Bend Studio’s open world zombie-adventure game, Days Gone, has gained a cult following since its release five years ago, but it’s too little too late.
Following the story of nomad drifter Deacon St John, Days Gone was criticised heavily upon its release for having a lackluster story and weak gameplay.
Compared to PlayStation’s other zombie exclusive, The Last of Us, Days Gone never found the same success.
Whether it be it be the games slow story or under whelming mechanics, Days Gone is an unfortunate case of what could have been.
Bikers against the world
Image credit: Bend Studio
A large selling point of Days Gone was its use of both an open world environment, as well as hordes of zombies being a focus of combat. Neither of which live up to their fullest potential
The landscape is largely barren, except from the typical open world staples of enemy camps and collectibles to find.
Journeys across the landscape can get tiresome, especially when the hordes don’t make their presence known until the end of the game.
Story wise, Days Gone is entertaining but isn’t able to build a compelling enough narrative to justify its over 20 hour length.
Split into three defined parts, the story has an inconsistent pace and most of the story beats don’t hit the mark.
A lot of the story issues come from Days Gone‘s leading man, Deacon St John.
Deacon is a broken man who has lost his way after over two years in the apocalypse. He’s hell bent on finding his missing wife and will do anything to find her.
As the story progresses less focus is payed on Deacon’s mental state, leaving him in the end largely unchanged from when he began.
This issue was planned to be remedied, if a sequel was green lit.
What was the plan for Days Gone 2
Image credit: Bend Studio
Plans for a sequel to Days Gone were discussed and time was spent developing ideas for it, but its been confirmed that it’s not coming.
Before creative director John Garvin left Bend Studio in 2020, he had worked on plans for the followup.
According to Garvin, Days Gone was planned as a trilogy, with the cliff hanger ending of the first game getting fleshed out in the sequels.
Garvin has discussed the possibility of a sequel many times on X, asking fans to “Never say never” and that he hopes, “Maybe in a couple of years when the IP is gathering dust and they’re sure they’re done with it, they’ll [Sony] licence it to other devs.”
All the talk of possible sequels and what could be has left many fans with false hope and others jaded on the idea.
Game director Jeff Ross has also discussed Days Gone 2, stating that Sony “Were never fans” of the Days Gone.
He also pointed fans towards a collage poster featuring PlayStation’s most recognisable icons, with Deacon St John missing from the expansive group.
Too many days gone by
Image credit: Bend Studio
It’s unfortunate Days Gone has become another forgotten game that deserved more.
Many of its elements may have been weak, but for the most part its an enjoyable bike ride through the apoclypse.
For fans of the game, hope still remains as John Garvin has discussed wanting to continue the story in a graphic novel.
Whilst unconfirmed, the prospects of a Days Gone graphic novel has kept many fans hopeful for the games future.
Featured image credit: Bend Studio
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