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siofra-river · 3 years ago

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My thoughts on Halo Infinite!

Not spoiler free!

Ok so I’m just gonna preface this just in case, with that this is MY OWN OPINION! These are MY thoughts on the game, playing through the story once, on Normal difficulty, without 100% completing the game. And I’m going to organize this by a few categories- The Story, Setting, Characters, Gameplay, & Final thoughts.

THE STORY-

I’m going to be blunt about this, I find the main story to be kind of average. It’s a fix-it plot bandaid for Halo 5 that relies mostly on the mystery of both original Cortana and Atriox. Nothing about it really had me on the edge of my seat, the Banished felt very tonally different than how I remember them in Halo Wars 2, and the new leader never had me invested. Several major plot points felt rushed and then forgotten extremely quickly- especially the one about The Weapons deletion. She’s mad at Chief for about 5 minutes and a boss fight before you both stumble upon the memory of original Cortana destroying the Brute home-world, then the Weapon thinks she’s as bad as Cortana? For some reason? And then that never gets brought back up, from what I can remember. Once you figure out the mystery, and get to the marvel style end-of-credits scene with the reveal of Atriox still being alive (somehow), I feel like a lot of the intrigue in the story dies, and that’s when the confusion starts to set in more. How is master chief fine after 6 MONTHS of no food or water? What was The Weapon doing all those 6 months, especially if she doesn’t know anything about Cortana or the Banished? How in the ever loving fuck did Atriox survive? How is Echo-216 able to walk and pilot a pelican so soon after excruciating torture? Why did both the Weapon AND Chief ignore the Weapon being scanned? Why are we just ignoring everything about the Created and the many, many implications that come with them? We even see some of the guardians! So we know they’re still there!! What’s going on!? How did that teleport at the end of the story use 3 days of their time? I get that some of these are probably going to be mysteries for DLC or whatever they plan to do for Halo Infinite to continue the story but it’s still frustrating, obvious sequel bait is never fun.

I did have a friend point out something to me about the story I thought was quite interesting though, he said that the subplot of Halo Infinite could be Master Chief realizing his action’s consequences on other people, and that was an angle I hadn’t really considered but as I got further in the story I agreed more and more. Through Chief’s actions, Echo-216 gets captured and tortured, and The Weapon is forced to start what the Harbinger wants. But also through his actions countless marines are saved, FOBs are reclaimed as miniature safe havens, big banished outposts and their productions are stopped, and Banished communication hubs are destroyed. A great and subtle way the game shows this is through the grunt on the Banished Comms. As you beat bosses, reclaim FOBS, and destroy outposts, the grunt notices and will have really funny lines about bosses being moved to another location and totally not dead, or that all the high ranking mini-bosses are all dead and that the Banished should be worried.

The Setting-

Zeta Halo is beautiful, no bones about it. I think this was a perfect way to integrate open world concepts with what Halo fans know and love. I really like all that’s packed into the areas, it does eventually start to feel extremely tedious and mindless but grapple-shotting up a mountain to see the view feels rewarding enough for me, the variety is greatly appreciated and I think really helps with keeping exploration fresh. I do like the fragmentation and blocking off of portions of the ring, even if it doesn’t follow reasoning from the books which were set on the same ring (which I do find disappointing). It lets you have good gradual opening of the map, and if you want to explore and find everything in one single area, you can do that by simply not progressing the story and finding all the secrets there. The UI also keeping track of your collection progress in each fragmented area is very useful. However, later in the game, once you unlock the aerial vehicles, especially the WASP with it’s on demand availability, I find that exploration for the sake of collectables like the Spartan Cores, Banished communication towers, or Multiplayer unlocks essentially becomes trivial, unless the game places the item underground in a cave.

I really enjoy the Forerunner architecture, it feels like a perfect combination of all of what we saw through the original trilogy and is consistent throughout the game and story. Going through the dark, ambient, and cramped spaces reminds me of levels like The Library and Sacred Icon. Even the infamous Halo 2 gondolas and chutes returned, that put a little bit of a smile on my face. I think they did a good job of showing the fragmentation of the ring internally in some of the Forerunner levels and areas, using them to change the pace and have some platforming instead of shooting. I do miss some of the unique and high-tech look of Halo 4 Forerunner architecture and technologies, but I think at this point including them would stand out even more if they tried to go back from going back.

The Characters-

I think the dynamic between Chief, Echo-216, and The Weapon to be interesting. You’ve essentially got: someone who has very little regard for himself outside of fighting, a regular schmuck who wants to go home, and a 5 year old who’s a genius. But outside of that dynamic, and the same interaction of: Chief goes off to fight and is a grizzled old man, Echo-216 freaks out and yells, and The Weapon acts naive and/or selfless, their relationship feels shallow. I know you could chalk it up to them knowing each other for a short amount of time, but with how this game focuses it’s major emotional moments between these 3 character, I can’t buy that excuse. I really want them to actually seem like actual friends, since they spend a good amount of time together either on a pelican or talking on comms.

I do enjoy the overall characterization of Chief in this game. He seems slightly more friendly, but not too much it would seem out of character. And I do like that they have actually acknowledged his indoctrination in the games, having him mention that fighting is “his programming” . But beyond those few mentions in dialogue that’s all there is to it, which is both disappointing and understandable. On one hand I am getting tired of Halo trying to act like it’s core has always been deep emotional storytelling, when it’s truly been badass characters and cool combat, and I know they can’t go full force on topics like these, but I still find it frustrating they only tease the concept of him trying to acknowledge his indoctrination and wanting change. His relationship with the Weapon beyond “he cares but is still scared” rings pretty hollow, all they really have is Chief acting like a semi-distant uncle to the Weapon. Caring when something seems to go wrong, but otherwise quiet and letting her do all the talking with his occasional sarcastic or witty remark. And , they can only reuse infamous Cortana lines such as “they’ll pair you with another AI” so many times before we get tired of it, especially when they don’t actually explore the ramifications of lines like those beyond “Chief doesn’t want a second rampant Cortana”.

I think a majority of the bosses and enemies to be lackluster at best. The new leader of the Banished, Escharum, is especially disappointing. To me, he rings out as another “Your humanity make you weak and stupid but I am strong” type villain, which I frankly find boring and done to death, and they don’t execute it well enough to have him play off of Chief as a parallel, which I think they were trying to do right after you killed him. The other main baddie, The Harbinger, honestly just confused me. The whole time she was showing up I was just thinking what she even was. She was preachy and annoying and I just really wanted her to shut up about how evil the Forerunners were and how the Endless are so good and cool and need to come back. I think setting up some species of alien that we never heard of and that were so bad they were sealed, to be a really cheap move just to set up a sequel to show us what the Endless actually are.

The Gameplay-

The gameplay is fun! It really shines in the open world when you’re doing something like reclaiming an FOB or fighting your way to a collectible. But once you get inside cramped areas like Forerunner levels I think it starts to show it’s backside a little bit, being inside really hampers your ability to move around, which is what really was the best part of open world combat. Being able to grapple to advantage points or pull fusion coils towards me made me feel like I am much more in control of the battle than the battle has control over me, but narrow Forerunner hallways and cramped Banished corridors really kill your maneuverability. I really didn’t ever feel the need to change away from the grappleshot though, even if it was harder to use in narrow spaces. Once I upgraded it with the shock capabilities I would just throw myself at enemies and then melee them, I never used abilities like boost or drop wall, and can only think of twice when I used the sensor.

But the guns feel really good to use! I think the sound design is spot on and makes you feel powerful, especially when you’re using the special unbound weapons that you get off of mini-bosses on the open world. I think being able to pick up energy similar to ammunition was actually a really good change, and certainly saved my behind in several sticky situations. The new ammo type of shock was also an interesting addition, I like the concept of it, but I honestly didn’t find much use of it in practice, except to try and pick off groups of skimmers or grunts.

I think the bosses are the lowest point of the whole game, but especially gameplay wise. They kill any flow you had, since they usually have or appear right after a cutscene. You barely have any time to prepare, the only boss I was able to have a weapon on hand to deal with was bassus (by accident) since I had gotten the arcane sentinel beam at a FOB to beat his level with. But they just, aren’t fun. They usually can kill you in a few good hits, even on normal, there’s usually not a lot of space to move around or cover to hide behind, and they’re very cookie cutter. You’ve got great bosses like, a brute with a hammer, a brute with a chopper, a brute with a ravaged, the sub-monitor..twice, elites who go invisible. Bosses like the sub-monitor and Harbinger were especially frustrating to me, having to stop what I’m doing to deal with the waves of enemies they summon, or their special places you have to hit. It still baffles me they decided to bring back bosses AGAIN, after being one of the most controversial parts of the games they were in (besides the whole story of 5), and I seriously wish they’d just get the hint at this point. They’re not fun! Especially on the higher difficulties, they just seem to become impossible without doing some glitches.

Final Thoughts-

I think Halo Infinite has really high highs and really low lows. Grappling across beautiful lakes and mountains? Really good! Fighting that fucking sub-monitor again? Bad! Annoying! I really wish Infinite was more consistent, but I do still enjoy it. I know I’m going to do a second or third play-through to make sure I get everything like the skulls and audio logs, but part of that is more out of obligation for the achievements than genuine desire to scour the levels and the world at this point. The game is honestly kind of confusing and feels like two separate games at points, but I suppose it’s a step in the right direction, sorta. I won’t be staying up at night wondering what the next story on Zeta Halo is gonna be, but I’ll keep an eye out.

#halo #halo infinite spoilers #ani.txt

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sootonthecarpet · 4 years ago

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What faction do you usually pick in Fallout 4? It kind of sounds like you have beef with the Minutemen but the Brotherhood are bigoted trash, the Institute are bigoted trash who can't even accomplish anything productive, and the Railroad are super fixated on their ethically dubious synth liberation quest and do pretty much jack all for everyone else, so I'm curious as to which one you went along with in the end.

i havent played it thru to the end yet full disclosure kkfdksgf the main questline has been underwhelming so far, so i’ve been dragging my feet even tho i have like multiple playthroughs going. but i’m siding w the railroad because while there r heavy criticisms to b levied w/r/t their methodology, it still feels good to do literally anything to impact any of the game’s like, stilted in-universe bigotry subplots to even a small extent hahajfdsgf. plus i like most of the individual npcs, i end up more annoyed at my own lack of flexible dialogue options than i do at the characters themselves. (it’d be chill if the game had more RPG elements and i could like, influence the politics and idk ‘destiny’ of the group more overtly instead of just being Assigned Grunt.) some of their sidequests are actually pretty fun, or at least are no more bothersome than unguided exploration would be and give me a bit of character development to tide me over.

i guess i do kinda have beef with the minutemen but for the most part that’s my beef with the actual writers showing thru bc of how the game’s like. colonialist fantasy gameplay loop and its unironic fetish for revolutionary war imagery intersect hEAVily when it comes to the minutemen (obvs). in all honesty i’ve never wanted to dip too far into that questline or even take preston along much even tho he seems chill and i like him so far, bc i know the writing (or, best case scenario, the way the gameplay will inevitably actively subvert any good writing that sneaks in there) is just gonna end up seriously pissing me off.

there’s no like, group in fallout four that suits my political views bc even the vaguest whiff of real-world radical politics were very carefully kept out of the vaguely liberation-aligned groups in the game. like, goodneighbor is kind of implied to be SOME kind of socialist outpost right? shared resources, anyone is welcome etc. but wait! it’s a new reno esque hedonistic crimefest where you can get anything for the right price and the only language they speak are bullets! but wait! they have a mayor who they love and respect very much. or is he a de facto monarch? or is he just a mayor? (actually, he’s my lover.) i don’t think it’s like, especially new or inventive of me to say this, but any theme that made it into the game was thoroughly stripped of meaning and made broadly palatable to like. the right-center, reactionary white gamer demographic. like, uhhhh, this was def a high budget game for a post-gamergate market. so honestly i take what i can get with the railroad. any moment im not cringing is a moment of good gameplay. (usually those moments are like, jumping into a lake in far harbor to get a better look at the non-interactible fish models for ecosystem lore, but again, i take what i can get.)

would have really liked a plot where the pre-game massacre of most of the railroad’s outposts allows the PC to like, optionally restructure it into an organization that’s actually involved with the ppl it’s set up to help (and nix the policy on mindwipes as a shortcut around trauma recovery/safeguarding of the vulnerable, and the--HOLy SHIT--disgusting attitude towards bodily autonomy in general, both of which seem to be there more for player convenience than for a well thought out story purpose), or even like. to see just a LiTTLe followup on some of the shit deacon says abt philosophical infighting early on out back of the slocums joe? but it doesn’t seem like we r going there and like, eh. i can keep my head down and grind out a few boring quests if it means avoiding the risk of total disillusionment with preston garvey and not having to listen to brotherhood anti-ghoulfucking PSAs or whatever godforsaken shit happens when i finally close out the act and let the institute beam me up ahaha.

oh yeah also like every guy who works for the railroad is weird-hot in one way or another (and also they sell me armored, combat-ready versions of casual clothing items so i can look great and feel safe, & make sure anyone whose inventory i can access has some armor on em without heavily impacting their look) and ultimately im shallow enough to let that tip the scales. plus its so nice to come back to the cave at like four AM after a long string of sidequests n see these totally random npcs who dont even like each other, all spooned up on all them mattresses. at the end of the day they deal w each other bc it’s cold and nasty. that’s a way more compelling vibe than i get from any of the actual faction related cutscenes in the game.

then i ruin it immediately by waking up tinker tom to buy more bulletproof dresses.

#anon #video games #fallout #thanks for this bud im like starting a manic episode #so when i got this i was like. ah. i can take off the gloves #hope it wasnt a disappointment to learn i have no real take on the end of the game ahaha #long post #fallout 4

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eggoreviews · 5 years ago

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My Top 25 Games Advent Day 6 - Saints Row IV (#20)

“I was 12 hours into Dead Island when the Zin attacked. Now I’ll never finish.”

When I first turned this game on at like age 13, I had no idea what I was in for with this title. Saints Row IV is a wacky, self-aware and brilliantly crafted open world adventure that somehow seamlessly blends themes of 1950s American values, alien invasions and a Matrixesque simulation plot with enough wild characters, vehicles and setpieces to keep everything feeling fresh. Welcome, one and all, to the game series where you can wield a dildo bat.

Just in case you hadn’t figured it out from that intro, this game is ridiculous and it just knows it. In the first 20 minutes of the game, as your own personal designed President of America, you wander through the white house as the whole world is attacked by aliens. Then, with no real further warning, you’re thrust into Steelport, the aliens’ very own simulation for you to play prisoner, whilst also giving you the excuse to wreck as much shit as possible. Here’s where the fun starts.

Pretty much as soon as the odd tutorial is over with, the world is absolutely your sandbox. Being hyper-aware that the game world you inhabit is a simulation just makes you want to go wild on the death and destruction even more, which is made even more satisfying by the myriad of insane weapons, which include but aren’t limited to a gun that makes people’s heads enlarge and explode and a floppy bat resembling a hentai tentacle. Along with a vast array of odd superpowers that enhance both combat and movement, this game becomes a blast to play from start to finish. At the centre of all this, your player character, an overly macho, cheesy American, works to rescue and recruit an equally eclectic band of characters, who all add to the pitch perfect satirical hilarity this game maintains from mission to mission. Matt Miller, the edgy furry eboy, Kinzie, the possibly clinically insane techie and Keith David (voiced by Keith David), among others, remind you constantly how wildly unique and just plain crazy this whole thing is.

Everything about this game just goes hard. The city of Steelport is bustling, massive, alive; a world simultaneously populated by towering skyscrapers to run and jump over, alien propaganda and scathing commentary on late stage capitalism through Steelport’s many adverts scattered around the city. The world is pretty much bursting with side missions, collectibles, alien outposts to butcher, challenges and extra subplot threads relating to each and every other important character, so there’s enough content here to keep you fucking around in Steelport well before you progress the main story. But even when you aren’t tackling any of this, just sprinting through the city, up skyscrapers and flying back down, with the backing of the awesome, hand-picked soundtrack is an experience I rarely got tired of. In particular, almost every song in the rock radio remains in my playlist today and it helped me discover two of my current favourite bands, so of course this game has its place here.

Oh, and just to push the elephant out of the room, yes I have played Grand Theft Auto V and I can fully understand why so many people idolise this game and tend to leave Saints Row out to dry a bit. It’s expansive, fun and has a baffling amount of content, while also being grounded in reality in some sense. The characters in GTA are engaging and funny, but I guess it’s Saints Row IV’s totally ridiculous characters, world and narrative that drew me in and encouraged me to finish and, to be honest, left more of a mark on me than GTA did. Saints Row nailed its gameplay and its sense of humour for the whole thing, and then they completely ruined everything in Agents of Mayhem. But that’s for another post.

Standout Moment Award: Flying a massive jet plane into an alien mothership with the backing of ‘What is Love?’. That’s kind of all I need to say about that.

Standout Character Award: Matt Miller. Something about this strange, edgy man just made me love him all the more, especially since Kinzie hilariously hates him so much.

Tomorrow: No. 19; Edgy teen gains inexplicable abilities. Local weather furious.

#eggoreviews #gaming #best games advent #saints row #saints row 4 #saints row iv

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terryblount · 6 years ago

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Days Gone – Review

From the makers of Syphon Filter and… Bubsy 3D, Bend Studio is now back with a new IP, Days Gone. On the surface, it seems like “that video game again”. As in, you’ve probably seen various elements of the game in other games before. Open world. Zombies (but not really). Survival elements. Crafting and upgrades. Three skill trees. Shooting and melee. Clearing outposts. You get the idea.

But Days Gone is better than the sum of its parts, though it barely held the parts together at times. Yet somehow, it’s still a hell of a ride from start to finish.

Note: Review based on version 1.02 and version 1.03 (pre-release, before the day-1 patch version 1.04), played on the base PS4

Presentation

Days Gone takes place in the wilderness of Oregon, USA, 2 years after “things went to shit” as it colloquially referred to. Society falls after an outbreak killed billions and turned many of them into Freakers.

The open world is gorgeous. There is a dynamic time and weather system that dramatically changes the environment as well as impacting gameplay. Heavy rain turns the side roads muddy and slippery while the night brings out most of the nasty Freaks.

If you like taking screenshots, there’s plenty of beautiful (and gross) sceneries. And the Photo Mode is decent.

The open world feels small but dense but over time, it becomes larger, with some changes reflective of the story.

The zombie-like but not-zombie Freakers look and sound gross. Blood and gore do spill, with body parts falling off the Freakers, or human enemies when heavy force is applied. Like shooting at the face with as shotgun.

Days Gone has plenty of cinematics with great performances by the actors. Though I find it jarring to see a few seconds of a loading screen, a cut-scene plays, and then another loading screen to go back to gameplay. It ruins the flow a bit, especially when the scenes are just a few seconds long.

It’s really enjoyable riding on the open road (when nothing is out to kill you). The excellent soundtrack kicks in slowly on the longer, uninterrupted journeys. That particular song, which starts and end dynamically, is emotionally charged, swooping and atmospheric as it is soulful and mellow. Perfect for a biker traveling the open roads.

When the faced with the horrifying Freakers however, tunes of dread and suspense pipes in. Whilst the tender, emotional moments are just heartwarming to hear. The overall soundtrack, including the choice of licensed music, is astoundingly well put together.

Unfortunately, the game is crippled with performance issues. The pre-release version I played through saw massive dips in framerate on the base PS4. Slowdowns, textures not loading in, and sometimes even assets not loading in will happen if you move fast enough. Especially while riding the bike.

You will definitely notice the slowdown. At worse, the game crashes.

I can’t tell whether the performance issues are due to the modified Unreal Engine they are using, or a sign we have reached the hardware limits of the PS4.

Gameplay

In Days Gone, you play as Deacon St. John, a former biker gang member (or for you Malaysians: an American Mat Rempit) who is now a Drifter. He does odd jobs for various encampments, either clearing up hideouts or finding lost people or taking out bounties. While the plan was to head out north, circumstances lead to Deacon losing his bike and having to keep doing jobs with the camps he wanted to get away from.

From there on, an overarching story of multiple threads will unravel, weaving various subplots in and out as you progress. You don’t have quest lines, you have storylines, where one mission may advance one or more storyline as it is being completed.

Though for the most part, it’s a story of a man still clinging to the past. Heck, the in-game day tracker counts starting from two years (more accurately, 734 days gone) since he last saw his wife.

The map is packed and there’s really not much downtime going to point A to point B. But the fact that the roads are all windy, filled with obstacles to avoid and danger lurking, you are really on your toes while riding the bike.

If you go on the road for too long, then you better start expecting trouble is coming, either a sniper ambush or swarms of Freakers.

Fiddly (By Design) Controls

You will need to spend some time getting the hang on Days Gone’s controls. R2 is for melee and you need to aim with L2 to use your gun, no blind fire. Grenades are tucked within the Survival Wheel, which requires holding L1, select the grenades category, wait a bit, then select the grenade of choice. Combat is not that fluid, but I guess it’s a deliberate design choice- it’s a survival game, after all.

Weapons are pretty inaccurate at the start, ammo is scarce, and powerful melee weapons break. You will need to use stealth and loot for resources, but you definitely can go gung-ho once you’ve got most of the skill upgrades and stat buffs.

Loot

If the survival elements sound dreadful, just take the solemn that Bend Studio took lessons from Red Dead Redemption II. Looting is quick and easy to do- some enemies like Freakers don’t even need a button prompt to loot.

Resources and melee weapons are scattered around the desolate buildings in the world. They are plentiful but don’t expect them to respawn immediately. Thankfully, gas cans and gas stations have infinite gas.

There’s a sense of permanence in Days Gone. I had a firefight in a small town but didn’t get to loot the area properly as I was locked in a story mission. Revisiting the area not long after (within the same in-game day) and all the bodies and missed crafting components are there as I remembered.

Some Bugs

Alongside the framerate drop and texture loading issues mentioned, the AI pathfinding also frequently bugged out. I’ve seen enemies stuck behind geometry, and even friendly NPCs during missions getting stuck because a Freaker body is in the way.

This game sure has some production values but moments when such issues pop up, coupled with the controls, make it feel like a janky, cobbled-up together game at times.

The Bike

The bike is the star of Days Gone’s gameplay. It’s your only mode of transport, and it needs to be taken care of. You need to keep it away from damage and make sure you have enough fuel or face some big issues. You don’t want to be on foot for too long with Freaks roaming around ready to maul you.

It really makes you consider your traveling plans. In the early game, you’ll have to stop by a gas station for fuel or find a gas can in one of those NERO checkpoints. I spent the first few hours lifting and coasting a lot to save fuel while driving very carefully not to hit anything. And I love that I have to do that.

But later on, you get to upgrade the bike with cosmetics and performance parts, either of which changes the bike’s look, You get to see the Engine III upgrade is a bigger engine block with a different, deeper engine tone. Even racing games don’t go that deep with customisations these days.

Welcome to the Freakshow

The Freakers come in various archetypes. From the little ki- I mean Newts, to Runners, infected wolves that will chase you down even when on a bike.

But the Horde is the big selling point for Days Gone. As those early trailers showed, they are indeed vicious and they are huge. The biggest Hordes have hundreds of these Freakers roaming together.

The early game is spent on avoiding the massive Hordes unless you have a death wish taking them on. But as you progress, Deacon will get more skill points, better weapons and also stat buffs that will allow you to mow them down. Yes, it’s a lot of just running around, then looking at the back taking pot shots but the areas you fight them in do have multiple routes and explosives to use to your advantage.

Crafting all the gear needed, stocking up ammo, and laying up all the traps before engaging the Horde is both the most exhilarating and the most cathartic experience in Days Gone. Nothing like mowing down hundreds of not-zombies after hours of just gasping looking the sheer size and wondering: “How the heck am I supposed to kill them all?”

Content

Days Gone is longer than you would expect. The game has about one hour worth of tutorial before opening up the world for you to explore. The fact the open world only opens up gradually means the size, and the number of side-missions available, will not overwhelm you as a result. Side-missions like clearing marauder camps each have a small reward, which can be tracked in the menus. And finding them is easy, just explore the map and it will mark the spot when you are close enough.

The story does feel cliche. “Sons Of Anarchy meets The Walking Dead” is a rather apt description, but the plot is more than just the biker life and post-apocalypse melodrama.

There are many interwoven subplots coming in and out of the main progression, all focusing on character interaction. Deacon is a dick, the name checks out, but a generic white-man protagonist he is not. Seeing him bouncing off with the rest of the cast, some with great chemistry, others with clashing personalities, is entertaining to see. And the poignant romance story, of how he is dealing with the loss of his wife, is gripping. With a great payoff.

Outside of the surprisingly good story, expect the same-old side missions and collectibles. It is an open world game, after all. Though taking down the Hordes is really fun to do by the end game.

It took me around 41 hours to finish Days Gone and see the credits. Though completionists will definitely spend more than that.

Personal Enjoyment

Days Gone sure sounds like just another open world game on paper with technical issues. But somehow, I really like it.

I am a stickler for games running at its intended framerate cap. So there’s a lot of moments where I just reel back and cringe seeing all the slowdowns. Despite that, the pros outweigh the cons. I enjoyed seeing Deacon’s story unfolded. The number of optional camps to clear is just enough- and with enough variety- to keep me engaged.

I enjoyed customising, upgrading and maintaining the bike. Plus, there’s enough wiggle room in the systems to see something dynamic happen. I tried taking down an ambush camp but forgot to put silencers on. That caught the attention of a nearby Horde and ravaged the camp for me while I cowardly hide in a bush. That’s neat!

Verdict

Days Gone is an ambitious open world survival game that is almost bursting at its seams. The dynamic open world is lovingly crafted to not only look good, but serve gameplay purposes. The customisable bike rivals those seen in racing games. The tension coming from facing the Freakers and managing your crafting resources won’t get old. The story is amazingly well told filled with great character moments.

Yet technical issues, from noticeable framerate drops to the various glitches and crashes are a letdown. It makes you think whether the PS4 is at its last legs… or the game is just too ambitious for its own good.

Whatever the case is, should you persist through the jankiness, Days Gone is the best open world biker survival game, that happens to have sort-of zombies, out there.

It’s a hell of a ride.

Review based on version 1.02 and version 1.03 (pre-release, before the day-1 patch version 1.04), played on the base PS4. Review copy provided by the publisher

Days Gone – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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terryblount · 6 years ago

Text

Days Gone – Review

But Days Gone is better than the sum of its parts, though it barely held the parts together at times. Yet somehow, it’s still a hell of a ride from start to finish.

Presentation

If you like taking screenshots, there’s plenty of beautiful (and gross) sceneries. And the Photo Mode is decent.

The open world feels small but dense but over time, it becomes larger, with some changes reflective of the story.

You will definitely notice the slowdown. At worse, the game crashes.

I can’t tell whether the performance issues are due to the modified Unreal Engine they are using, or a sign we have reached the hardware limits of the PS4.

Gameplay

Though for the most part, it’s a story of a man still clinging to the past. Heck, the in-game day tracker counts starting from two years (more accurately, 734 days gone) since he last saw his wife.

If you go on the road for too long, then you better start expecting trouble is coming, either a sniper ambush or swarms of Freakers.

Fiddly (By Design) Controls

Loot

Some Bugs

This game sure has some production values but moments when such issues pop up, coupled with the controls, make it feel like a janky, cobbled-up together game at times.

The Bike

Welcome to the Freakshow

The Freakers come in various archetypes. From the little ki- I mean Newts, to Runners, infected wolves that will chase you down even when on a bike.

But the Horde is the big selling point for Days Gone. As those early trailers showed, they are indeed vicious and they are huge. The biggest Hordes have hundreds of these Freakers roaming together.

Content

The story does feel cliche. “Sons Of Anarchy meets The Walking Dead” is a rather apt description, but the plot is more than just the biker life and post-apocalypse melodrama.

Outside of the surprisingly good story, expect the same-old side missions and collectibles. It is an open world game, after all. Though taking down the Hordes is really fun to do by the end game.

It took me around 41 hours to finish Days Gone and see the credits. Though completionists will definitely spend more than that.

Personal Enjoyment

Days Gone sure sounds like just another open world game on paper with technical issues. But somehow, I really like it.

Verdict

Whatever the case is, should you persist through the jankiness, Days Gone is the best open world biker survival game, that happens to have sort-of zombies, out there.

It’s a hell of a ride.

Review based on version 1.02 and version 1.03 (pre-release), played on the base PS4. Review copy provided by the publisher

Days Gone – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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