Everybody loves a good 'ol zombie apocalypse. The thought of the world plagued by the undead, shooting them in the head and scavenging for supplies in order to survive appeal to most of us - not all, but there will always be those who want to be a part of this world. It's not going to happen, they know that, but games like Days Gone is the closest that they can get.
Sony hyped Days Gone as one of the best titles that will exclusively grace the PlayStation 4. It was revealed during Bend Studio's E3 press conference in 2016 and since then, gamers followed every step the studio took for its development. It wasn't a walk in the park, though. The missed its first release window last year, as well as its predicted February launch this year. One source said that Sony didn't feel that it "wasn't right" to release Days Gone too early, so they pushed back to "polish the game a bit."
The trailer did much of the talking and in all honesty, it enough to take the hype to the next level. Days Gone was released last April 26, but the buildup died down just like that. A fireside chat between Tech Radar's Gaming writer Vic Hood and Senior Editor Nick Pino echoed two sides and yes, both are torn on their critiques.
The latter liked the game for its story and described it to be a "slightly refined version of The Last of Us," while the former said that everything "feels quite lackluster," or something that makes you want to quit watching The Walking Dead or Sons of Anarchy.
Polygon's Alyse Stanley, on the other hand, opined that there are times Days Gone can be "remarkably sparse," and "almost intolerably bloated." The game "never settles into a satisfying rhythm" and most quests feel repetitive.
Stanley, however, found "some fun" in the game's flexibility such as disposing of hordes of Freakers (they're infected humans, not zombies), and the traps communities set for Deacon St. John. Killing hundreds of these Freakers will make gamers spend tons of ammo and traverse obstacles, so it won't be that easy.
So why the bad review? The previous source said that one of the reasons is because Bend Studio removed "the player choices." They didn't elaborate further, but it was, for them, a "very hard thing to do." Days Gone have gone to a number of hands now, and it is only fitting that they will have different insights. Gamers who enjoyed Resident Evil or World War Z will definitely enjoy the plot, while those who really want an immersive open-world zombie apocalypse - even though they're not really zombies - will think otherwise.
