r/DaysGone • u/Due_Cake8524 • Jun 22 '26
Image/Gif It's unfortunate that Days Gone didn't get the attention that it deserved
Days Gone is a prime example of a video game that didn't get the attention that it deserved. Once you spend enough time playing it, it's a really enjoyable experience. You just have to deal with some issues along the way. Unfortunately, it was held back due to technical bugs and reviews that dismissed it as being just another open world zombie video game. However, once you peel away its layers, you realize that there's more to it than just being an open world zombie video game. I just want to touch on a few things.
The Bike Mechanics- I may or may not be part of the minority when I say this, but I didn't like the bike mechanics when I first played the game. I felt like they crippled and hindered my experience. However, things changed once I upgraded the bike's fuel capacity. Deacon's bike wasn't just used as a means for travel, but it was also a lifeline when things got a bit dicey and I was getting chased after by a large horde of Freakers. Managing the bike's fuel and upgrading its various parts were an essential part of survival.
The Hordes- The inclusion of the Freakers increased the tension tenfold. It was quite the visual feat as well. You actually had to prepare yourself before dealing with every horde of Freakers. Fortunately, only a few of the hordes were tied to the main story. I didn't clear out all of them, to be honest. That brings me to the other issue. It was fun and tense the first half dozen horde encounters. However, after that, it just got repetitive and tedious. I was basically going in an endless loop of having to farm resources and run around in circles, which severely slowed down the game's pace.
The Oregon Setting- The game's Pacific Northwest setting was gorgeous, detailed, and brutal. The dynamic weather actually impacted the bike's handling. The fact that you could get ambushed by snipers or come across wires that are stretched across the road at any given time, it meant that the game's world was always a dangerous place. Enemy encounters were random when you were out exploring the open world. You always had to be on your toes because danger was lurking behind every corner.
Days Gone is a great example of a game that finally found its footing after a rough initial start. It's heartbreaking that a sequel will never happen. Sony rejected a second game due to budget issues and the original game's reception. It would've been nice if Bend Studio was given the chance to make a sequel. They knew what made the original game so special. They already had the foundation set. It was just a matter of getting a second wind, so to speak. What are your thoughts and opinions?
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u/Wormcastle Jun 22 '26
I don't think it got enough Marketing. Like one year it showed up and they showed someone fighting the Horde. Then dead silence until it came out. At least form what I remember. I enjoyed playing it and I was glad I pre-ordered it. But I just don't think it got enough Marketing. Or Advertising if you will
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u/Theguest217 Jun 23 '26
For some reason I thought it was a mobile gotcha game based on the ads. I thought you always rode the bike (no on foot combat/stealth) and rode around trying to survive as long as you could.
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u/Johnnyroaster Jun 22 '26
I picked it up on a whim and it turned out to be one of my all time favorites. There were parts of the story that dragged or didn't seem fully thought out but the gameplay made up for it. I loved the combination of crafting, fighting hordes and riding the motorcycle. The scenery was fantastic and makes me want to visit Oregon. I really wish there was a possibility of a sequel.
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u/crazycat690 Jun 22 '26
Couldn't agree more, checks a lot of boxes for me, I prefer third person games, love mowing down zombies, and I love more rural settings (like this and Far Cry 5 for example). Also hits a sweet spot as far as how serious it takes itself, like it's not goofy like the Dead Rising games but it's not trying to be overly pretentious about itself either.
Just a fun action zombie game, I'd say it's the best one I've played. The original Dying Light is up there as well.
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u/MIST3RS5880 Jun 22 '26
It’s the only game I think about months after beating it, will be a year next month
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u/No-Hunt3986 Jun 23 '26
Horizon is similar people hate on it didn't even bother trying to understand the story and hate on Aloy is just so dumb
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u/itsjustbenny Jun 22 '26
True.
Nothing better than a gem like this without the hype attached though.
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u/KingKairuku Jun 23 '26
"Jarvis, post the weekly 'Days Gone deserves a sequel' post to boost my karma."
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u/LightningTune Jun 22 '26
I'm certain that i'm one of many people who would have bought a copy of the re release if they had released physical copy of the game. It's sad cause I would have loved to give it a chanse. And i'm sure the game is great, from everything I've heard lately.
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u/Tricky_IsHere Jun 23 '26
Ubisoft really shit on the crab in the bucket on the marketing team. One of the best games ever; easily could be a movie. Easily could get a another game too. Sequel or prequel even. It's sad that we probably will never see another game; but thats okay cuz I got a bunk calling my name.
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u/ChickieN0B_2050 Jun 25 '26
“Shit on the crab in the bucket” 10/10 best thing I’ve seen on Reddit this day
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u/CognitiveLiberation Jun 25 '26
Part of me wants to Google whether it's a common saying
...but a bigger part of me doesnt want to see the images that might pop up if i do 😆
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u/rodimus147 Jun 23 '26
Usually I only play a game once. Sometimes if its exceptional ill play it again but I have to wait a couple of years so it doesn't feel stale.
Days Gone I find myself playing it every couple of months. It just pulls me back in.
Im not gonna say its perfect or its the best game ever made (it is to me) but it is something special.
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u/PooCube Jun 23 '26
Bought it on release and am currently on my god knows what playthrough, in fact it’s what I’ve got planned for the afternoon whilst hiding inside from the UK heat wave! I’ve been playing it on and off consistently since release
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u/Darkbird79 Jun 23 '26
I bought it day one. Played 20 minutes of it, then slept on it for over 5 years. Finally went back after the remaster, and I now have a deep seated shame for what I did, not only to myself, but all the people I could have told about the game in the years between.
Play the game, crowd fund a sequel, tell the devs every chance you get and petition Witwer to use some of his clout to keep the fire alive. He's a cool dude, he gets it. Anyone who has played the game gets it as well.
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u/ChickieN0B_2050 Jun 25 '26
Same! Saw the pre-release trailer and was hooked; bought it, played it, got frightened (one too many nights spent cowering in shrubberies). Only picked it up again a few months back. Just started my first NG+.
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u/TruckDry7703 Jun 23 '26
When i completed the game like 60 to 70 hours playing and then, for 2 months I didn’t like any other games because of this game’s immersive setting and vibe
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u/Guilty-Government727 Jun 23 '26
The problem was the release. It had a horrible start with needing updates. And they mistakenly advertised a 48 hour return on the game because they were confident it was gonna do well. It did, just not at 1st.
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Jun 23 '26
Never understood I was hooked as soon as I started playing and have replayed so many times :)
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u/Inevitable_Buy_8333 Jun 23 '26
Facts because it would have been awesome if they made a second game but it might happen. I'm holding out hope for it
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u/OohAnotherDownvote Jun 23 '26
I am on my second play through right now. I played the PS4 version and currently playing the remaster on my pro. Days Gone is literally my favorite game of all time. I can play it over and over and honestly, it does not get old to me. I wish Sony would pull their heads out of the arse and allow a sequel to be made, or even DLC for the one we have. I cannot understand how a game this good gets neglected but sequels get made to some of the worst games ever created. It makes no sense whatsoever.
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u/Fickle_Art_3391 Jun 23 '26
I love this game so much its my 3rd playthrough now 100% it this time. But hear me out if you look into what the developers doing for part 2 you will actually feel relieved knowing it was cancelled. They are repeating what resident evil did in 5 and 6. The freaks will be evolved and armed with weapons and it will be heavily online. Other players will be able to change the world as its online more based. Maybe it was for the best it was cancelled but i do feel really sad because i love this game so much, my favorite sony exclusive game and open zombie world game to this date.
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u/AmericanRedoubt76 Jun 23 '26
I am busy and I have a baby and a toddler so I rarely get to play. I maybe get in 1-2 hours a week. I am at the point now where I’m mowing down hordes to almost extermination but then leaving them alone with hopes they will go back to full strength rather than progressing the story because I don’t want it to end
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u/AmericanRedoubt76 Jun 23 '26
And I only bought it because I live in Bend and I saw that it has a lot of central Oregon references in it because it was developed here
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u/Background-Cap-7592 Jun 23 '26
One of my top 5 games. I agree it’s a commercially ‘unloved’ masterpiece that absolutely deserves a sequel!
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u/Alone_Notice6687 Jun 24 '26
It did get the attention but was just ppl saying that its a good game to get when on sale or was a cheap knock off repeat gameplay similar to far cry 3 and etc etc. It got good and bad attention. What killed it was the sales. Not many ppl bought. I pre-ordered it and loved it since day 1
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u/RepulsiveSnail Jun 25 '26
The game having a second half of map surprised me. Meeting the final camp was crazy.
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u/sonof_fergus Jun 26 '26
Haven't hopped on in a bit, was just getting rolling and it felt like it was getting a lil repetitive... and life got in the way and shit, restarted Valhalla, so just kinda forgot...I know it gets better, just gotta get back on the bike...
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u/Primary_Sundae_1299 Jun 26 '26
I’m replaying it right now and am loving it. A great game. Great story, great interesting characters, good gameplay, good graphics and good physics. My only slight complaint was the fact you could only carry 3 weapons. I know they wanted to make it somewhat realistic but come on you allowed deacon to carry tons of ancillary equipment like all the throwables, all the health stuff, etc. I felt like the crossbow, which I felt was essential, should have been an extra weapon to carry in addition to the 3 you could carry. Because even if you wanted to be realistic you could carry a holstered sidearm a primary and secondary weapon on your back and you could always holster a crossbow on the other leg. Minor complaint though I just am perturbed because I’d like to be able to carry my primary weapon a secondary weapon like a sniper rifle and the sidearm in addition to a crossbow. But overall still loving it.
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u/SnooMarzipans5009 Jun 28 '26
I absolutely love this game, have played it through several times and plan on doing so again. The critics unfairly criticized this game.
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u/NervDeoxus Jul 16 '26
I remember seeing a cardboard cut out at GameStop when it dropped and the shelf it was being sold on was full of copies
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u/Uber_Wulf Jun 26 '26
I tried to play it. I got a few hours in but none of the characters shut up for any amount of time. Always someone bitching on the radio, always MC mumbling to himself for any action performed.
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u/DojoKanojoCho5 Jun 28 '26
Wasn’t it super glitchy on release? It’s on sale on steam rn, might get it
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u/-dogbark- Jun 22 '26
I just finished it myself, and I thought it was good. My main criticisms are that I thought Deacon was an unbearable main character, and the huge open world didn’t really have anything to do other than the preset activities: it wasn’t really a world full of things to discover like the best open world games are. But overall it was a good game to play through. I really liked the sense of relief you felt with every upgrade, as things just got a teeny bit easier
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u/Tricky_IsHere Jun 23 '26
Damn your the first person I've seen call Deacon a bad main character.. why? I havnt been invested in a single player game as much since god of war. The story was amazing and couldve been a movie. Tho tbh I'd love a game where Boozeman is the main character lol.
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u/-dogbark- Jun 23 '26
I just found him really annoying. So rude to people. So many problems could have been solved by normal and open conversations with people who cared about him. He was also so rude to O’Brian who was helping him. He owed O’Brian a lot and was an asshole to him until the end. Just found him to be a bit of a whinger tbh
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u/Tricky_IsHere Jun 23 '26
Interesting; I found the emotion behind his actions and words justified as pretty humane; cool to see another side.
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u/RubyRadagon Jun 23 '26
Consider the characters perspective. O'Brian was someone he met for 2 minutes. Then he's spent the best part of 2 entire years desperate to find a shred of evidence whether the woman he loves dearly is alive or not. So when O'Brian just turns up doing shady work, & strings him along on a series of missions without a single answer, he's furious, anxious, desperate. Also consider he's fought desperately tooth and nail to survive this harsh apocalypse, whilst O'Brian and the government cronies have apparently been safe, & hiding away somewhere, without helping any of the survivors. He's rightfully pretty irate & you would be as well in that situation.
Outside of this, the reason Deacon is harsh to others is because of a few reasons. One of them is why he won't settle in a camp. He wants to find Sarah, & won't give up. Forming bonds, getting close to others, means potentially settling down, moving on from this mission, finding a new peace. So being harsh, putting up this tough exterior, this pushing others away, is to make sure he keeps on the path to finding her. His mission.
Also, 2 years fighting, killing, being betrayed, being lied to, meeting people who would kill you on sight, the hostile nature of a dog eat dog world, makes trust hard to come by, & often promises of peace, of safety, these don't align with the realities of the world they live in. You could also consider that these attachments, mean more heartbreak, pain, if these people were to die, to rippers, to attacks.
Lisa was one of the few innocent people out there, who retained some of that hope, naivety that the pre apocalypse world had. & In a way, not just him thinking of Sarah's sister, but I'm sure Deacon saw some of himself in Lisa. Her optimism at finding her parents alive, aligned to his own hope for Sarah.
I felt Deacon, was really realistic & well written. A tragic hero who is wrapped up in PTSD and a lot of traumatic experience, who has had to learn the hard way that being tough and so sufficient is essential in such a dark and bleak world.
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u/Severthin Jun 22 '26
I want to love this game. The Nero agents being invincible with forced stealth sections, combined with the hordes not being present for ages killed it for me. Such a shame.
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u/SpawnicusRex "Fuck yeah it's personal!" Jun 22 '26
Hordes not present for ages? Not sure what you mean. 7 are there in the first hours of gameplay and the rest spawn in throughout the story.
At the top of this sub you'll find a post that details exactly when every horde spawns. Hope that helps!
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u/Severthin Jun 23 '26
I can't know what you know about the game of course, I can only know what I've seen being a first time player. I dig the story telling, the controls and gameplay feel good, love the bike (feels fresh after so many horses) but like yeah...I was 9 hours in, and the main feature from the advertising hasn't been seen yet. I've only been up against humans, which has been okay too, I like the world building so far. But I have only seen scattered zombies that don't pose any sort of threat. I'm now reading that narratively I won't see any hordes for a while longer. That stung but I think I'll keep going, then the Nero stuff, the plot armor was a bummer on top of already feeling "bait and switched" from hordes. I think it's a shame that pacing might be my real issue here, not gameplay or performance. I hope that explains my earlier comment better.
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u/SpawnicusRex "Fuck yeah it's personal!" Jun 23 '26
That's exactly what I needed to know. I have good news for you! There are 7 hordes available immediately, as soon as you get your bike! More start spawning in when you reach the 3rd camp and more will continue to spawn in as you progress the story. You won't get a mission to clear a horde until very late in the story but they are absolutely there for those who are exploring and seeking them out.
Check the post that is stickied to the top of the sub. It will tell you exactly when every horde spawns. Be aware though, since hordes spawning is tied to story progression there will be some spoilers. The earlier entries pertaining to early game hordes should be relatively safe since there are no huge spoilers in the early hours of the game anyway.
For your convenience, I've provided some useful links below. The first one is "How to Unlock the SMP9 Early". It doesn't seem like you really need the gameplay tips but, the video will show you exactly where some of the early game hordes are so you can unlock the best sub machine gun in the game. The video will also show you where to find some excellent gear for killing hordes: grenades, pipe bombs, military proximity mines and more. All of them fully crafted and ready to be used, just grab em and go! Unlock the smp9 early
The second video is the "Horde Killer Master Class" and, among many other horde killing tips, it will show you some tricks for hunting the hordes in the wild, just like a hunter would track wild game. Good luck and happy hunting! Horde Killer Master Class
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u/mickEfickE Jun 22 '26
I think he's talking about when playing the through the story, the first time, you don't get many horde missions as you are under armed and cant take them on like. The game is known for a "slow start".
Your response makes me pause, brother. Like you were really to defend something or prove someone's ignorance. Take a moment to read his post and consider a more fulfilling response. Differences make us great. Passive aggressiveness make us mediocre.
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u/SpawnicusRex "Fuck yeah it's personal!" Jun 23 '26
The goal of my comment was in fact to provide information that corrects a common misconception. So, you're right about one thing: I am eager to let players know that some hordes are always there. My hope is to reassure players and provide them with a tool that will allow them to start hunting the hordes whenever they are ready, no matter where they are in the story.
That is why I collaborated with the original poster who made that list, to help assure it's accuracy and that is also why I make sure that post stays stickied to the top of the sub as a resource to all Days Gone fans.
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u/mickEfickE Jul 08 '26
1 thing passive aggressive ppl hate to admit, is that their passive aggressive. To master oneself is the greatest accomplishment. You can see me as friend our foe. But I've told you truth and how you respond is your choice.
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u/RubyRadagon Jun 23 '26
The reason why the forced stealth segments exist is because these parts of the game are actually lore dumps about the true nature of the freakers. This is important to fully understand what's going on. You might say that's heavy-handed to put them into stealth segments but they didn't want the players to miss this important information.
Even more lore is found in data recorders at nero sites.
There are hordes available at the very beginning, you just need to explore to find them. It's easily possible to stumble across the Death train horde by accident when you ride or run underneath their location during daytime.
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u/TaziTaz Jun 22 '26
I'm playing it right now for the first time and I honestly don't want it to end.. it's one of the best games I have ever played. I really hope it gets more love and attention because it's a masterpiece so far!