Days gone has been remastered…but should it have stayed in the past?
Days gone, the 2019 PS4 title developed by Bend Studio and Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment has been remastered and released on Playstation 5. For the most part I’m not a huge fan in principle of ‘Remaster’ but given that I missed out on many PS4 experiences last cycle, a lot of the early first party exclusives being given new lease on life means I’m willing to make some exceptions.
Days Gone is set in Oregon, a zombie like virus broke out two years ago and you’ll take on the role of Deacon St.John voiced by none other than Sam Witwer. You’ll start the game with your buddy William “Boozer” Gray, a fellow member of the Mongrels Motorcycle club. “Boozer” isn’t just your mate, he’s family, your brother in law to be exact. Deacons wife, Sarah, isn’t around, she’s presumed dead. Two years before, the city in panic Sarah is stabbed and “Deek” and “Boozer” force an evacuation chopper to rescue her, “Deek” opts to stay behind and try to keep the also injured “Boozer” alive. Jump forward two years and the biker boys are trying to survive in the wasteland that is post-apocalyptic, the world might be ending but it damm sure looks pretty.
Speaking of how the game looks, naturally it’s a remaster so you’d expect it look a lot better than it did in 2019 and it does, but at some strange technical limitations. Technically it’s running at 1440p and targets 60FPS in performance mode and 4K targeting 30FPS in Quality mode. The PS4 version ran at 60FPS in 4K, but while this sounds like a downgrade and technically speaking it is. However, thanks to the amazing work down with the games lighting the remaster looks stunning more often than not. I opted to play the game in performance mode as FPS always has an bigger impact on playability than resolution, while a horde of ‘freakers’ are streaming down a road to tear me limb from from limb I don’t really notice that outlines look a tad soft.
Regardless of which option you choose you won’t be riding your bike around Oregon for long before gameplay necessity dictates narrative. I won’t spoil the details but of course your super duper top of the line bike is lost and you end up with some clapped out rubbish…but of course you’ll be able to complete missions while exploring the open world and upgrade the bike until it’s a mighty road hog.
This is where I drove into my first issue with Days Gone Remastered, your bike isn’t remotely enjoyable to ride, (I will admit it gets more enjoyable as you upgrade it) but as first impressions go it rides like a greased brick. It somehow feels sluggish yet seems to slide around the road. You’ll also have to keep your bike in good condition and worry about running out of fuel, I really enjoyed this element. The open world is broad enough that the idea of having to walk across “The Shit” as the open world is affectionately nicknamed by Deacon, is a daunting prospect. The open world is full of threats, Freaks (zombies), Rippers (psycho cultist) and wildlife (Bears will mess you up). In general I’m not a fan of survival games but this lil touch adds a huge sense of unease and threat to Days Gone Remastered.
That threat is welcome, as it’s not really going to be provided by the enemies you’ll encounter over the course of the game. Aside from the aforementioned bears, none of the baddies in the game offer anything resembling a challenge. Almost every fight in game became headshot after headshot with my .22 Repeater. The only time combat became tense would be encountering a horde. Upon it’s initial release hordes were sold as the big hook, that made Days Gone stand out from other zombie apocalypse games. Hordes are absolutely terrifying, fighting them is an option but you’ll need to have done some redneck level of doomsday prep beforehand. For the most part you’re better off running away.
Being an open world game Days Gone Remastered suffers from the usual bloat, there’s far too much to do with so little to care about. Thankfully we are spared towers to climb but everything else you’d expect from open world mission are here. Fetch quests check, different groups to work for, the more work you do, the more you can access at their camps, check, random items to collect for crafting, check. It’s not just the basic missions I struggled to care about, it’s almost the entire narrative of Days Gone. The game separates Deacon from Sarah immediately, much too quickly for me to care, the game will force you to play flashbacks to flush out their relationship, but these scenes are cloyingly saccharine, in fact it’s only down to Sam Witwers performance that I actually felt anything at all during my time with the game, and even then it was just the Lisa plot line.
