I recently got back into Horizon Zero Dawn after a two-week break. This time, I decided to stop pussyfooting about so I could strap in and push through the main quest line to completion.
It felt good to be back, and aside from adding to my an endless collection of screenshots, I was pleased to find that the combat and narrative were still top-notch. After a few hours, though, I was starting to hit a wall, feeling a little exhausted of the game’s massive world.
But then, like a beacon of light in a fog of war, a voice appeared that snapped me out of my malaise. A voice from the past, one that I welcome every chance I get to hear it. That’s right, Lance (motherfucking Philip Broyles) Reddick voices a character in Horizon Zero Dawn. Not only that, the character model looks just like him.
“Whoa!” I said, in a fitting Keanu Reeves tone. Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me that Broyles was in this game? Who in their right mind would bury the lede on this front-page bulletin? (Of course, it turns out this was widely reported a while back and I just happened to miss it.)
Like I’d taken a shot of cocaine, I was revived, getting sucked right back into the story. Hearing Broyles lend direction — and even chide Aloy for her limited vision — truly wet my whistle. Listening to that baritone growl, I felt like James McNulty and Peter Bishop rolled up in one.
I don’t know what other surprises lie in wait for me as I journey to the conclusion of Horizon Zero Dawn, but if it can top Lance Reddick, I am in it to infinity and then some.
