Days Gone

The game is played from a third-person perspective with the playing taking on the persona of Deacon St John. Deacon is on a mission to find his wife, last seen being evacuated to a camp later overrun by Freakers. However, Deacon has heard a rumour that his wife’s political influence might have been enough to have her bounced on to an even more secure location – and it is his hope that this is what has happened and that her can find her again soon.

The open world game gives you plenty of scope for exploration and you can use all sorts of things to defend yourself: from melee weapons, firearms for long shots and even improvised weapons when you are in a bind. Or, if the pacifist route is your favourite, you can also use stealth to dodge Freakers, and other people. Hostile uninfected humans include cultists called Rippers, and there are various militia and government bodies to assess for friendliness.

Deacon’s best form of travel is a motorbike, and it is so much more than just his mode of transportation. The vehicle holds much of your inventory, and also allows for ‘fast travel’ without which the game slows to a very sluggish pace indeed!

The game has a dynamic day-night system which is highly important to your progress and success, as the Freakers are slow and weak by day, but scarily fast and strong at night – not creatures you want to meet down a dark alley, low on both fuel and ammo!

The Nitty Gritty

As you play along the overarching story-line, there are plenty of missions and side quests to keep you occupied. Finishing missions completes some story lines and opens up other avenues of exploration. Sometimes these story-lines split up on themselves, so you can choose from more than one at a time – ideal if you need to wait for the right upgrade or resource in one thread as you can complete another in the meantime.

Combat moves feel satisfying and they come with skill trees that helps Deacon in a number of ways, from Deacon’s aim, to fighting melee battles with improvised weapons – these are particularly gory and satisfying.

The graphics are great too: Oregon has some truly beautiful scenery with rolling mountains, lush forests and detailed little towns, all of which respond to the weather changes which can jump from beautifully sunny warm days to full-on snow storms – so keep an eye on the clouds!

Deacon’s Motorbike

As mentioned above, Deacon St John’s motorbike is almost a character in its own right, and can benefit from cosmetic customisation at the beginning of the game, and also enjoys a range of power-ups and upgrades along the way. When choosing which upgrades to go for first, try these:

Fuel capacity. You are not going anywhere without fuel in the tank, and you don’t know when you will get your hands on any more – so make sure a fill up gives you plenty of range!

Speed is all you need! Well, not quite – but it is important and makes sure you can fast-travel across the map to complete missions and side quests and get the next chunk of story exposition under way

Durability is essential in any dystopia, and your bike is all that stands between you and a much more uncomfortable life, some days, so look after it! Deacon tinkers endlessly with his bike, trying to make it stronger, while every encounter with Freakers or hostiles sees it taking damage that must be repaired promptly so it doesn’t worsen

Manoeuvrability is also a good thing, when driving through Freaker hordes, dodging irate militia, and avoiding capture by the Rippers – whose name origins you really do not want to explore!

Ammo storage. The more bullets you have, the easily and clearer you path can be! More ammo is always useful, so make sure you can maximise the amount you carry!

Pro Tip! Going for the first two items on the list early on in the game, speed and fuel capacity, means that you can quickly make those early milestones without being bored or needing to hunt about for supplies. The other upgrades can come later once you can get where you need to without too much fuss.