Days Gone Review: 8 Ups & 5 Downs

4. There's SO Much To Do

Now, quality is always better than quantity, but just how big Days Gone's world is is nothing to be sniffed at. The sandbox itself is large, yet dense enough with distinct locations, that it never feels expansive just for the sake of something to boast about on the box art, while the missions themselves remain varied enough - especially in the major story threads.

The pacing isn't always perfect, and it does occasionally feel like Bend could have wrapped things up sooner, but it just about justifies the length. Likewise, the side missions sometimes repeat a bit too much, but even ones you'll pursue that are literally copied-and-pasted in structure - like the NERO bases - are always just distinct enough to keep them interesting and worth pursuing.

Having a huge, first-party game like this isn't quite as impressive as it was a few years ago when Horizon: Zero Dawn did the same thing, but it's still to be commended. Days Gone has the authored storytelling that Sony has come to define itself by, but supports it with a massive amount of content that will keep players busy for upwards of 40 hours.