Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the most hotly anticipated game releases of the last decade. We weren’t sure what to expect.
I mean, besides mechanical dinosaurs and a female protagonist, which is all you need. (PS, here are some Jurassic Park toys).
When the game was released in February of this year, it did not disappoint. Naturally, there was a whole host of Horizon Zero Dawn merchandise that cropped up, and so we’re gonna share some of our faves.
1. Aloy and Rosie the Riveter Have a Lot in Common
Source: TeepublicThey're badass chicks that can do everything dudes can do and more and they're both freakin' awesome. It's always great to have a female protagonist, /especially/ writing this as a girl gamer. We had Lara Croft, the girl from Perfect Dark (by Rare, aka the same people as Goldeneye on the N64), and Jill Valentine, but they were still few and far between. As much as I enjoyed the chance to be the dude of all dudes Duke Nukem, I'd have liked to have seen more girls. ENTER: the last decade and a bunch of awesome ones, including Aloy, who you relate to so much the game drowns you in feels.
Get this awesome Horizon Zero Dawn poster print on teepublic.com
2. It’s Horizon Zero Dawn Merchandise! Of COURSE There Are Pops
Source: Pop in a BoxI want more old school gamer pops, just to make my old bum feel better. But, this week they released some Buffy the Vampire Slayer ones (hay, Buffy must-haves for all Willow fans), Fraggle Rock ones, and a Kurt Cobain, so there's gotta be some hope we'll see some classic game characters soon. There'll never be any complaints when there's at least one character from a franchise, though. Aloy isn't the only one from Horizon Zero Dawn, but if she was, I wouldn't feel like I'd been fleeced. It's rare a character is badass both in and out of Pop form.
Get the Aloy Horizon Zero Dawn pop vinyl on popinabox.us
3. This Poster Will Bring Dawn to Your Walls
Source: AmazonOnce night falls, aim your levitating LED lightbulb at this fine piece of Horizon Zero Dawn merchandise and it will be. The artwork for this game is incredible. It's like Fallout but in a further off future than even that. It's actually so gorgeous, I'm questioning Doomsday preppers for having bunkers when they could be taking training on how to feed dinosaurs from Jeff Goldblum. More on the art later. This Horizon Zero Dawn poster is so glorious that if you haven't yet played the game, just seeing it will make you want to.
Get this Horizon Zero Dawn poster on amazon.com
4. As I Would Say: This is the BEST Horizon Zero Dawn Collectible OF ALL TIME
Source: TargetThus far. BUT it is. Like, it legitimately is the most epic piece of Horizon Zero Dawn merchandise out there. All it'll take is a little bit of googling to verify this. If you love the game or know somebody who loves the game, this is the thing to get them. While this one comes without the game (if they love it, they've got it anyway), it has a premium Thunderjaw statue, a cool, scrolling map, lithographs, and Aloy's earpiece thingy (which would be enough to get me to put this on my wishlist). I can't stress enough how cool a piece of gear this all is. It's almost like they made the game so cool on purpose.
Get the Horizon Zero Dawn Thunderclaw Collection on target.com
5. Art You Sure You’re Ready For Even More Beautiful Things?
Source: AmazonRewind two geeky products ago when I said I'd talk more about the art of Horizon Zero Dawn later. Now is the time, now is later, and this piece of Horizon Zero merchandise is exactly what I was talking about. Video games are an art, so when they release a book detailing all of it, it's almost like going to the Met or the Tate and walking away with some of the classics. Except cooler. Because video games. (Anyone remember when being geeky was supposed to be a bad thing? Look who's having all the fun now. US). And, if you like art, you'll surely like this Batman wall art, video game wall art, or these Superhero wall art prints.
Get The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn book on amazon.com
6. Who Said You Can’t Be Adorable AND Badass, Huh?
Source: Think GeekAs Aloy proved already in the Funko pop that's cast in her image, you most definitely can, and she's the one to go to if you want to hit both boxes at the same time. Kill two Stormbirds with one stone, if you will. This Horizon Zero Dawn plush takes how cute the pop vinyl was, and multiplies it by a thousand. (Or, at the very least, a hundred). She even has a plush version of her Focus earpiece thingy and the outfit stitched for her by Teb. Even outcasts deserve a little gift sometimes.
Get this adorable Aloy plush on thinkgeek.com
7. You’re a Mug if You Don’t Need a Little Bit of Coffee When You’re Playing
Source: AmazonEvery merchandise article has to have at least one mug included. It all boils down to (ha) which design is the best. I have a Buffy the Vampire Slayer mug that's just the logo though and I've had it, at this point, for almost two decades. And now I feel old. Older than I actually am, probably, but hey, at least I remember when Buffy came on TV??? Yeah, no, that didn't help, but whatever. This Horizon Zero Dawn mug is pretty neat. (As are these Batman coffee mugs, Ghostbusters mugs, Wonder Woman mugs, and Walking Dead coffee mugs).
Get the officially licensed Horizon Zero Dawn mug on amazon.com
8. Which Horizon Zero Dawn Funko Mini Will You Get?
Source: AmazonMystery Minis make me both excited and nervous. It's great if you like a franchise and like everything about it, because then you're never let down if you get, like, Kylo Ren instead of Rey. (I totally would own all of the Star Wars pops, though. I'm not even gonna pretend otherwise). It is quite exciting. Who will you get? And will you keep getting them until you get the one you want or will you stay satisfied with whomever it is you got? Will you trade it? Do people still trade these days? They did when I had my Darth Maul cereal figurine.
Get one of these Horizon Zero Dawn mystery minis on amazon.com
9. This Game Has a Beautiful Score, Thank Goodness The Soundtrack Exists
Source: AmazonSometimes, what can pull a video game completely together, is the soundtrack. For me, the soundtracks for BioShock Infinite and the first few Silent Hill games introduced me into a new world that not only matched up to the scoring I'd seen in movies and on TV but could surpass it. It's nice to see companies still releasing soundtracks in the age of streaming, and even nicer to know I'm not the only one that wants them. Hands down, the special edition Twin Peaks soundtrack is one of my favorite records. (And this Twin Peaks merchandise is full of my favorite things).
Get the Horizon Zero Dawn OST on amazon.com
10. We Didn’t Steal This From Aloy, But We Could Have
Source: AmazonThat said, I'm not that sure she'd use it to store her laptop computer, tablet, or mobile phone. None of those things exist anymore. Stephen King and Elon Musk's fears turned to reality and the iPhone grew from a handheld way of keeping in touch with friends and family, to gigantic, living machines partly responsible for the fate of the world. There's no way Aloy or any of us can fit one of those in a bag.
Get the Horizon Zero Dawn messenger bag on amazon.com
11. Be Careful or This Cultist Pop Will Eclipse Your Other Pops
Source: Entertainment EarthSince when has a cult ever been a good thing? They're more rebellious than an outcast, but not nearly as benevolent because they don't have to be. They pride themselves on answering to their leader and their leader alone, and if their leader is good enough to make them believe they're making their own decisions, then Eclipse ensues. Nice work, HADES. No, really. I admire that in psychotic robots.
Get the Eclipse Cultist pop vinyl on entertainmentearth.com
12. You Can’t Put a Cap On How Awesome You’ll Look in This
Source: AmazonIf you did, it'd be dangerous and burst open like Mentos in Nuka-Cola. It's that awesome. I'm going to put it down to Dustin in Stranger Things. He's the reason that caps came back into fashion and with a vengeance, and, thankfully, took out the resurgence of fanny packs on the way. My response to that?
Get this Horizon Zero Dawn snapback on amazon.com
13. Model Through the Beauty of Horizon Zero Dawn Even At Work
Source: Think GeekThis new Aloy statue/figure, like a lot of the others we've featured before, will look amazing in your office, bedroom, living room, or even your red room if you have one of those in an age of digital photography. You can put her anywhere and she'll stand out as a beautiful piece of Horizon Zero Dawn merchandise to the point of people asking you if she's Brave, if Brave hadn't have been such a whiny teenager. As a player, you grow close to Aloy. Seems only right you keep her with you in the wait for part 2.
Get this beautiful limited edition Aloy statue on thinkgeek.com
For more gifts from epic video games, try these on for size: BioShock merchandise, BioShock shirts, Portal merchandise, Life is Strange merchandise, Fallout merchandise, AND Fallout bobbleheads.
