Since its release, Skyrim has been a comparison reference to other open-world games, not just in terms of hours of gameplay, but also the map size. Skyrim is known to clock in at 300+ hours of gameplay between all of its major storylines and random side quests, filling its map to the brim with lore, history, and secrets to discover. Even so, it's noted for having great replayability. Nearly ten years later, any open-world RPG is actively compared to Bethesda's hit fantasy, including Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Just recently released to PC gamers, Horizon: Zero Dawn's map is interesting because it's based on real locations. For example, the Ring of Metal is Denver Stadium, and Meridian, the largest and most developed city in the game, is Eagle Canyon, Utah. While it's not completely accurate, it still offers a large number of locations and quests for the player to discover, which has brought many fans to compare it to the martyr in the open-world genre, Skyrim.
Map Size
Broaching the physical size of the map is strange because Horizon's map can be looked at in one of two ways. Most maps like Grand Theft Auto and Witcher 3 can be quantified in square miles, but the same can't exactly be said about Guerrilla's adventure title because it projects a rendition of the real world. For this reason, Studio Art Director Jan-Bart van Beek says that every location in Horizon was scaled to a smaller size. Skyrim is easy; it's a little less than 15 squared miles. Yet, Horizon's official map size says it spans 4 miles across. However, this is at a scale to 107.5:1 in the real world. Crossing from one landmark to another in-game can take a mere handful of minutes, while it real life it can take hours.
For this reason, there are different reasons to state the Horizon map size as either bigger or smaller than Skyrim's. Boiling it down to just game scale, tough, it's clear that Skyrim is much larger than Horizon. This is the most logical comparison, as Skyrim isn't based on a real-world counterpart like Horizon.
Density
Many players and critics have praised Horizon: Zero Dawn for its exciting side quests and expansive lore that support the universe of its post-post-apocalyptic world. The map acts similarly to that in Far Cry and Assassin's Creed games. For example, the Tallnecks act as a climbable vantage point, and hacking into them will reveal that section of the map, unveiling locations such as campfires and settlements. The lands are also riddled with machine sites, similar to animal sites in Far Cry 3. But while Horizon features lots of quests and gorgeous scenery, it's nowhere near as packed with discoverable areas as Skyrim.
The province of Skyrim has a nearly uncountable number of locations (at least in terms of how many someone would want to count), both found via marked map locations or hidden spots that only pop up on the map once they are arrived at. Most locations in both games can fall under a category. Examples include bandit camps, dragon locations, caves, and Jarl castles in Skyrim, and ruins, cauldrons, and machine sites in Horizon. Still, the number of marked places in Skyrim clock in at a whopping 459, and Horizon doesn't come close.
Cities are another great example of how much denser Skyrim is compared to Horizon. Aside from Meridian, most settlements in Horizon only have a handful of NPCs, a merchant, and a quest-giver or two. This is due to the nature of the setting, but society in Skyrim is much more developed. Each major city is equipped with a Jarl, each of which offers quests, tasks, and errands to the player character. Homes can be purchased, and dozens upon dozens of quests can be unveiled by speaking with NPCs or finding objects lying around.
Though it's been up to preference which of the two titles is a better and all-around more enjoyable game, it looks like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim takes the cake with its map. Even so, PC players are excited to have the chance at exploring the post-post-apocalyptic universe and tragic tale of Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is out now for PC and PS4.