Days Gone free download leaves fans pleasantly surprised

Days Gone is experiencing somewhat of an unexpected resurgence in popularity - and for fans who are holding out hope for a sequel, I’d imagine it’s something they’re thrilled to see. The tide is changing. The question: Will Sony take note?

Many assume that Days Gone was panned by critics, but it actually received a score of 71 on Metacritic which certainly isn’t as high as I’d imagine the devs were hoping for, but it’s also not terrible. Unfortunately, Sony cancelled plans for a Days Gone 2 due to the title’s poor commercial reception - despite selling the same number of copies as Ghost of Tsushima which has gone on to spawn an entire franchise. In the years since, fans have signed petitions campaigning for Sony to change their mind. That movement could soon grow in strength as new fans are discovering just how good of a game Days Gone is thanks to its inclusion on PlayStation Plus.

Take a look at the game in action below.

If you’re subscribed to PlayStation Plus, you can currently download Days Gone as a part of the extra tier but if you’re an essential tier subscriber that happens to have a PlayStation 5, you can also grab it from the PlayStation Plus Collection (which disappears very soon). That’s exactly what many people have been doing. Why? I’m not quite sure. Maybe they’re looking for something to scratch the zombie itch after HBO’s The Last of Us took over the world. Regardless, it’s great news for Bend Studio because players are loving the title.

Reddit user WutsTheScoreHere wrote, “Who else is playing Days Gone for the first time on PS5 through the game catalogue? I’m shocked at how much I'm enjoying this game. I had read all the reviews back in the day when it first came out and it seemed like people really had a field day picking it apart. Now, I'm WELL aware that the game I'm playing now isn't what the critics reviewed, and that on release Days Gone was an abysmal buggy mess. [...] It's a really good time so far. Beautiful graphics for an upscaled PS4 game, impressive environments, combat that hits its mark, decent enough stealth. It really scratches the itch I had trying to find something new to hook me after my most recent Last of Us Part 2 playthrough.”

They later referred to as a crossover between Red Dead Redemption and The Last of Us. I’ll admit, I haven’t yet tried Days Gone but now I’m thinking this bank holiday weekend, I should. The user ended saying, “If you haven't played it before and have been putting it off because of the reputation it held as being a lesser-tier Sony exclusive, it might be time to give it a shot. You may be as surprised as I was how much it resonates with you.”

Plenty agreed. EarthInfern0 wrote, “Booted it up on PS5 as I had it in the catalog, and f**king loved it. One of my favourite recent titles, characters really got under my skin. Honestly one of my best gaming experiences of recent years, perhaps because I had no expectations,” while SYNYST3R1 added, “It's a hugely underrated game. I got the platinum on it recently and had a lot of fun.” I think I’ve been convinced.