18 million Thunderjaw kills?! These Horizon Zero Dawn player stats prove Aloy is still a killing machine, one year after launch

Happy birthday, Aloy. You’re only a year old, but you're already revered as a bona fide gaming icon for a new generation of players. When I was that age, I was still sucking my thumb, so you’ve done pretty well for yourself so far.

Horizon Zero Dawn launched on the February 28, 2016, and it’s the kind of birthday worth paying attention to. Not just because PlayStation have got loads of amazing amazing Horizon Zero Dawn deals on the PSN store right now, but because it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the game’s success and importance as a new IP that resonated with so many people. 

PlayStation and developers Guerilla Games themselves are certainly doing some reflection, with a PlayStation blog post that went up yesterday paying tribute to the game, complete with a slickly made “1 Year Later” tribute video (spot the Hideo Kojima cameo) and an infographic revealing exactly how much hunting players have done over the last 12 months. 

I’d suggest paying close attention to that infographic, too, as the numbers are really quite something. Altogether, Horizon Zero Dawn’s playerbase has collected 194 billion shards, fired 359.5 million arrows, and killed 18.2 million Thunderjaws. And to think we were all terrified of those mecha-dinos when the game first shipped. 

The infographic also shows what percentage of players decided to spare the lives of Olin and Nil when they had the choice, and the majority pursued the path of peace and mercy over aggression, which is nice, especially as that seems more in keeping with Aloy’s personality. 

PS Plus members can currently get 44% off the Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition on the PSN Store, which includes the base game and the brilliant Frozen Wilds expansion on top of a few other digital bonuses. There’s no excuses anymore. For the love of Gaia, play this game.