Days Gone

Single-player adventure action game Days Gone in the genres of survival, stealth, and action, with a third-person view, in an open world was released in April 2019 after three years of development and several delays. The setting of the project is a post-apocalypse caused by a pandemic of an unknown virus. A feature of the game is its authentic motorcycle romance.

The use of Unreal Engine 4 allowed for stunning graphics thanks to high-resolution textures, detailed models, natural dynamic lighting, realistic character animations, and quality effects, including rain, snow, and fog. The game has been called one of the most beautiful projects in the open world for the PS4 generation.

The action of the game takes place in the USA, although the apocalypse in Days Gone happened simultaneously around the world and very quickly. The few survivors recalled that cities and homes turned into graveyards, planes fell from the sky, and the only question became one of survival.

After the virus, almost the entire population of Earth turned into "freakers" — zombie-like creatures. Their distinction is that they are alive, active, and quite intelligent. Freakers band together in groups, sometimes roaming in hordes, and love to create nests in various tunnels and hard-to-reach places. However, this is not the only danger — the game world is full of other survivors, as well as marauders who are hostile to everyone else.

Special quarantine zones quickly appeared, managed by an organization called NERO. It quickly took control of the territory of the USA, becoming a sort of government. At the bases of this organization, you can find many interesting things that will be useful later.

Days Gone offers a large open world for exploration, filled with dense forests and underbrush, wide meadows and fields, mountains and hills, rivers and lakes. The main helper in this will be the bike, which not only speeds up movement but also allows jumping into hard-to-reach places. The physical model is at the level of a simulator.

The main character is biker Deacon St. John, a criminal and daredevil who becomes a bounty hunter after the pandemic. His best friend and partner, nicknamed Boozer, helps in some missions, and during the game, players will meet another 5-6 secondary characters.

The plot tells how John, after a heavy loss, becomes a mercenary. He becomes embittered towards the whole world, so much so that his friend has to stop him. Almost all missions in the game are closely related to the storyline. In some quests, players will be able to learn about John's past through flashbacks that show the world before the onset of the global pandemic.

Striving to rid himself of the ghosts of the past, John and Boozer gather supplies and head to a safe zone in the north. Completely unexpectedly, the hero learns that his heavy loss may only be a figment of his imagination. This radically changes John's plans, and he begins to dig for the truth.

The story is presented through cutscenes and dialogues, making it hard to perceive Days Gone as a game — it feels more like a CG movie. However, it has a weak beginning; the story picks up closer to the middle and gains momentum towards the end — more dramatic scenes appear, and the intrigue surrounding the hero's past grows. Information is delivered in doses, making the player forget about side quests and focus on the main storyline.

The main gameplay mechanic of Days Gone is advanced stealth with survival elements. You can use weapons such as pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, machine guns, Molotov cocktails, and even napalm.

The shooting aspect is secondary to stealth, as the game world reacts sensitively to noise and flashes. Plus, the ammo supply is limited — you can't just shoot everyone.

If you cause a commotion, be ready to face a crowd of freakers. They are fast, constantly moving, and dodging bullets; they have a lot of health, and if freakers swarm you, it will be hard to resist.

It's much more advantageous to hide in the grass and behind cover, scout the area with binoculars, set ambushes, and attack from behind or around corners for a silent kill. You can also provoke freakers to attack enemies by throwing a grenade or blowing up a gas barrel.

You can upgrade your motorcycle, increasing its speed, acceleration, and fuel tank capacity, and with each upgrade, it will look even cooler. You also need to maintain it — refuel and repair it after crashes at high speeds.

You can find gasoline and scrap metal in cars, while other items like bandages, first aid kits, and ammo can be found by thoroughly searching the buildings left behind after the pandemic. Alternatively, you can buy them at survivor camps.

The gameplay in Days Gone is entirely linear — reach a location, complete a task in one way or another, move to the next, all while being spiced up by story cutscenes.

There is complete freedom — riding your bike, if you hear gunshots, you can stop at the edge of the forest, check where the noise is coming from, arrive at the scene and see marauders fighting off freakers, attack them, wait for one side to win, or just pass by to do other things, or return and leave.

Occasionally, the game sends you into "battles" against several hundred zombies, where you need to act tactically and use the environment.

Freakers love to create entire nests in various tunnels and dark locations, which pose a huge danger. You can clear an area of a large group of enemies using explosives, but you will also need to shoot accurately.

An important part of the gameplay is interacting with survivor camps. There are five of them in the game, offering trade, sending rescued people there, and taking on quests. Since each camp has its own currency, you will need to establish contact with everyone, because earning well in one camp will not allow you to spend the earnings in another.