Zero patch: Horizon Zero Dawn's developers have responded to the flood of complaints aimed at the game since its PC release on Friday, August 7. Guerrilla Interactive released a statement confirming it is aware of the "crashes and other technical issues" and is investigating player reports as "our highest priority."
Released back in 2017, PlayStation 4-exclusive Zero Dawn was one of the best reasons to buy a Sony console. The gorgeous open-world, graphics, and mechanical dino-creatures meant a PC version was coveted by computer owners for years, and they recently got their wish. Sadly, many have found that Zero Dawn falls into the 'bad PC-port' category.
It seems crashes are the main problem with Zero Dawn's PC incarnation. Some Steam reviewers complain that the game freezes at a frustratingly regular rate---during gameplay, after boss battles, in cutscenes, etc. Optimization is also an issue, with stuttering and lag appearing constantly. Overall performance is said to be poor, with even the meatiest of PCs struggling to run it at 60fps, especially when resolutions are over 1080p and the graphical settings maxed. For a full overview of PC performance, Steve published his GPU Benchmark review this morning (watch below).
It's somewhat surprising that Zero Dawn is facing all these problems. The devs knew this would be a big release, and it uses the same Decima engine as Death Stranding---a former PS4-exclusive that was praised for its recent PC port.
In a statement on Steam, Guerrilla Games wrote:
We have been monitoring all of our channels and are aware that some players have been experiencing crashes and other technical issues. Please know that we are investigating your reports as our highest priority.
We appreciate those who have already taken the time to report their issues on Steam, Reddit, or via our website. If you are still encountering crashes or bugs, please continue to use those spaces, or refer to our FAQ if you are unsure of how to proceed. Your reports are, and have already been, incredibly helpful for our teams.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to investigate issues; we will update you all as soon as we have more news.
Having played and enjoyed Zero Dawn on the PS4, this writer was looking forward to buying the PC version, but waiting for a patch that (hopefully) addresses its technical issues appears to be the best option.