Aloy is a tough act to follow. Honestly, after you’ve spent eighty hours sliding under a Thunderjaw to pierce its blaze canister with a precision arrow, most other games just feel a bit... empty. It isn’t just about the bows or the crafting. It's that specific, weirdly perfect blend of high-concept sci-fi and tribal prehistoric vibes that Guerilla Games somehow pulled off. You want that feeling again. That sense of "how did the world end up like this?" combined with combat that actually requires your brain to be switched on.
Finding games like Horizon Zero Dawn is actually harder than it looks because most "open-world RPGs" are just checklists of icons. You don't want a checklist. You want a mystery.
The Monster Hunter Connection Nobody Admits
If you strip away the story about clones and AI, Horizon is basically a tactical hunting simulator. Most people overlook Monster Hunter: World because it looks intimidating or "too Japanese," but let’s be real: the DNA is almost identical. In Horizon, you study a machine's path, set traps, and tear off specific parts to disable attacks. Monster Hunter is that, but dialed up to eleven.
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You aren't just mashing buttons. If you try to treat a Rathalos like a standard hack-and-slash enemy, you’re going to get carted back to camp in about three minutes. You have to learn the ecology. You have to care about whether your weapon deals blunt or slashing damage. Capcom’s masterpiece doesn't have the emotional narrative of Aloy's journey, but if the part of your brain that lights up is the "tactical dismantling of giant beasts" part, this is the closest you’ll ever get.
The learning curve is a vertical cliff, though. Be ready for that.
Tchia and the Surprising Soul of Exploration
It sounds crazy to compare a colorful indie game set in a New Caledonia-inspired archipelago to a post-apocalyptic epic, but Tchia understands exploration better than most AAA titles. Most games like Horizon Zero Dawn get the "map" part right but fail the "curiosity" part. In Tchia, you have a soul-jumping ability that lets you take control of any animal or inanimate object.
Need to get up a mountain? Don't climb it—become a bird. Need to cross a gap? Become a rock and hurl yourself. It captures that "primitive" world feeling where nature is your primary tool. It’s whimsical, sure, but the underlying mechanics of navigating a beautiful, untouched world feel like the first time you stepped into the Sacred Lands as Aloy. It’s about the joy of movement.
Why Ghost of Tsushima is the "Grown-Up" Choice
If your favorite thing about Horizon was the stealth and the sheer visual fidelity, Ghost of Tsushima is the obvious next step. Sucker Punch did something brilliant here: they removed the HUD. Instead of a mini-map or a floating waypoint, the wind literally blows toward your objective.
It’s immersive.
The combat is much more grounded—no laser beams here—but the "Stance" system mirrors Horizon’s "Weak Point" system. You see a shieldman? You switch to Water Stance. You see a spearman? You switch to Wind Stance. It’s a rhythmic, lethal dance that rewards patience over aggression. Also, the photo mode is arguably better than Horizon’s, which is saying a lot. You’ll spend half your time just watching pampas grass sway in the moonlight.
The Sci-Fi Mystery of Outer Wilds
Stay with me on this one. Outer Wilds has no combat. None. You have a rickety spaceship and a translation tool. But if what hooked you in Horizon was the "Old Ones" mystery—the slow realization of how the world fell apart through audio logs and environmental storytelling—then Outer Wilds is your new obsession.
You’re stuck in a 22-minute time loop. Every 22 minutes, the sun goes supernova and you die. You have to use what you learned in the previous loop to go further in the next one. It’s a detective game disguised as a space sim. You’re uncovering the secrets of an ancient race called the Nomai, and the "aha!" moments are more satisfying than any boss fight. It captures that exact feeling of standing in a ruined skyscraper in Horizon and realizing it used to be an office building.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is Horizon in Miniature
Don’t let the Pixar-style graphics fool you. Kena is surprisingly difficult. The combat relies heavily on parrying and using your bow in slow-motion, which will feel immediately familiar to any Horizon veteran.
The world design is tighter. It isn't a massive, sprawling continent; it's a dense, focused forest that you slowly "heal" from a corruption. It’s a shorter experience, maybe 15 hours, but it hits those same notes of a young woman burdened with a spiritual responsibility navigating a world that has moved on from its past. The "Rot" (your little soot-sprite companions) act similarly to Aloy’s gadgets, helping you manipulate the environment during fights.
The Witcher 3: The King of World-Building
We can’t talk about games like Horizon Zero Dawn without mentioning Geralt. While Horizon excels at combat, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still holds the crown for side quests. In Horizon, side quests can sometimes feel like "go here, kill that." In The Witcher, a simple contract to kill a monster usually spirals into a three-hour moral dilemma involving a cursed nobleman and a talking goat.
The combat is clunkier. Let’s be honest. It’s not as precise as Aloy’s archery. But the sense of being a professional hunter in a world that fears you is a direct parallel. You prepare oils, you drink decoctions, and you study the bestiary. It’s the gold standard for how to make an open world feel lived-in and miserable in the best way possible.
What People Get Wrong About Far Cry Comparisons
A lot of critics say Horizon is just "Far Cry with robots." They’re wrong. Far Cry is a power fantasy; Horizon is a survival fantasy. In Far Cry, you’re a one-man army with an assault rifle. In Horizon, you’re always one wrong move away from being stepped on by a Behemoth.
If you do go the Far Cry route, Far Cry Primal is the only one that actually fits the vibe. It removes the guns. You’re using spears and taming sabertooth tigers. It’s the closest Ubisoft has ever come to capturing that "hunter-gatherer" tension, but it lacks the narrative depth that makes Horizon special.
The "Old Ones" Vibe in Enshrouded
For the PC players, Enshrouded is a newer entry that hits a very specific itch. It’s a survival-crafting game, but it’s set in a world literally choked by a magical fog. You’re exploring the ruins of a kingdom that destroyed itself through greed.
The building mechanics are incredible—you can literally carve a base out of a mountain—but the exploration feels very Horizon-esque. You find a ruined bridge, and instead of just walking past it, you realize there’s a lore note underneath explaining who died there and why. It’s that layer of archaeological storytelling that makes these games work.
Breaking Down the "Horizon Loop"
Why do we like these games? It’s usually a mix of three things:
- Tactical Combat: You can't just spam "attack." You need a plan.
- Environmental Narrative: The world tells a story that the NPCs don't know.
- Progression through Knowledge: You get stronger not just because your stats went up, but because you learned how the enemy moves.
Elden Ring actually fits this loop, though it’s much more punishing. It doesn’t hold your hand. There are no waypoints. But the sense of discovery—of finding a hidden city underground that changes your entire perspective of the map—is exactly what Horizon fans are looking for.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
Stop looking for a 1:1 clone. It doesn't exist. Instead, pick which part of Horizon you liked most and lean into that specific genre.
- If you loved the combat and dismantling parts: Go get Monster Hunter: World or its sequel, Rise. Don't quit in the first three hours. It takes time to "click," but once it does, everything else feels shallow.
- If you loved the mystery of the "Old Ones": Play Outer Wilds. Don't look up a guide. Just fly to the nearest planet and start reading the walls.
- If you want a beautiful world and tight stealth: Ghost of Tsushima on the hardest difficulty (Lethal) is a revelation. It makes every sword strike count.
- If you want the "Aloy" character arc: Kena: Bridge of Spirits offers a similar emotional beat with a shorter time commitment.
The biggest mistake is jumping into another massive 100-hour Ubisoft-style game immediately after finishing Forbidden West. You’ll get "open-world fatigue." Mix it up with something like Tchia or Outer Wilds first. It’ll cleanse your palate before you dive back into another epic.
Check the digital stores—specifically Steam or the PlayStation Store—during seasonal sales. Most of these titles, especially The Witcher 3 and Monster Hunter, often drop to under $20. For the price of a movie ticket and popcorn, you’re getting a world that’s actually worth getting lost in. Stop chasing icons on a map and start looking for a story that makes you want to stop and stare at the ruins. That's where the real magic is.