Horizon Zero Dawn similar games & best alternatives

Horizon Zero Dawn - horizon-zero-dawn_1.avif
Horizon Zero Dawn - horizon-zero-dawn_2.avif
Horizon Zero Dawn - horizon-zero-dawn_3.avif
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Horizon Zero Dawn - horizon-zero-dawn_5.avif
Horizon Zero Dawn - horizon-zero-dawn_6.avif

Horizon Zero Dawn

PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5 • 2017

Should you play it?

What works

  • Engaging story and rich world-building
  • Strategic and satisfying combat system
  • Beautiful, detailed open world
  • Strong protagonist and character development
  • Extensive side quests and exploration

Things to keep in mind

  • Repetitive side missions and some fetch quests
  • Human enemy combat less engaging
  • Occasional pacing issues in story
  • Climbing and navigation can be clunky
  • Limited impact of dialogue choices

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Ghost of Tsushima

  • CONTROL Ultimate Edition

  • Verho - Curse of Faces

  • Hyper Light Drifter

  • Prey

  • Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Horizon Zero Dawn. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Horizon Zero Dawn. These titles are not in What to play next.

Horizon Zero Dawn: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Violence, Survival, Fellowship, Intimacy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Exploration. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Leadership.

Last update: 21/08/2026