Days Gone

[Leisher]

I pondered how to start this review, and I think it's best to ask if this is the best zombie game ever made. It's not. However, it's in the conversation.

It's also an interesting case where the gaming media and the players are not in alignment at all. The MSM had it in the 5-6 range, while players put it at 8.

Days Gone is set in Farewell, Oregon (actually Bend, Oregon in RL) after a zombie outbreak. These zombies are the faster version, which does make society falling more believable than the slow walking shufflers originally shown in Night of the Living Dead. They don't always sprint, and you can outrun them (with exceptions) if you sprint, but you definitely won't be standing around picking them off.

Days Gone is not a perfect game. The story, while excellent, didn't take advantage of some opportunities to really explore the world they have created. This seemed to be where the gaming media had their main criticism, and they have a point. There are definitely parts of the game that would have been nice to flesh out more or follow up on, but it certainly did not ruin an otherwise really solid story.

You play as Deacon, a former member of a biker gang, and you are surviving with your friend and biker brother Boozer. After losing Sarah during the outbreak, you've survived on instinct and out of a promise to keep Boozer alive. An incident occurs during a routine run, which not only puts you in the crosshairs of a sick cult, but also leads you into a meeting with someone from your recent past. That meeting changes everything.

The primary method of transportation in this world is via motorcycle. They're easier to maneuver, use less gas, etc. You can explore the world on foot, but it is not recommended. It'll take you forever, and you'll end up dying a lot. Don't worry though, this isn't a vehicle game. The vast majority of missions, you will be on foot once you arrive where ever you need to be. There are a few places you cannot reach without upgrading your bike, and a few missions that involve a bike chase, but they are rare. Plus, the bike stuff is done well, so you won't sweat them.

Cakedaddy will be thrilled to know that they take a kinda, sorta realistic look at guns. You can carry a primary, sidearm, and one special weapon. The primary is shotguns, rifles, etc. The sidearm is a handgun of some type. The special weapons are either a crossbow, a sniper rifle, or a heavy MG. The special category really affects how you approach situations. Almost forgot that you can also carry one melee weapon (they can be picked up or crafted).

Adding to that is the realistic idea that silencers don't last forever. You get some shots, but it eventually breaks. Trying to eliminate a hostile camp at night without silencers or your crossbow can get tricky... Oh, and the ammo you can carry is limited.

Your missions come from different main camps that you do work for, and each has a leader with their own personality and way of running things. I won't get into it deeper than that to avoid spoilers, but while there was more to flesh out, they do hit some really good story notes throughout. Some of these characters I will remember for quite some time.

Missions are usually get this, eliminate this asshole and his friends, clear zombies, etc. The gaming media said it gets repetitive, and I see how, but not if you're enjoying the game! I was immersed and loved it. Each location was different. The enemies come in different flavors. Sometimes I would approach a mission low on ammo, sometimes I'd end up in a firefight, sometimes I'd do stealth, sometimes I'd watch as my targets fought zombies or vice versa, sometimes I instigated those fights, etc.

Early on, you'll be very cautious and probably take things slowly. Smart. At some point you'll gain confidence, abilities, have better weapons, and you'll be able to win fights. That's right around when you start noticing hordes.

Yes, hordes. Dare I say no other game does them as well as this game does, and they're fun. The hordes you may encounter early are small. I think 30-50 is what you'll see. The largest horde in the game is 500 large. Not a typo. For added fun, other zombies who hear your battle will join in, including special ones. Before I get to them, the hordes are worth the price of admission alone. Don't be a puss and cheat to beat them. I've seen videos of guys exploiting the environment to eliminate a horde without taking damage. Where's the fun in that? There are a couple dozen hordes in the game.

They don't go overboard with special zombies. There are only 3. I won't spoil it for you, but they give them a scientific reason for how they became what they are, which is cool, and none are ridiculously off in fantasy world. None will blow up like a bomb, none have super long tongues, none spit acid, etc. Did I mention animals can get this virus too? There are two types you encounter with the virus. They're just souped up versions of their normal version.

After beating the main game, I kept playing wrapping up loose ends because the game is that fun. That's when another mission was given to me out of nowhere. That mission led to a cliffhanger that made me immediately NEED more of this story. We've seen something like it before in film, but I was so hooked into this world that it completely caught me by surprise.

The story is solid enough that there's a movie or TV show in development, and this game sold over 9M copies (and that number was back in 2022), but no sequel. Why? Because Sony fell in love with gaming as a service. They also had an executive that wasn't a fan and wanted the service stuff. However, now that all of those projects have completely failed (like Concord) and that executive is out, the word out of Bend Studio is that the live service game they were working on was canceled, and they've moved onto something else. What could it be? A petition for Days Gone 2 has garnered a quarter of a million signatures. There's also lots of murmur that we could be seeing it get the green light soon.

It's fun, different, makes a lot of welcome changes to the genre, has a really good story, likeable characters, ones you'll hate, the best zombie hordes in gaming, and the best cliffhanger in a game in a long time. Highly recomended.

[Leisher]

This is good news for a sequel. Check out those hordes.

[Leisher]

Review of the remaster.

Dying Light is still probably king of the zombie game mountain, but Days gone is second and nobody does hordes better.