Horizon Zero Dawn PS5 Remaster Changes Aloy's Look

Aloy is getting a high-resolution makeover in the upcoming Horizon Zero Dawn PlayStation 5 remaster. Earlier this month, rumors spread that Guerrilla Games was working on a current-gen upgrade for its 2017 sci-fi action title Horizon Zero Dawn, and it would soon be officially confirmed at this week’s PlayStation State of Play livestream. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered will be released on PlayStation 5 and Windows platforms on October 31, and players who already purchased the original PS4 version will be able to upgrade to the digital version of the remaster for just $10.

The news of this new Horizon Zero Dawn PS5 remaster has garnered a mixed response from gamers ever since the first whisperings of it began, with many feeling that it isn’t necessary due to the original version already being playable on the PS5 through backward compatibility. Nonetheless, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is adding new accessibility features and graphics on par with the 2022 sequel Horizon Forbidden West, complete with over 10 hours of re-recorded conversational motion capture.

This week’s Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered trailer has naturally caused fans to make side-by-side comparisons to the PlayStation 4 original, and a Twitter user by the handle of Mr Pyo recently put Horizon main character Aloy’s remastered model next to her original last-gen self. Sure enough, Aloy now has a more textured face, though some social media users have pointed out that her clothing actually looks more detailed in the PS4 version. The conversation eventually caught the attention of Jan-Bart van Beek, a Studio and Art Director at Guerrilla Games and the original concept creator of Horizon Zero Dawn.

Horizon Zero Dawn PS5 Remaster Updates Aloy

In a Twitter post of his own, van Beek explained that Aloy’s new character model was brought over from Horizon Forbidden West, with a few modifications to her lighting, skin tones, and hair shaders to better match Horizon Zero Dawn‘s atmosphere. Van Beek also noted that the PS4 screenshot Mr Pyo shared has its motion blur settings turned off, explaining why the PS5 version’s textures don’t look quite as crisp. He also explained to one commenter that Aloy’s face model was rescanned with upgraded 4D technology for Horizon Forbidden West, further explaining the differences in her original PS4 Horizon Zero Dawn appearance.

Other changes to Aloy’s remastered Horizon Zero Dawn model include the texture of her hair, which looks somewhat smoother than it did on the PS4. Like with the announcement of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered itself, fans are somewhat divided over which version of Aloy looks better, and this discourse will likely continue in the weeks leading up to the upgrade’s launch in late October.