How Days Gone Hopes To Win Over Skeptics

Watch this exclusive video to see new gameplay from the PlayStation 4 exclusive and learn how the team hopes to combat "zombie fatigue".

[corroios]

damn the game looks amazing. What is the engine used here? Open world with this graphics!!!!

[brisdevil]

UE4.

[DemonChicken]

Just for some added information Sony Bend is also working heavily with Epic on Unreal Engine 4. Christopher Reese (Technical Director - Sony Bend) is on the advisory board for the technology.

[dirkdady]

I think the emphasis on having RPG elements allowing for customization and upgrades on your bike personalizing etc. has real potential as a hook a la axe in god of war or pip boy in fallout, etc.

[sonarus]

A good game is a good game regardless if the genre is played out. I think FPS is done to death but I still play a few mostly destiny because I think it’s fun and has nice cool features. I also like that it’s not FPS because most zombie open world that I have played have been FPS. It would be really really cool of them to add coop though but im sure they won’t:(

[AZRoboto]

But did you see the shootout with the wolf? Three-four shots to it and the wolf didn't even react. There's still a while to go; I hope they really polish up those interactions to make it less... State-of-Decay-like

[GTgamer]

Well it did alpha gameplay so here's hoping it's better

[PoopsMcGee]

He said it's some sort of zombie wolf if that makes you feel any better.

[rainslacker]

That's like most games with gun play nowadays though. Because it's completely normal to fire 3-4 shots into someone before they actually stop moving and trying to get to you.;)

[Ceaser9857361]

Waiting for that guy to make a comparison video and call it a Downgrade. LMAO! We all know the story how UC4, Zero Dawn, GOw , Detroit looks.

[Relientk77]

That gameplay looks really good. I actually want the game more now after watching this video.

[ArchangelMike]

I'm really looking forward to this game, and can't wait to find out more about the gameplay and story; but I think they need to just man up and acknowledge that IT IS A ZOMBIE GAME!

We get it. What makes it different is the World War-Z horde mechanic, and the high production values and story based gameplay. We get it. We can deal with that. But bottom line - it is another zombie apocalypse game. Don't apologise for it or try and make excuses about "freakers" or whatever. It is what it is. A zombie game. You guys make it the best it can be, and the fans will be on board.

[OB1Biker]

Hey somehow its their game though. I dont see any problem with any way they feel about it.
Just imagine ND saying about TLOU 'ok we call the infected Zombies because people said its the same thing' . Whatever

[ArchangelMike]

Difference being that Naughty Dog were able to create compelling enemies, and they had a real word basis for the infected - the cordyceps fungus. More importantly, the enemies looked uniquely different from zombies. The enemies in Days Gone however look like zombies 101 straight out of zombie design school.

I dont have a problem with Zombies, it seems like the dev is struggling really hard to avoid the game being associated with zombies. But why though, we all love zombie games! What's the big deal? Especially if the game is going to offer much more than just zombies - a compelling narrative, interesting gameplay mechanics, a dynamic open world. Just make it a great game and people will love it - zombies and all.

[dumahim]

It was also, what, 5 years ago? Zombie fatigue wasn't what it is now.

[nucky64]

the horde is what has me really stoked for this.

[Minute Man 721]

Up to 200 on screen @ any given time

[fiveby9]

I myself have not played many 'zombie' games aside from TLoU and CoD Zombies. So for me, I am not fatigued of zombie games. I am looking forward to Days Gone as the character and setting also look compelling. Most Sony studios do a great job so I am confident this game will also prove to be very good. I may try the upcoming SoD2 on pc but I don't think that will fatigue me as it seems quite different than Days Gone.

[UCForce]

They did explained why they prefer that genre.

[DemonChicken]

Here are some more interesting details from https://twitter.com/shinobi...

- Reading about Days Gone in the new Game Informer issue. There's apparently choices you can make throughout the story. Player endings can be different. A small example is leaving your incapacitated friend in a safehouse & choosing to leave his shotgun w/ him or take it with you.
- There are 5 "encampments" throughout the open world, each with different ideologies and ways of surviving. You also have access to a mechanic who can upgrade your motorcycle.
- The world is described as extremely dangerous at all times. During their play time, a single swipe from one of the 'freakers' took a quarter of the player's health.
- Your motorcycle can run out of gas, a component you have to constantly be aware of and scavenge for. Sounds like trouble if you're in the middle of a horde or something.
- Player was in an abandoned medical facility for supplies, found a generator and managed to get it working. Though he failed to scout his surroundings and realize they're attached to loudspeakers that also turned on, attracting dozens of freakers.
- There are playable flashback missions during the story that help give a better idea of just who the protagonist is (Deacon St. John) and what happened to his wife.

[OB1Biker]

I personally dont see them as zombie at all. More like in Im a legend creatures. Not at all the walking dead or dead rising type. Like mutated wolves attacking Deacon and you go 'oh zombies! " Nope.
Heres the thing though. Its fair enough for people to see what they want to see if its easy to say zombie. Just allow the creators to call them whatever they think fit in their game.
Also important point: the game is story focused. Its about telling a story first and foremost. If the story isnt supposed to be about typical zombies then let them tell the story they want.. I dont see a way out of not allowing them to tell the story they want. I dont get it

[Razzer]

Making a kick ass game typically removes any and all fatigue. I've never been a zombie game fan. But then you play a game like The Last of Us and you realize the theme isn't as important as the story and the gameplay. I have high hopes for Days Gone.

[Darkspade]

I'm so glad they delayed this game. Last E3 it looked bad. I have high Hope's for this one.

[UCForce]

There was another video that they showed different path and different weather.

[Minute Man 721]

Looked bad last E3?

[Obscure_Observer]

@Minute Man 721

I won´t say bad, but definelly something weird was goin on. In a moment, you can´t make a sound at risk of drawning freakers attention. In the other, Deacon is firing at enemies without silenced weapons and blowing people up without drawing freakers attention!

[Atticus_finch]

@Obscure It is easy to find flaws and plot hole in any great movie or game when that's all you look for. Don't worry your little heart too much, Days gone will be awesome. I'm curious as to what flaws you will find in another zombie game coming out soon.

[Atticus_finch]

The games actually looked more interesting than before.

[XxSPIDEYxX]

Sony Bend has been busting their asses for years on this game. I hope their hard work pays off in the end.

[ArchangelMike]

Yeah that dev really looks jaded in the video, I hope it all comes together, and they can get some much needed time off to chill.

[NecrumOddBoy]

Mike,

I think he is the director. He doesn't have a lot of PR finesse if you know I'm saying LOL. This interview was terrible but everything that I've seen so far looks really good. I'm already sold on the game. If it comes out and it's a bust I'll be quite disappointed because Bend has worked so hard on it. Yeah so the freakers or zombies or whatever don't bother me. It's just the skin of the character. You can put turtle shells on their back and calm Koopa Troopers for all you care. The point is is really cool to see how dynamic they are and how they're grounded buy basic physics like vision, hearing and smell. The way the world is living paired with Dynamic weather, a daytime system and the AI really show that this is a place you can feel exists. I'm waiting and hopefully what they show at E3 sells it to more people because I'm rooting for it

[Majin-vegeta]

I'm hoping for a nice CE!

[MorpheusX]

Wish this game was slated for a fall 2018 release. It's gonna be a good one.

[PhantomS42]

That's not a very reassuring video if your only response to skeptics and the zombie fatigue issue is "there is no zombie fatigue, these aren't zombies because we have a specific name, just try the game"

Are you going to release a demo close to release for skeptics to try? I know I certainly am not spending a non-refundable $60 for an uncertainty. There have been two stages demos both pretty underwhelming because they turned on god mode for the demo. Hopefully E3 this year will begin to change skeptics minds and I love to be proven wrong but this video shows the developers aren't even fully confident because they weren't expecting the lower than expected reaction. It certainly seems like they are giving it there all so hopefully the hard work pays off, they just really need to regroup and show us why this is more than zombie game #892.

[UCForce]

I did saw a video. They did understand why people tired of zombies games. They did explained why they prefer that over demon and alien. Game Informer did played the game and the impression is positive so far. In this video, they didn’t expect people get really tired of zombies games. But from what I see, Days Gone will be focus on story telling, high production values and solid gameplay. There was third Days Gone video which they showed alternative path and different weather.

[rainslacker]

Do you have zombie fatigue?

If you do, then you probably shouldn't pick up a zombie game regardless of what they're calling them.

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Dude on push square someone in the comments section put a list of all the zombie games there are this gen and it was anemic like people need to quit acting like we have tons of zombie games. We have way more open world,fps and survival games than we do zombie. I think people subconsciously think of movies and tv shows with zombies while talking about a zombie game which is why they act like there’s so many games out there with zombies

[salmonade]

Before God Of War released those devs were thinking people might not like it. They had no idea. They've been staring at the game for 5 years. But look how that turned out.

This dev has been staring at this game for over 6 years. Every day. Their passion will shine through. This game will sell millions. It looks amazing

[uth11]

i am sick and tired of the zombie genre. i don't care what name you give them. only way they'd win me over is to remove them.

[UCForce]

This is their game. Even they explained why they prefer zombies genre over demon and alien.

[rainslacker]

I don't play a lot of zombie games, so I don't have zombie fatigue. I will play a zombie game if it has a good story, because that's the only way I care about them. If the zombies are just a back drop for something better, then I'm good. TWD(TV Show or game) and TLOU weren't popular because of the zombies.

[OB1Biker]

Considering the setting, story I see two different types. There's I'm a legend type which I like very much represented in games by TLOU and Days Gone. And there s the Walking Dead type which I've never been interested represented by many typical zombie games, tell tales games, dead rising, etc.
Even considering gameplay I feel its very different. Faster, more grounded and in a believable world imho

[GamesMaster1982]

Then don’t buy simple as that . As for me being on the zombies I love them undead bastards .

[salmonade]

You said God Of War didn't interest you either. You're an outlier buddy. This game looks awesome and unlike any Zombie game ever made.

[Dragonscale]

@uth, you must be really looking forwards to SoD2 then lol.

[VsAssassin]

I have a good feeling about this game. I think I have seen enough of its gameplay to say that they got my money come release day. I want to know when it's going to be released now!

[TheOttomatic91]

I’ll support this game solely because it’s an SP game (even though I don’t like open world games) publishers need to realise MT’s and GaaS are not what we want.

[Minute Man 721]

This game won me over last E3 and there is no such thing as "Zombie Fatigue" when it comes to video games. They need to announce a CE soon

[Germaximus]

I'm not fatigued but I also don't play a lot of zombie games. Day's Gone has looked amazing to me since the first reveal. I can't wait for it.

[smooch_357]

So I literally had no idea that this was an open world game. For some reason, all of the media that I saw on this game gave me the impression that it was going to be a linear cinematic adventrue like Uncharted and Rise of the Tomb Raider. For those reasons, I wasn't all that hyped for this game (thought it was gonna be a TLOU clone). However, now that I see that there is gong to be crafting, and an ope world, survival like atmosphere, my interested has spiked.

[PygmelionHunter]

I'm one of those skeptics, and I reckon they're gonna have to try a lot harder to convince me it's not just another bland looking zombie game, because that's exactly what I've seen and read about since that E3 trailer.

But I'm giving them the chance to try and convince me, since I have very fond memories of the Syphon Filter franchise, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss actually kind of restored my faith in the Uncharted series after 3.

[Dark_Knightmare2]

This game has way more options when it comes to dealing with the freakers than other open world games as well as emergent gameplay. If you’re interested go read game informers cover story they were very impressed

[ApocalypseShadow]

It looks pretty good. I'm waiting for it.

Funny thing is that it reminds me of one of Sony's videogame commercials long ago
https://youtu.be/jk354q3oPl...
Which is kind of like what world War z seems to have copied. Wonder if the movie makers saw their commercial for inspiration?

[crazychris4124]

Little worried when he said you're in constant danger. I get its post apocalyptic and you're not on vacation but after having just beat Far Cry 5 yesterday, its incredibly irritating being constantly bombarded by the cult and wildlife. The "Oh shit, that was crazy", moments of being attacked when fishing, hunting or exploring in the 1st hours of the game are cool but after 20-30 hours you're just sick of it. FC5 has to be one of the worst open world games when it comes to just leaving you alone and letting you do your own thing. I know it sounds like a weird criticism but unless you liberate the zone it seems like every 5 minutes something is being thrown at you. Its over the top and not in the good way. Days Gone is going for realism so hopefully they use FC5 as a cautionary tale.

Also lets hope they keep the radio towers to a minimum. Horizon Zero Dawn did it well by putting their own idea on it with the tallnecks and there were only 4 or 5 of them.

[Hardiman]

From the get I thought this game looked amazing and everything I've seen and read since has only reinforced that initial feeling! The only thing I'm not a fan of is his name lol, it's kinda dinky and doesn't roll off the tongue. No biggie though and I really believe Days Gone is gonna sneak up on those you wrote it off as generic.

[OB1Biker]

It's interesting that on top of the map it says 700 or so Days Gone. Seems they use it as a time reference since the outbreak.

[Hardiman]

Yeah I like that and is similar to 28 Days/Weeks Later, which I love!

[PhoenixUp]

Every genre and archetype can get fatiguing. What matters is how you iterate upon it

[ArchangelMike]

This man speaks sense. God know I've had enough of first person shooters, doesn't matter if it's Call of Duty of Overwatch.

[bluefox755]

For me it's less about the zombies themselves, and more about them and the world they live in be a vehicle for the story. It's an effective premise, that's why it gets used so often.

[Bathyj]

The only thing I don't like about this game is the name Freakers. It's a dumb sounding name and it sounds like their just scared to say zombie. It's a zombie game. You know it, we know it. Own it. The game looks brilliant.

[salmonade]

Zombies move really slow. These things sprint right at you.

[AllThingsShining]

Yeah I'd have to agree. When he said "they're not zombies, they're freakers!" I cringed a little bit. Sounds like such an strange and childish term to use.

[OB1Biker]

The name is what it is, probably could have found a better one. Zombies though? Would you call them zombies in Im a legend? The animals too?

[gangsta_red]

Weren't they more like vampires in I am Legend

[Hardiman]

@Gansta they were in the book but not so much in the flick and the director has since said he wished they had made them vampires as opposed to what they were in his movie.

[Hardiman]

To me they are more like the infected in 28 Days/Weeks Later and less like zombies as they aren't undead. I see what your getting at but to me a zombie as we in the west know them is undead. They died and have become reanimated and Freakers are just infected with a virus but are still alive. I would've just called them Infected as opposed to Freakers.

[ZombieGamerMan]

This guy is trying so hard to make this game sound more interesting than other open world games that may or may not have zombies

[glenn1979]

this one or state of decay 2?

[PFFT]

Only Playstation game im looking forward to. Game looks freaking awesome! I cant wait!

[RyanShutup]

looks cool but I'm not gonna lie, I am suffering from both zombie AND open world fatigue a bit. I'll probably wait for reviews on this one and if it's "groundbreaking" pick it up. It'll sell well with or without me anyway ;)

[LoveSpuds]

I don't have Zombie fatigue at all, I don't recall the last zombie game I played Or movie I watched in fact.

I felt that this game looked immense from the moment I saw it unveiled at E3 and everything shown since has only increased my anticipation for the game. I always felt a little sorry for Bend as they were never given a fair shout by some sections of the press or community and too me, the game has always looked super impressive.

[mogwaii]

Certainly hasn't won over me, heaps of zombies on screen, wow, so amazing.

[Jinger]

When Deacon is running from the freakers as he is trying to shoot the barrels and they are just running into him not grabbing or tackling him... looks very janky. I'm hoping that was from an old build or something.

Also when the freaker jumps on his at 1:30, does he bite him? Does Deacon push it off? Looks like he just jumped on him then jumped off. I also hope you can turn off the CP pop up when you shoot them.. kind of ruins the realistic immersion.

Edit: Then at 2:25 when the freaker grabs him and there is a button mash to get her off you... and all the other Freakers just stop and don't pile on... Come on now...

[ZombieKiller]

Zombie fatigue or not look how many are on the screen and how much different the management is because of it. I'm not fatigued by zombies because I love the concept and it seems like the overall design is different in this game. I really cant wait for this one, looks amazing.

AGAIN Sony coming in strong with it's games lineup! AMAZING!

[Skankinruby]

It doesn't need to do anything but be a good game. People who watch a couple clips and fully profile it already are retarded.

[nyckrazy]

Would've stood out more from other Z titles if the story starred like an asian guy, oh well.

[leemo19]

Waiting for E3 to make my final judgement on getting this, what they'v shown looks good, but Ive yet to see something that stands out to me really, outside of having tons of zombies on screen. It needs that one big feature that makes you want to get it.

[solidossnakos]

While everyone is waiting for Spiderman, I'm waiting for this game, since the first E3 trailer it won me over.