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Post by endorbr on Apr 27, 2019 18:23:54 GMT
So, I picked up Days Gone and spent some time with it. It isn't great, but it certainly isn't as bad as people are saying. Open world games like this are actually my fourth favorite genre and, having spent a ton of time on Assassin's Creed Odyssey (and still far from beating it), transitioning into Days Gone was almost seamless. I felt like I didn't need the annoying pop-up tutorials (which you have to hold down the circle button for one second to dismiss, which is irritating) to get into the rhythm of this post-apocalyptic environment. The vibe is Resident Evil meets Sons of Anarchy. Let's get this out of the way first----Deacon St.John is a dick. I've played these archetypes before in other games, but they're not nearly as bad as this guy. Spending several hours in his shoes, it's evident that he doesn't seem to care about anybody but himself. Aside from rare soft moments regarding his wife Sarah (whom we assume is dead at this point in time) and a smidget of empathy for his injured (and possibly infected) buddy Boozer, St.John truly is selfish. But maybe that's the point. The dude is a member of a biker gang, and biker gangs are typically not nice people (they can be violent if provoked, or for the hell of it) So I had to embody the gruff, uncaring, jerkish, violent biker guy archetype in order to understand the nuance of the main character, meaning I couldn't be the nice, do-gooder that I try to be in other games. It actually helped me to enjoy the game better than I thought I would. I had to be a jerk, a violent one at that, just to survive and make progress. The third-person shooting could use some work, and enemies are bullet sponges, so I did a lot of mashing the shoulder buttons to melee anyone and anything that threatened me or stood in my way using breakable bats, machetes and stub legs. You're forced to deal with both the Freakers and humans (maurauders and the like)---they range from men, and women and even children (Freakers called Newts, they're mercifully few and far between though, and they do not attack unless provoked) Nothing is really off limits here. On a technical level, the patch fixed the bugs that hurt the game on launch. Bike mechanics are perhaps the prime standout of Days Gone. You have a motorcycle (a piece of shit motorcycle as the game itself calls it) that you need to constantly maintain through repairs and filling it up with gas. I hate how the bike handles though---it's too slippery, and the whole world is a mish mash of trees and rocks. I often run into obstacles and end up damaging my bike more than necessary, and gas runs out too quickly---it even uses gas when you fast travel. This is more or less a thing that you'd either love, or hate, but on all accounts, Days Gone nails the survivalism quite well. Overall, I do like the game. Again, it isn't great, and it checks all the boxes of what other open world zombie games have done before (and have done far better), but the bike mechanics (and the fast moving Freakers) are some of what define it all its own. The story is intriguing---I want to know more about the NERO organization, the fate of Sarah (if she even IS dead), and how the world got to this point with the viral outbreak. Those are questions I hope will be answered as I make progress. Good synopsis. Sounds like it’s enjoyable despite some flaws. I’ll probably pick it up in a few months when it hits half price.
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Post by Katzenbalger on Apr 28, 2019 13:45:17 GMT
As with kungfubunny, i picked up Days Gone, and I've been enjoying it a lot so far. To the point that i'm a little unsure why reviewers have been so harsh with it (if anything it's probably because open world games are freaking everywhere these days). I wouldn't even go into 'it's not so bad' territory - I've been enjoying it a lot.
Deacon is a dick, and i'm fine with that. It's refreshing. But even better, Deacon comes across as a borderline crazy person because he seems to have no inner monologue and constantly rambles to himself as you're playing. Which I've been enjoying, actually.
I've heard a lot of reviewers calling the game out for having a slow opening, so i was bracing myself for the first few hours to be miserable but it hasn't been. After the tutorial you're pretty much let loose. I've already got a whole bunch of upgrades and stuff, and i haven't progresses the story much at all. Motorcycle maintenance is a surprisingly big aspect of the game (you can't save unless you're near your bike), but there're fuel cans all over the place, and it's easy to repair.
The game is also tough! Marauder camps and ambushes are simple enough to deal with, but once the freakers start showing up in numbers it's really tough. Any more than three or four is trouble time, and the wandering hordes come at you in groups of forty and higher.
But there is one big issue i'm having partially due to the game: the R2 button on my main controllers is loose (i think the springs inside are worn down) so i can't pull the trigger at 100%, which makes the game virtually unplayable - the motorcycle will only crawl, and i can't fire weapons. Thankfully I've got other controllers, but it is annoying. Especially since you can't remap controls.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Apr 28, 2019 13:52:18 GMT
As with kungfubunny, i picked up Days Gone, and I've been enjoying it a lot so far. To the point that i'm a little unsure why reviewers have been so harsh with it (if anything it's probably because open world games are freaking everywhere these days). I wouldn't even go into 'it's not so bad' territory - I've been enjoying it a lot. Deacon is a dick, and i'm fine with that. It's refreshing. But even better, Deacon comes across as a borderline crazy person because he seems to have no inner monologue and constantly rambles to himself as you're playing. Which I've been enjoying, actually. I've heard a lot of reviewers calling the game out for having a slow opening, so i was bracing myself for the first few hours to be miserable but it hasn't been. After the tutorial you're pretty much let loose. I've already got a whole bunch of upgrades and stuff, and i haven't progresses the story much at all. Motorcycle maintenance is a surprisingly big aspect of the game (you can't save unless you're near your bike), but there're fuel cans all over the place, and it's easy to repair. The game is also tough! Marauder camps and ambushes are simple enough to deal with, but once the freakers start showing up in numbers it's really tough. Any more than three or four is trouble time, and the wandering hordes come at you in groups of forty and higher. But there is one big issue i'm having partially due to the game: the R2 button on my main controllers is loose (i think the springs inside are worn down) so i can't pull the trigger at 100%, which makes the game virtually unplayable - the motorcycle will only crawl, and i can't fire weapons. Thankfully I've got other controllers, but it is annoying. Especially since you can't remap controls. You guys make a compelling case, and I'm well known to have love affairs with clunky, unappreciated games. I'll put this one on my discount list, which may happen sooner than I suspect if the negativity hurts the game. Is there stealth?
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Post by Katzenbalger on Apr 28, 2019 14:00:21 GMT
You guys make a compelling case, and I'm well known to have love affairs with clunky, unappreciated games. I'll put this one on my discount list, which may happen sooner than I suspect if the negativity hurts the game. Is there stealth? Yup, there's stealth. You can stealth your way around enemy camps, and even freakers (if there're only a few of them). You've got the usual stealth mechanics - hide in bushes, duck behind cover, stealth kills, you can throw rocks to make noise, etc. I give the game big props for letting you re-enter stealth after breaking it. Provided you lose line of sight and manage to hide away a bit, you can then start sneaking again. Standard gunplay is fine, but i'll say it sometimes seems like it takes a few too many body shots to kill things. Headshots are satisfying, and shotguns are great, but some of the weaker guns feel pointless. You get a slow-down-time focus mode, which is very in stealth if you're using the crossbow. There's crafting for items and some ammo types, which is quick to do, though the inventory wheel seems a little clunky. I've been enjoying it a lot. To give an odd example, it's a little bit like a good version of State of Decay 2. Similar feel (taking out hordes, clearing infected zones, scrounging for items/fuel etc.), but it's actually fun to play and exciting to explore. It's a good looking game too. That seems to have been brushed over by most reviews.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on May 7, 2019 13:39:54 GMT
For some odd reason this makes me interested in this game lol
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Post by kungfubunny9876 on May 7, 2019 16:48:37 GMT
For some odd reason this makes me interested in this game lol Believe it or not -- that is EXACTLY how it goes down in the game XD
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Post by endorbr on May 16, 2019 17:04:50 GMT
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Post by endorbr on Jun 7, 2019 1:45:41 GMT
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Post by endorbr on Nov 8, 2019 15:03:05 GMT
Looks like Best Buy is going to have Days Gone on sale for $19.99 over Black Friday. Guess I will finally be picking this one up.
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Post by Katzenbalger on Nov 9, 2019 9:19:58 GMT
Looks like Best Buy is going to have Days Gone on sale for $19.99 over Black Friday. Guess I will finally be picking this one up. It's worth it, especially on sale. It's better than the lukewarm reception it got, but go in knowing that it starts off slow and it takes a while before you start unlocking the good stuff. Also, upgrade your gas tank as soon as possible and always be looking for gas cans to fill your motorcycle up, cos that thing empties quickly (even fast travel uses gas)
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Post by kungfubunny9876 on Nov 9, 2019 17:07:50 GMT
Looks like Best Buy is going to have Days Gone on sale for $19.99 over Black Friday. Guess I will finally be picking this one up. Maybe Death Stranding might end up there on that holiest of shopping days after Thanksgiving, too. Wouldn't be surprising---not that the game hasn't sold well, but typically even newer games such as that get ridiculous price drops on Black Friday.
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