‘Days Gone’ Review Roundup: A Competent If Unambitious Zombie Romp

Sony’s PlayStation 4 may soon enter its twilight years, but the venerable console still has life left in it. Days Gone, the latest title from Syphon Filter developer Sony Bend, is one such glimmer. In a break from their prior works, Days Gone is an open world game that’s populated by zombies, two elements the video game industry has not shied away from.

According to the critical reviews coming in, Days Gone is a competent if unambitious title. Mike Williams of USgamer writes how Bend’s open world, emphasis on their narrative and less-than-stellar protagonist don’t work enough to differentiate Days Gone from the litany of zombie games on the market. Williams stresses, however, that there is quality fun to be had for those who can power through an underwhelming start, and he ends on a hope that Sony Bend will be able to iterate upon the game for a more fleshed-out successor.

IGN’s Lucy O’Brien echoes that last sentiment, arguing that Bend provided “a good game in [Days Gone] somewhere, but it’s buried in a meandering storyline, repetitive missions, and just too much obligatory stuff to do without an eye on the smaller details that could have given it much more character.” She did enjoy encountering the game’s hordes, citing them as a strength.

However, Escapist Magazine’s Riley Constantine was more positive about the game’s premise, describing it as “a hybrid of The Sons of Anarchy, The Last of Us, and Red Dead Redemption.” Contrasting some other opinions, Constantine enjoyed protagonist Deacon, describing him as a “sympathetic presence” in the game’s post-apocalyptic world. “After all, none of us could do better in Deacon’s situation as he attempts to maintain his humanity in the face of the living death, fighting for the future by remembering  love, life, and the days gone,” he writes.