Days Gone (PS4) - Bend Studio | out now

So the story line is starting to ramp up now. Just done the mission where

Definitely getting more invested in the plot and some of the characters who seem to have become a bit more interesting and fleshed out in the 2nd half of the game.

Had another run in with a horde yesterday which I ended up bailing on as I was running out of supplies. I really do need to get better at planning my attacks by laying more traps and trying to lead the hordes into better places to pick them off. Perhaps this will be more of an end game activity when I'm better equipped.

I am seeing a few more bugs in the game now though with some slowdown or characters stuck in scenery. That and some of the more annoying aspects of the game, such as the instant fail stealth sections, mean the game is probably heading for an 8/10 rather than anything higher. Personally I'd put it about on par with Horizon Zero Dawn in terms of Playstation exclusives.

Yeah, it’s better to upgrade your skill points before you can do some of Hordes in my opinion.

Still going on this. Think I'd overestimated my progress previously and underestimated the length of the game. Definitely feels like it's building to a climax now though.

My personal feeling is that the game has some pacing issues. I'm finding myself getting a little bored at times with some of the missions where you're restricted to walking and listening to fairly uninspiring dialogue, and some of the missions where you just go somewhere far away for no particular reason other than for some dialogue are fairly annoying. Whilst for the most part I've really enjoyed the game, it is in danger of outstaying its welcome.

Managed another horde though and this time I employed a different tactic of hiding in a bush, throwing lures and then grenades/molotovs. This was much more effective than my normal method of getting their attention and then repeating the process of running before stopping and shooting using focus until that runs out or they get too close.

Got it at the weekend, put a few hours into it so far. It's a bit strange the way it just poops you in what feels like the middle of the game. It doesn't do a great job at introducing mechanics to you and tips flash up on screen like they're scared you might read them. It feels like a game from a lot earlier in the gen and the controls and general UI really aren't very intuitive.

Hoping it picks up a bit, I've heard the start is a bit rough so will stick with it as it's still quite fun to play about with.

Captain Kinopio wrote:Got it at the weekend, put a few hours into it so far. It's a bit strange the way it just poops you in what feels like the middle of the game. It doesn't do a great job at introducing mechanics to you and tips flash up on screen like they're scared you might read them. It feels like a game from a lot earlier in the gen and the controls and general UI really aren't very intuitive.

Hoping it picks up a bit, I've heard the start is a bit rough so will stick with it as it's still quite fun to play about with.

The start is a bit rocky but you'll get into it and I think you'll really enjoy it.
There's a decent selection of play styles and I went with mainly using baseball bats and the crossbow as I'm a bit gooseberry fool with guns in games.

The enemy camps are quite fun to clear before you get into the hordes and beware of the birds nests as those strawberry floaters are really annoying for a while.

Captain Kinopio wrote:Got it at the weekend, put a few hours into it so far. It's a bit strange the way it just poops you in what feels like the middle of the game. It doesn't do a great job at introducing mechanics to you and tips flash up on screen like they're scared you might read them. It feels like a game from a lot earlier in the gen and the controls and general UI really aren't very intuitive.

Hoping it picks up a bit, I've heard the start is a bit rough so will stick with it as it's still quite fun to play about with.

Like I mentioned it a page back or two. The story kicks in between 8-10 hours and it is a slow start with the main story.

Enjoy!

It’s a really dreary start to the game.

The sound mixing is also absolutely horrible, the dialogue is completely incomprehensible without subtitles.

Finished the main story missions yesterday - although there do seem to be some side missions and smaller missions to tie things off.

The story built to a big finale although I did find elements of it a little predictable and underwhelming. Overall I found the plot and characters to generally be good but nothing particularly memorable or special.

The game does lots of things right. I've had a lot of fun exploring the world, fighting hordes, clearing camps, etc. However there's plenty that could be improved upon for any potential sequel. In the latter part of the game I began running into bugs more frequently (e.g. not recognising I'd cleared a horde, last enemy in a camp not appearing, etc) and the pacing could definitely have been improved as there were definite lulls with some drawn out, duller missions.

I still think the merits of the game outweigh the negatives enough to mean it deserved slightly better reviews than it largely received. Personally it's a solid 8 from me. I hope it did well enough to justify a sequel, as I'd be curious to see them build upon this - maybe with the power of PS5 to create even bigger hordes!

Really trying to persevere with this but it's rough going. It's a whole lot of nothing so far, the basics of combat and exploration just aren't very good.

fry87 wrote:Finished the main story missions yesterday - although there do seem to be some side missions and smaller missions to tie things off.

The story built to a big finale although I did find elements of it a little predictable and underwhelming. Overall I found the plot and characters to generally be good but nothing particularly memorable or special.

The game does lots of things right. I've had a lot of fun exploring the world, fighting hordes, clearing camps, etc. However there's plenty that could be improved upon for any potential sequel. In the latter part of the game I began running into bugs more frequently (e.g. not recognising I'd cleared a horde, last enemy in a camp not appearing, etc) and the pacing could definitely have been improved as there were definite lulls with some drawn out, duller missions.

I still think the merits of the game outweigh the negatives enough to mean it deserved slightly better reviews than it largely received. Personally it's a solid 8 from me. I hope it did well enough to justify a sequel, as I'd be curious to see them build upon this - maybe with the power of PS5 to create even bigger hordes!

Said it before and I'll say it again, finish those missions and get the true ending.

KjGarly wrote:

fry87 wrote:Finished the main story missions yesterday - although there do seem to be some side missions and smaller missions to tie things off.

The story built to a big finale although I did find elements of it a little predictable and underwhelming. Overall I found the plot and characters to generally be good but nothing particularly memorable or special.

The game does lots of things right. I've had a lot of fun exploring the world, fighting hordes, clearing camps, etc. However there's plenty that could be improved upon for any potential sequel. In the latter part of the game I began running into bugs more frequently (e.g. not recognising I'd cleared a horde, last enemy in a camp not appearing, etc) and the pacing could definitely have been improved as there were definite lulls with some drawn out, duller missions.

I still think the merits of the game outweigh the negatives enough to mean it deserved slightly better reviews than it largely received. Personally it's a solid 8 from me. I hope it did well enough to justify a sequel, as I'd be curious to see them build upon this - maybe with the power of PS5 to create even bigger hordes!

Said it before and I'll say it again, finish those missions and get the true ending.

Did this last night

Can't pretend I saw that coming. Definitely raises some interesting questions for any potential sequel.

Just polishing bits off now. It's interesting to see how small some of the earlier hordes are in comparison to the later ones when going back to them. Also am I the only one who struggles to find enough cans to make attractors? Seems to be the scarcest resource from my experiences.

fry87 wrote:

KjGarly wrote:

fry87 wrote:Finished the main story missions yesterday - although there do seem to be some side missions and smaller missions to tie things off.

The story built to a big finale although I did find elements of it a little predictable and underwhelming. Overall I found the plot and characters to generally be good but nothing particularly memorable or special.

The game does lots of things right. I've had a lot of fun exploring the world, fighting hordes, clearing camps, etc. However there's plenty that could be improved upon for any potential sequel. In the latter part of the game I began running into bugs more frequently (e.g. not recognising I'd cleared a horde, last enemy in a camp not appearing, etc) and the pacing could definitely have been improved as there were definite lulls with some drawn out, duller missions.

I still think the merits of the game outweigh the negatives enough to mean it deserved slightly better reviews than it largely received. Personally it's a solid 8 from me. I hope it did well enough to justify a sequel, as I'd be curious to see them build upon this - maybe with the power of PS5 to create even bigger hordes!

Said it before and I'll say it again, finish those missions and get the true ending.

Did this last night

Can't pretend I saw that coming. Definitely raises some interesting questions for any potential sequel.

Just polishing bits off now. It's interesting to see how small some of the earlier hordes are in comparison to the later ones when going back to them. Also am I the only one who struggles to find enough cans to make attractors? Seems to be the scarcest resource from my experiences.

If you upgrade your skill points and you can get parts more than just one. It would help you to collect the cans more.

This has managed to get its teeth in me now. I like how accessible it is and the immediacy of everything. It's very easy to skip between different objectives on the fly. The combat mechanics are still a little flabby and the map is a little samey but they're not too much of a problem right now. The biggest problem right now is the feeling of lack of reward or progression. The story moves along nicely but in terms or finding cool gear, unlocking interesting parts of the map or access to fun new activities, it's basically the same since hour 1.

What are the question marks that randomly appear while I'm driving but disappear within a couple of seconds?

Captain Kinopio wrote:This has managed to get its teeth in me now. I like how accessible it is and the immediacy of everything. It's very easy to skip between different objectives on the fly. The combat mechanics are still a little flabby and the map is a little samey but they're not too much of a problem right now. The biggest problem right now is the feeling of lack of reward or progression. The story moves along nicely but in terms or finding cool gear, unlocking interesting parts of the map or access to fun new activities, it's basically the same since hour 1.

What are the question marks that randomly appear while I'm driving but disappear within a couple of seconds?

The sheer amount of XP (or whatever they use, I can't remember) needed to level each faction base is a bit much as even if you kill a butload of enemies and flatten a few hordes it barely makes a dent.
It is indeed a slow intro but the game just starts to click and becomes something pretty special.

It's not the most original game ever but it's fun and does have that one more game pull to it to clear more camps and using the crossbow to make the enemies fight each other is always enjoyable and rewarding.
I'm pretty sure the question marks are for things like people who've been captured and other random encounters that are completely optional but worth it as they give a decent amount of XP for usually little effort.

I just cannot do the drift/boost trophy, it's driving me crazy. Every time I try it the bike turns fully, grrrr...

I didn't even try as I'm just terrible on the bike.
The hardest parts of the game for me by far are the bits where you have to chase someone as I just crash about and can never seem to get into a decent flow. It's also the least enjoyable part for me which also doesn't help.

The weather is seriously impressive in this. The way it changes and settles in different ways and then affects riding conditions.

Samuel_1 wrote:I just cannot do the drift/boost trophy, it's driving me crazy. Every time I try it the bike turns fully, grrrr...

I had problems with that. Need to boost your nitro to its maximum upgrade, choose low level wheels so you’ll have less grip.

Lightly steer while boosting. Need to hold down boost and drift, don’t turn too far.

It was the final trophy I needed and a hour later I finally got it!

Wedgie wrote:

Samuel_1 wrote:I just cannot do the drift/boost trophy, it's driving me crazy. Every time I try it the bike turns fully, grrrr...

I had problems with that. Need to boost your nitro to its maximum upgrade, choose low level wheels so you’ll have less grip.

Lightly steer while boosting. Need to hold down boost and drift, don’t turn too far.

It was the final trophy I needed and a hour later I finally got it!

Thanks, will change the wheels, any tips on where to do it?

Definitely starting to feel the grindyness of this. There's an awful lot of, go here, kill this person, come back. Like they're afraid the game wasn't long enough. Its odd because there are perfectly functional mechanics in the game which could be turned into good missions but so far nothing like that has been implemented. I'd like to try and take down a Horde or something but they don't show on the map, am I supposed to just go and look for them or have I not hit a critical moment in the story yet?

Some of the story stuff feels like it's close to doing interesting things, recent missions with Rikki and Skizzo have had interesting context but have frustrated in equal measure by forcing me to walk at the speed of a glacier and never providing satisfying payoff to their setup.