Horizon Zero Dawn has finally been released into the wild and I can’t get enough of it. It looks and plays great, and there are a lot of small details that I can’t help but appreciate — like Photo Mode and the look of those wayfinding stones. Simply put, the game is a refreshing new addition to the PS4’s lineup. But is that lineup blurring the lines?
While playing as kid Aloy in the beginning portion of the game, I had a few nagging thoughts:
- Either her face is mapped in a weird way, or her head is too damn big. It looks peculiar and lends the impression that you aren’t controlling a “person” so much as an action figure.
- As a child, Aloy looks strikingly similar to Ellie from The Last of Us, another Sony exclusive.
Take a look at the following image and tell me there isn’t a strong resemblance:
Both have auburn hair, and they share similar eye colors and freckle patterns. Sure, you could argue these are very common traits for sandy redheads. It just makes me wonder if game developers are struggling to come up with ideas for female character appearances.
Don’t get me wrong, Ellie and Aloy are both fantastic, complex characters that I wholeheartedly enjoy watching as they grow and progress in their respective stories. But it kind of nags on me when I’m trying to empathize with the plight of Aloy but I keep thinking about Ellie.
Especially since Rost is certainly no Joel.
