When Days Gone released in April of 2019, it was met with mixed reception from critics, citing the game’s lack of originality and technical shortcomings as its main issues. While this can be considered a sign of doom and gloom, Days Gone was still met with immense commercial reception upon release. Days Gone was the second highest-selling game of April 2019, despite releasing at the very end of the month, and was the eighth best-selling PS4 game of 2019 altogether.
Even as Days Gone received mixed reception from critics, the game found its audience almost immediately, with fans praising Bend Studio’s open-world PS4 debut. The game currently sits at a critical average of 71 on Metacritic, with a user score of 8.3. For all intents and purposes, Days Gone is arguably the biggest underdog of the PlayStation 4’s first-party catalogue. To many who didn’t enjoy the game when it first released, it might be worth revisiting Days Gone on PS4/PS5, especially as the game is part of the PlayStation Plus Collection.
Even before the release of Days Gone, many wrote the game off as another generic zombies game, implying the game lived in the shadow of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. While Days Gone doesn’t do much to stand out and isn’t particularly innovative, comparisons to The Last of Us aren’t entirely appropriate. While it’s true that the two games are set in post-apocalyptic North America, the tone of both games couldn’t be more contrasting. While The Last of Us is very down to earth and grueling in its depiction of violence and hopelessness, Days Gone takes a decidedly less serious, more introspective look at finding hope in the apocalypse.
Days Gone picks up two years after the outbreak of a deadly virus, causing humans to become uncontrollably violent and later mutating into creatures known as “Freakers.” Set in Oregon, Days Gone follows Deacon St. John and his friend William “Boozer” Grey, two “1% bikers.” The duo attempt to track down Deacon’s wife Sarah, who Deacon left on a recovery helicopter after she was injured the night of the outbreak.
While the opening hours of the game leave a lot to be desired, what really makes Days Gone stand apart is Deacon’s relationship with Boozer, and their search for something worth fighting for. As the player spends time with Deacon, it becomes evident that his time alone has taken a toll on him mentally, as he seemingly takes extreme pleasure executing hordes of infected. His mental state takes a turn for the worse when Boozer becomes unwell, causing Deacon to go to extreme lengths to help him. The story of Days Gone takes many twists and turns, but the strength of its relationships take the spotlight, assisted by terrific performances from its cast.
The gameplay of Days Gone is more comparable to the likes of Far Cry, than other open-world Sony IP like Horizon: Zero Dawn or Ghost of Tsushima. Players will find themselves driving around Oregon on Deacon’s bike, clearing infestation zones to open up fast travel between areas, or running missions for various encampments. Then there’s the hordes, encountered late into the game, which forces the player to utilize their entire arsenal to deal with an onslaught of fast moving enemies. These hordes can be tough as nails to beat, but the game’s mechanics offer an exciting challenge in the moment, helping set Days Gone apart from others within its genre.
One of the major criticisms of Days Gone when it initially launched was its technical performance on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. While many of the issues addressed in professional reviews were fixed in the game’s day 1 patch, developer Bend Studio continued to update Days Gone all the way up until the beginning of 2020.
Two months after the game released, Bend Studio even added a Challenge Mode to the game, allowing seasoned players to dive deep into the game’s combat mechanics in arcade-like situations. In September 2019, Bend also added a New Game Plus mode to Days Gone, allowing players to re-experience the entire game with all of the abilities and upgrades earned in their first playthrough.
In 2021, not only is Days Gone free from nearly all of the technical issues that plagued its PS4 launch, but it also features far more content, adding even more incentive for existing fans to return. In October 2020, just before the launch of the PS5, Bend Studio released another update for Days Gone: Not only was the game’s install size halved, but the update also added PS5-focused enhancements to the game, including 60 frames-per-second performance and a dynamic 4K resolution. To PlayStation 5 players, any of the frame-rate issues present at Days Gone‘s launch are nowhere to be found, and the game looks and runs excellently on Sony’s newest console.
With all this in mind, returning to Days Gone almost two years after its release may prove there is a gem hidden beneath all the game’s rough. There is a lot of rough, especially with the game’s pacing. Despite this, Days Gone often manages to over come its issues through heartfelt character moments, competent writing, and a good blend of gameplay mechanics that make it worth returning to, especially in the quieter early months of 2021.
Days Gone is available now on PS4 and PS5.
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