After more than seven years in development, Days Gone has finally arrived, delivering Bend Studio's take on the zombie apocalypse. It's a large-scale open world experience with a heavy focus on narrative and characters. To boil things down to their essentials, it's basically The Last of Us meets Far Cry and it works.
Windows Central writes: "Many PlayStation Studios games that are ported to PC get dedicated PS5 DualSense support, which allows users to experience haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support without actually having to own a PS5.
According to Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, it's still the company's intent to launch the bigger single-player games on PS5 first, before later bringing the games to PC. This might not be the case for multiplayer games however, which are considered okay to launch simultaneously on console and PC."
My guess is after god of war. Probably last of us 2 that's a almost 4 year old game now and by the time it's released on pc it will be more than 4 years old or close to 5.
Days Gone director claims Sony has already poured in at least a $250M in Bend's project; says Days Gone sold more than Death Stranding.
Well that sucks. Seems they want more online trash. I'd rather of had the sequel if it was single player
It would be a shame if it was true that Hermen never gave the franchise a chance simply because he didn't like it and they already had a "Zombie" game with TLOU.
NaughtyDog are most likely moving onto a new IP next so it would have been the perfect time to do it.
Oh great so we only get what the big wigs want… y’know, the people that really have their fingers on the pulse of what their consumers want. Faaaaantastic!
Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie. This is something of a homecoming, as Microsoft owns Activision.
Manages to buy their freedom especially after all the shit Microsoft has been doing with its studios lately
...
Goes right back to them as partners.
Okaaaaaay...
Xbox’s gaming division seems to still function as 3 semi-autonomous sub-divisions, Xbox Studios, Bethesda and ABK. The three main sub-divisions can seemingly shut down or build studios and set up partnerships independently. This would explain why Bethesda can recently shutdown studios, while ABK spins off one studio, while building a new one. Plus, Toys for Bob could be spun off by ABK, only to immediately re-partner with Microsoft.
"Days Gone may have taken years to develop but it feels as if the studio has grown immensely - and it's a solid foundation on which to build its next (next-gen?) console game."
We can only hope. Better management and better experience with the engine and tools can result in a better future. We need more studios with potential, not just the few that matter to review scores.
Got my copy a day early and have played the game for just a little over two hours. Here are some spoiler free initial impressions. I'm playing on a Ps4 Pro 4k HDR set up.
The graphics are absolutely tremendous and are crystal clear. For comparison's sake, Red Dead 2's open world was a blurry mess on my pro and the HDR implementation was very sub standard. Whereas the HDR on Days Gone is tremendous.
Atmosphere. This is absolutely top notch and is my favourite thing about the game so far. The day to night cycle and the stormy wind & rain effects are superbly crafted.
Controls on foot. Buttery and silky smooth, very intuitive and easy to get to grips with. So yet again, another area, along with graphics where it trounces the awkwardly cumbersome controls of RDR2.
Controls on bike. Initially this felt a smidgeon on the light and flighty, but with upgrades and a few subtle changes, my ride is weighty and a joy to slide around on. I would have liked the bike to be a little quicker.
Gun combat. Another area where it is far better than RDR2.
Hand to hand melee combat. Surprisingly weighty and visceral after the earlier videos from last year. Another area where it betters RDR2.
Story. I'm too early into the game to give a valid opinion, but I have enjoyed what I've played so far. This is where RDR2, In my opinion may win this round.
Sound effects and music are absolutely fantastic.
Have not yet encountered the huge hordes. So far, I have loved what I have played up to this point and I'd score it a very solid 9.
Knew this game would polarize but it shouldn't. If you are tired of open world games, you probably shouldn't play it. I saw a 1.5 and I don't put much stock in reviews(if they line up with my impression, cool, that's how most things work with people) especially numbered reviews. If I did a 1.5 would mean a broken mess! I know it's easy for people to look at and go oh it's a 9 or ouch it's a 3 but games that are so big like Days Gone, HZD, AC Odyssey, Wild Hunt for me I couldn't imagine just blowing through it for a dead line. I've spent years playing some of the games I mentioned, years and the enjoyment I've gotten from those adventures is amazing.
The point is emergent games are hard to nail down because so many variables are in play. I'm not always looking for a reinvention of the wheel, I like fun and as long as it controls well, looks and runs good and the world is immersive I'm good.
Again knew it would polarize because it's a Sony exclusive and that is a high class to be in but Eurogamer's stealth in depth breakdown really reiterated my feelings towards Days Gone. I can't wait to get it installed!