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Days Gone

Days Gone offers fun open-world exploration and survival-horror gameplay elevated by a compelling post apocalypse narrative and top-notch presentation.
Days Gone Game Cover
83%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding
92% User Score Based on 48,987 reviews
Critic Score 73%Based on 12 reviews

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Days Gone Game Cover

About Days Gone

Days Gone is a single player open world shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by SIE Bend Studio and was released on May 18, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

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Reviews

92%Audience ScoreBased on 48,987 reviews
story12.8k positive mentions
stability867 negative mentions
  • Emotional and compelling story with strong character development and well-acted voice performances, especially centered on Deacon's journey.
  • Engaging gameplay featuring satisfying motorcycle mechanics, intense combat against massive hordes, stealth elements, and rewarding crafting and survival systems.
  • Outstanding atmosphere enhanced by stunning visuals, dynamic weather, immersive sound design, and an excellently timed, emotionally impactful soundtrack.
  • Repetitive mission design and grinding for resources such as fuel and bike maintenance can feel tedious and detract from the overall experience.
  • Pacing issues in the narrative with slow progression, uneven delivery, and occasionally monotonous side quests that hamper engagement.
  • Technical issues including bugs, occasional glitches, visual oddities, and performance stutters especially on certain PC configurations, despite overall improvements from patches.

  • story

    30,406 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    42% positive mentions, 52% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The story in Days Gone starts slow but grows into a deeply emotional, compelling narrative about love, loss, and survival, anchored by well-developed characters and strong voice acting. While some players find the pacing uneven and side missions repetitive, the overall storytelling, supported by rich world-building and character arcs, captivates and keeps players invested until a satisfying yet cliffhanger ending. Despite occasional glitches and mission design flaws, the narrative delivers a heartfelt experience that many consider amongst the best in zombie-themed games.

    • “The story caught me off guard a few times — Iron Mike's death was a huge shock that I honestly didn't see coming.”
    • “The characters, world, and story are good. The story remains mostly flat, but the core gameplay loop is fun enough to recommend.”
    • “The story has some emotional moments and evolves nicely; you get really invested in the characters and narrative.”
    • “Some incredibly spectularly huge hordes are featured in the game, but even the fights against them quickly get stale just like with the story missions.”
    • “Deacon might talk to himself a bit too much (okay, a lot), but the story grows on you.”
    • “The story advances at a snail's pace, and is so interspersed with these item-retrieval/go-get-this guy missions that you really do find yourself just rushing through it just to move on to the next mission.”

  • gameplay

    9,265 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    48% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    Days Gone offers satisfying and engaging gameplay highlighted by its unique motorcycle mechanics, intense and strategic combat against massive zombie hordes, and solid stealth elements. While the gameplay loop can feel repetitive at times and some mechanics like fuel management might become tedious, the combination of exploration, survival elements, and varied combat keeps the experience fresh and immersive. Overall, the gameplay is a strong point of the game, effectively complementing its compelling story and atmospheric open world.

    • “The game stands out for its great story, the very touchy soundtrack, the crafting system, the mechanics of managing and upgrading your motorcycle, and the thrilling challenge of fighting massive, terrifying hordes of hundreds of enemies at once.”
    • “The bike riding, combat, zombie encounters, and especially the horde mechanics are a lot of fun and easily the best parts of the game.”
    • “The gameplay is pure joy – the bike mechanics, the tense stealth, the heart-pounding horde encounters – all of it works beautifully.”
    • “Gameplay loop is solid but gets boring eventually; there should be a sequel but unlikely to happen.”
    • “The story remains mostly flat, the gameplay barely evolves and after many hours it felt like I was doing the exact same tasks over and over again.”
    • “Gameplay is repetitive and all missions and side missions all go back to the same 'go here-shoot people-come back' routine.”

  • graphics

    4,697 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    68% positive mentions, 31% neutral mentions, 1% negative mentions

    The graphics of "Days Gone" are widely praised for their stunning, realistic, and immersive visuals that effectively capture the post-apocalyptic Oregon setting, with detailed environments, dynamic weather, and well-executed lighting effects. The PC port notably enhances the graphical fidelity with higher resolutions, unlocked frame rates, and ultrawide support, running smoothly even on mid-range hardware. While some minor graphical glitches and optimization issues were reported, overall the game delivers a visually impressive experience that significantly contributes to its atmospheric and emotional storytelling.

    • “The visuals still hold up brilliantly, with detailed environments, atmospheric lighting, and some genuinely impressive horde animations that make the world feel alive and dangerous.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, bringing the post-apocalyptic environment to life with incredible detail and atmospheric lighting.”
    • “The graphics are phenomenal though sometimes other NPCs' faces can come out a bit wonky or bad.”
    • “Gameplay bugs and graphical bugs are present even after 5 years this game has been out on PC.”
    • “I have changed some settings but nothing seems to make it better; I have an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X eight-core processor, and 32GB of RAM, and the game doesn't play smoothly at all.”
    • “Please fix these issues quickly and allow us to revert back to version 1.07 through the beta branches; I don't get how a mostly graphical update can break the entire game to the degree it doesn't even launch anymore.”

  • optimization

    1,464 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    49% positive mentions, 37% neutral mentions, 14% negative mentions

    Days Gone’s PC port is widely praised for its impressive optimization, delivering smooth, stable framerates even during massive horde encounters and running well on a range of hardware from mid-range to high-end systems. While early performance issues and stuttering were reported at launch, many have been resolved through patches, making this one of the better-optimized console-to-PC ports, with seamless gameplay, high-quality graphics, and extensive customization options. However, some users still experience occasional stuttering, crashes, or performance dips, particularly during bike rides or in specific areas, but overall the game offers a polished, well-optimized experience that enhances the original console release.

    • “The pc version is extremely well optimized, to the point that pretty much anyone with a halfway decent computer can play this game at a buttery smooth 60 fps.”
    • “The game is incredibly optimized and buttery smooth.”
    • “Now that the bad part is out of the way, the game graphics will push your hardware and the game is very well optimized, the hordes are an obvious indication of this, the world feels alive with creatures, freakers and things happening everywhere, can't wait for a sequel if there is ever going to be one.”
    • “The remastered version is also badly optimized.”
    • “Riding the bike causes constant stuttering even on a decent PC.”
    • “This is all in addition to severe continuous stuttering that makes the game unplayable; unfortunately this game seems to continue its trend of un-optimization.”

  • music

    1,298 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    54% positive mentions, 44% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions

    The game's music and soundtrack receive widespread praise for their atmospheric and emotional impact, perfectly complementing the story and gameplay. Dynamic compositions heighten tension during combat and horde encounters, while soothing folk and country tunes enrich the experience during bike rides and quieter moments. Overall, the music is regarded as a standout element that significantly enhances immersion and emotional engagement.

    • “The soundtrack is perfect, nearly flawless timing and duration to help make every moment feel appropriately tense, relaxed, and filled with terror!”
    • “The music also deserves praise, because it shows up at such a natural moment that it almost feels like the game is reading your mood.”
    • “The beating heart of the game is the music – its careful placement and great variety really help bring the atmosphere to life, whether it's on lonely bike rides or during intense combat against hordes.”
    • “The only way in which I could make this game enjoyable was to play the Benny Hill theme song as I was constantly walking around doing fetch quests or, should I say, driving around.”
    • “Basically, story is okay but a little boring, all quests are the same and the game forces you to do them again and again and again, music is trash and rides get boring and annoying.”
    • “The audio is seriously bugged as characters will frequently speak without moving their lips and the game's music would go silent during firefights and zombie attacks but then suddenly ramp up the tension so much you think you're in serious danger but you're just riding your bike around with no enemies in sight.”

  • stability

    1,092 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    19% positive mentions, 2% neutral mentions, 79% negative mentions

    Days Gone launched with a notoriously buggy and glitch-ridden experience, including frequent crashes, mission-blocking bugs, and AI pathing issues. While many patches and updates, especially for the PC port, have significantly improved stability—reducing crashes and game-breaking issues—occasional minor glitches, visual oddities, and performance hiccups still persist for some players. Overall, despite its rough start, the game now generally runs well with manageable bugs, though some late-game and mission-specific glitches remain.

    • “Visuals are very pretty, animations and voice acting are also well done, and the game is surprisingly bug free.”
    • “Absolutely no glitches, crashes, or slowdowns on this version and it loads quite fast when compared to console versions.”
    • “Performance wise this game runs great on my 5600xt with everything cranked up by default; even when there are massive hordes of freakers, the game never slowed down.”
    • “The developers should be ashamed at how buggy it is, considering it was released five years ago.”
    • “Buggy and broken mess of a game, not enjoyable on any PC, always problems with glitches, controller issues etc. Fed up of it, never even been able to finish the game (I've 'played' on 3 separate PCs).”
    • “Game breaking glitches preventing progress forced me to revert hours of gameplay.”

  • emotional

    1,052 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    96% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions

    Days Gone offers a surprisingly emotional and heartfelt narrative that evolves from a slow start into a gripping journey of loss, loyalty, and survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Players form strong emotional connections with the main character, Deacon, and his relationships, especially with his wife and best friend, which are brought to life by engaging voice acting and well-developed storytelling. Despite some pacing issues and occasional inconsistencies, the game’s emotional depth, atmospheric world, and compelling character arcs make it a memorable and impactful experience.

    • “From beginning to end it is a heartwarming, gut-wrenching and epic story without compare, it's almost like I can feel everything Deacon feels all the way through, his struggles, his frustration, his pain and his joy... it all feels real in a way that no other game does.”
    • “The story is engaging and well-written, with strong character development and emotional moments that will leave you invested in the world and its characters.”
    • “Deacon's journey through loss, survival, and redemption kept me emotionally invested throughout the game.”
    • “They expect me to have empathy for their extremely boring story and even more boring characters. The writing is so one-dimensional I could fall asleep.”
    • “Way too many forced story moments expecting the player to walk at a crawl, listening to a very boring story while unable to do anything but sit there holding up on the controller.”
    • “The game gives you zero choice in anything and you just have to follow a stupid and boring story which is entirely predictable.”

  • atmosphere

    951 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    65% positive mentions, 34% neutral mentions, 1% negative mentions

    Days Gone is widely praised for its exceptional atmosphere, which effectively captures a gritty, immersive post-apocalyptic Oregon with haunting landscapes, dynamic weather, and tense hordes of zombies. The game's detailed environments, atmospheric lighting, and fitting soundtrack deepen the sense of isolation, danger, and emotional engagement, making the world feel alive and compelling despite some pacing and repetitive mission issues. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the standout feature, elevating the narrative and gameplay to create a memorable and chilling survival experience.

    • “Set in a beautifully haunting post-apocalyptic world, the game excels at atmosphere—from the quiet tension of exploring abandoned highways to the sheer panic of facing massive freaker hordes.”
    • “The atmosphere is outstanding, making the world feel dangerous, lonely, and alive—especially when facing massive freaker hordes that are both terrifying and thrilling.”
    • “The world is gritty, atmospheric, and alive in a way that pulls you in and doesn’t let go.”
    • “The world feels empty, but the atmosphere and lighting are solid.”
    • “There is plenty of beautiful red (fresh) blood all over the world, but blood starts to turn dark the moment it leaves the body and is exposed to air that didn't really add to the atmosphere, it rather spoiled it.”
    • “Atmosphere is terribly built.”

  • grinding

    824 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    2% positive mentions, 17% neutral mentions, 81% negative mentions

    Grinding in Days Gone receives mixed feedback; many players find the constant resource gathering, frequent motorcycle maintenance, and repetitive side missions tedious and overly time-consuming, sometimes overshadowing the core gameplay and story. However, others appreciate the balance between survival mechanics and action, noting that while some grind is necessary—especially for upgrades and reputation—it rarely feels forced or overwhelming, with improvements and engagement increasing as the game progresses. Overall, the grinding can be a barrier for some, but it adds to the immersive post-apocalyptic experience for those tolerant of or fond of such mechanics.

    • “Gameplay is great, the gathering of crafting materials is finely tuned so that it isn't grindy but is still satisfying to find a big cache of materials.”
    • “My only complaint with this is I had leveled up Deek so much during my time playing that I was completely maxed out well before the end of the game (mind you, I was playing at a reasonable pace and not grinding).”
    • “The storyline is really good so far and the side activities are quite varied but not too grindy.”
    • “This should have been a game I enjoyed a lot, but too much of the game resulted in feeling unnecessarily grindy, and the mechanics I looked forward to playing (fighting hordes amongst these) felt very mediocre in the end.”
    • “Constantly grinding in this game to hunt for fuel and to fix my bike and weapons so that I could simply use said bike and weapons to play said game became rather tedious at times, making an otherwise enjoyable experience often feel more like busy-work than escapism.”
    • “The game has a lot of contents and the grinding is satisfying.”

  • humor

    345 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    99% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 1% negative mentions

    The game's humor is a mix of dark, self-aware, and often cringe-worthy moments that many players found endearing and genuinely funny, especially through character interactions, witty dialogue, and unexpected bugs or ragdoll physics. While some humor felt forced or immersion-breaking at times, it effectively balanced tension with levity, creating moments that made players laugh aloud even amid serious or emotional scenes. Additionally, the abundance of amusing glitches and NPC quirks added to the overall charm and entertainment value.

    • “This game is great: one minute you’re crying, next minute you’re laughing because Deacon just yeeted a zombie off a cliff with his boot and called it “natural selection.””
    • “The dialogue is sharp, sprinkled with dark humor that lands perfectly, making you chuckle amidst the chaos.”
    • “Deacon is likable, funny and a bad#ss at the right times; his mid-game banter is above any I've seen in other games. He'll talk to himself (and enemies) while in combat, or outside of combat he'll make remarks as to what's going on in game. It's definitely an attention to detail that I can appreciate, and it for sure added to the gameplay for me.”
    • “I threw 10 euros in the bucket buying that unfunny game.”

  • character development

    314 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    52% positive mentions, 43% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The character development in this game is widely praised for its depth and emotional impact, particularly the protagonist Deacon's compelling journey and evolving relationships, which effectively engage players and add significant narrative weight. While some critiques mention pacing issues or occasional shallow moments, the overall consensus highlights strong writing, well-crafted interactions, and memorable character arcs that elevate the storytelling experience.

    • “The character development is outstanding, and you become deeply invested in Deacon's journey as he searches for his wife and navigates the dangers of the open world.”
    • “The narrative takes its time to build, but that slow burn pays off with meaningful character development and impactful moments that stick with you long after playing.”
    • “Fantastic game with great gameplay, gorgeous visuals, a satisfying and well-written story with truly touching moments, and plot points that don't pull punches and don't take the easy route narratively, along with well-rounded characters, all of whom go through significant character development throughout the game, and whose dialogue feels like how real people would speak to each other.”
    • “What I don't appreciate is the clichéd story and character development.”
    • “Character development is practically non-existent, leaving you with a cast of cardboard cutouts who lack any real motivation or depth.”
    • “Character development is lacking, most are one dimensional or just annoying.”

  • replayability

    246 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    34% positive mentions, 62% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions

    The game offers strong replayability through a combination of a deep story, expansive open world, and various modes including new game+, challenges, and endgame content like hordes. While some find the replay value limited after completing the main story, many praise the diverse combat approaches, side activities, and difficulty settings that keep the experience engaging on subsequent playthroughs. Overall, it is regarded as highly replayable, especially for fans of open-world zombie games.

    • “This is easily a replayable game that offers a vast amount of possibilities.”
    • “The hordes are really fun to fight, making the game infinitely replayable as you can tackle them however you like. After beating the game, you can respawn hordes and try your hand at New Game+ mode.”
    • “Single-handedly the best open world zombie game ever created. Just finished my second playthrough on Survival II difficulty, and the replayability is incredible with beautiful environments, great soundtracks, stealth or guns blazing approaches, leveling up trust at camps, and a massive arsenal.”
    • “The replay value is low and it has its annoying quirks and awful tropes, but the experience is still really worth it.”
    • “The gameplay itself is just not really exciting or worthy of replayability.”
    • “Also, there's no replayability to it, and the quests just go there without a real story in them, making it less interesting to do them.”

  • monetization

    53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    8% positive mentions, 34% neutral mentions, 58% negative mentions

    The game is widely praised for its lack of microtransactions and intrusive monetization, offering a fair price with substantial content and no pay-to-win elements. Some players criticize certain paid DLC as low-effort cash grabs, and a few note aggressive advertising or promotional content, but overall it retains a focus on quality single-player experience without exploitative schemes.

    • “Just a proper single player game, no microtransactions, no constant DLC adverts, no annoying multiplayer features or always-online requirements, and a beautiful world with an amazing story and genuinely fantastic gameplay.”
    • “They tend to be high budget, single-player focused, often quite cinematic and with limited or no microtransactions.”
    • “Open world done right, no microtransactions, interesting and engaging storyline and just when you think you've reached the ending, the game throws another 30 hours of amazing content at you.”
    • “The expansion pass is just a cash grab as they have already stated 450 times there will never be a sequel.”
    • “Sony being Sony, has pushed back on a possible sequel in the past when this game deserved it, and the Broken Road DLC feels like a small low-effort cash grab to give Sony a little more money.”
    • “Sony charging for patches is the most hilarious cash grab in history.”
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Critic Reviews

73%Critics’ scoreBased on 15 critic reviews
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Play Times

41h Median play time
43h Average play time
36h Main story
65h Completionist
16-64h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 385 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Days Gone is a open world shooter game with horror theme. Common tags for Days Gone include mature and epic.

Days Gone is available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows and others.

The main story can be completed in around 36 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 65 hours to finish. On average players spend around 43 hours playing Days Gone.

Days Gone was released on May 18, 2021.

Days Gone was developed by SIE Bend Studio.

Days Gone has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked Days Gone for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Days Gone is a single player game.