Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered PC players reports issues with bugs, glitches, and yes, the PSN link requirement

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is sitting on a mixed Steam user score as players take issue with a number of things, including performance, stuttering, audio glitches, and the fact you need a PSN account despite the game being a single player adventure.

Not that the latter is new information, of course. Just like other notable PlayStation-flavoured Steam releases such as Helldivers 2, Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, and God of War Ragnarök, players knew they wouldn't be able to play Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered on PC without a PSN account. That doesn't mean they're done making their unhappiness known, though, or plan to stop warning other players of the requirement.

"I really wanted to play but it sucks to have to have an [PSN] account to play it, and the worst thing is that when you want to verify your account or tells you that the password is invalid or you have to repeat the procedure again, why do I have to have a playstation account if I'm going to play on a damn PC???" posited one of the 39 percent of players to have left a negative review on Steam.

"Game runs very poorly. Awful optimisation. Running game with 4070. Refunded," added another particularly succinct player.

"There's no doubt about it - when it comes to porting or developing for PC, Nixxes is still the best of them all!" says one more positive take. "The Complete Edition was already amazing, but now, with this Remastered, we've reached new heights, as with Horizon Forbidden West.

"They've redone everything, even the benchmark, and the technical side is finally packed with features: from all upscalers to frame generation, all the way to dynamic resolution. The game's visual quality has improved tenfold, performance is excellent, they did an incredible job, and it deserves recognition. And all this for just 10 bucks! Kudos all around! Enjoy the game!"

On reddit, this player broke down some of the game's biggest issues: "Really enjoying the remaster, but it [definitely] needs a patch or two. I'm noticing small stutters or hitching during cutscenes, the audio mix in that first town area has some weird reverb with NPC chatter and sound effects… A few minor floating items or clothing graphics glitches. This is not killing my immersion or anything but would be nice if these things were sorted out."

Other complains report problems with controllers, freezes, and numerous crashes.

The issue around PSN linking all stems back to the beginning of the summer with Helldivers' PC PSN log-in requirement. There was such a vitriolic backlash that Sony backtracked on its original plans and then auto-refunded players who bought Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut in countries where PSN isn't available.