Days Gone Remastered (PlayStation 5, £44.99)
Verdict: Back from the dead
As Dinah Washington almost sang, what a difference six-and-a-bit years makes.
When Sony first released Days Gone as its latest, PlayStation-exclusive blockbuster back in 2019, most gamers were unimpressed — and you can kind of see why.
Here was another moody zombie story with a grizzled, taciturn lead character, when PlayStation already had the superior The Last Of Us.
Here was another open-world checklist, when we already had our fill of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry releases.
And, to top it all off, here was a game that strained against the capabilities of the hardware at the time, often to breaking point. It was all rather underwhelming.
In the years since, however, the original Days Gone has been refined and expanded — so that it now has a vocal band of adherents.
And, in the spirit of last week’s Oblivion remaster, it’s also just gained a prettier, smoother version for the PlayStation 5. A re-evaluation is certainly in order.
When Sony first released Days Gone as its latest, PlayStation-exclusive blockbuster back in 2019, most gamers were unimpressed — and you can kind of see why,
Here was another moody zombie story with a grizzled, taciturn lead character, when PlayStation already had the superior The Last Of Us
Here was another open-world checklist, when we already had our fill of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry releases
And, in the spirit of last week’s Oblivion remaster, it’s also just gained a prettier, smoother version for the PlayStation 5. A re-evaluation is certainly in order.
Of course, some of those original concerns still remain; if you’re going to play only one PlayStation zombie game, you better make it The Last Of Us.
But, with the remaster, it’s now easier to see Days Gone’s distinctive features — and to enjoy them too. One is main character Deacon’s motorbike, your primary means of getting around the game’s sodden, wooded corner of Oregon.
It feels great in the hands — that is, through the PS5’s DualSense controller — but it’s also something more than that. You quickly learn that this bike is your best friend in the game, a thing to be cherished and tinkered with.
Then there are Deacon’s sporadic encounters with great, seething zombie hordes, for which you’ve got to use everything at your disposal: guns, explosives, even your little grey cells.
It’s no surprise that a new ‘Horde’ mode has been added to this remastered version of the game, so that you can enjoy this creative craziness outside of the main story. It’s such an impressive feature.
In fact, you can consider me converted. Sony has a great track record when it comes to its exclusive games: yes, The Last Of Us, but also Bloodborne, Spider-Man, Death Stranding, and more. Days Gone no longer looks out of place on that list.
