Horizon Zero Dawn's Worst Graphical Glitch Fixed In New PC Patch
A new patch for Horizon Zero Dawn has been rolled out, addressing several major graphics glitches that players have been encountering. The beloved open-world action game released in 2017 to high marks. Its engaging survival mechanics, unique setting, and strategic combat made it a big name in the video game industry, and inspired a sequel that's set to release sometime next year for the PS5. The game's release also inspired an unexpected port to PC earlier this year, a move which inexplicably enraged fans of the game.
While the new PC version certainly made the game more accessible, it also caused some issues. PC players have been reporting a remarkable amount of major bugs, including various graphical issues and crashes. Players have also encountered a host of more bizarre glitches, including player character Aloy being permanently stuck as a child after an early cutscene and being unable to actually walk in a straight line. Developer Guerrilla Games has dedicated itself to patching out these bugs as swiftly as possible, but it has a lot of work cut out for it.
The most recent patch, announced earlier today by Guerrilla, fixes a major graphical issue. The game has resolved how the engine deals with shaders, and to make the experience better for players, Guerrilla has made the shader optimization step becoming completely optional. Upon starting the game, shader optimization will begin happening on the main menu, and continue operating in the background while gameplay occurs. Players are entirely free to skip the initial main menu optimization process and dive right into the game if they want, but letting the game get the work out of the way first will improve loading times. The developer has also fixed problems with Anisotropic Filtering, which many players were having major issues with. The full patch notes can be found here.
As Guerrilla itself admits, it still has a lot of glitches to work on. The developer even took the time to thank a pair of Reddit users for compiling lists of bugs, which Guerrilla claims to still be investigating. These lists are massive, and include a considerable amount of bugs, like audio distortion, framerate stuttering, and overall poor performance. Guerrilla's dedication to fixing the game is admirable, but it has a lot of work cut out for it.
Glitches are an unfortunately common part of the video game industry. Some of them can be hilarious, like the impossibly tall skyscraper discovered in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and can go on to inspire memes and stories across the internet. But unfortunately, for every glitch that amuses and delights, there are countless more that make the game a less pleasant experience for everyone. Horizon Zero Dawn's PC port is tragically overrun with bugs that fall in the latter category, but with every patch, Guerrilla Games is working hard to make it a better game for all.