Underrated open world gem gets its Freak back on?
Days Gone has had a funny old life.
At one point at pre-release circa 2016 at E3, it was arguably among the most hyped videogames ever – courtesy of a spectacular PS4 tech demo that appeared to bring gamers’ World War Z fantasies to thrilling life.
Then, after a series of delays, this post-apocalyptic adventure finally emerged to solid, if slightly grumblesome, reviews – and the ‘dead cert’ planned franchise disappeared seemingly overnight.
Time, however, has been kind to Days Gone, especially following its belated PC release in 2021. This was the first time I personally encountered it, and after a slow, clichéd, and frustrated first couple of hours I slowly started to fall heavily for the game on several different levels.
Deacon’s Blue
The plot initially looks trite; I’d been there, gotten The Walking Dead postcard, ta.
But after a while I began to warm to rough diamond Deacon St. John and his complicated, authentic relationship with bestie ‘Boozeman’. Even more surprisingly this third-person, open world actioner started to regale a deeply profound and moving story of humanity on the brutal edge of extinction.
It’s hugely helped by a masterclass from actor Sam Witwer, who imbues Deacon with a charm and pathos that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a Hell’s Angels type.
Days Gone’s core gameplay loop chiefly involves dynamic gunplay encounters with the various factions in its dynamic gameworld – including the (fast!) zombie-like Freaks, cult-like Rippers, paramilitary DCM, and mysterious governmental agency N.E.R.O.
How does it all go down? It’s best explained by using an example.
Exploring the wilds on his drifter bike, Deacon stumbles upon a Ripper camp. After doing a sneaky recce, it turns out they have a holding cell full of rabid Freakers. After disarming a few booby traps, our hero frees said Freakers, watches them tear up the panicking Rippers, before mopping up the remnants of both mobs with his SAF assault rifle and snagging a bunch of juicy loot and upgrades.
It’s super satisfying and feels wholly embedded within this brutal world, as you rely on your wits to survive – especially early game. Later on, you’ll mow through humans and zombies alike with an increasingly exotic arsenal of military-grade weaponry (which is also extremely entertaining).
Le Freak C’est Chic
The procedural Freaker swarms you’ll encounter are Days Gone’s undoubted standout and remain absolutely gobsmacking even today – 6-odd years after the PS4 release. They still scream ‘next gen’ in a way that very few titles since have gotten close to, as any gamer who’s survived the infamous Sawmill Horde will grimly testify.
There’s something utterly compelling – and horrifying – stumbling upon a Horde, only to see them spilling out of crevices, caverns, and buildings, to chase you across the landscape as you frantically fumble with your grenades and wonder where the heck you left your bike!
Rather unsurprisingly then, the new Horde Assault mode in the remaster – a kind of arcade-y survival mode – is at once both the most obvious and most brilliant addition.
The Pacific Northwest setting still shines too; one minute, Deacon’s bike is blasting through pine forest, racing upwards towards snowy peaks, before descending into gloomy swampland, harsh deserts, or even rocky lava fields.
Naturally, Oregon looks even purdier in the remaster and you’ll have a blast traversing it on Deacon’s bike, which is such fun to both ride and (endlessly) upgrade. Personally, I think the drifter beats every other open world car – or horse – any day of the week.
Despite the sublime Horde Assault and a couple of other new modes, if you’ve already played Days Gone to death this probably isn’t worth buying again on PC. PS5 is quite another story, where the graphical leap from PS4 is enormous.
Anybody else – particularly fans of open worlds and character-driven action – should definitely consider taking a ride to hell and back with Deacon and co.
