Days Gone didn't make the best first impression when it first launched in 2019. Several critics found its post-apocalyptic zombie narrative and open-world setting too generic, chastising the game for its lack of originality. Although Days Gone suffers from a slow-burning story and overused video game tropes, it still delivers a spellbinding experience that many gamers found much better than the reviews lead them to believe.

Zombies games don't have the same allure as they used to. Video games, movies, and television shows have been bombarded by the living dead ever since the zombie boom of the early 2010s. The slow migration away from zombies in both video games and film might be why Days Gone didn't fare well with critics. Days Gone would have probably reviewed better if it launched when tv shows like The Walking Dead dominated the airwaves. Now that there are countless zombie games on both home consoles and PCs, great games like Days Gone seem drab and uninspiring upon first glance. However, Days Gone has so much more to offer underneath its generic outer shell.

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Days Gone does a great job immersing players in its ghastly, zombie-ridden world. Exploring rural Oregon's treacherous woodlands is a refreshing change of pace from the urban concrete jungles most zombie games take place in. The mountainous landscapes and dense forests complement the game's apocalyptic tone in an immensely satisfying way, putting its own unique twist on the genre. While Days Gone's overall premise might be a bit cliched, the environment it takes place in is far from conventional, giving players a unique dystopian wasteland to get lost in for hours on end.

What Days Gone lacks in originality, it more than makes up for with intense action sequences and gratifying gameplaying. Players must use a combination of stealth and tactical combat to overcome each enemy onslaught. The game focuses on strategy and figuring out the best ways to engage opponents rather than mowing down endless waves of the undead. Setting up traps and planting proximity bombs becomes more important than gunplay during the game's later stages. The mixture of gameplay elements gives Days Gone a bit more substance than most rival zombie games, keeping gamers engrossed as they progress through the apocalyptic world.

Oversaturation of zombie games and the publics dwindling interest in the undead might have caused Days Gone to be dead on arrival. Although the game sold decently well and built up a respectable fanbase shortly after release, it never became the runaway hit many people expected it to be. While Days Gone isn't the most innovative video game in the world, it still musters up a solid open-world experience that few zombie games offer.

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