Had you told me a week ago that I would be thoroughly enjoying the Days Gone experience in seven days' time, I'd assume you had gotten me mixed up with someone else. I couldn't stand the opening handful of hours, but the more I forced myself to play it, my opinion began to change. You may have picked up on that recently through our weekly What Are You Playing articles, and it has now gotten to a point where I can say that I genuinely enjoy playing Days Gone. There's a very particular point in the story where my mood started to change, though, so let's discuss the events leading up to that and the aftermath that ensued.
Despite my overall thoughts improving dramatically, the opening hours of Deacon St. John's adventure through post-apocalyptic Oregon continue to baffle me. With a bike slower than a 1995 Ford Fiesta, I slogged my way through the first couple of uninspired missions unable to quite comprehend what I was experiencing. This is a Sony published game, and I'm not enjoying it in the slightest. These types of open-ended titles are normally my bread and butter – I love Assassin's Creed Odyssey, for example – but Days Gone just wasn't clicking whatsoever. The open world was largely boring, Freakers didn't really seem to pose much of a threat, and the shooting felt utterly abysmal.
I think I'm going to keep having nightmares about the first automatic assault rifle you acquire in Days Gone. That thing couldn't hit a target a mile wide if its life depended on it, and the worst thing of all is that it's still your best option for combat encounters until you manage to raise your trust level with any particular camp. But while that frustrated me to no end, the plot and accompanying cutscenes weren't doing much of a better job either.
There's one in particular that really, really stands out to me. Certain side missions allow you to learn more of the relationship Deacon shared with Sarah, one of which explores the events that lead up to their ill-timed separation. I'm learning how she got her life-threatening injury when the game suddenly proceeds to replay the entire opening sequence of the game over again. I've already seen that cutscene, so what on Earth were Sony Bend thinking by playing it once more? The frequent fade to blacks don't make things any better either – constantly taking you out of the experience to trigger a load screen.
But still, I trudged on in the hope that anything whatsoever would grab me. And then it happened. Making it to the Lost Lake camp is a complete revelation in Days Gone, as it feels like it's there where things really get moving. I'm introduced to characters I quickly build a liking for, a setting that feels welcoming, and a narrative that suddenly kickstarts itself. While the search for confirmation of Sarah's death has persisted up until now, the only other beat to riff of was the act of riding up north with Boozer. Now, I have multiple threads to follow that involves both humanity and the Freakers.
Whenever a NERO mission pops up, I now go and do it immediately. The world-building and lore those quests introduce are really quite impressive, detailing the backstory of the outbreak along with speculating the inner workings of it. I'm not going to spoil anything, but these acts pose some very interesting questions that I find myself pondering when I'm not even playing the game.
I've even managed to find a machine gun that shoots accurately by this point! The Lost Lake camp genuinely changes the game for the better, to the point where everything that came before it almost feels like a prologue. I'm enjoying going out on missions with Iron Mike, scouting the hordes and learning how they tick, while Rikki gets personal about the gang and her connection with Deacon St. John. I look forward to exploring each and every one of these narrative threads with a souped-up bike that can actually put some distance between me and the Freakers. Let's compare it to a Mazda RX8 now.
One more understanding I've come to is how to approach the open world. It's fairly generic, with only the likes of the random blue question marks there to pull you off the main path. As such, I'm sort of skipping that portion of the experience entirely and leaving it until the end-game for now. I fast travel all over the place, completing sequences of missions one after the other, and I definitely think this is the best way to play. From where I'm standing, it's constant narrative and consistent action. That's exactly what I was looking for during those opening hours.
The craziest thing, though, is that I'm apparently only halfway through the game. I can't wait to see where the plot takes me, experience combat with every upgrade unlocked and a whole host of top of the line weaponry, and then there are the hordes waiting for me when everything is about wrapped up. I'll experiment with the open world once all is said and done, and with the upcoming free DLC, I'll probably have even more to do by the time I reach that point anyway. Yeah, I'm really enjoying Days Gone.
Have you ever done a 180 on a game halfway through? Was it for the better or worse? What are your thoughts on Days Gone so far? Avoid the Rippers in the comments below.
Comments 54
Classic case of Stockholm syndrome if you ask me
the only things putting me off is the guns but I usually prefer melee so no night, also, fuel and constantly fixing my bike 🙄 uhh
I keep going up and down on this game. I liked the first hour, disliked the next few, then started to love it and now I'm back on a bit of a downer again.
There are great moments here but the combat is clunky, the AI is abysmal, and the story is hit and miss (with parts that seem like they were written by a 10 year old).
I believe I'm into the game's final third about now but honestly I'm hoping it wraps up pretty quickly as I'd like to finish it before I get too bored.
This is perhaps an unfair criticism of Days Gone as many of my favourite games do it as well (and I hate it there too) but it's the endless repetitive missions of "shoot a few dozen meaningless goons for no real reason other than because that's what a game is".
I'm still waiting on a big title like this to do something different with gameplay and not just throw the same cliches at me over and over again for countless hours.
@roe as much as I’m pretty disinterested in it as it stands, Death Stranding will probably have you covered in that respect.
RDR2; when I stopped bothering with side quests or trophy tasks and stuck to the main story missions.
I’m enjoying it so far. I had no problems with the opening hours, and am just taking my time with it. I haven’t even discovered the Lost Lake camp yet!
It's actually quite the contrary for me. Gameplay-wise the game dumbs down A LOT when you get OP with almost unlimited stamina, the 1-hit-kill shotgun with 60 bullets, the "unbreakable" axe-bat (since you can repair it easily) and the dozens of grenades, mines and molotovs. At that point you just become SuperDeek and nothing is a threat anymore, not even the hordes that can easily be spammed with explosives, traps and whatnot. I liked it WAY more at the start when you just had one lame handgun, one AK47 with 30 bullets and a wooden stick to defend yourself, the game felt like a very unique open world survival horror and like nothing I had experienced before, I had to be careful since a small horde of 4-5 Freakers would kill me quickly. I'm playing in the normal difficulty so I don't know if a harder diff may spice it a bit more.
What I loved the most was the world, the post-apocalyptic world is incredible and the devs got the exploration VERY right: finding an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, exploring it and finding a body trapped in the bathroom with a shotgun and supplies, telling an implicit story of some poor soul that sheltered himself from the tragedy to no avail.
@kyleforrester87 here's hoping. I've had the same issue with all the Uncharted games, Red Dead, even The Last of Us, although I think TLOU probably did the best job of fleshing out the bad guys to make it a bit more believable.
While I've enjoyed the game pretty much from the start, I definitely have found that the story has got better the further I have progressed into the game.
@LiamCroft I think you will find it even more interesting when you get to the next camp(s).
one of the best games ive played in ages on day 842
Love this game I believe I'm at the halfway point.
This is one of my favorite reads from this site. Mainly because I noticed your change in between 'What are you playing' articles, but also because I'm almost feeling the same about the game!!
Like...I enjoy it, but so many things you are saying are correct for me! First the gun...the forsaken gun you get at the start (both assault rifle and that other that takes like 6 shots to kill someone), I hate having to waste so many bullets! The bike is cool in terms of weight and the turning but is too slow. Also I can't play the game for hours and hours like other exclusives because eventually I get bored (nothing seems to progress and I have many games to play). Also the story is pretty boring right now but I think that it's too soon to judge. BUT I just now found Rikki so you gave me so much hope for the game! (For me it was being a 6 or a 7 right now). But for some reason I feel like I need to keep playing because the game has some good things and I think I will end up liking it more once I fight some horde.
Also, St. John is freaking (pun intended) insane...he just shouts in the must unexpected ways and I find it hilarious and also bad!
But yeah Liam, thanks for the read and I do hope you continue to enjoy the game.
@AFCC yeah Rikki is awesome <3
@AFCC
Haha I love Deacon.
And people were saying hes 'gereneric' Jeez.
I’m exactly the same. I’m really enjoying the game. Playing in hard to give myself a challenge. Had a few jumpy moment running into a horde and trying to get back to my bike and get going before the caught me. Great game
I had the reverse. I really liked it, and now I'm starting to hate it. The game is really repetitive in its mission design, and most of the stuff it makes you do isn't fun the first time, and it's just boring the 5th odd time you do it.
Freaker nests? I'm clearing those. All 800 of them. So fun.
Listen missions? Soooooooooo fun!.... Yey...
Shootbang dudes. This is awful. The worst shooting I've ever encountered in a Sony game. It feels so bad, and it makes it laughable once you find that Deacon has military training! Seriously, what? Why does he miss shots where the reticle is right over the dude!? Because I have to put points in skills?
**** you game.
Sneak through town or camp? I mean the AI is utter trash, so... Anyone can do that. Especially with how rocks work.
Run from hordes? Pretty fun actually, but there aren't too many unique ones.
I am quickly regretting buying this game. I don't give a rat's arse about any of the characters, and I just want it to end.
Hopefully. I'll like it the more I play it, but it's gotten progressively worse since I got to Iron Mike's...
What am I missing?
I...Well, I just loved it from the get go. I found the shooting quite realistic. Hit and a whole lot of miss. Hitting a moving target in real life is very difficult. I loved the atmosphere, the visuals, and something I haven't given much thought in other games, the sound design. Perfect low end dynamics, excellent surround. I get some of the criticism, but there's just something about this game that works for me on so many levels. The perfect blend of Mad Max, Red Dead 2 and The Last of Us. It may sound slightly nuts, but this is one of my absolute favourite games now.
Im so torn 😪 its the supposed horrible shooting controls thats stopping me. It would drive me crazy im sure
@AFCC This was nice to read, thanks man!
The shooting gets better as you purchase some of the better weapons and the bike gets better as you upgrade it. If you stick with it, the game really starts to shine, halfway through Iron Mike's mission the story starts humming. Y'all take it in and stop getting so impatient the sum of its parts is pretty awesome. There's some tense moments that arise from then on and it only gets better.
Very disappointed in the transitions between gameplay and cut scenes - most of the time it completely destroys immersion and I find that unacceptable for a story-driven Sony Exclusive
Agreed. The game also 'started' for me when I reached the lost lake camp and Iron Mike. Anything that came before felt like a prologue, especially Tucker's camp. The thing is, Lost Lake gives you the best options in terms weapons and bike upgrades up until that point in the game so it's worth doing the mission to not only enjoy the story but gain access to bike upgrades and guns. This is also a point where Deacon turns into a super developed and dare I say, likeable character. Without spoiling anything, wait until you reach the next camps, that is where it becomes even more interesting.
I am consciously waiting to play the game. I feel like this game is best enjoyed when there's no buzz around it, so you can play it without the feeling of the internet forcing their opinion of it down your throat. In a similar way as Mad Max and The Order, for instance.
It’s one of the best PS4 games I’ve played. I play on the Pro and I’ve had a pretty good performance experience.
I’ve loved the characters and I enjoyed hating some characters. I thought the gas management in the beginning was a little much, but you get past it.
I enjoyed the large amount of dialogue in game. I’ve enjoyed the variety of enemies and the varied ways to play. I’ve enjoyed the backstories in the game.
I’ve loved the randomness this game has. I was setting up to take on a enemy camp. I was hiding in a bush scoping it out. There were two guys guarding a blocked front door. I chuck a grenade, blow the door down and kill them both. I hear a huge freaker shreak at me. (Breaker). I hoped it was just the noise that stirred it up, but it had spotted me. I take off and run straight into the camp. Guys yelling what the hell, kill the drifter. I zigzag between buildings and hoped the Breaker followed. I found a hiding spot in the camp. The Breaker then kills everyone in the camp. It’s cleared. I then shot the Breaker in the back of its head with a 50 caliber and then loot the camp. The experience was awesome.
Another time, I was traveling on foot scavenging random buildings. Deacon calls out a marauder camp. I think to myself I’ll check it in a bit. I then hear screams and gunfire. I sneak my way over and find a high vantage point. A hoard killed that entire camp within 30 seconds. Hey, I got credit.
Negatives. Yeah, I’ve had minor performance issues here and there. No biggy. I wish camp local NPCs had more dialogue. There was one mission that said to escape, I did but it actually wanted me to kill everything, so that was annoying.
It has been an extremely enjoyable experience. 8.8/10. It’s so close to being a 10 for me.
Also, never had an issue with aiming like some people gripe about. It’s been a very solid experience for me.
@OmegaStriver
I'm with you there. I feel if you want to enjoy the experience then it's not just up to the game to entertain you so to speak. That maybe why some people don't enjoy it. Its not just the story, or the characters or the world. It's more the way you go on about it. Maybe that's different from the typical Sony game I guess. Look I read a review saying there's no point playing stealth, upgrading etc because it's a waste of time and you can get things done gun blazing and all. It's exactly what I'm talking about, they were not even trying to enjoy and it's too bad tbh.
All in all the negativity doesn't bother me but when you think of ass cred, watchdog and Co and people single out this game or character (Aiden understand) Haha whatever
I enjoy reading about it when I'm on the move because I really like the game.
You should play Skate. You can do a massive 1080 in that.
@ApostateMage they should make Skate 4..
Mmmm, I'm sort of going through a 180 myself in the opposite direction. I was enjoying the slow moving survivalist approach, being careful/stealthy when attacking marauder camps, clearing nests etc and then scavenging the loot once they've been cleared. I always made sure all my supplies/weapons were fully topped up and I gradually upgraded my character to the point where I nearly have all the perks available. I never fast travelled and enjoyed biking around rescuing people from Freakers and bad guys on my travels. I am not saying where I am in the story to avoid any spoilers but it has got to the stage now where every main story mission means you have to take out a horde which for a run and gunner would be a dream come true but I'm not a fan of run and gun so it's taking me in a direction I don't particularly like...I'll try to persist for a couple of missions more but if all that's left in the story is run and gun then I'll have to put it down for a while.
How much pressure was applied from certain companies/people for you to dramatically change your opinion?
@Weegee71
Aliens threatened to send him to a slave camp on Mars if he didn't write this article. Aliens made out of cheese.
I absolutely love this game! I have beaten the game but don't stop playing once you have beaten Days gone, you can still do missions and the story still goes on especially about O'Brian. I was the same as most people playing Days gone.
The beginning is a little slow and I was not really into the characters and the story but the story, guns and missions get better. Killing the hordes are so much fun!
@roe Most definitely. I would murder a puppy* for a new Skate game.
*By murder I mean cuddle
@LieutenantFatman
You are mistaken. It is the Illuminati that run the slave camps on Mars. The cheese aliens are from Uranus.
haven't played it, but this kind of mirrors the 9/10 review in official playstation magazine somewhat. that it's a slow start, but when it kicks off, it's a real thrill to play.. still on the fence about it, though rage 2's lukewarm reviews would make me more inclined to get this, but i am still put off by the fact that most open world games bore me long before the finish.
Was waiting to see when these reviewers were going to start doing 180’s lol. Great game, one of THE best games this gen in my opinion, absolutely love it and I think it blows RDR2 away 👍🏼
It really sounds like a "try before you judge" kind of game.
A demo would help this game reach those put of by the "bad" reviews.
I'm coming to the end and have loved every minute. One of my top 5 games of this generation so far. Although it's technically not as polished, for me it's a much better game than God of War, which I finished just before this released.
I also have to say, I've seen lots of grumbles about the shooting, but I haven't had any issue with it at all. I've got a video going up on YouTube tonight of me clearing an Ambush Camp... 14 enemies, 13 killed by headshot, 1 with the boot knife. It's almost as if everyone seems to want an automatic headshot lock these days. 🤔
First off the game was defo a bit slow at the start but once you progress and start unlocking the skill tree it gets way better, the map is a good size and the story keeps you going, the mix between story,stealth and action is perfect and taking out the hordes is a thrill .
Just finished it last night, hope the soon to release free DLC adds more missions
@Weegee71
I must admit I took part in the pressure. Every time I thought of Liam as the Days Gone hater. It must have sent pressure waves his way.
@LiamCroft cheers, mate! Keep up the good work! I'll come back to reply once I'm in the later parts of the game!
@kyleforrester87 Death Stranding is going to be the biggest disappointment of this Gen. Its been overhyped to the point that its never going to meet the lofty expectations of the 'early adopters' for want of a better term.
For now it's nothing but a technical demonstration of the PS4's real-time rendering capabilities (apparently). But the recent leaks and teasers have done nothing to suggest the game itself has any substance or structure of any sort.
I kinda hope I'm wrong - but I kinda know I'm not.
@coliander I’m not hyped for it at all to be honest, no idea what to expect. I think a lot of people feel the same. Nothing really to be hyped about is there? Trailers look interesting but that’s about it. I’ll get excited when I know more.
love the game the bike is perfect & I like the attitudes of the people in the game it is not pandering to people.
I have still not finished it & have played it every day since release & how about that music as well when you change sections brilliant.
@chris730920
It doesn't help that you have to turn completely around to fire your weapons at a horde and then back again to run away. It makes these encounters really unintuitive and clunky.
If I could just throw a molotov or a grenade while I'm moving away from a horde, and not even shoot behind me Uncharted style, but just fling a grenade, these encounters would be more fun.
The early parts of the game had me hooked. It was just me and an open world that I had to survive in, and I felt really excited to explore and find all kinds of interesting things. The game play was something I wanted to do, and now it's just something I have to do to.
@Paranoimia
It's not even that.
The shooting just doesn't feel good to pull off. Try moving your reticle in a circle. You can't do it. It isn't smooth, and it makes it really inconsistent when trying to hit moving enemies from a distance. It feels like, with snipers especially, that the sights are misaligned or enemy hurt boxes get smaller when they're moving which is something that I notice more with Freakers.
Add to that the human enemies just don't really move around. If they got melee weapons they charge you. In a straight line. Easy.
If they have a sniper they never move. That's also really easy to deal with.
Regular enemies just shoot from cover or out in the open. All the human enemies stay really still for some reason.
It isn't the difficulty of the shooting that I, myself, have an issue with. It's the feel of it. It just feels bad, so I didn't really bother with it, because the melee feels a lot better and is more satisfying. All in all, the difficulty of the game doesn't progress with you either, so you can just mop up what ever enemies you want with focus, and that's that, but it's just very monotonous.
@Constable_What But why do you need to move the reticle in a circle? It's not something I've ever done.
It feels a little different to similar games, granted, but it's just a question of adapting to how it does work, rather worrying about how it doesn't.
Because of the 'scope wobble' which all games tend to incorporate these days when you're stationary, I always tend to move my reticle to 'paint' an intersecting line which crosses the path of the melon I'm trying to pop, and pull the trigger at the appropriate moment. It's something which works quite well in DG, and perhaps is why I've had very little issue with the shooting. If you're interested, you can see it (to a small extent) in the video I was referring to earlier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy6pLY-nfBw
As for the enemy AI, that's a whole other matter. I'm in two minds about it, as I can on one hand completely agree with what you say... but on the other, I've had some quite intense firefights, where the AI has done a pretty good job of flanking and pinning me down. It seems quite hit-and-miss, but also seems to vary according to what group you're fighting. The Rippers and some of the road ambushes, yes, they usually seem to charge quite mindlessly... but that's sort of what I'd expect from junkies and chancers; others, in the camps etc., and particularly the militia in the late game, can often be quite elusive, repositioning frequently if you give away your position.
@Paranoimia
You don't need to move the reticle in a circle, it just shows how smooth the aiming is designed.
It's a good gauge to tell how well aim acceleration is handled, and how well you can move your reticle across the axis. It's not good, and without focus, which makes the aiming much more smooth, it is really bad.
Stealth makes it a lot less noticable, as I can see from your video. Actual firefights like in the video I took yesterday makes the game crap itself.
https://youtu.be/1rbjLrWwYl8
I'm not the best shot, I will admit, but I don't have to be when enemies are constantly getting stuck, or their AI just straight up breaks.
What sensitivity do you have? I'm at 4. I'm gonna finish the game this weekend, and I'm spending more points in shooting. I just got dynamite from a mission, and I enjoyed that one, so I've yet to fight against the militia.
I'm just in or coming out of a rough patch of the game, I think. Hopefully it gets better, and the shooting is really the only thing I have a big issue with. If they let us change aim acceleration and customize vertical and horizontal sensitivity then I probably wouldn't have an issue, but it feels pretty bad in firefights.
@Constable_What You seemed to do pretty well from what was in the video. 😁
There is another thing, though... as you say, things improve a lot with Focus, so it is possible that they made the shooting the way it is in order to encourage use of that particular game mechanic... similar to the way a real sniper will exhale and 'stop' breathing before taking a shot.
My controller sensitivity is at whatever the default is when you start the game... I rarely change such settings in games; occasionally I might increase camera horizontal rotation speed, but not aiming (assuming they have separate settings).
@Paranoimia
Thanks.
Yeah, it feels better with focus as I've been playing the game that way after scouting more Nero checkpoints and dumping everything into it.
You can't change horizontal sensitivity. It's all one setting. Which is a shame as that would really make using the camera a lot better, but Bend might add that in the future.
I might just turn my sensitivity down.
As I've been playing more and more and trying to get used to the shooting, I've come across the "solution" is to not fire my weapon at all unless I have focus, or the enemies are right in front of me and I don't have a melee weapon.
@coliander Agreed.
@OmegaStriver u just have to get used to it, it really reminds me of the aiming from the last of us
@thefirst I bet it has to do with the fact that they have to review more games than one or two and they tend to have other work to do and go home and live their lives as well. - It's not a good thing that they "halfass" it, but I could understand WHY. - At least they make note of it in or under their reviews and don't pretend like they're commenting on the entire experience a particular game has to offer. - But they (the company the reviewer works for) should probably get one or two people on that one game that takes more time to complete. - But then also, a lot of these review outlets want their articles out as early as possible to get the most clicks and all that.
If you want the most honest reviews or impressions from people, go to the ones that take their time and perhaps don't even do it for money. This article right here is an honest second look at it, so it lets people know that this particular game gets better.
There's also people who revisit games like half a year to a year later to see what has changed.
It's a really delicate subject. I've started playing Days Gone a couple of weeks ago (Feb 2020) and I'm enjoying almost everything - near the end of the game.
Didn't face any major bug to be honest. The story it's much better than several seasons of TWD put together. It's not perfect but keep me going. There's some repetition but boy, I don't expect to see dragons flying, major plot twist or spend hours crafting things I'll never use. It's a post apocalyptical world after all, and the solitude, for me, it's part of the joy and fits the story.
Deacon is an ex-army but no John Wick so the lack of accuracy in the early game it's more than believable to me.
I have friends that loved Nier for example. I didn't, and I've tried SO hard because of the reviews. Days Gone got me from the beginning and some moments and characters will stay with me for a long time. Probably it's not for everyone, but my only regret it's that I took too long to give it a shot.
@grbolivar
Hey, I know this is a year and a half after the fact, but your comment about this game really resonates with me.
I picked it up around Christmas last year and I only put in a couple of hours before putting it down until a week or so ago. I’m playing on Survival Mode and I’ve really fallen in love with this and your description of it really nails what I’m feeling.
Running around and finding these abandoned shacks and houses and filling the blanks to the backstory of the inhabitants is something I love in games.
Makes me happy to see others appreciate those same types of things and so many reviews with a number thrown at the end consistently fail to mention these things, only concerned with finishing a game as quickly as possible because of a deadline they’re on.
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