Days Gone was 'one of the best zombie games of all time', fans say

Time has seemingly worked wonders for Bend Studios’ Days Gone. While the game may have released to rather middling reviews, it’s a title that’s developed somewhat of a cult following with age.

We’re all familiar with the phrase cult classic, a project that perhaps didn’t quite land at the time but goes on to develop a really solid fanbase. Days Gone feels like the perfect example of that. A quick trip to Metacritic will show you that upon release, the game garnered a rather average score of 71 but despite matching the sales of Ghost of Tsushima, a potential sequel was cancelled - a sequel that could’ve released in April 2023 had it gone ahead, according to the game’s director.

Well, while a sequel may not be on the cards, fans haven’t given up on their hope for this franchise - with a petition for a sequel reaching 200,000 signatures - nor have they relinquished their passion for sharing the good word.

Take a look at Days Gone in action below.

You’ll find tons of love for Days Gone on Reddit. It certainly does feel that its availability on PlayStation Plus last year paired with a craving for zombie media following the airing of HBO’s The Last of Us worked wonders for this title. Reddit user xiosy kicked off just one discussion, writing, “I will never understand the hate towards Days Gone. To me, it’s one of the best zombie games of all time. Because of the hate, we won’t get a Days Gone 2 anymore which this franchise deserved,” garnering over 12,600 upvotes.

“The so-called hate really stems back to the state the game was first released in, if that had not been the case I think there would be a very different outlook surrounding Days Gone in general. It is a great game but another lesson in how not to release because that s**t sticks firm,” Man_Derella_203 added. This does touch on one of the game’s problems.

I also think that while there is fun to be had in Days Gone, its dialogue and story pacing was in need of some tweaking. Whether it’s one of the best zombie games of all time, well, that’s down to the individual I suppose. For me, it certainly doesn’t match the heights of The Last of Us but would a sequel have offered a chance for Bend to refine the formula? I think so. The question I want answered is if Bend isn’t working on Days Gone 2, what have they been cooking up for five years?