The story of a biker survivor

Days gone puts us in the role of Deacon S. John, a bounty hunter biker who, after losing everything in a world devastated by hordes of zombies, does whatever it takes to survive and to overcome the loss of the love of his life.

Developed by Bend Studio and Published by Sony, the game is set in a post-apocalyptic world of lots of action and adventure, where exploration and the right alliances are the keys to survival. Released on April 26, 2019, for PS4 and on May 18, 2021, for PC, Days gone offers us a rich campaign with over 30 hours of excellent gameplay, a captivating and engaging story, beautiful graphics, and many, many zombies.



What else can you do but survive?

Days gone is a unique experience. Although the zombie genre is already well known and consolidated in the entertainment market, I dare say that none of them inserts us so well into the life of a survivor, presenting his anguishes, his values, his personality, and, above all, his character. 

Deacon's journey begins as he tries to save himself, his wife, Sarah, and his friend, Boozer, from an attack by the zombies, also known as freakers. When they reach a terrace, they discover a helicopter that is rescuing survivors but has only two available slots. Our protagonist boards his wife, who is suffering from a large knife wound, but decides to stay with Boozer, who was also injured and therefore could not save himself. 

Two years later, Deacon and Boozer go on with their lives working as mercenaries. Sarah is reported dead, as the refugee camp she was sent to had supposedly been destroyed by enemies. Heading north, where they believed things would be better, Deacon and Boozer are attacked by the Rippers, a band of fanatical cultists. They take Boozer and with a blowtorch, give him a very serious burn on his arm. From this moment on, Deacon's saga is transformed. From a hopeful attempt to reach more peaceful lands, to a race to find medicine and save the life of his only friend.



During his search for medicine for his friend, Deacon introduces us to his old acquaintances in small settlements that resist the threats of this monster-ridden world. From lunatic conspiracists to elderly slave women, Days gone lets us experience the good, the bad, and the ugly of humanity that resists in the midst of chaos. It is in the relationships with various characters that Deacon's nature surfaces. As tough as he may seem, our biker gives us a sense of ethics and justice that is unusual for someone in his condition in life. 

Deacon is the kind of guy who fights for his own, not abandoning his friend at any point in the plot. When he meets a little girl who resembles his wife's sister, he takes a protective and empathetic stance. In addition, he has his own code of conduct, which prevents him from shooting an unarmed woman. However, these values do not make him a typical hero, but a great anti-hero just like Frank Castle and Daryl Dixon. His acid humor and constant sarcasm give the character a special spice that contributes to a very striking personality that generates empathy from beginning to end. 

The narrative we experience with Deacon is told through several main and side stories that divide and complete each other in a great logical tangle. If you are not interested in exploring the world and doing the optional missions, Days gone will give you a straightforward and well-finished story with a beginning, middle, and end that is in no hurry to end and immerses you in all the main characters of the plot. You will get involved in our protagonist's friendship with his friend Boozer, and have moments of excitement and fun with both of them.

In your motorcycle travels, you will find out more about what is really going on and what NERO, a government group of scientists and military personnel, have been doing in the region. You will learn more about the Rippers, the fanatical freakers-worshippers, and the conspiracy theorists on Free Oregon Radio.



But if you decide to expand your adventure and explore all that the game has to offer, you will have a much richer experience, with various missions of hunting, supporting refugee settlements, allying with important characters, and exploring NERO bases. In addition, you will be able to travel through several areas with gigantic hordes of freakers and discover a world that is the perfect marriage between The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy. 

I was immersed throughout my gameplay. The game builds a very realistic setting a la State of Decay 2, but with the difference of presenting a really striking story. In a game that had everything to be just another one of those survival and shooter games, with cliché dialogues and set phrases, Days gone shows that it is possible to build a complex narrative. The game connects you to the characters brilliantly, awakening our empathy by making us take care of a friend, and connecting us to the wife through flashbacks and dialogues that are always pertinent. Even the NPCs make us feel like we are in a living world since their greetings and salutations are always spontaneous and happen even when we are not interacting directly with them. 



In addition, the plot that slowly builds up in the background about NERO and its experiments gradually becomes something very important and central to the story. Relationships with the settlements also evolve as we gain the trust of their leaders, and with that new opportunities and upgrades emerge to make our life, in freakers-destroyed Oregon, more meaningful and fun. Days gone surprised me a lot, as I expected a more generic game and got a very striking piece of work for me.

How to kill what is already dead?

Days Gone introduces us to gameplay that is very reminiscent of games like State of Decay 2 and Dying Light. You will need resources, and exploring has its risks, but it also has its rewards. To travel through the regions, Deacon will be accompanied by his motorcycle, which will need fuel and repairs from time to time. To do this, it will be possible to collect scrap metal and gallons of gasoline to keep your friend always ready to go. The exploration with the motorcycle is a lot of fun, as it can be improved with speed, fuel, and endurance upgrades. In addition, we can experience muddy tracks that resemble real motocross courses and take advantage of the downhill slopes to save fuel.



The combat is also very intuitive, with several features such as stealth, melee, and long-range weapons that can be improved or even recreated with elements found in the scenario. For example, You can increase the effectiveness of a baseball bat by adding some very sharp nails to it. In addition, the game has a focus system that allows us to aim and attack with greater precision, increasing our window of opportunity. The enemies are diverse, ranging from human hunters, bandits, and Rippers, to wild animals such as wolves and bears, and the already famous freakers. 

The game has a menu for improving skills that can be unlocked as we evolve our character. The choices are very interesting and range from improvements in the quality of life, such as the increase in material collection and energy recovery, to the improvement in melee and long-range combat.

I didn't call it a talent tree because the menu is not presented in the same way as traditional talent trees. The skills are presented to us in groups of three and after we unlock some of them, others are enabled, and they are not directly or indirectly related to what we have previously unlocked.

The gameplay is quite fluid and fun at all times. Sometimes I didn't know if I wanted to do the main missions because exploring and killing zombies is really cool. However, when inserted into the story missions, I stayed focused because the gameplay unfolds so well that you stay focused very easily. Days gone is a game that has the potential to hold you for several hours and that alone justifies the newgame+ mode that the game features. The main campaign is just over 30 hours long, but certainly, if you get your head into the game, your playtime will exceed 60 hours. 



Graphics of the apocalypse 

Days gone features very beautiful visuals that transport us to a real-world destroyed by the hordes of freakers. The natural landscapes are well polished and conquer the eye, however, I witnessed some bugs regarding the textures and especially with the brightness, with problems that showed up frequently during the quick transitions from day and night. The game demands a little more than is recommended and this forced me to reduce the quality of the game a little to run without problems.

However, these problems did not noticeably impact my gameplay. I felt they could have polished the game a little more, however, the visual experience as a whole is very nice and correct since the weapons, vehicles, landscapes, and creatures convinced me of the excellent work done by the team.



In turn, the audio and dubbing team, especially the PT-BR dubbing, did a magnificent job! Deacon is very likable and convincing. The dubbing translates his feelings, humor, and anguish with great quality and belonging. Fábio Azevedo, responsible for dubbing the character, once again does an impeccable job. Boozer, voiced by Marco Antônio, also needs no comment. Besides them, we have the voices of Samira Fernandes, Rogério Viggiani, Tatá Guarnieri, Bianca Alencar, and others who manage to raise the quality of the game to the tenth power.

For those who prefer to play in English, I strongly recommend giving a chance to the Brazilian dubbing, because they will win you over with this game. 



For this Review, Days Gone was played on PC via the Steam platform.