Days Gone Review: 8 Ups & 5 Downs

Downs...

5. Almost All Of Its Systems Have Been Done Better Before

While Days Gone is mechanically sound, there's no denying that pretty much everything it brings to the table has been done (sometimes better) in plenty of other open world games. The detective tracking system is straight out of The Witcher 3 or Horizon: Zero Dawn, the focus on the motorcycle is very Mad Max, the visual design and some story beats echo The Last of Us, and a lot of the camp interaction and simulation elements feel like a watered down version of Red Dead Redemption 2.

It very plays like a greatest hits rundown of every popular open-world game released this generation so far, and while that's not a bad thing per se, it does make Days Gone very easy to criticise for lacking an identity of its own. The game isn't lacking in originality, of course, but it takes a while to actually uncover it.

The systems Days Gone riffs on are popular for a reason, but I can't deny that, even though I had a great time with Sony Bend's title, there were moments where it actually inspired me to revisit games like The Witcher 3 and RDR 2 instead.