Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered tech analysis says that $10 upgrade fee is completely fair: 'Too much work has been poured into this to offer it as a free upgrade'

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, a visual upgrade for the acclaimed open-world RPG, has received positive feedback from Digital Foundry, highlighting substantial improvements that make it almost a remake, especially considering its $10 upgrade price for existing owners.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is almost here, and even if an already-pretty game getting a full-blown remaster less than eight years after its initial release might have turned a few heads, tech analysis from Digital Foundry suggests that it's worth the upgrade price. 

Although Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is being sold as a full $50 package for those who don't own the original, those who *do *have a copy already can spend$10 to upgrade to the remaster. This is the same strategy that The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered uses, which also offers existing owners a $10 upgrade. So, is$10 worth it for what the remaster of Aloy's debut adventure offers? According to Digital Foundry's John Linneman, it's a firm yes. 

Rounding up his thoughts in his tech review of the game, Linneman admits that he's ultimately "pretty impressed" despite being "very skeptical" previously. "I was not sure I wanted to see a studio pour presumably years of work into remaking a game at the expense of making new content. In the end, however, this turned out to be a really good opportunity for Nixxes to produce something different than their usual PC conversions," he explains, noting that the remaster being developed alongside other PC ports "suggests that [Nixxes was] a perfect fit for this project after all."

He continues: "Furthermore, if you already own the game, I think 10 bucks is a fair asking price for this upgrade when considering how much has been added. Too much work has been poured into this to offer it as a free upgrade, I think it's fair to say."

So then, that's promising. Linneman also noted that the difference between Nixxes Software's overhaul and the original game are so significant that it's almost more comparable to the remakes of Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus than a regular ol' remaster. Looking at some of the comparison screenshots, you can certainly see why he might think this, but fans will be able to judge with their own eyes when the game launches on PS5 and PC on October 31.

One of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered's biggest glow-ups is because of a malfunction in the original that got missed because the open world was too big for Guerrilla to check everywhere.