Days Gone Creative Director Blames Bad Reviews On "Woke Reviewers"

Garvin blames Days Gone's score on "woke reviewers who couldn't handle a gruff white biker looking at his date's a**."

[shadowT]

Great und underrated game! I hope Days Gone 2 will release soon on PS5 ;)

[SullysCigar]

Agreed. Let's be honest, it suffered performance issues at launch, which were fixed after a few weeks, but that doesn't make Garvin wrong here.

The most cutting reviews barely mentioned the technical aspects, focusing instead on their woke outrage at yet another gruff, white, male protagonist. That was apparently the 'cool' take at the time...

We can all look back on those reviews and laugh at them, particularly because anyone with a PS5 gets to play the game for free (along with 20-odd other classics) and can see how wrong those reviewers were for themselves.

I believe the IP will return. Given the crap flung at the game at launch )and how it impacted the views of people that hadn't even played it) it was the right decision to rest the franchise instead of going straight into a sequel.

I hope to see it again, now so many have enjoyed it for themselves.

[Profchaos]

I imagine it's at least on a shortlist for a sequel since they took the time to release a PC port

[Shane Kim]

Played it for "free" on the ps5 and I usually am much harsher on free games course there is so called no money invested. But it's honestly one of the better games I've played. The only thing i maybe didn't like was the fuel mechanic, but it becomes better once you upgrade.

[outsider1624]

I wonder if Calisto Protocol would get the same treatment..after all the launch issues are fixed.

[DarXyde]

You know what's really annoying? Seeing the term "woke" be co-opted by people who don't know what woke means.

Word has been used as slang almost as long as I've been alive. Now the squares are using it to describe socially sensitive people.

It's one of those things like a guy getting their ear pierced. It meant something, and now that everyone doing it, the meaning is lost.

Anyway, just ranting. I think that's a weird take from Garvin (and ironic for him to focus on characteristics he blames others for focusing on as the issue). I honestly think a lot of reviewers went into it with the impression left by trailers: largely generic. No matter what Deacon looked like, it was an open world zombie game with a motorcycle. I can see enough reasons for reviewers to feel some type of way and other people feeling compelled to kinda wait for it to hit the bargain bin and being a new IP isn't an advantage.

[shinoff2183]

I think it was only literally a couple reviews that went that route, even then one probably just piggybacked off the other.

Game was great, I loved the hordes and tenseness that I felt or just driving around on the bike, and I hate motorcycles with a passion. It was fun. Parts couldve been better but It was still great imo. and I got that secret ending.

[Christopher]

Plat'ed it, it's a deserved score IMHO. It's a good game, but not great and not mediocre. Just in between.

And my issues had nothing to do with any of the stuff this guy mentions but more gameplay, performance, and generally how annoying it is to hear Deacon shout out things to people he hears on the radio while he rides his motorcycle across the landscape.

It was an unfair attribution by a very minor few as another "gruff white male" but those are people who look for this stuff for clicks and were only seen because gamers can't not click on controversial stuff to save their lives. Always have to give these people clicks, and they keep doing it just for the clicks. Good job gamers. You've played yourselves.

[AuraAbjure]

I don't find anything wrong with having an itchy left-click finger when it comes to controversial news. I actually find that attractive in women. If I find a woman who's prepared to potentially burn a bridge between someone close to her, simply because she feels passionate enough to speak her truth on a hot topic, I think that's sexy.

Gamers are hot. We're hot 😎

I just make sure mom bathes me at least once per month, when she's not making me hot pockets... And I'm good!
.

[EvertonFC]

I have a motorbike and you shout while having the mic on because of the bike engine noise being so loud, so it was actually realistic.
Having said that because it's a game it would have come across to the gamer better having a more toned down voice in those instances when it happened.
It's like when you talk having a headset on, you talk louder without realising it.

[Christopher]

@EvertonFC. That's the thing, he wasn't talking into a microphone or to someone else in the face. He was just yelling to himself. Literally yelling at the player and nothing else.

Note, by radio I mean the radio broadcasts, not the type to communicate to others. You don't have that.

[Knushwood Butt]

Actually, they do carry radios / walkie talkies, but I know what you mean.

[AuraAbjure]

I just realized that my mom joke unintentionally may come across as incestuous. Whoops... I didn't mean that.

Cartman's mom giving him hot pockets during the South Park World of Warcraft episode still depicts the archetypal gamer I think. That's all I was shooting for with my funny 🙃

[dumahim]

Not even the radio. He just randomly yells. Here he says one line normally to a girl on his bike, then his next line he's yelling for no reason.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

There used to be a longer compilation video with more stuff like this and his insane ramblings. Thinking back on the game now, I don't think I really liked any character in the game.

[shinoff2183]

Christopher I disagree about the game with you, I do agree about your 2nd take

Far as him talking to himself , or yelling eh no big deal, he was kind of a loner for awhile in a zombie infested ruined world, Id probably talk to and yell myself out there

[Christopher]

***or yelling eh no big deal, he was kind of a loner for awhile in a zombie infested ruined world, Id probably talk to and yell myself out there***

Nothing says "surviving the zombie apocalypse" like attracting noise-sensitive enemies by making a lot of noise.

[MadLad]

Being it was already pitched and was shot down, don't see that happening anytime soon; honestly.

[EvertonFC]

That's because they pitched a MP style open world game so there is still a chance maybe down the line.

[MadLad]

@everton

You can keep pushing that narrative, but that's not true.
It was simply shot down by Sony. Obviously the original didn't meet expectations for a sequel.

There were multiplayer elements pitched and greenlit for the original game. They just didn't make it in due to time constraints. They were to be a separate element from the single player, just as was true when they pitched a sequel.

Sony wouldn't just shoot down a game for providing more content that they already were happy to see originally but never made it to the final product.

It gets old watching people just make stuff up to back a narrative they want to convey.

[shinoff2183]

Its definitely been reported that it was pitched as a MP, do you work at sony madlad? Can you verify that it wasnt.

[S2Killinit]

If woke reviewers were so small minded to do that, then its sad.

The game was awesome. One of my favorites from last generation for sure.

[neutralgamer1992]

That is exactly the problem when a lot of people say a review is simply someone’s opinion but that opinion could affect how much other people make on their jobs and whether or not they get to keep their job or make a sequel. Yes it’s subjective but review the game fair and square ago in with an open mind please

[AAWELLS09]

Its hard to know how accurate some of the reviews are when these woke reviewers look at the game through a distorted lens and push an agenda.

[Jin_Sakai]

“Days Gone Creative Director Blames Bugs, Reviewers Not Bothering to Play and "Woke" Reviewers For Lack of Better Reception“

Actual title since they cherry picked the wording.

[DigitallyAfflicted]

Best zombie game evvvvvverrrrrr!!!

[SyntheticForm]

Became a solid game but released in a very unpolished state.

I do believe that some of the reviewers were particularly hard on the game due to their wokeness however.

[Sonyslave3]

Lol what

[-Foxtrot]

I think he means like, you know, everyone calling Deacon from the start because he was a white biker looking guy, most likely relating him to some right wing bikers in the world, that stereotype.

[Sonyslave3]

Gavin said it got bad reviews because he white and he love looking at ass lol wtf but snake and Dante and Kratos and Drake and Author from RdR2 say other wise.

Him being white got nothing to do with the game being bad, all the bugs and glitches had something to do with the meta score and bland writing.

[-Foxtrot]

Perhaps

I mean Garvin’s wording is over the top but Deacon and the game because of it was hated from the start even before anything was shown

It was held under a constant microscope and nitpicked

[MadLad]

I still just find it a copout excuse. There's a couple reviews that mentioned that. The majority just stated he was a weak, generic written protagonist in general.
The game got less than stellar reviews due to Luke warm writing, performance issues, the glitches, and the terrible pacing.

I played and enjoyed the game, I'd give it a 7. Good, but not great.

[Jin_Sakai]

“Him being white got nothing to do with the game being bad, all the bugs and glitches had something to do with the meta score and bland writing.“

He also blamed bugs for the reviews. Idk why they cut it from the title.

[rippermcrip]

@sonyslave3

All those characters you mentioned +Ave been around for a loooong time. This was a brand new main character. That's the difference.

Not saying I agree with it.

[jznrpg]

I dont care if the main character is white black yellow red female or male just make a good game with a good story and Days Gone was definitely a good game .

Reviewers need to focus on what is there not what isn’t . The technical issues should have knocked the score down some and how they liked the game or didn’t not who they character is

[RauLeCreuset]

@jznrpg

"The technical issues should have knocked the score down some and how they liked the game or didn’t not who they character is"

Was the character's identity given more weight in the reviews than more important elements, like the ones you mentioned, or are people ignoring more significant critiques in certain reviews and leaping to the conclusion that observations about his identity resulted in lower scores and that it occurred in enough reviews to have the effect the former creative director is attributing to it?

[shinoff2183]

Sonyslave3 dont you have a wall to stare at. I know you aint got no games to play. I played it 1 year or so after release and had no issue, not saying there wasnt at launch but lets be honest what AAA game doesnt these days since last gen. Far as the writing and story thats debatable and just opinion.

[Dee_91]

I think he give the woke people way too much power. and put an unnecessary target on his back.

[coolbeans]

I think the "white male looking at wife's ass" thing in referencing a specific clique of critics who were dogging the game early on.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ko...

[Crows90]

Yes but the same kind of tone was found in many other reviews that didnt specifically say the same thing.

[coolbeans]

@Crows90

I mean... I looked into some of them back then and found the accusation wanting. I have changed my mind and *DO* believe some 'woke' unprofessionalism seeped into it, but it still seems quite limited. I'm open for more evidence though, b/c Gamespot's Kallie Plagge was an eye-opener.

[RauLeCreuset]

"Lol what"

What he's saying is:

̶G̶o̶ ̶w̶o̶k̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶ Waaaah! We went broke because we didn't go woke.

[Palitera]

Exactly. Right wing extremists are such cry babies lol

[AirRevenant]

I'm refilling my coffee with your downvotes.

[isarai]

I think a lot of reviewers went into this game with their mind already made up, that being said it is one of the roughest games from Sony's 1st party and dont think it deserves some of the very high praise it gets from fans. I think it was very good, with a 2nd act that drags on. I also dont get why they didn't put more focus on the hoards, you're only required to encounter the 2 smallest hoards throughout the entire campaign and the rest of them are just up to you, shame cause that's the biggest thing that sets it apart and it's super fun. I would love a sequel so they can improve on the formula, but we'll just have to wait and see what Bend announces next, hopefully during the VGAs tomorrow

[Snowb420]

Did we play the same game? The sawmill hoard maybe? The other big hoard you test the napalm on? Both of those hoards are story related.

Edit: There's also a hoard in a cave you run into if you aren't quiet, while looking for something for O'Brian. Might be with Skizzo that you're helping. Can't remember who exactly.

[isarai]

Yes those are the hoards im talking about, and though they are crazy big hoards, compared to ALL the hoards in the game, those two are some of the smallest.

Most are so big you really REALLY have to plan your route with ammo resupply points (like your bike) choke points and traps, even fully upgraded

[Snowb420]

The sawmill hoard is the biggest one in the game with around 500 freakers. The hoard you test the napalm on is about the same size as the rest of the big hoards in the southern area. Certainly not smaller then the rest of the southern hoards.

[isarai]

The campaign doesnt require you to fight the full hoard at the sawmill, you encounter a hoard, but the full hoard is still there after that mission. Either way still doesn't change my point of not focusing on the hoards. There's lots of them, yet the game doesn't focus on them till you beat the game, honestly i feel like that should've been used to fill out that dragging 2nd act

[Snowb420]

All this conversation has taught me is that I want to download Days Gone again and kill some hoards.

[EvertonFC]

You played it wrong if you think there is only 2 hoards required in the campaign, did you rush through it in 40hours ? Took me 119hours.

[isarai]

Nope, beat the game at just under 100hrs, did every side mission, cleared every nest, 100% upgraded, did pretty much everything except the bird nests and clear all hoards

[Tacoboto]

I agree that this was the roughest PS4 first-party title. The dialogue was bad because Deacon was such a bitter character, not because he fulfilled any stereotype. It was so annoying his constant grunting and his dismissiveness towards the NPCs that dealt with his condescending attitude.

The mixed-race lesbian couple was a total cloche stereotype though. They checked three diversity boxes by writing two shallow characters who had personality traits that contrasted harshly with the game world, one so needy and dependant that it doesn't make any sense that person would survive even a day in the apocalypse.

In terms of gameplay, it took dozens of hours before you could upgrade your bike to drive a decent length. But once you get to the meat of the game, with weapons of decent ammo capacity and a bike that can drive a few miles, there wasn't anything else that felt quite like it and the bike itself was some of my favorite feeling open-world traversal.

At the end I'd give it a 6/10, because the first 30 hours were really awful but the last 30 were dramatically better, like a sequel was built into it already. I've got no interest in a Days Gone sequel, even less so if Deacon returns, but Bend demonstrated in the second half that they do know how to build a big, relatively cohesive world with a multilayered story.

They could've done more hoards if they didn't waste 30 hours RPGing the player to level up enough to handle even the lightest of them.

[Fishy Fingers]

A 7-8/10 game that got 7/10 reviews. That's OK.

Dude seems to like making some bitter statements every few months to get some coverage (stay relevant) after being let go.

[SullysCigar]

I mean, why not? It works for Phil Spencer 🤷‍♂️

[Fishy Fingers]

Dude, Phil can burp and someone posts about it and ends up the hottest story on n4g.

Think that says more about n4g...

[SullysCigar]

^ Agreed, it's a PR machine. Some people earn their column inches. Ones that can't often choose to buy them. Those are your 'Phil Says' articles.

[ChasterMies]

Agree. Days Gone needed a little more something, like player choice in the story or moving the hoard fighting to the earlier acts. Solid 8/10 from me.

[shinoff2183]

Your right about where I sit deus fever. Solid 8 with room for improvement.

[ED-E]

Can't remember any reviews about that topic, but even if, Garvin seems to be the guy who likes to blame everyone else (The players who didn't buy it day one, the reviewers, Sony, the Woke, the Shiba Inu owners, the deep state and god knows what he rants about in private).

Even though he, as the writer of Days Gone, should have taken responsibility of slapping a predictable B-Movie plot onto an AAA game. The gameplay from Days Gone was fun, I also enjoyed the characters, but let's be honest here, rarely anyone claims that the best part of it was the story. Reviewers expect that all departments bring in their A game on a Sony AAA game.

The launch bugs have cost them a solid 8 out 10 from many reviewers, would Garvin had made more effort in his story, they could have reached that even with all the launch bugs.

[Knushwood Butt]

https://www.gamespot.com/re...

[EvertonFC]

Story was fantastic imo

[ED-E]

Which is fine, you like what you like, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. For me, it was the weakest part of the game, but at least it was serviceable enough for me to not be distracting.

The zombie fad is long gone (the over saturation might have played a part in the reviews/sales too), so I don't think Sony wants to touch the IP again anytime soon, sadly. Garvins regular rants about it is not helping either.

[shinoff2183]

EvertonFC I enjoyed it alot and I despise bikers.

[M3talDiamond]

I have yet to encounter one bug in Days Gone infact it was one of the very few games I can say that about. Perhaps the reviewers got earlier copies than everyone else and it was buggy for them however games like The Witcher 3 were riddled with bugs and nobody complained even the Reviewers said nothing

[Knushwood Butt]

I played from launch on PS4 Pro and the only actual bug I remember encountering was going into an empty cave and then have a hoard literally spawn on top of me, which was pretty crazy but I think I just ran for the exit and made it out alive. No big deal.

I don't recall any performance issues in the second area, but I was playing on Pro.

[EvertonFC]

You encounter in the cave wasn't a bug pmsl

[Knushwood Butt]

? Of course it was. Hoards don't just appear out of thin air. The cave was empty when I walked in, then a ton of them materialized from nowhere.

[Extermin8or3_]

I mean I remember multiple reviews literally criticising the game as one of their main negatives for having a straight white biker as the main protagonist.

[RauLeCreuset]

Which ones?

[The_Blue]

I'm waiting too

[Extermin8or3_]

Couple of examples in here: https://www.google.com/amp/...

I recall there were some others but these two are two big outlets. Also criticising the fact some of the zombies are zombie kids is avit silly it's bit a new idea by a long shot and makes alot of sense.

The game had its issues and was probably a 7.5 or 8/10 but I can see why the dev would feel the way he does when considering how some big outlets chose to criticise it.

Things like thr colour if a characters skin should never matter except perhaps in a game that is meant to be historically accurate and it makes no sense and is put of place perhaps or I can see a case for race swapping of established characters being criticised or stuff like the original assassins creed where altar has an American accent despite being middle Eastern.... etc.

[RauLeCreuset]

@Extermin8or3

Thanks for replying with evidence we can evaluate against the claim. Now, let's do just that.

The claim:

"Three reasons:

"1. it had tech issues like bugs, streaming and frame rate;
"2. it had reviewers who couldn’t be bothered to actually play the game
"3. And three, it had woke reviewers who couldn’t handle a gruff white biker looking at his date’s a**"

1) The most striking thing about those examples in the context of the claims is that neither one is actually a review. They are early reactions to a demo prior to the game's release and the actual reviews, which were both written by different people respectively. The IGN example is a preview, and the Kotaku example is from a podcast in which Jason Schreier reacts to the demo.

2) I did read the actual reviews for both publications as part of this analysis. The final review for IGN does not mention Deacon's race, whereas there is a line at the end of the Kotaku review that describes him as "another gruff white dude."

4) However, the Kotaku review is not scored. The IGN review (which didn't mention race) gave it a 6.5.

3) The critique of Deacon in both examples and the actual Kotaku review is that he is a trope, another "Gruff White Male Protagonist™," one example of many that are cited to point out that the game relies on genre tropes and doesn't do much to distinguish itself or rise above them.

4) Schreier actually said he liked the character despite him falling into the trope:

"I like the main character a lot, even though he’s this typical gruff triple-A white dude biker."

5) Ditto for the IGN preveiw:

"While I’ll admit that I initially rolled my eyes at yet another Gruff White Male Protagonist™ in a grim world - especially one with such a Gruff White Male Protagonist™-ey name as Deacon St. John - I ended up getting far more invested than I’d initially expected. I shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose - this is a first-party Sony title, and Bend is no stranger to writing around well-developed characters and games with a strong narrative focus, either."

6) All of the reactions (especially the actual reviews) contained many criticisms beyond the gruff White male protagonist observation, many of them a common finding among reviewers, including the bugs Garvin himself acknowledged. Look for example to the IGN review that cites Deacon's character as a positive, but not enough of one to overcome Days Gone's issues:

"Yet through its 60-odd-hour ride, Days Gone loses its focus with repetitive missions, a meandering and thematically unsatisfying storyline, and an excess of bugs and busywork. When you slow down for a minute or two, these issues combine with a dreary, uninteresting open world and add up to an uneven and mostly toothless zombie experience."

"Sadly, Deacon’s charisma and b*tchin’ bike aren't enough to carry Days Gone story, which is clumsily handled."

I'm not seeing much of anything to justify Garvin's 3rd point. The examples given so far have only led us to two publications, and from them only one review, that mention the gruff White dude thing. Metacritic has 109 reviews for the PS4 version of the game. Additionally, the one that did mention Deacon being a gruff White dude is the Kotaku review, which isn't scored.

It seems Garvin is giving undue weight to that third item (and perhaps the second) to downplay the issues with the game that resulted in it getting a 71 (which isn't that far off from your own "7.5 or 8/10").

[ClayRules2012]

I remember that. It was pathetic to see them criticize the game for that.

[EvertonFC]

The games great, Imo it's gaming fannies being sheep, and also thinking 7/10 means it's a shit game.

[goldwyncq]

Or you know, the game was just forgettable and bland.

[Vithar]

this guy LOL

[Crows90]

I would give the game at 8/10 in that scale. It was definitely a good game. The woke reviews and woke influenced reviews were definitely an issue. I mean thankfully many bypassed the reviews and went ahead and tried it recently. Looking at the user reviews and its clear that the critics got it pretty wrong.

[aconnellan]

Which reviews were woke? I don’t recall reading any reviews for Days Gone when it came out, so this is the first I’m hearing about it

[Crows90]

I dont keep a list. But it started before its release. Many articles came out criticizing the white gruff male biker.
Then in those same articles the idea that the game is completely generic surfaced...even though its anything but generic. Mind you...these articles were not even previews.

From that main concept of bad white male and generic game came all the negative reviews voicing similar things along the same lines. Some went straight to woke while others danced the line. None of the reviews said much about the story or gameplay. There was a lot of complaining about the survival aspects regarding running out of gas while roaming...which is silly since theres plenty of gas around. There was mention of technical issues but I played it early launch and didnt see much of those issues...not anymore than your typical open world.

Reviews should effectively explain why they gave the score they did. In most reviews I read you finished not knowing why it scored so low. No real tangible reasons for why the game is mediocre or more mediocre than say assassins creed or far cry or any of the other typical open worlds. Which was odd especially since story wise it is much better than those recent entries. Gameplay wise it is much more engaging as well.

Of course it also didnt help that it was a sony exclusive and we all know who would jump on the bandwagon of how bad the game is given the chance.

[coolbeans]

The best snapshot I've seen comes from here...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ko...

It's a collection of review snippets, various site writers (who I don't think reviewed it) dogging it, some supplementary stuff from Kallie Plagge (Gamespot reviewer) making some sus tweets. Like, what's the big deal with a girlfriend flaunting her ass to her boyfriend? lol

Garvin is still painting with too broad of a brush, *BUT* I can sympathize with someone pouring 5 years into a game and being incensed with some of these evaluations. Like DG wasn't given a fair shake in his view.

[Knushwood Butt]

This one

https://www.gamespot.com/re...

[howyeman]

Article is clickbait with "The message" agenda. Be aware.

[Kombatologist]

When did people who never stfu about "wokeness" become more annoying than Vegans and Atheists?

[shinoff2183]

Atheist's lol. I think you meant Christians atleast if your in america.

[z2g]

Oh boy here we go…..

[ModsDoBetter]

Great game imo.

The bad reviews definitely weren’t due to “wokeness” but rather the bugs at launch followed by bandwagoning. Reviewers had their mind made up going into the game & considering the length, I’d bet at least half of them didn’t finish it.

8/10 for me personally, would be even higher if it didn’t drag out so much around the middle of the story.

[lellkay]

Bet his blockchain game is gonna do really well though looooool

[babadivad]

I'll be glad when reviews in all media stops being politically charged with identity politics. Everyone is so afraid to give honest opinions that professional reviews are for the most part worthless.

If a movie hits the identity politics check boxes, it's guaranteed to get fantastic "professional" reviews.

[aaronaton]

shhhh, the sheep are trying to sleep.

[EmperorDalek]

Or maybe it got mediocre reviews because it was a mediocre game?

[DragoonUS]

The game is boring. And seems this guy have a lot of blame to put into others, except for himself.

[anast]

It's true somewhat, but the director also needed to make a better game. While I did enjoy the a game, it was just above average.

[OhReginald]

I'll always remember the time in the gamespot review that put down a negative mark about the zombies all white. Ignoring that they aren't zombies they are freakers.

[SimpleSlave]

Just another self reporting loser. Just another absolute soggy ass bitch that can't handle reality. But we now know that at this point squawking "wOkE" is just dog whistle for "I'm a little shit head Nazi and my feelings are fragile." They love accusing us of getting triggered when they're the most fragile little snowflake of them all.

Deacon was a shit character. A garbage vanilla badly written bro loser. How about you learn how to write instead? By the way, plenty of white character out there that people love, from movies, games, books. But, yeah, poor you.

Don't be such a whiny little bitch. Don't like it? Get the fuck out of the industry and go hang out with you Aryan Brotherhood at 4chan instead. Bah, what am I saying? You already do.

[coolbeans]

"Sir, this is a Wendy's."

[PressPlayBros]

Why do these guys keep pointing the finger at everyone else?

[Ashunderfire86]

Yup I remember that one red head white girl, from Gamespot said something controversial about white males, in her review for this game and she got the backlash. Yea I see what he is saying about woke reviewers. The game is great and best played on PS5 for consoles. Great graphics and gameplay smooth like butter.

[Knushwood Butt]

Thankfully that person is now an editor at Polygon (!) and doesn't seem to be doing reviews any more.

[ChasterMies]

Facepalm

[GhostScholar]

My favorite open world game probably. That game is so underrated. People complained about it being too long, but i enjoyed every second I spent in that world.

[FPS_D3TH]

I remember the stupid backlash over the main character being white, he’s not wrong

[JeffGUNZ]

Played it only on PC and man, loved it. Such a bummer they haven't made a sequel. I still remember that "oh f*ck" moment when I saw the first huge zombie horde barreling down at me.

[BrainSyphoned]

I see nothing but ass every time thegamer articles swing by so I guess I'm with him.

[Killa78]

Or the game was a buggy mess on release?

I tried to play it as part of the playstation collection and didn't enjoy it personally.

[Notsofast]

Days gone was never given a chance by Sony. Sony is so scared to bring out a game that is in the same genre as the last of us if it doesn't sell as well they will give up on it the game was a great game that needs the teams from the last of us and horizon to work on days gone 2 to work on any mechanical aspects of how the game is built

[343_Guilty_Spark]

They were woke that it is just a slightly above average game. 7/10

[andron]

It was a good game, but not sure it needs a sequel.

This dude seems like his own worst enemy though...

[Clonetrooper1139]

Ridiculous. I enjoyed Days Gone, but it was nothing ground breaking.

[tracedinblood]

Idk man. I missed the glitchy release and came in around the 60fps patch.

I love things like SOA, but besides having zombie fatigue, the writing and characters were super corny. Deacon's inner dialogue killed me.

[Rainbowcookie]

I played it right after Last of Us 2 and because of the quality of the mechanics of LOU and RDR2 it was easy to see little things missing. The first part was not as good as the second part of the game. There are parts and mechanics I didn't like as much, but then I went to the end and got the Platinum. In my opinion the hordes was great, finding ways to sort them out. Story was good. The openworld fatigue can settle in much quicker than RDR2. Still a 7-8 /10 for me, but not as bad as the reviews.

[RauLeCreuset]

7-8 would put your score in line with the Metacritic review scores.

PS4: 71
PC: 76

[VivaLaManual]

Oh god...why?????

[Muigi]

No the character was just poorly written and the story was too long and overly predictable.

[darkrider]

The game is great, big, with lots of stuff to do. The hordes are crazy and it deserved a good score

It was the first big game of bend studios and is above average. Much better then what the competition made.

Riding the bike was fun, the weather effects are some of the best I've seen and was amazing how they push the ps4 so far.

But many reviewer use the excuse to drop points of being generic.

Any gamer that like zombie games will love this game. I think the amount of weapons, the possibility of upgrading all, evolving the bike....

Not every Sony game is goty quality, much less the first try of a small studio in triple A Games. But this game good, is it perfect, nope. But good. Not a 5, 6 or 7...

[Lexreborn2]

Loved this game, only thing that let me down was the clear choices based narrative that you can clearly see was in the game That was clearly scrubbed. Feel like the game would’ve been even more immersive if they could’ve nailed the initial intentions, but it didn’t rob the game of being overall great fun.

Also, really wish people would stop misusing “woke” as the excuse for these situations. When it was just people being assholes under a guise. Nothing those reviewers said swayed me as woke. But just people looking for illogical excuses to pander media drama.

When a reviewer took issue with his wife asking him to ride her like his motorcycle. I was like… that seemed pretty authentic to a budding love relationship in a biker narrative. Cheesy? Hell yeah, but still cute and understood why deacon was so hurt over her.

[SeTTriP]

If your a straight white male, your constantly being attacked and i can sympathize, its bullshit I'm not white but I feel your pain.

[Psychonaut85]

Look, I love Days Gone, and I get that dude is upset that they’re not getting a sequel, but move on already. Like every 3 months he keeps publicly grousing about the situation.

[jznrpg]

Not sure it was all “woke”reviewers besides Kotakus usually stupid takes .

I think most reviewersonly played the first 8-10 hours of the game and it was slow plus it had glitches at launch.

[niiopi]

The writing was this games biggest detriment.

[Flewid638]

No game is above criticism.

[shinoff2183]

I dont understand, there wasnt anything really in the game I feel that Woke people would be upset about. I actually think the anti woke people most of the time are worse then Woke people. With that said I actually enjoyed the game alot. I hope there is a part 2 at some point. Far as I remember reading sony shot it down cause multiplayer was brought up. I wish devs would stop thinking every game needs some kind of multiplayer option. They dont. Most games of the year every year are single player along with the best games most of the time.

[steven_seagull]

Yeah, nah. Sony made the mistake of hyping and backing a mediocre game, in a time where people's focus was on TLOU:Part 2. Pulling the woke-card just shows how uninformed and disconnected this guy is.

[z2g]

sick of people blaming "woke-ness". guess what? some people feel differently than other people about things and some people might care about things others dont. if ppl are reviewing your shit negatively because of "woke-ness" then thats just how they feel, and if you disagree with that, thats how you feel but you can't invalidate someone else's priorities in life because you don't like them. so if you are blaming that on your poor reviews, then take a look in the mirror and consider making something that people might actually like instead of blaming them for caring about shit you might not.

in simpler terms its like someone releasing a country album and then blaming all the bad reviews on people who prefer rock. get the f*** over yourself bro.

[RauLeCreuset]

This is true. Some people think that because they personally want to avoid certain discussions, those discussions should not be part of critique. That's not how it works, and it's next level that a writer is pretending not to know how critique works and how wide its scope can be. Yet, it seems he's also the type who will throw around buzzwords like "social justice warrior" and "woke" when a work features certain identities that aren't "gruff white biker looking at his date's ass." He probably also ironically throws around "entitled."

[d4sholil1]

Woke? What people are ascribing as woke or wokeness today is far from what woke is. Having a lead protagonist that isn't white or isnt straight or isnt male is not woke. Blaming a horrible reception on "woke" reviewers is like blaming a bank for not giving you free money. I cant wait to play this game. I havent played it yet bc I have a huge backlog to get through and Days Gone is part of it. The article mentions that some believe, and Garvin agrees with, that the Last of Us 2 was "too woke". Again nothing woke about the Last of Us 2. I think the Last of Us was better than 2, but both were GREAT games. From my perspective, 1 got more critical acclaim than part 2 soooo...Just bc anyone disagrees with the games reception or the Last of Us 2, or anything that takes up space that you don't like, then say you dont like it. Its as easy as changing the channel on tv or fast forwarding through a scene when streaming a show. Its also easy to blindly ascribe stuff like this as wokeness and thats just lazy. One can even call it political correctness.

So, whats woke about the Last of Us 2? Serious question and also a rhetorical question. Happy gaming

[refocusedman]

I guess too woke means a having a individual that's not straight.

[TheLigX]

Delusional. The story was horrible, the gameplay boring, and it was a buggy mess.

[ROCKY28]

Amazing title and I would buy a sequel in a second 😊

[DOMination-]

It didn't even get bad reviews. Mostly 7s and 8s which isn't bad at all for a new IP and their first stab at AAA. Sure it wasn't ND or SMS quality but what is.

[quenomamen]

I didnt like this game u know, zombies have rights, um they are victims themselves, why cant they roam free range ? My BF is a zombie okay ! I love her ! Join me at NOZR. National Organization for Zombie Rights !

[Dandizzle]

See the game is great but at launch it wasn't. The original ps4 version had insane load times, performance issues, game running at max 30fps. Plus a number of crappy bugs at launch. I played it and actually had a hard time getting into it on ps4. After a major update for ps5 performance, the game is like completely new with normal loading times, 60fps, higher resolution. Game feels totally different, not to mention the bugs are fixed.

[maskyy]

Wait, this game is woke? No wonder I find it uninteresting even though I have not played it. Just looking at the stupid trailers turned me off, especially the main character. Glad it ended and doesn't continue.

[TicklefistCP]

I think uptight prude soy boys are being confused for woketards.

[mastershredder]

Woke reviewers? em… a genre done to death, borrowing heavily on a certain tv show as its inspiration, pacific north west setting (kinda boring and empty in the design dept), predictable as heck and for some reason reeks of gun oil and beef jerky.

It’s not woke reviews that killed it, it was the demographic you were trying to serve. Not everyone HAS to feel or like your game jackball.

I liked a lot about days gone had in it (gameplay), but it turned into over dramatic soup with a hero whining about woulda, coulda, shoulda the remainder of the game. The sad biker/cowboy bit got old.

[W1ldWolf]

I loved the game and think it is super underrated, cheesy af but I loved it. With that said this person should just keep their opinion to themselves, this is not the hill you want to die on.

[InUrFoxHole]

Tried the game. The cut scene bugs ruined it for me.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Ooooor your game was just bad.
Tried to play it for 2 hours then gave up and removed it from my computer. The gameplay felt stiff as hell and I felt limited in my action. And that bike felt awful to drive.
Let's be honest, it wasn't a great game. Yes I know that some of you like it but you have to admit that it had many flaws.

[AirRevenant]

Deacon is far from a "gruff biker" --- he is caring and compassionate and a hopeless romantic, endlessly searching for his lost love.

If that doesn't scream "soy boy beta" as some people like to scream --- I don't know what does.

Great and underrated game.

[gunnerforlife]

While i do Agree that the reviews shouldn't have been harsh... It took a great deal of patience on my part to get past that awful bike mechanism and have patience to upgrade it! And I can understand why so many people dropped it! But once I upgraded my bike and really started enjoying the game! One of the best zombie games I have played! And the hordes! Loved them.

[HyperMoused]

Id love to play it bring it to Xbox, also how dare the protagonist be white, everyone knows white is bad, white devil white devil.

[Godmars290]

Would think it had more to do with several other zombie titles coming out at the same time.

[Huey_My_D_Long]

I liked this game, but I played it when after all the bugs was fixed...which was the reason I decided to wait.
I dont think that the handful of small outlets who bitched about the white protagonist really mattered, over the technical side...
Its a zombie game, I really doubt some shitty opinions on the race of a character is the reason the game didnt sell.

[DarkSniper]

This just reaffirms Dark Sniper's plea that Sony Bend should have and still should be working on a next generation Syphon Filter instead of Days Gone.

$niper

[lio_convoy]

Whatever. They can blame whatever they want, but the truth is all it ever was, was a mediocre game that didn't do anything outstanding. That and garbage physics on the motorbike which is your primary mode of transport. Also who wants to be bothered filling up with gas? Boring! I wanna play a game not bother with garbage like that. Also the promising zombie encounters we saw from that reveal video turned out to not be the real deal. They acted very different in the final product. I cancelled my preorder when things got a bit dodgy during production.
When the game came out and I saw footage of it and was able to judge it for myself I made a decision no way was I gonna pay full price for it. If it got discounted to under twenty bucks, I'd pick it up. It eventually happened and true to my word, I did. I played maybe an hour or two of it, and then just was like man I got better games to play. Never did go back. It's a very meh game. It sunk because most people thought the same and word spread about that. Not cus of the snowflakes and Karen's.

[Starman69]

Huge disappointment, but.... It was Sony bends first outing on the main system. I also saw huge potential, and will certainly look out for their next game. 👍

[REDGUM]

This game 100% needs a sequel or at the very least screaming for a next/new gen version.
Not by any means do i mean it looks crap, I loved it. In fact it's one of my favourite games within the ps4 era. I really think Sony need to step in here and listen. Not to the reviews & reviewers but the gamers. You only need to look at m9st of these comments here in this article to know that it's because of the poor reviews at the time of release that the game failed way less than it deserved.
It was a game that stood out from the rest, played really well, a great length, graphics looks really solid too.
Please Sony, or any other developer, Bend Studios for that matter pick it up and run with a sequel. It definitely deserves it.