Awful Dialogue, Alright Game

Days Gone was one of those games that piqued my interest with the original E3 announcement. Seeing the hordes of zombies sprawled across the screen eagerly running to eat our protagonist Deacon really whetted my own appetite for the game. I'd never seen this many characters on display in any video game (except maybe Gauntlet!), and it was running like a dream. The game was a day one purchase but did it live up to the hype? You play as Deacon, a man who has lost his wife amid a Zombie outbreak. He's devastated, heartbroken and just wants to head north with his best friend, Boozer. The story is a little bit mish-mashed and all over the place, but I'm just about able to follow along with it. The voice acting is generally on point, although some choice lines made me cringe a little, "Promise to ride me as much as you ride your bike!" bleurgh! What sucked me into this game was the scenery and the vistas of the vast Pacific Northwest. My love for in-game photography has made this one of my go-to video games. Exploring and finding new locations, be it just scenery or the rugged handsomeness of Deacon, I don't care! The graphics, especially running at 4k with the Sony PS4 Pro, are some of the best I have seen on the platform. When it comes to the game, it's a slightly different matter. It looks great, it sounds good, but it can become a bit tedious and infuriating. For instance, trying to find supplies has you turn on 'survivor vision', as with many video games at the moment this is a way to scan your surroundings. No problem, no? Well, yes, there is, everything highlights, from doors to places to hide, to items to pick up. The most infuriating thing here is if the item is within a vehicle, every single time you sit through the same 'breaking in' animation! Combat is generally excellent, although I wouldn't have thought a baseball bat would break after cracking someone around the noggin with it only a few times. But, let us escape reality for a bit, considering said someone is a Zombie. Gunplay is alright, with decent booms and bangs - I'm so rubbish at aiming with a controller though! Thank goodness for the hordes, where I can literally spray-and-pray. These hordes are so much fun, with the first one I stumbled across literally making my heart beat out my chest as I ran for my life. A great addition to the game and one that makes the hordes in World War Z look pretty rubbish! Overall, I think this is a slow-burner, one where you just stumble across story missions as you explore the exemplary surroundings of the Pacific Northwest. ——— Original ratings: • Visual Design: 8/10 • Sound Design: 5/10 • Gameplay: 6/10 • Longevity: 7/10 • Fun: 9/10