Days Gone and Death Stranding are proof that 2019 was a divisive year for PlayStation 4 exclusives. The two blockbuster releases divided opinion between professional critics and fans playing the game, and in the case of the former, led to more of a positive backlash than one might expect. Sony Bend's first project on home consoles since Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow has always been considered a good experience here on Push Square, even going as far as winning the readers' Game of the Year 2019 vote. However, in the months since, it feels like the experience has resonated with so many more players that it becomes hard to ignore. One year later, can Days Gone be considered a genuinely great game? Thanks to impressive post-launch support and a large amount of free DLC, we think the answer is yes.
What a video game does after it hits the market is now just as important as the build-up to release, with redemption arcs for the likes of Destiny and No Man's Sky turning those experiences into something worthwhile down the road. Days Gone is no different. Sony Bend already had a good game on its hands, but that wasn't quite as easy to see when bugs and glitches were clouding our vision. Indeed, numerous minor issues plagued Days Gone right from the outset, causing side quests to break as well as audio issues and clipping. It was never anything truly game-breaking, but it was enough to detract from the overall undertaking.
And it was here where Sony Bend excelled. The studio quickly sought to crush as many bugs as it possibly could -- something it continues to do a year later. Hell, the developer even reduced the game's overall file size a few months ago to make the game a quicker download for newcomers. The flaws which reviews discussed at the time are now a thing of the past, making for an experience which runs just as smoothly as Deacon St. John's trusty motorbike. Once you've upgraded it, of course.
However, in this day and age, you need more than that. Downloadable content is always the talk of the town when it comes to the question of what's next, and Days Gone most certainly delivered. 12 different challenges were added to the game to give players who finished the story something else to do while New Game Plus and extra difficulty modes convinced users into a second playthrough. The aforementioned Death Stranding even became part of the universe, as a BB-themed bike was included in a certain update. Sure, none of this is a huge expansion which adds hours upon hours of new content, but the defining factor was that all of this DLC was completely free. Sony Bend never asked you to hand over a penny to gain access and start enjoying its plethora of bonus tasks.
The studio could have quite easily hacked together a cheap season pass in order to profit off its post-launch support, but it never did. This is how things should be done -- giving back to the players that have stuck by your game through thick and thin. As such, Days Gone became known as a game which emulates Crazy Taxi. How cool is that? In choosing to give back to its community, the Oregon-based company built up a fanbase eager for more.
A year later, we consider ourselves a part of that positive community. Days Gone is a much better game now than it was 12 months ago, but its fascinating in-game narrative has always stayed the same. The biker-led world of Oregon tells such an interesting post-apocalyptic story, filled with branches that could be explored in a sequel. And we sincerely hope that happens. With an even bigger budget, more time, and the better hardware that the PlayStation 5 will bring, Days Gone 2 could be something truly special. The franchise's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves moment? We reckon so.
How do you feel about Days Gone a year after its release? Do you love it more than ever or has your opinion soured somewhat? Place your vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments (52)
Currently playing Days Gone and loving it! I'm in no rush to finish it either. Really enjoying the game world and Deacon is actually likeable, in my book at least. I'm happy to hear there will most likely be a sequel.
I should probably start this at some point. My backlog’s huge though so it might be a while.
I personally enjoyed Days Gone more than Death Stranding. I think the studio learned a lot from making the game and firmly believe they can improve on it with a sequel.
After the ending I'm eager to face off against a horde of intelligent freakers.
I loved it personally and it's an easy platinum to get if you do everything. Roll on the second days gone.
I've been meaning to put more time into Days Gone for a while now. I'll definitely play it again soon, but right now I'm too close to the FF7 Remake platinum to stop now.
Easily my favourite game of last year. Loved it.
Definitely enjoyed the game and traipsing around the world, but was disappointed with the direction of the last 3rd of the game, which is why I couldn't give it higher than a 7. But different strokes as I'm sure many thought it was entertaining.
the after launch support Days Gone has received is nothing short of amazing from Bend, the challenge mode is brilliant and something I would have happily paid for
I'll pick this up at some point. Its unlikely i will be getting ps5 for a while given my huge backlog - so i'll pick this up once its on sale and give it a go
Took me a while to get into it and at first I didant like the characters but it's definitely one of those games that the more you play it,the better it gets and by the time id finished it I absolutely loved it and can't wait for a sequel!
@Arugula yeah it should definitely be dependent on them having a solid story idea to make another one. The ending suggests they have an idea, time will tell if they have enough for a fully fledged story.
Which knob rot gave it a 1? I've not played it but 1? Xbox fanboy? Ridiculous
I'll probably never play it until it's free because I really don't want to spend hours and hours and hours fixing a bike.
"The franchise's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves moment? We reckon so."
Eerrm but Uncharted Drake's Fortune was a hit on Metacritic and among gamers although was never even highly anticipated like Days Gone. The statement above makes it seem Uncharted1 wasn't well received or had divisive opinions like Days Gone but naah I think everyone liked U1 instantly, we didn't have to wait for no updates.
I definitely regret buying this game. I just couldn't get into the atmosphere and all the characters I found unlikable, cliché, and tiresome. The gameplay was really clunky, and traversing the map was really REALLY annoying with the glitches I encountered. Sometimes the game was completely broken as well.
I definitely expected more.
4/10. Definitely not a game for me. I hated it. I want my $60 back, and that's a first for me on any Sony game I've bought.
I just bought this game a couple of days ago on sale and I'm having a lot of fun. Its got flaws but I find the story interesting and gameplay fun enough.
Days Gone was my GOTY and Death Stranding was my 2nd favorite.
I’m not talking about Sony PS4 exclusives either. Those were the two best games I played last year.
@TheArt Yes, Drake's Fortune was well received, but the sequel truly refined the concept and build upon it to the point where it was a far better game. We're not saying that the original was a bad game with that statement.
@LiamCroft well it is indiana Jones without indiana jones. I'm willing to bet at one point in development they considered giving the player a whip to use but after speaking to legal decided against it;-)
I played Days Gone on the PS4 Pro and had zero issues. Days Gone has become one of my must have games. I feel Days Gone is a game that makes PS4 really stand out as a experience. Loved the game.
Really loved Days Gone. Even went on to platinum it.
Bugs didn’t really affect my experience to much, but it was clunky at times.
It definitely felt like a ‘lesser’ Sony game, but it was still fun. Given that this is their first game on console in some time I can look past it.
8/10. Looking forward to the sequel.
Also I found the secret ending to be absolutely bonkers. I like where they’re going with it, but that scene executed so badly it was hilarious.
I love Days Gone, and seeing how it isn't discussed enough in major gaming communities pisses me off.
It's one of those games that aks you to trust it and investment time before actually feeding you what it really has to offer. And to me, that's one of the best things in the world. I loved Days Gone since that first trailer... I will always love it.
I'm glad that you wrote this piece on Days Gone... It's a game we all need to appreciate more.
Didnt read the write up.
Days Gone is the best game ever
Done
@mini_piekarnik
'I really don't want to spend hours and hours and hours fixing a bike.'
And neither do I haha
I ignored all the reviews and went into the game with no expectations and I ended up loving the game, and it’s one of my favorites of this generation. The game had flaws but I really cared about the characters, and I loved exploring the world. There were some great moments, particularly the science building stuff with Sarah. I’m all for a sequel.
Bought this on release and played probably 15 hours and put it down until a few days ago and man I'm hooked. Not sure what the difference is but I'm enjoying it a ton.
@JJ2 Thanks.
Just platinum the game a day ago... very good game if not a great game. This game deserves a better rating, but sadly, the launch had to many glitches and performance issues. Sony Bend will deliver with Days Gone 2 after all the experience gained during the first game.👌💪
Remember when we were concerned about Sony releasing this too close to The Last of Us Part II? 😂 How stupid we were.
I got bored of it and found it very repetitive, stopped playing it. It’s an awful like Dying Light too.. only not as good. That’s my experience of the game.
Best game of 19 for me. Haven't played DS yet though.
This site's become straight up delusional it seems. Sad day.
It's a pretty good game, if you can get through the rather underwhelming opening. Comparing it to the severe anti-consumer trash that was Destiny or No Man's Sky though is a quite a reach. Those games deserved no second chances, and it's definitely not a practice gamers should have supported. Unfortunately they failed, and now we have anti-consumer trash like FF7R pushing those boundaries even further. A self contained game with bugs is normal, seeing the developers act quickly is also pretty normal too (though Next Level Games has taken over 5 months and still not patched Luigi's Mansion 3 with the proper way to play, inverted y axis).
All in all, this was a report on pretty standard fare with a few extreme examples that shouldn't have been used.
Talking of post-launch support, I'm a bit concerned that SE still haven't released a patch for FFVIIR. The texture issues should be fixed even if I'm personally not that bothered by it. There are also little QoL things I'd like to see added, like the ability to move materia between characters an entire row at a time - something in the original but not the remake.
It's also set up for nice additions like additional VR, simulator and colosseum fights, playing darts directly against NPCs and party members, and making the pinball machine playable. I also wish you could hop straight to certain things from Chapter Select, like the colosseum and battle simulator.
@JoelDIES you're definitely that Resident Evil cry baby, aren't you? New account after being banned a few times? I've noticed you're only tagging the people who upset you because they had a different opinion.
Havent played it but id like to
@LiamCroft
Well your welcome. I would thank Bend Studio and all the amazing guys over there who gave us something special. They sound like really nice, straightforward people too.
I got up to about 50-75 percent of the game but it never really clicked. Gameplay was clunky and repetitive in my opinion and too many bugs for a 1st party release. Maybe it also wasnt the right game in the right time for me as I'm not a big fan of open world games anymore and I can handle only so many of them in a year.
Good to hear it received proper support after launch and other people are enjoying it a lot.
It's still a 7 for me in that it's a good game, sure there are some nice additions but nothing that elevates the core game. The open world is pretty but fairly basic and quite repetitive and I think needed more interaction in the camps or having survivors out in the towns and not just being either a human or zombie foe. Part of the game at least was designed around choice and you can see where that was literally ripped out and they left in the cutscene of their choosing and it sticks out a little to me.
On the plus side the horde mechanics were great if not quite as random as the game would have you believe but still lead to the games most thrilling moments. The bike was fun to ridedespite the hole in its fuel tank, the combat was solid and the game looks great with one of the best HDR implementations on the system.
7 is a good score and it may not be the best PS4 exclusive or indeed the best zombie game (Resident Evil 2) but it's a good start and a series for has a lot of promise
In my eyes it was always 10/10 and it got even better since launch.
Great game was a little easy on standard once you learn how to kite freakers well even the largest nests. There's a bit of a lul in the middle where you get every upgrade and have to wait for a while before new stuff opens up, did feel a little to big and stretched out towards the end too, but a solid 9/10 great story easy platinum if you just do everything the game has to offer, love games like that (God of war) why some games ask you to perform a spinning kick while reflecting a grenade back to kill 10 guys 3 times is stupid. A definite pick up even more so if on sale would buy a sequel right away
Its an amazing game, once i started i couldn't stop.
I love zombie games, and this is definitely on my list, but this is why I don't buy at launch anymore. Destiny was a sign of things to come. Broken launch games that drip feed fixes and content long after release.
Maybe get it on sale and make it this year's Halloween game.
Still waiting for a definitive edition with all content on disc for € 39,90.
This game is a giant pile of feces lmao from launch with its 500000 bugs till now with 20000 bugs. The gameplay is absolutely awful and repetitive after no time at all.. the game was hyped up and forgotten about literally days after release. Stop addressing the 1 percent as if it is 50 percent. This fake was not divisive, most people couldn't stand it and the reviews said the same lmao what world are you in??
I really enjoyed my time playing Days Gone, but was unable to finish it due to a bug in one of the last missions. I could not get the Horde to load in the cave. Tried it half a dozen times before I gave up. Very unfortunate
I never got passed being frustrated that these so called biker could not fix their carbs so their bikes didn't need to refuelled every 300 meters or fix the damn bike so it would not brake down once a mile. If this was changed I'd give it another go but it was not a great game at all for me. Now at the end of the generation I think there is only three Sony exclusives which I found unmissable, Bloodbourne, GOW and Spiderman. Horizon was very very good and may join the list. Still that is 300 hours of play time I could not get anywhere else (I did play bloodbourne a lot!)
I still need to play this
@charbtronic Are you talking about the cave that you find with a horde in it but it’s glitched with a low res textured wall blocking the entrance? If so, there should be another mission you have to finish before You’re able to start that one. Had to look it up after restarting the game like 3 times to find out that you have to finish the other missions available in order to start that one.
@CrispyMango92 the mission is What It Takes to Survive. Found the 3 security guards in the cave, then the researcher. Fought the miniboss, then no swarm. If I attempt to make my way back out of the cave I would get a warning for leaving the mission area, so I go back and nothing would happen. I watched a video walkthrough of how it should happen and nothing.
Never actually left a comment before! I’ve just decided to get back into this game, hadn’t played it since midway through last year. I’d always liked the overall story, setting and such even if some of the personal storyline and relationships felt a bit rushed and schizophrenic, and liked a lot of the mechanics such as saving by your bike and the Hordes which increased the survival horror feel.
Going back to it around a year later with all its patches and such it is definitely much nicer and more pleasing to play as well! The story and setting is still as lovely as before but it feels more rewarding. It’s also kind of depressingly ominous to get stuck into during a global pandemic. Much less escapism than pessimist hypothesising.
Just recently played through Days Gone and really enjoyed it. IMO Its metacritic score of only 71 is definitely too low.
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