little Horizon Zero Dawn things i loved before i start a new PT in Ultra Hard mode
the little stumbles kid!aloy does when she running down a slope trying to follow rost
aloy’s hair flowing in the wind
echo carrying over in canyons and mountains when aloy speaks or calls her mount
discovering new machines and taking time to scan them and quietly wondering how in the heck you’re gonna beat that (hello, thunderjaws)
NPCs commenting on aloy’s outfits depending on what she’s wearing (”under those Carja clothes, she’s still a savage” or “your Carja outfit is very… distinct. (awkward pause) all-Mother help me forget this sight”)
aloy shaking off water from her arms / clothes after a swim
the journey from the nora lands into the carja desert with machines way tougher to kill than anything you’ve been fighting up till then, all the way to the haven that is meridian and its luscious landscape and impressive architecture
machines hobbling or showing where they’re hurt after they’ve been damaged, like sawtooths holding up their paw (babies!!)
components disappearing one by one when aloy is harvesting a machine
aloy’s musings when she’s hiding while machines and bandits are looking for her (“she went thataway” being a personal favorite)
pretty much every time she comments during gameplay, it makes it so much more immersive tbh, and shows how cute she is
the way tall grass bends and ripples with the wind
aloy panting after jogging, trying to catch her breath
going back to aloy’s childhood house to talk to rost’s grave
seeing and overriding a tallneck for the first time
the weather impacting visibility and making it waaay harder to spot machines or fight them because of the rain / sandstorm / snow
learning alongside aloy about what happened to the world of the old ones, and wondering how elisabet sobeck managed to save the earth when everything seemed so bleak and desperate
listening to elisabet explain what Project Zero Dawn really was, and getting chills when the music rises when she gets to GAIA and the sub-functions
finding the carcasses of ancient deathbringers buried in the ground or overgrown with trees and plants all over the map
machines destroying cacti and trees during a fight
how each cauldron is different and makes you adapt to whatever enemies / topography awaits you, making it a great side quest instead of a repetitive one
battle music changing depending on which machine aloy is fighting (the one playing during corruptor fights being absolutely terrifying lmao)
the cauldron symbols visible on machines revealing where they were made
aloy saying “don’t look down” while climbing and answering with an exasperated “damn it” if you do look down with the camera (devs are cheeky little creatures lmao)
