Days Gone Review: 8 Ups & 5 Downs

6. The Characters Are (Mostly) Well Written

Days Gone
Sony

While the performances have received universal praise, the actual characters themselves have not. They're going to be a point of contention, but for my money, the vast majority of the heroes, villains and in-betweens you come across in Days Gone and compelling and worth following.

Deacon St. John isn't quite as well-rounded as he could be - and there's certainly some missed potential in how the game never really addresses his morally grey impulses with the humanity he has left - but there's still enough there to make his journey interesting and nuanced, especially in how he wrangles with the loss of hope in this cynical new world.

The people he meets are equally as interesting, from Tucker's sinister abuse of her workers to his relationship with Iron Mile and the Lost Lake. There are some duds here and there - and it's undeniable that there are plenty of post-apocalyptic archetypes being filled in - but for the most part the characters are complex enough to carry the story.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.