at a certain point in the story, to help let them know that it's an option for them.

Many of the sidequests in the game let you discover them without specifically talking to someone in order to trigger them, and I love that. When I started playing, I simply headed off into the wilds HUDless and with only a basic understanding of what was happening in the region, and I would run into some really neat stuff, like a lone warrior out in the snow trying to protect a wounded loved one, or a bandit with an experimental weapon that I hadn't seen before.

Even the inside of her hood is totally detailed. HNNG!

Oh, and speaking of snow, I wanna just throw out the fact that the snow in The Frozen Wilds is hands down my favorite snow in any game so far (while also being another technical improvement that Guerilla has made to the game). You may have already seen that grass and dirt are actually rendered, and can be uncovered beneath the snow, but look at how the dangling piece of machinery leaves its own distinct trail when it touches the snow:

Anyway, all of the sidequests do have "starting points" that give you context for them, but I do like the sense of discovery and mystery that the game presents you with. That said, the quality of the writing is such that the various questgivers and NPCs in the game are a joy to talk to, and some of my favorite in a long while. Comedic moments land well (sorry Cayde and Failsafe!), lighthearted dialogue is often punctuated with some real talk and sadness (the Banuk lifestyle is as harsh as their lands), and you often want to do the quests simply as a favor to the people who give them to you, rather than as a means to your own ends.

I didn't ask for this truth...

Honestly, this expansion feels like an essential piece of the Horizon world, and even though it doesn't push the main story forward on its own (though it does confirm some major theories that the main game doesn't), it is a big step in developing the world and perspectives in the franchise, and it really makes me excited about what Horizon 2 might hold, so if you're picking up HZD this weekend, do yourself a favor and snag the excellent expansion as well.

As expected, here are the obligatory screenshots taken during my playthrough (non-spoilers first):

Some more spoiler-focused shots:

And before folks forget that the main game is stupidly gorgeous in its own right, here are some recent shots that I took there as well:

What? Aluki is bae, remember?