Days Gone

Review

When most people talk about console games being ported to PC, the reactions have always been a mixed bag. But I think that is about to change as more and more companies are moving into the PC market and previous console exclusives are being ported one after another. And as the trend continues, ported games are actually getting better, and sometimes much better than the original/exclusive release.

Days Gone is another one of those shining examples. After a huge success on the console side, the fine people over at Bend Studios just brought Days Gone to the PC market.

I must say, not only does Days Gone bring its amazing storyline and gameplay to the table, but it also runs, feels, and looks fantastic. It’s pure eye candy with all the PC juice powering the game’s fine graphic detail.

Plot: After an unknown turn of events, the world plunges into chaos as a rapidly mutating virus swamps the globe. Men, women and children fall sick to the virus and turn billions of humans into feral cannibalistic creatures, called Freakers.

Soon the hordes of Freakers take out everything that moves. The world falls into anarchy, everyone trying to survive on their own terms. The governments go into hiding without lending a helping hand.

This story revolves around our main protagonist, Deacon St. John, ex-army man turned member of Mongrel MC, as well as his new wife Sarah and his close MC friend/brother Boozer.

After losing Sarah, Deacon sets out with his friend and starts life as a drifter, running from survivor camp to survivor camp doing bounty jobs to make a living.

Until one fateful day when Deacon intercepts the NERO Helicopter and runs into O'Brien, the NERO field scientist to whom Deacon entrusted his wife’s protection. 

Upon investigation, it’s revealed that Sarah isn’t dead after all. Deacon finds a new purpose in life after having lost all hope of finding her.

Gameplay: One of the biggest Zombie survival games just got a PC port and it’s one of the best ports I’ve encountered in a while. From its amazing story to its mind-blowing gameplay, it just got a visual PC upgrade. The game looks fantastic with all the graphic details being powered by PC hardware.

And when I say the best PC port, I’m not kidding. Throughout my hours of gameplay, I faced no issues whatsoever; it was a seamless experience.

The game starts off on a short cut scene and a thrilling bike chase, and shortly after dials down. After that, the game runs at a slow pace with basic missions and bounties that are just helping you become familiar with the game and its environment, teaching you how this doomed version of the world works.

Going from camp to camp you unlock more of the game’s storyline and missions. You will be mostly going after bounties and solving the puzzle behind the outbreak. Each camp will let you into a certain set of missions that will progress the story as you help out.  You’ll gain access to a weapon merchant, machines and other services in return for bounties and other work they ask you to do. Not really a fully proven economic system, but it’s a ton of fun.

Threats: The doomed apocalyptic world can be brutal, full of deadly creatures, wildlife, and most of the surviving human population. The first half of the game is pretty fun, with a good amount of easy-to-kill enemy types. Only one posed some real difficulties and that was the mutated bears.

But the latter half turned out to be pretty insane; even the weak enemy comes at you in larger numbers. And the hordes are literally unkillable without proper loadout and planning. Huh! I never thought I’d need to put this much effort into killing a couple of thousand zombies in a video game, lol! Even with a proper loadout, it's more difficult than most other zombie games; not only are you facing an insane number of zombies, but they are fast, and they can move in a way that makes you miss your shots.

The bosses are really good as well, bringing a stronger meaning to the story without making it too difficult to beat them.

Weapons: The game features an impressive round-up of weapons, from 9mm to Desert Eagles to .50 Caliber rifles that can be bought from the camps. The gun models look and feel really good (a little bit too good, I would say, for an apocalyptic setting).

I was actually hoping for weapons with a bit of a Mad Max, ragtag, fixer-upper style. Some homemade handguns, maybe?

World design: As you progress through the game, you will slowly unlock further into the world. I am quite impressed with how the progression and region unlocking system works. Surprising how such a big playable area can be hidden until unlocked.

Rich and diverse regions, from a dried up region to a snowy mountain region, to a bombed-up war zone. Impressive and very well detailed.

Music and sound effects: Days Gone features an impressive lineup of tracks, setting up appropriate modes for each scenario.

The assortment of sound effects is very rich, from Freaker to wildlife; very impressive stuff. Most of the gunshots, however, sound terrible; this could definitely be improved.

Voice acting: A massive shout-out to the actors and actresses who brought these amazing characters to life with their impressive voiceovers. From Deacon and Sarah to the bosses, they are very well done.

Although I am pretty annoyed by the voiceovers of the people I have rescued; they sound so bad and it gets very annoying since you’re pretty much stuck while they speak.

Review written by BiteMexD for Zeepond.com!