Featured Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Topics: Days Gone
Days Gone players have defended it as ‘one of the best games in years’ and do you know what, I kind of agree.
When Days Gone was released for the PlayStation 4 in 2019, it didn't have the best of starts. Players on social media reported some bugs as well as performance issues. Critics weren’t overly kind either. On Metacritic, Days Gone has a score of 71. That being said, the user score is more favourable at 8.4. Granted, 71 is not a bad score, it’s just not great either. Certainly not to the standards of other PS4 exclusives such as The Last of Us Part II, God of War, Bloodborne and Horizon Zero Dawn.
Take a look at Days Gone in action below.
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In hindsight, comparing it to other high-profile PlayStation 4 exclusives probably set the bar too high for the Bend Studio title and perhaps anything less than exceptional could be deemed as a disappointment. Thankfully, Days Gone did receive a series of patches over the weeks following its launch that did improve its stability somewhat, but it still wasn't enough to win over the masses.
Days Gone would still receive several nominations in 2019 and won ‘Best Storytelling’ and even the ‘PlayStation Game of the Year’ at the Golden Joystick Awards. During its first 18 months, the game had sold a reported 8 million units. Sony seemingly warranted this as not good enough to spawn a sequel. Yet, Days Gone had similar sales numbers to Ghost of Tsushima, a game that is expected to get a sequel. Though to be fair, Ghost of Tsushima was much more of a critical success. However, loyal Days Gone fans have remained desperate for a sequel, one that may never arrive.
While I can only assume, I think some may have gone into Days Gone with the mindset that it will be an open-world The Last of Us with zombies aka Freakers, but it really wasn't that in my opinion. I think of Days Gone as a Sons of Anarchy with zombies and when I had that mindset, I enjoyed the game a lot more.
It’s a travesty that Sony doesn't appear to be keen on a Days Gone 2, despite greenlighting a movie. I believe that many are seeing the original game very differently now and a native sequel on PS5 would shine. I know I'm not alone. “Days Gone got a bad rap at launch but the PC/PS5 version, in its current state, maybe one of the best games I’ve played in years. Incredible,” posted Redditor xmrgonex. “Best zombie horde mechanics in any game. It's a true shame that they cancelled the second game. I loved it so much I was doing all the side quests,” replied Kingofkodos. “I f**king love that game,” agreed Mr-hoffelpuff. “Just started it up a week ago. I'm about 13 hours in, and it is one of the best single-player games I've ever played,” said a very positive Jaycoht.
Was Days Gone perfect? No. Was it a slow starter? Yes. Was it fun? For the most part. Does it have more potential? I believe so. Whichever way you look at it, Days Gone has some solid foundations and the potential to produce a fantastic sequel.