Days Gone was a zombie game I didn't really expect to like when I picked it up. Open world and narratively linear- I was kind of expecting the 'Ubisoft' of zombie titles that was going to burn me out as surely as every other recent Ubisoft game unfailing has. What I found instead was an impressively well realised character driven story that focused on grief, purpose and flashes of redemption. Perhaps not as impactfully as Red Dead Redemption 2 did it, but solidly enough to win my surprised recommendation when I reviewed the game not very long ago. And considering how that game ended with a cliff-hanger- the question has been asked now and then whether or not the game is truly ready for a sequel follow-up in the coming years.
Of course, the not-so stellar critical reception of the game when it first released might have been the kibosh on that particular train of thought. Sony didn't particularly want a game that couldn't hit the perfect scores of their other high-premium first party titles and thus made it decently clear to Bend Studio that a sequel wouldn't be on the table anytime soon. Similarly, the game director of Days Gone has made it a not-so-secret that the game did not quite sell as well as it come have; particularly with the man drunkenly lambasting everyone who doesn't pick up games full price in the first week as untrue fans who don't care about supporting developers. Which I guess makes me a freakin' war criminal in the games industry because I pick up about 1 full price game every two years or so.
But recently it seems like Days Gone can't really stay out of being in the news, despite the apparently 'dead in the water' status of the franchise. That former studio director recently scored headlines by saying the head scratching cliffhanger of the original game was set-up to lead into a trilogy of games, not just a boring old sequel- which sparked up questions about whether or not such a plan could really be in the drain like everyone says. Bend Studio had to reaffirm that the franchise was dead, they're moving on to new IP and even took the time to sneak-diss their old Director by claiming this was all being drummed up for likes. Not that I blame them, to be honest- he does come off an a whiny dick in a lot of his diatribes.
So it would seem that the official word is good and said no matter how many times that director tries to impress "never say never!"; but if there's one thing we've come to learn about Sony, the real people in charge of making decisions around here, it's that they don't have a backbone when it comes to public pressure. They folded like a deck of cards when it came to Helldivers 2, pulled back on their Live Service hellhole plans when The Last of Us developers straight clowned on them and I'll bet that if enough fan fever is drummed up they will turn around and un-cancel this franchise. In fact, I'll bet that is what the Director is low-key drumming for with all of these breadcrumbs he keeps dropping. And it wouldn't be the strangest heel-turn that Sony has ever done. Remember when the Internet tricked them into re-investing into placing a critical and commercial bomb of a movie back in theatres because meme culture convinced them it would be popular? (Morbius remembers.)
The original Days Gone game presented itself as a showcase of technical ability presenting giant hoards of zombies moving as one that were actual threats the player had to face. There were times when these served as simply background set-pieces to story moments and others when you would literally be diving in a cave, visualise the sound around you (as you can) and spot several thousand bodies rushing through the caves directly coming for your head. It was tense, dramatic damn near terrifying at times. It also wasn't a half-bad third person action game featuring really punchy shooting, entirely serviceable melee and a bike combat minigame that... existed. I guess.
There was certainly room to grow in terms of scale. Living out in the sticks were could only hear about how insane the cities were under the hoards of the undead, but imagine actually getting to see that in front of you! It would be like living in an actual World War Z game with bodies climbing over other bodes in order to scale walls. Skyscrapers stuffed with enemies. Big explosive weapons to deal with them- they hadn't reached the apex of what this idea provided, not by a long shot! As for Deacon's personal journey- that I'm less sure on. There would have certainly been room to expand if, you know, the third act of this game hadn't happened. But it did, and in doing so sort-of inexplicably resolved all of Deacon's personal issues. They really could have saved all of that for at least the sequel.
But of course we would have to ask ourselves in that much more abstract way- is the world really down for more Zombie games? The situation is not as dire as it were- zombies games aren't hitting the shelves every other day and most of those do look pretty interesting. Even State of Decay 3 looked pretty damn easy on the eyes. But that doesn't mean there isn't a certain subset who just absolutely do not want to hear about it when it comes to the rotting and I can't exactly sit back and pretend there haven't been one too many zombie franchises in the gaming world. Do we really need another one? One that explores character motives does hit a little a differently than your standard fair I would argue, but realising that would take people actually playing this game to learn that it's different and... most people just didn't want to.
I think it really would take a miracle for Sony to suddenly throw Days Gone back into sudden production but I suppose stranger things have happened in the house of blue. I just think most people have really moved on from this game and in doing so enfranchised a belief that the original game was 'mid', when I would most certianly assist it is well above average by most every estimation. But who is going to take the time to check? Still, I will say it's smart of the director to try and apply pressure on Sony themselves because we know just how out-of-touch those guys can be on the best of days. If he really wants to make this happen- those are the right feathers to rustle. And if the impossible does come to pass- you can bet I'll pick up my copy... provided it actually comes to PC day one this time around, of course...
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