Days Gone Combat Breakdown with the Developers

Brian Altano sits down with Eric Jensen of Sony Bend at PAX South to talk through the combat systems and mechanics involved in taking down hordes of Freakers.

[ArchangelMike]

TBH that wasn't much of a combat breakdown, as much as it was simply showing the improvements since the last time we saw that "horde mode."

So freakers are now set on fire by the molotovs and they also seem to have a wider wardrobe selection, and new movement animations. Deacon also has new gear since last we saw him fight the horde, and explosions blow him away, and it seems his running animation has been updated as well. Also the kill confirmed xp counter has been removed. Overall graphical improvements, e.g. explosions look much better with dust particles, etc. His bike also looks improved. I have to say though the melee combat still seems abit soft on the collision detection.

All in all there are good obvious improvements and I can't wait to see more. I think this game will surprise alot of people and will turn out to be a sleeper hit.

[ClayRules2012]

Yeah, I’m happy overall with the improvements that are here in this video. And man, this game is just so gorgeous to look at. I’ll provably die a ton of times admiring the visuals, only to get mauled by a bunch of Freakers moments later lol.

I can’t wait to get lost in this world.

[Hardiman]

So cannot wait to dive into this beautiful yet terrifying world!

[sammarshall102]

It's gonna be so nice to kill zombies in the gorgeous scenery of Oregon :)

[Ceaser9857361]

I am gonna die so many times in this situation lol! But there are so many ways to take the hordes down and that's gonna be fun .. Can't wait.

[sammarshall102]

Lol Me too. It's insane to know we've only seen the baby horde and not the 500 freaker horde 😨

[Ceaser9857361]

Damn! 500 freakers gonna freak me out.. i will do my best to be stealthy but i doubt how much will i succeed.

[Moonman]

They run pretty fast.....made my heart jump.....kill dem' fools...lol....lmao.

[ArchangelMike]

Yeah I think they've increased their speed from last showings. The dev makes a point of saying that you can't out run them - which will really add to the tension, especially that you have a stamina bar that depletes anyway.

[ClayRules2012]

Yeah, that’s nice to have that in there. You really have to think things through. Add to that, your running from a horde of Freakers to get back to your bike, only to realize it won’t start because you forgot to refill it and now it’s empty. Your in trouble. It’ll be so much fun. Lol

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

Uuuuuugh get here faster April!!

[StormLegend]

So many improvements from last time we seen this. That's what happens when you care and is at hard work on a game. I wish the best for Sony bend and I'll be a day 1 buyer.

[StrengthInNumbers]

They say the open world is diverse and dynamic yet they keep showing the same segment. The same method of dealing with the horde. That melee mechanic still looks off. Deacon is generic looking. I'm not sure about this one. It'll most likely be the weakest link of the first party line up this year. It is smart to release this in April when there may not be plenty games to choose from.

[NecrumOddBoy]

They did the same thing with Horizon Zero Dawn and we got the game there was so much more to unpack. Bend has been working in this for years, so let's wait and see. It looks really good so far. I only have a few minor pre-launch gripes.

[ClayRules2012]

Haha, that’s a good point. I totally forgot that they did do that with Horizon: Zero Dawn too. I kept saying “Ugh, show us something different & exciting” but in the end, when the game released, all of what wasn’t shown was so amazing to see for the first time on my own, during my time with the game. It made all the difference & added to the experience many times over.

In terms of Days Gone, I was hoping for something different in the video (section wise) but seeing clear improvements across the board in that horde demonstration makes me even more excited to see play the game. It seems to be coming along very nicely.

[ArchangelMike]

I agree that the melee combat's collision detection is still not quite there, but in terms of what has been shown so far, Sony Bend ave shown very different ways to deal with the horde - if you look back at the first trailers, don't forget the fact that you can use the horde as a weapon against marauder camps as well etc Also they've confirmed that they haven't shown all the freaker enemy types either; not to mention the rippers and other gangs. If you watched the last trailer they put out last week you'll also see some of the different environments.

I admit that I would like to see a bit more of the story, and the lore of the world; however I don't believe the devs have to show everything about the game, that would spoil things too much. I don't see any reason not to like the game - unless you don't like open world games, or zombies, or crafting, or branching narratives etc.

It'll be great :)

[ShadowWolf712]

You know, this is what's so frustrating to me. They show they've clearly put in time, effort, improved the game overall, and...

People are now laughing and canceling pre-orders because they found out "Bend made Bubsy 3D". 22 years ago, with a completely different team and different management, before they were even Bend.

Jeez.

[4kgk76]

whoever are canceling their pre orders over that are really dumb and doesn’t know the history of Sony bend as a whole. I mean naughty dog made a lot of bad games in the past before Sony acquired them but that won’t stop people from buying the last of us 2 including me .

[ShadowWolf712]

Yeah but those games weren't turned into a meme by big YouTubers.

[rainslacker]

I have a feeling that anyone who said they cancelled a preorder because of that, likely didn't have one to begin with.

Probably trolls who if you found their favorite game, you'd probably find a black mark in the history of the dev.

[sampsonon]

take my money!

[Legatus]

This game is like a wine, it just get's better and better with time. April can't come soon enough.

[sampsonon]

People in the comment section act surprised that the game has improved since they last showcased it.
Developing a game is a process and as the game comes closer to the release date they put the last coat of paint on it and tighten up the mechanics.

This is the same thing for every game.

so why the surprise?

Oh! and it always seems to be Sony exclusives that get this attention. I could send links to their other games where people say the same things, but it would be a waste of time. Sony is on another level, so when a game is a year from release people need to stop judging it like t's the finale product.

[SkippyPaccino]

At one point we could probably say that this game will make or break Sony Bend... Now I believe since Microsoft bought a handful of studios, Sony doesn't really have a choice but to keep them no matter the outcome... Besides what's going on behind closed doors, the product I'm seeing in front of me looks really promising. It has that mad max vibe to it which is awesome since that Gameplay loop was right up my alley. Can't wait and it's a day one for me.

[S2Killinit]

I want now

[isarai]

Was already going to get it, but this has made me a lot more eager to get my hands on it, lots of polish since the last time they showed it off

[Thundercat77]

"300 hord and that the smallest hord"

Wow... Day 1. Can't wait to face those hords. Prepare to die!!!

[GOULDYBOBS]

Red explosive barrels, mind blown