Days Gone (2019)

I’ve been playing this game and I’m only a few hours into my 100% completion run as well as my first ever run through this really great open world post apocalyptic zombie title and I think this game so far from my experience got far too many negative reviews especially at launch from major game critique sites such as, IGN and GameSpot among others and I feel like they’ve been far too harsh on this.

Yes, Zombies have been populating pop culture ever since October 2010 when AMC’s The Walking Dead consumed the airwaves like zombies consume human flesh and I totally agree that the post apocalyptic zombie genre has been done to death in the most literal sense of the word when it comes to the zombie genre however, I feel like the game has been unfairly criticized so far seeing as my experience with it so far within the confines of the genre of game it’s in, I’ve had an extremely great time going up against The Freakers which are the classic super fast zombie type in line with Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake which came out in 2004.

Fun enough but not open world

I am enjoying this game despite having played tons of oppressive, post-apocalypse zombie games in the past. It tries to be a bit like Red Dead 2 combined with The Walking Dead. The game has a base camp where you pick up missions; you head out on your trusty steed (motorcycle) to the mission location, which invariably involves a bunch of shooting and looting. All very standard stuff, but not nearly the level of polish of RDR2 or other games.

The world is sufficiently dangerous that you need to be cautious and exercise stealth more often than not. The crossbow and motorcycle let you fulfill your Normal Reedus badass fantasy. The Hordes are terrifying, and yet fun. I managed to bait a few into enemy camps to maul my foes and complete my mission for me.

The big flaw is that there is just not much in this "open" world. There is no point to exploring except for a few meaningless collectibles. Weapon upgrades must be purchased at camp, which are then locked behind Trust points you earn over the course of the game. Every location is an abandoned whatever, often filled with baddies to murder. There are no random friendly encampments, no echoes of the people that lived in the locations you visit, no interesting takes on what the post apocalyptic world has become.

Every game has to be their own but I kinda wish they had gone for the BOTW scheme where weapons were not repairable, encouraging you to scrounge more and use them sparingly. The game introduces more dangerous creatures as you progress but they just appear throughout the world without any story reason. I would have preferred something like Assassin's Creed where you can encounter powerful enemies early on and must decide if you want to push your luck. I wish they had developed the main character as more of an outlaw that had to deal with hostility of the camps, as in RDR2 and its wanted system.

It's fine, but I just wish there was more to it. I can see more potential than what was built.

Finally got the platinum trophy for Days Gone along with 100% completion! I loved it, and also loved the pic I got to put that stamp on :)

I think I spent around 60 hours of gameplay in total to get the platinum + 100% completion, but it was worth it! I loved this game until the final straight line. You can check my final 45 minutes of gameplay below, I played along with the original soundtrack, which made the experience of this final part just amazing.

Hope to see you soon again, Deek!