@ezekiel: I don't see how a change to his character skin that can be washed off during the numerous trips to Mother Base is somehow worse than a longer fight with the Sorrow? That morality system was barely even there and quite literally influenced almost nothing. It seems like such a weirdly inconsequential thing to get upset over - that your character in a stealth game will get blood on them if you don't play the game stealthily; its not even a permanent change, you have to REALLY work for it to get the big demon horn and unwashable blood, like really work hard for it, at which point I can only assume you want that look.

No not at all. But not for the reasons mentioned in this poll. This is the story of Aloy, as @stryker1121 mentioned. Aloy is a very specific character. That's who this game was designed around. So character customization would not be suitable.

That's my reason. I vote a flat no, but I don't agree with the "no because of customizing facial scars etc." I like all those parts of games. A lot. But its not this game nor was it designed to be.

I share this sentiment. :-) I'm enjoying Aloy's story and seeing this world through her eyes. I'm perfectly fine not having a blank slate avatar to graft myself onto (aka Skyrim) or a maleshep / femshep option. Didn't bother me in Red Dead Redemption, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Mafia 3, Styx, etc. and it doesn't bother me here. The developers having one permutation of the player character to focus on tends to help character-driven narratives, or so I think. :-P

I'd rather play as a character than an avatar.

Not played it and I generally like costumization but I voted no because I don't feel like this is a game like fallout. Having a focus on one character seems fine. She seems like a great character.

Not played it yet, but no for most of the reasons already stated.

I like character creation a whole lot but it's just not a necessary or even appropriate feature for every game.

I want everything to have character creation.

I'd love to.

Ditto. I also find it rewarding to play a game that focuses its attention on a primary female protagonist.

Wouldn't change Geralt in the Witcher and I don't see any reason to change Aloy in this. Not every game, even big open world RPGs, needs character creation.

Nah. Leaving aside the question of whether a crafted and coherent story is better than "choose your own adventure", I've never found in-depth facial construction systems at all necessary for immersion. Once you've done a nightmare gimmick creature for grins, you've done it. These days I just select the default character model and get on with the game.

For this though, in a fuckin' heartbeat.

I think this is a bad comparison. Much as I think the very idea of customizing Aloy or Geralt is dumb, I'd be all for customizing Link. Link isn't a character, he's an avatar.

I think this is actually a bad comparison because Link is such a blank slate character. The OP is more like asking "Would you customize Ezio?" or something.

The game was built for Aloy and her character is pivotal in the story, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

@jay_ray said:

100% 100% this.

Man this poll is not unbiased at all.

But no, no, no. More often than not I enjoy a game's story much more when the stories' protagonist is a set character with set features and personality and not a blank slate or avatar for myself. I don't need the power trip.

100% 100% 100% this.

No, Aloy is cool. What I would've made would be less cool.

EDIT: Also what that other guy said. In general I prefer a crafted character over a make my own. My avatars just inevitably end up being generic and become a face to put on a bunch of min/maxed stats and other mechanics garbage I focus on instead of whatever story I'm supposed to be improvising.

I forget about the Internet outside of Giantbomb sometimes. Is everyone else still mad that this game makes you play as a competent woman in appropriate clothing?

It's good that the system in MGS3 influenced almost nothing. Morality systems have no place in stealth-ACTION military games. If you feel you need to kill in order to get through an area, stealthily or non-stealthily, then so be it. MGS was never pure stealth, and it has drifted more towards action over the years. Besides, stealth doesn't equal not killing. It looks awful. I don't remember how I got to this point where Snake is no longer playable. I remember kind of struggling with the game at the beginning. It's too much of a hassle to make him normal again. Anyway, it doesn't matter, since I finished the last of 50 missions last night and have also done all 157 side ops, mostly as alternate characters. There's no reason for me to play the game anymore.

Also, I don't go to mother base often. The loading screens and helicopters take too long.

I don't think it's really been an issue. I'm sure there are some 13 year olds out there with that opinion, but in general I've not seen that complaint expressed genuinely. To be honest I've seen it used more as a strawman than I've seen actual examples of the sentiment.

What? No, not at all. Nothing about this made me think it'd be that sort of game.

Do people have a problem with Aloy or something?

There are games where I would feel a bit cheated by not having the option to create my PC, but Horizon isn't one of them.

It felt like Guerrilla had a story they wanted to tell, and a character they wanted to tell it with. I wasn't bothered at all with having to play as Aloy.

The point of the game is that you're becoming a demon or whatever. and like humanity said, you have to work insanely hard to go full demon with unwashable blood. It basically won't happen unless you're trying to. That state doesn't just happen from playing the game normally. It's really not a big deal.

Just kind of a pointless thread. Some games want you to create characters. Some don't. This is one that didn't. Aloy is a fully realized character.

Agree with you here, I feel like the pollster is coming to this from a different angle and didn't even consider this perspective.

That bloody mess is your avatar. Of course it's a big deal.

It happens over time just by playing. Maybe twenty or thirty hours? I don't remember. The whole demon thing is pretty silly.

I really enjoy the character of Aloy. I, for one, don't really care for character creation so I'm kind of glad to see an open-world game that skips that.

Not in the least. From the prologue on it's so obviously about this girl's journey and having her with a pre-set face and voice worked great. In other games it's great; here, it went entirely unmissed.

None of those options are just: no

I take character creation as it is. I even go ok with gender limitation. If I can't do it,that's it. No frustration, no complaints.

But, if I CAN do it...

It might take me up to an half an hour to tweak my character to fit in the shoes, especially when it's about serious role-play.And it's always serious role play :)

Oh, and I tweaked my Shepards with screenshots from previous games...

It's been said ad nauseum but I wanted to add my two cents: Horizon Zero Dawn is a mascot game. It's not just the story of Aloy. This is something along the lines of Sonic, Mario, Crash Bandicoot....up to Master Chief, Nathan Drake, and even Ryu Hayabusa. Etcetera etcetera.

When you play this game, you're playing a crafted story. The largest difference is that this game's made in such a way to capitalize on the popularity of open-world gaming instead of being a linear tale. If they allowed you to customize the character it would have taken away from the brand they were aiming to develop. It would have taken away from the empowering story of a woman and....all that entails within the story (don't want to name spoilers).

So no, I don't mind at all, and I in fact embrace Horizon Zero Dawn for all that it is and the design decisions that went into the character. They not only created a fascinating world, but a character you want to learn more of, and then care about.

This game is platform defining. And it's fitting to have an identifiable character.

2 month old thread, I'm really surprised by the poll result so far. Didn't think people were so opposed to character creation. I hate starting a new game and having to design my character. Recently I started GTAV on my PS4 to play online just for the Micro Machines update but found I hadn't created a character yet so I just turned the damn thing off.

@rebel_scum: I don't think it's "people are opposed to character creation" as much as it is that people also like finely tuned stories/experiences with a defined main character. If I am going to play a game with a created character I want way more options at making my character actually my character, which Horizon doesn't do (and that's not a bad thing).

@cerberus3dog said:

This right here. This is what the overwhelming response is about and not an opposition to character creation.

And for me, personally, I'm getting a slight sexist vibe from the poll and have a feeling that we wouldn't have seen a thread like this if the protagonist in Horizon was male.

I personally hate character creation.

I would be inclined to agree if not for the OP apparently being an account shared by a couple.

Story is focused on Aloy, so no.

I am just sad that character creator engines still haven't caught up to what Eve has had for more than 5 years at this point. I have no interest in playing Eve, but if they licensed that tech out to a bunch of other game companies, or hell, just character animator software suites in general, I'd be ecstatic. Even ZBrush would be improved by having character modelling tools that robust.

Yes, always and forever. Just hair style or clothing, anything. Give me something to modify!