Days Gone

Days Gone is a really interesting game to review, particularly several months after its release. 

Being that it's a PlayStation, story-driven exclusive title, I was pretty much for sure always going to at least take a gander. PlayStation, particularly this console generation and last, has a knack for creating awesome new IPs into wonderfully enticing exclusive properties. I was wondering if Days Gone could be their next one.

Early reviews would indicate that - for the first time in a while on a AAA game like this - PlayStation and Bend Studios missed the mark. Many cited a buggy game as the main culprit. Upon my first playthroughs in the first several days and weeks, I'd tend to agree with those reviews. As someone who didn't upgrade to a PS4 Pro (because PS5 is right around the corner), I'm still rocking the original hardware. Days Gone struggled on my machine. It still struggles, albeit much less. 

So the question I'm forced to face is: how do I review Days Gone. Do I review it from my experience as a whole? Or from the game that it is today? I imagine the answer is likely somewhere in between because after initial poor/mediocre reviews I do feel a sense of obligation to defend Days Gone. Bugs and glitches can be patched - and they have been - but gameplay and story woes, of which Days Gone has very few, are permanent.

Let's start with a wedding, shall we?

In a lot of ways, Days Gone is a much better game than it was on release day so, shamelessly plugging myself here, this review is a whole lot more accurate than initial ones if you're someone who's avoiding picking it up yet. I still don't think it's in the Top Tier of PlayStation exclusives with Naughty Dog entries, Horizon Zero Dawn, or God of War. BUT(!) it does remind me a lot of the first entries of games like inFAMOUS, Killzone, and even Spider-Man where there's clearly something special there and we've got an awesome game, but the sequel is where it enters the top pantheon of exclusive titles. 

Getting into more specifics, it's true that Days Gone did have quite a few bugs. Some are still there. Early on I experienced an obnoxious amount of slow down and screen tearing - probably the most I've had with a game this generation. That's bad, and it's the sign of a game that released too early. There were audio cut outs and it froze on me several times too. For the first couple months, I'd - no joke - often get headaches from play sessions longer than an hour or so, particularly if I was doing a lot of motorcycle riding (where slow down was the worst). A few poor design decisions added to the pain (i.e. pressing the same button to do different things in close vicinity of each other). To discredit early reviews of the pre-patched (several times over) game would be dangerous; Bend Studios and Sony should have known what was going on and delayed the already-delayed-several-times-game. Gamers should not have had to upgrade to a PS4 Pro to enjoy the title. 

That's a whole lot of Freakers in a hole...wonder what an explosive would do to them?

But, now several months in, the game is in much better condition. Button mappings were subtly changed for some things, riding around on my bike doesn't slow the game down, and there's even been some improvements to the overall UI of the game. Just last night I was battling one of the game's biggest hordes and it didn't seem affected at all. It took a while to get completely there, but I believe that Days Gone is *mostly* fully fixed now. 

Great horror vibe.
Annoying forced-walk segment

Moving past the technical bits, Days Gone is a well structured, if unoriginal game in many ways. Other than hordes (more on that later), it doesn't bring much new to the genre or gaming, but what it does, it does really well. It reminded me a lot of The Last of Us and takes a lot of clear inspiration from that game's approach, but with an open world aspect. It's not a blatant rip-off, but there's more than enough here that will remind you of other "stuff" be it games, TV, etc. Once you get past a slight learning curve, controlling your protagonist, Deacon St. John, becomes effortless and controls tightly and well. The game is appropriately violent; it's a very grim story and world, and St John controls like a survivor, putting his whole back into swings of bats across enemies faces, reloading his weapon somewhat frantically, and sprinting/scrambling away from Freakers. The game is divided into equal parts stealth, melee, ranged (i.e. gun combat) and motorcycle riding. Each feels easy to control and master, though stealth is remarkably too easy thanks to some truly thick AI. Unlockable skills make you considerably better at each (especially ranged and melee) and bike tune-ups make your bike faster, stronger, carry more, etc. I was perhaps most impressed with the bike riding because that's where the game could have gone really poorly since you do it so often. Instead, Deacon's bike controls really well and the only times I would make a mistake were either A) my own fault or B) poor map design (very tight spaces). Hitting enemies and Freakers with your bike is satisfying, but early on will cause considerable damage to your bike. You must track its gas and damage as you go along and scavenge for gas and scrap to fix it and...well you'll be scavenging a lot actually. It only gets old near the end game when you're quite powerful but you can't craft bomb X because you're one thing short. The endgame should have introduced some "scrap" market where you could buy things, but in the beginning/middle of the game being low on scrap can be as stressful and exciting as it was with The Last of Us. 

The world of Days Gone is a collapsed one and you reside in Oregon where everyone is either a biker in a past life (seriously, it's almost comical) or is now a Freaker. Oregon is a really cool setting for a game like this and I applaud game developers going to unique places other than New York, etc. The map itself isn't all that varied, but thanks to some recent improvements, it's easier to know where to explore. Freakers are basically zombies who are infected with a virus and roam the world. They come in many shapes, sizes, or even species. Their design isn't quite as brilliant as TLoU's fungi-infected monsters, but certain ones are menacing and get the job done. Hordes in particular are down-right jaw dropping and probably some of the most intense gaming segments I've ever played. Composed of tens or even hundreds of Freakers, hordes move like a swift wave after your character, not all that different from World War Z. Early on, they're best avoided, but as you get stronger/more weapons, they can be a fun challenge to kill all of them. The gameplay here is frantic and wild, but if there's one thing that Days Gone knocks out of the park, it's hordes. Truthfully, the game - especially in the state its in now - is almost worth it just for the sake of these exciting moments. 

Ahh, the beautiful and deadly Oregon mountains

You also get your money's worth with Days Gone as it seems to be the never-ending game. That has its pros and cons (the pacing is wildly slow at the beginning), but generally it has allowed a lot of room for these characters to breathe and for you as the gamer to become invested in the narrative. Think of it as 3 seasons of The Walking Dead all in one game. It's ambitious and awesome that we're given THAT MUCH game, but it's going to have some slow spots. Overall though, this is a compelling story where some dark stuff happens and we learn a lot about these characters and the world around them, while still leaving me wanting a sequel. Deacon St. John in particular is a very interesting protagonist because - bluntly - I hated him at first. He's condescending, a total douche bag, and in the game feels like he has to comment on everything (this never stops, but almost becomes comical). By the end, he's still arrogant and sometimes annoying, but I felt like I understood him and his motives a lot better. The voice work for him in particular is fantastic as is the animation. He feels like a real character because of the way he talks, operates, etc. even if that character - in all of their realness - is kind of a sh***y human.

Run, Deacon! Run!

There's a reason Days Gone get hammered with initial reviews. To be honest, it deserved too as it was a bit of a mess and even unplayable sometimes on a normal PS4. My final score reflects some of the woes I experienced with it early on. But - and this is good news for those that held off buying it or haven't picked it back up in a while - it's a much better game now than it was. The story and the gameplay I found to be compelling and fun enough that it kept me pushing on through the technical issues. It's clear that the foundation is here for an amazing sequel, built out of the delivery of a good game that slowly turned great through post-release patches. Much like the Freakers within the game, it wasn't pretty how we got here, but like most PlayStation exclusives, it's definitely worth your time now. 

CONS

• Technical bugs early on were substantial, depending on what hardware you were utilizing. Some still remain that are lesser, but annoying
• Because it's so long, the story has some pacing issues throughout with sections of slow-down
• Forced walking sections through bland environments kill me
• Could have used some action setpieces (a la Uncharted series) to break up the gameplay and help with pacing
• Some aspects of the graphics are a little rough around the edges

PROS

• Open world of Oregon isn't all that varied, but it's an inspired choice that's gorgeous to explore
• For a world this large, the graphics can be fascinating
• Strong voice acting and animation, particularly for our protagonist
• Deacon St. John is an easily hate-able character to start whom we learn to potentially still hate, but with better understanding of what makes him tick
• Good God is this game long! You get your money's worth with this one
• Compelling gameplay all around, clearly inspired by The Last of Us. Leveling up actually makes your character better/stronger to take on more substantial enemies
• Hordes are the game's highlight. They're intense, frightening, exhilarating, and damn hard all at once
• Core story is, yes long, but also interesting and provides a real human element to the nastiness of this new world's evils
• A much healthier game now vs. at launch thanks to some hefty patches. Kudos to the developers for realizing their mistake of releasing too early (or perhaps they were pressured into it) and working hard to remedy it

Rath's Review Score | 8/10