Days Gone Review

I want to make a habit of reviewing certain things that I am playing or watching in the future. This may include things that have been out for some time or even brand new releases. In this case, I am reviewing something that has been out for about a year now. Days Gone is an open-world survival/horror game set in Oregon two years after the zombie (infected) apocalypse occurs. I remember seeing the reveal at E3 the year it was announced, and it completely blew me away. If you don't know, I am a sucker for anything zombie-related. And yes, I still watch the Walking Dead. After seeing that we would take on massive hordes of zombies that can move faster than the living, I knew we were in for a treat. I was prepared to pick it up on day 1, but I began to see mediocre reviews. This led to me putting it on hold for a while, but I am so glad that I decided to dive into it. If you haven't played this game and want to remain completely spoiler-free, play the game, then come back and read my thoughts...

This game follows a Biker named Deacon St. John, who is constantly battling his past before the outbreak. The game begins in the middle of everyone's chaos, trying to escape the infected in the first hours of the outbreak. Deacon, his best friend, and his wife, Sarah, are trying to find a way out of town. Before they can make it out, Sarah is stabbed and forced to leave on a helicopter to rush her to a safe location. This leaves Deacon and his friend, Boozer, to fend for themselves. After this, the game cuts to Deacon and Boozer's present-day, living as bounty hunters for several camps to earn food and gear.

We quickly begin to see that Deacon and Boozer trust nobody except each other and are only interested in surviving together rather than joining one of the camps. As the story progresses, we see that Deacon and many other characters have extremely satisfying and realistic character developments. These unique and relatable characters start with a simple mindset but go through some incredible character development as the storyline progresses. I began this game, hoping Boozer would die due to his wounds suffered by the Rippers. Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with this character. After he lost his arm, his character arc was a bit of fresh air. He became more down to earth and showed love for the people that saved him. He wound up being willing to give his life for those he cared for, and not just Deacon. I went from not liking this character to standing on my feet and yelling, "No!" when he seemingly dies helping Deacon find Sarah. Thankfully, Boozer pulls through and has a happy ending like everyone else.

If you complete all of the side missions before the final battle against the Militia, both Hot Springs and Peaceful Lake come to aid Deacon and Lost lake in their attempt. Throughout the game, these camps shared no love for Deacon. They essentially paid him to do their dirty work. In the end, they come to realize that Deacon knowingly puts his life on the line for their people, and they come to appreciate that. Deacon may not even admit it to himself, but he doesn't only help these people to earn a few camp credits. He wants to help them because he cares for them, and it's the right thing to do. The leaders of each camp realize this and answer the call when Deacon and Boozer need them most.

I don't want to give every little detail away if someone reads this that hasn't played the game yet. From this point on, I will talk about my personal pros and cons of the game as a whole.

CONS

I don't have much to say in this area as I completely adore this game and its storyline. The one thing that I did notice, and many people will, is that the game's pacing in the first half is a bit slow. This isn't an incredible setback, however. This period in the game provides plenty of time for players to get acclimated with the characters and learn a great deal about them.

Pros

I wasn't too thrilled with the gameplay controls when I first began the game but learned to love it over time. It isn't too simple to where it doesn't supply a challenge, which is a good thing. Taking on hordes in this game requires the player to be strategic in their attack. You are encouraged to plan out your attack in advance and lay traps before you engage. This provided a fresh element to a genre that has been bombarded with taking on as many zombies as we can with as many guns as we can hold.

I can forgive many entertainment forms if they fall short in certain areas but introduce amazing characters in a very gripping story. And this game surely provided both of those elements. Among the many introduced characters, this game had nine different characters that I really cared about or couldn't wait to find out what happens next with them. If you're wondering, no, these nine characters aren't the only ones in the game. There is much more.

Finally, the story itself is perfect, in my personal opinion. We begin by watching a character struggle with not having anything to live for, to that same character putting his life on the line to save others. The story teaches a lesson in brotherhood, family, persistence, and discovering your potential when your back is against the wall. I strongly urge people to play this game because there are so many things to learn from it.

P.S. I will say this is the only game that I have ever restarted immediately after completing it just because I wanted to witness the story again and discover new things about the variety of characters.

This very well might be my favorite zombie game. Yes, that includes the Last of Us. With that being said, My Top 10 video games list may have to be updated... Despite the mediocre reviews that this game received from critics, take an unbiased gamer's opinion when I say this game is a:

9/10