Days Gone, the review of the Bend Studio title

Déjà-vu, or déjà vu (French pron. / Deʒavy /, "already seen"), is a psychic phenomenon falling within the forms of alteration of memories (paramnesie): it consists of totally random facts of things, animals or people that they come into contact with the subject, which provoke the sensation of a previously lived experience. Already seen in fact.

This is the first impact I had with Days Gone. An Oregon with familiar connotations and infested with a virus that has transformed people into the so-called Furiosi. The occult organization Nero, the deviant cult of the Repugnants, more or less hostile outposts: the recipe, in fact, of the ideal dejà-vu. No zombies, however, Daecon St. John can kill them with a few well-aimed stabs to the chest or base of the neck. We add the developmental travail, which partly manifested itself in questionable acting, in the removal of moral choices - do you remember the first gameplay trailers? - and in (quick) uploads between the intermission sequences and the actual gameplay: stuff now hard to digest for a major production.



Yes, I seem to have seen it before

Do you want more? The artificial intelligence of human opponents is practically non-existent, scholastic and didactic, although the enemies have a visual cone and can perceive the noises generated by the protagonist. Well, after having adequately "scared" you about the quality of the game, I give you a little adrenaline rush: Days Gone is not evil, far from it. It is a raw metal with a rustic aftertaste that can be played, lasts abundantly over thirty hours, does not skimp on a few twists and above all boasts a pleasant gameplay in the different components. How is this possible, you may ask: I asked myself that too, but in the end the title of Bend Studio gave me a satisfying experience.


It excels in nothing, it does not sink into anything, and even the artificial intelligence so deficient allows a fun Rambo-style approach or an extremely fluid stealth in serial killing, without generating that dose of frustration that could instead happen due to implementation flaws.


And then there is the bike, which needs gasoline (even on the occasion of a quick transfer) in survival sauce, together with the scrap to be recovered to repair it; above all, it can also be customized with specific liveries and components that define, for example, its performance or the size of the tank.

This "combination" between two wheels and Deacon St. John is definitely successful and often becomes the background to narrate the events of Days Gone, which as a good adventure allows you to explore and unlock a (vast) map dotted with outposts, principals of Nero, (de) increasing infestations.
The "friendly" camps host upgrades and missions from which to obtain credits and experience, which in turn generates skill points to spend within the three available upgrade branches.

From vigor (resistance) to energy, passing through the capacity of the bag and specific characteristics such as the ability to see enemies with the tactical view (via R3).

Moving on to the narrative, I really enjoyed the work done by Bend Studio in sipping the story and the gameplay introductions., because it tends precisely to avoid boredom or there is too much frenzy: even after completing the main narrative arc, it is also possible to continue the exploration.

The gameplay itself focuses more on the number than on the subtlety of execution, on the other hand, however, you have fun in making the Furiosi dry, escape the hordes and clean up hostile outposts.


Many sidearms and more

The control system includes many sidearms to be upgraded with collected objects, three categories of weapons to carry, the possibility of using these objects to create Molotov cocktails and other gadgets that are essential to escape opponents or to clean up the area. The overwhelming sense of the Furious and the hordes, despite being on a smaller scale compared to the first trailers, is fully felt and it is not always possible to have the upper hand, forcing a preventive escape. In the latter case, the gameplay dynamics, which are not specific to avoid spoilers, represent a fresh introduction even after fifteen, twenty hours of play.


Therefore balanced rhythm, always with that aftertaste that attracts and intrigues even though we are aware that we are not dealing with an absolute level production.

There is also a lot to discover from the point of view of the plot, starting from the main story - at least in the first phase - between Deacon and Sarah up to a series of subplots that concern Furiosi, Repugnanti and all the supporting actors of the adventure. Some are interesting, others trivial, the game world on balance remains the most interesting aspect, supported by the motorbike-protagonist dualism and its visual reproduction.

THEDays Gone's Oregon is quite an impact, especially when you come across a sunset with sun rays that make space between the trees, or in a snow storm or even during a particularly gloomy day ... there are several moments that deserve the use of the photographic mode available in the options, rather substantial as parameters on which to operate.

The character models are excellent especially during the intermission sequences, a little less the animations: I played it on PlayStation 4 Pro and there are no particular graphics options other than to enable or disable HDR. The fluidity stands at thirty frames per second, accompanied by drops especially in certain atmospheric conditions: they are there to annoy while affecting relatively little in the gameplay economy.


Uncertain acting in particular as regards the mixing of the dialogues with respect to the rest, the tones of voice and the sync with the lip. And I'm talking about the English dubbing, since the Italian one suffers even more from these problems, resulting in some situations forced even within the same conservation.
On the other hand, the soundtrack is very good in purely qualitative terms and in terms of the variety of the pieces; the sound effects are also excellent, reproduced in a realistic way in relation to the surrounding setting.


USEFUL INFO

Days Gone is exclusive to Bend Studio for PlayStation 4, I played it on Sony's Pro console for over forty hours, unlocking much of the content. Available from April 26, 2019.

Duration
  • Between thirty and forty hours, you can continue playing
Structure
  • PlayStation 4 Pro and HDR support, with no choice of graphics options.
  • Levels of difficulty and aim assist only increase damage and stamina.
  • The Endgame is present after the end of the main story arc.
  • Experience is used to obtain skill points to invest in the three branches present.
  • The credits obtained can be spent on upgrading the bike, purchasing weapons and ammunition.
Collectibles and Extras
  • Audio and written documents.
  • Secondary missions, garrisons to study, outposts to free for each game camp.
Game Card
  • Game Name: Days Gone
  • Release date: April 26 2019
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4
  • Dubbing language: Italian
  • Texts language: Italian
Days Gone, the review of the Bend Studio title

Days Gone betrays its complicated development and is chock full of ideas and content already seen elsewhere, without forgetting the objective flaws of artificial intelligence and acting. Yet it is a full-bodied video game whose common thread always remains on the piece, accompanied by a fun gameplay that expands as the elements related to the story are revealed. In its enormous imperfections it does not fool itself and offers a satisfying, rustic and never poor overall package. The productive value is undoubted, as are the gaps: these will probably be the elements that will please him immediately, while forgetting after some time.

Videogamingallday.com review
Graphics

Very impressive setting of impact, especially in certain atmospheric conditions. The characters are of excellent workmanship especially in the interlude sequences, animations instead so-so along with the effects and some drops in frame rate in the more complex visual situations.

89
SOUNDTRACK AND DOUBLE ROOM

Recitation of the characters revisable, even more with the Italian dubbing that also suffers from some technical mixing problems. Very good soundtrack, excellent effects.

80">80">80">80
GAMEPLAY

Laughable artificial intelligence, glitches here and there, many elements already seen. Yet a fun title, with a long, uncoated duration, with good pace and balance.

80">80">80">80
Total Rating scale
80">80">80">80
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