Ever since Days Gone released for PS4 in 2019, it has been a rather divisive game. Some argue it’s simply a vanilla open-world RPG, while others praise its gameplay mechanics and unique story.
Our opinion on the game skewed toward the former, as there simply wasn’t enough substance beneath its glossy surface. Despite this, there is still no doubt the game has potential and is deserving of another go-around with a sequel.
These are the three reasons we believe Days Gone deserves a sequel. Be sure to leave your own opinions in the comments section below.
***Fair warning, the article below spoilers major parts of Days Gone, including its ending. If you’re looking to enjoy the game spoiler-free, come back after you’ve played through it. ***
Ip Diversity
Reasons Days Gone Deserves Sequel
One of the biggest compliments that Sony often gets regarding its platforms is that it has some of the best and most diverse new IPs in gaming, especially on PS4.
Instead of simply relying on the same mascots and well-known games, we’ve seen a plethora of new franchises come to PlayStation in the last few years, including Horizon Zero Dawn, Last of Us, and Uncharted. These new series injected energy into fans by providing distinct experiences, new characters, and innovative gameplay that helped push the console to the top of the industry.
And while Days Gone may not sit in that upper echelon of PlayStation exclusive titles, it is still important that Sony continue to expand upon new IPs. Not every game series is going to be a 5/5 GOTY candidate in their debut game.
That obviously isn’t to say that Sony needs to give a sequel to every game it makes, but Days Gone sold well enough and has enough potential gameplay and story to warrant another game. Even if it is a risk, the company still needs to take it, lest they become stagnant and focus on remaking successful titles instead of pushing forward and growing.
Gameplay Expansion Potential
Reasons Days Gone Deserves Sequel
While the gameplay in Days Gone is pretty straightforward, as Decon rides around on his bike, shooting enemies, and sneaking around them to get stealth kills, there is a lot of potential for really cool stuff in it.
The bike opens up possibilities for considerable exploration and cool side stories while expanding the crafting could give Decon even more toys to play with. The biggest thing the sequel could expand on even more, though, are Hordes.
Hordes were definitely the coolest thing in Days Gone, as Decon had to fight off large gatherings of Freakers that would group up together in unison to try and kill him. The game really does this mechanic right in comparison to most other zombie games, grouping hundreds of zombies together instead of a handful to make for a terrifying and exhilarating atmosphere.
As the game progresses, though, the mechanics of Hordes becomes a bit easy to figure out, as fights simply become a matter of kiting the group around the area multiple times until you’ve killed them all.
A sequel could help fix these problems thanks to the evolution of the Freakers mentioned at the end of the game. New Hordes could be more intelligent, causing Decon to come up with different ideas to take them down instead of simply running around in circles.
Days Gone 2 could also tweak the groups’ sizes as well, pushing just a bit more quality over quantity to solve the monotony that can come with fighting such a large group.
Story Cliffhanger
Reasons Days Gone Deserves Sequel
Anyone who has played a game or watched a TV show that was canceled after ending on a cliffhanger knows the pain of not getting answers to the questions the story left off on. This is exactly the case with Days Gone, as the final cutscene drops two bombshells regarding the story.
It is revealed that the virus that created the zombie-like creatures called Freakers was actually made in a lab by the antagonists, NERO, and that it is evolving, making these enemies even more difficult to stop. That isn’t even the biggest twist, though.
The huge reveal comes when O’Brian, the man Deacon was helping research the zombies throughout the game, is shown to be infected himself. This means that he is an intelligent Freaker.
These two revelations open up gameplay and narrative possibilities considerably in a sequel. New evolutions of the virus can lead the way to different enemies, and the introduction of intelligent Freakers means that NERO has a whole bunch of schemes to explore with these superhuman freaks at their disposal.
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