Horizon Zero Dawn offers players deep aesthetic customization options to personalize Aloy as she journeys across a post-apocalyptic world filled with mechanical beasts. Among these cosmetic choices, tribal face paints stand out as a primary way to celebrate the diverse cultures encountered throughout the narrative. Unlocking these striking visual additions requires mastering the game's higher difficulty settings during subsequent playthroughs.
Understanding New Game Plus Requirements
The cosmetic face paint feature was added to Horizon Zero Dawn alongside the release of the New Game Plus mode. Players cannot access these visual modifications during their very first run through the main story campaign. Instead, you must first complete the full narrative to create a New Game Plus manual save file.
Starting a new journey using this clear data unlocks the reward system tied to game completion levels. Higher difficulty settings reward players with unique cosmetics upon finishing the story. Completing the game on the highest difficulty tiers automatically unlocks all face paints from lower tiers simultaneously.
Exploring the Available Tribal Designs
The face paint choices draw direct inspiration from the major human factions thriving across the game world. Players can equip designs representing the Nora, Carja, Shadow Carja, and Banuk tribes. Each cosmetic variant captures the distinct art styles and cultural traditions of these legendary groups.
Nora designs emphasize practical markings and traditional pigments favored by Braves in the Sacred Lands. In contrast, Carja cosmetics feature elaborate patterns that mirror the grandeur and elegance of Meridian. Equipping Banuk face paint reflects the bold frost-resistant aesthetic of the icy northern hunters.
Difficulty Tiers and Unlocking Criteria
Unlocking specific face paint sets depends entirely on the difficulty level selected for your New Game Plus run. Finishing the story on Hard difficulty awards players with foundational Nora and Carja cosmetics. Stepping up to Very Hard unlocks additional intricate patterns, including specialized Banuk tribal variants.
The ultimate cosmetic challenge requires completing the game on Ultra Hard difficulty without lowering the setting. Successfully enduring this punishing difficulty rewards players with the full collection of face paints, including rare Shadow Carja markings. This achievement serves as a badge of honor for dedicated survivalists who master machine combat.
How to Equip and Change Face Paints
Once you have unlocked face paint rewards, equipping them on Aloy is straightforward through the game's menu settings. Simply open the main menu and navigate to the visuals tab under the settings section. From here, you can freely browse through all unlocked cosmetics and preview them in real time.
Applying a face paint immediately updates Aloy's appearance across standard gameplay and cinematic cutscenes alike. You can swap designs as often as desired to match specific outfits or personal preferences. Furthermore, photo mode captures these detailed visual additions perfectly, allowing for stunning custom screenshots.
