There's something about Aloy. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's an enchanting kind of magic in the way she shoots a bow, speaks her mind and sprints across vast valleys littered with monstrous metal beasts. Aloy is powerful and loyal, an underdog outcast who rises to glory on an epic scale, and it's impossible to not root for her. She's as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen -- and she's the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn.

As is often the case, love hit me out of nowhere, when I least expected it. See, Horizon is not my typical kind of game. I'm generally drawn to experiences I can play in bursts, like League of Legends, TowerFall, Neko Atsume or Overwatch, and I've never been tempted to play all the way through massive, open-world role-playing games like Dragon Age, Skyrim or The Witcher. I see the appeal of these series -- I'm a nut for the fantasy and sci-fi genres in general -- but they never hold my attention for long.