2019 appears to be a stacked year in games, especially really heavy in the first quarter of the year. At the end of this period comes a game that should be getting a little more attention and excitement. Apocalyptic, zombie-infested, open-world, Days Gone.

Reasons To Get Hyped

The World – “This World Comes for you”, the tagline for the upcoming IP from Sony Bend Studios gives off the impression that this setting, taking place a few years after a “freaker” outbreak is very much alive and will be very ruthless. The game appears to feature a variety of enemy camps, “freakers” and dangerous wildlife that will make you fight for your survival.

The Enemies – Most of the enemies in the game are most likely the “freakers” themselves. Although I believe it will be a cult known as “R.I.P” that will be your deadliest foe. The cult believes that the rising of the zombie apocalypse was a “God-send” from the universe and worship the “freakers” around them. The “Rippers” look to be a vicious vile bunch.

Gameplay – What is most exciting to me about Days Gone is the idea of having no difficulty settings, I hope this game is a challenge to go hand in hand with the survival fantasy the game is presenting itself to be. In a showcase of the first hour of Days Gone posted by Game Informers youtube page in May of 2018, Bend Studio’s Creative Director John Garvin, and Game Director Jeff Ross explained the game had many “wide linearity” sequences throughout the game. Allowing the player to have the freedom of choice on how to tackle each mission at hand.

Reasons To Be Skeptical

The Story – Not much is known about the story, what story elements are known is that it is two years after the outbreak has occurred, and you play an anti-hero of Deacon St. John a member of the Mongrel biker gang, alongside Deacon is best friend known as “Boozer”. I hope that Bend focuses on the world and the game over the story because making an interesting narrative in an open world game is difficult to do.

The Bike – Sony has been releasing trailers on youtube detailing the world of Days Gone for the last week or so. In their latest installment, it showed the importance of the bike. All of the features to the bike, such as storage for Deacon and that the bike has components that can be upgraded throughout the game. My concern with the bike is how much it might hinder the rest of the game, instead of the focus of surviving in the world, the focus would be having to make sure your bike is the thing surviving. If the bike can be controlled easily and if it allows you to traverse the open world without it leading to being a burden to manage all will be okay.