Days Gone is superb. It’s flawed, bloated, and trying too hard to be The Just Like The Last of Us; however, like the superbly flawed game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, this game resembles that mess of a masterpiece in so many ways...
I’m about 60 hours into the game, and I feel like the main story is wrapping up soon—I think. This game’s major fault is in it’s story pacing, which feels like it ramps up at times, only to slow down and introduce a brand new mechanic to the game. This has happened every 4 hours, for the last 60 hours. I don’t mind the new stuff (it makes the game more interesting, adding new methods, tools, challenges, enemies, etc.), but the early game suffers from keeping these away from the player. Character’s motives/actions are portrayed well, but written poorly. I have other complaints, such as Deacon St. John’s voice acting is a little too much, the game struggles at times with frame rate issues and infrequent glitches, and the side activities suffer from repetition—we can thank RDRII for spoiling us in that regard.
Complaints aside, I love this game. I love how challenging it can be. I love the looting. I love the stealth (it’s Metal Gear ya’ll). I love the bike traversal and upgrading/customizing said bike. I love the open world. I love the dynamic weather system. I love the different types of enemy A.I. and how they interact with each other. I love Rikki Patel. I love that you can hunt, I love that freakers can also hunt. I love the upgrade systems and the puzzle elements of Nero checkpoints. I love the hundreds of immersive moments that never were designed as a mission, with A.I. triggering. I loved the first time I stumbled upon a horde of 100+ freakers and how horrifying it was. I loved the first time I lured a horde into a militia camp and let them do all the dirty work for me. I love the time I was in town, and didn’t pay attention to the time, and night set and all the freakers came out of their nests and I had to sneak rooftop to rooftop just to get out alive. I love the lighting and shadow effects, and how flashlights never looked this good. I love the sound design, and hearing a horde from hundreds of yards away and how chilling it is. I love the weapons (I’m mostly a crossbow and shotgun guy) and the ways to upgrade/craft new weapons, traps, lures, etc. I love the voice acting (for the most part). I love that I put 60 hours into this game, and will probably start a new “survival mode” (no HUD, limited crafting materials, harder enemies) when it drops in June. I love this game. I know it’s not the best game, but what it does—allowing these A.I. mechanics interact in the world and thus creating unscripted scenarios unfold in ridiculous and meticulous fashion—it does so well. I hope this game does well for Bend. I would love to see what they can do in a sequel, because this is one damn fine proof of concept.