Days Gone Remastered Review – Reinvigorated at Last
When Days Gone released all the way back in 2019, it didn’t exactly receive the critical reception that Sony’s first party games usually do. Perhaps one of the most divisive games in PlayStation’s recent history, Days Gone reviews were mixed, pointing out technical hiccups, pacing issues, and an open world that borrowed too much from its contemporaries. Yet, there was a certain charm to it which resulted into a ton of players loving what it had to offer. Shockingly, by February 2022, Days Gone had sold over 7.32 million units, arguably more than some of Sony’s more prominent first party exclusives. It quietly became a cult classic, driven by its excellent world atmosphere, a somewhat likeable protagonist, and a surprisingly engaging story that concluded into a mind bending but largely unresolved plot. But despite the magnificent sales and player love, Sony’s treatment of the IP has been puzzling. Aside from a solid PC port release in 2021 and now this PS5 remaster, there’s been radio silence from the Japanese tech giant on a potential sequel. It’s as if Sony doesn’t quite know what to do with this franchise, even though fans clearly want Deacon to return and close the story. So, with the game getting a fresh coat of paint on Sony’s current-gen consoles, the PS5 and PS5 Pro, the question stands, how good is Days Gone Remastered? Does it manage to reach its full potential after all these years? Let’s find out. "Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the story of Days Gone is pretty much an open secret by now." Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the story of Days Gone is pretty much an open secret by now. But if you are unaware, let me give you a short recap. You step into the shoes of Deacon, a drifter and biker who’s survived the Freaker outbreak but along the way, lost contact with his wife, Sarah. The two were separated during the early days of the outbreak, and Deacon, being the gritty character he is, refuses to believe she’s dead. His journey to find her leads him across massive challenges, dangerous environments, and crossing paths with a cast of characters ranging from interesting to downright boring. One thing that quickly stands out is Deacon’s habit of talking to himself. Sometimes it works, adding a sense of intensity to the creepy world as you drive on your bike, other times it becomes borderline annoying when they overstay their welcome. However, the real problem isn’t Deacon’s monologues, it is its narrative’s uneven pacing. The first half of the story moves at an extremely slow pace, taking its sweet time to lay down the basics, and it’s only around the halfway mark that the plot finally shifts into maximum gear, delivering the impactful moments and major story beats that we all came for. Unfortunately, Days Gone Remastered doesn’t address these pacing issues and the skeleton of the original story remains intact. However, if you’re willing to stick through the first half, the payoff is absolutely worth it. However, by the time you reach the ending, the game will leave you with more questions than answers, hinting at untapped potential that still longs for a sequel. Just like the original game, the freaker hordes remain the highlight of Days Gone Remastered. With multiple massive hordes to tackle, each encounter demands careful preparation, focus, stocking up on the best weapons, crafting explosives, and smartly placing traps and mines. Even six years later, battling these crazy big swarms feels just as thrilling and never gets old in 2025. While wildlife and human enemies add some variety and challenge to the proceedings, their AI still leaves something to be desired, making the freaker hordes easily the star of the show. "The world design remains one of the game’s strongest features, thanks to its scary forests, dilapidated houses, and abandoned factories." Combat in Days Gone Remastered holds up surprisingly well. As you are probably aware by now, it’s a system that is largely inspired by The Last of Us, so it’s bound to hold up well years later. Most of the guns feel punchy, with feedback that makes each enemy encounter satisfying. However, the melee combat, while functional, lacks that satisfying crunch. Don’t get me wrong, it gets the job done but doesn’t deliver much in the way of weight. Still, the third-person combat overall is solid, and the wide variety of weapons makes experimenting fun. So, whether you’re gunning down the horde from a distance using an assault rifle or going in up close and loud with a hand gun, there’s enough here to keep combat fun throughout the game’s run time The world design remains one of the game’s strongest features, thanks to its scary forests, dilapidated houses, and abandoned factories. The varied landscapes are beautifully realized and help sell the creepy atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world. Deacon’s bike is central to this world, it’s your biggest weapon, and thankfully, there’s a wide range of customization options to make it a beast. Managing fuel levels, upgrading its several parts, and keeping it tip top all ties seamlessly to the game’s excellent survival loop. Deacon himself also progresses through various skill trees, unlocking crucial upgrades that make a real difference, especially when facing the larger hordes later in the game. "On top of better frame rates and resolution, the PS5 version also enhances the original’s visuals in subtle but meaningful ways." Now that we have the basics out of the way, what about the remastered version itself? The remastered version of Days Gone brings several noticeable improvements in the tech and graphics departments. We played the game on the base PS5, and it offers two graphical modes: Performance which targets a resolution of 1440p at 60 frames per second and Quality which runs the game at native 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. Both modes perform well, but I preferred the Performance Mode due to its stable 60FPS, which made everything from exploring the game’s open world to fighting hordes feel so much smoother. For context, the PS4 Pro used checkerboarded 4K at 30FPS, while the base PS4 ran at native 1080p and 30FPS, so, having a much cleaner, visually rich experience on PS5 is a major win in my book. On top of better frame rates and resolution, the PS5 version also enhances the original’s visuals in subtle but meaningful ways. There’s a new atmospheric and sky simulation that makes sunlight and skies look more natural, better lighting and shadow quality, improved ambient occlusion, and increased foliage draw distance. While none of these changes are groundbreaking on their own, together they make the game’s graphics feel more alive. Load times are shorter when compared to the original, but they are not completely eliminated like some of the modern games from recent years. The game also takes advantage of the PS5’s DualSense controller, with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers mostly noticeable when using different weapons. The implementation is decent, varying from weapon to weapon, but it’s a nice to have feature that adds to the overall experience. "The Horde Assault mode is easily one of the best new features in this remaster that truly elevates the Days Gone experience." Days Gone Remastered on PS5 introduces three new modes: Speedrun, Permadeath, and Horde Assault. Speedrun mode is exactly what it sounds like, complete the story as fast as possible, with the in-game timer pausing during cutscenes to keep it fair. Permadeath, on the other hand, raises the challenge even higher: if you die once, it’s over. Given how challenging Days Gone can get, especially in the late game with bigger hordes and harder encounter, both modes are perfect for players looking for a real test of endurance and patience. However, the best new addition is without a doubt Horde Assault. This mode is all about what made Days Gone special: the massive freaker hordes, and dials it up even further with even bigger ones. You unlock different maps where increasingly larger hordes come at you in waves. As you struggle to survive longer, you gain XP that unlocks special “Injectors” that can either help or hinder you. Some injectors make freakers explode when they die, giving you an edge but can also hurt you if you are near them, while others, like starting at maximum enemy aggression, make proceedings even tougher. As you progress, you’ll also unlock cosmetics and even more injectors to customize your experience. It’s an intense mode where you’re constantly on the run, never having the time to rest as you mow down dozens of freakers. It’s easily one of the best new features in this remaster that truly elevates the Days Gone experience. Challenges from the original game also make a return, placing players in specific scenarios like stealth ambushes, timed bike runs, or taking down set numbers of human enemies, basically individual scenarios from the story mode. These challenges are a fun experience that work perfectly if you’re looking for action packed missions after finishing the story. "In its current state, it has now firmly established itself as one of the best titles in PlayStation’s library." There’s no doubt that Days Gone has some issues that even a remaster can’t fix. The uneven storytelling, some boring NPCs and inconsistent AI are still present, but there’s also so much to love about the game in 2025. The improved visuals, and the fantastic new modes like Speedrun, Permadeath, and Horde Assault, are extremely engaging for anyone who loves a real challenge. Whether this remaster was truly necessary, or whether Sony could have simply updated the PS4 and PC versions with new content, is a topic for another day, but one cannot deny that the overall package with the remaster is simply superb. Days Gone Remastered represents the maturity of a game that once had a shaky release, then with time got better with post launch patches and updates, improved further with a great PC port, and now shines even brighter on the PS5. In its current state, it has now firmly established itself as one of the best titles in PlayStation’s library. It’s a shame that Sony doesn’t seem interested in doing much with the IP going forward. Will that change someday with a Days Gone 2? Only time will tell. This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
THE GOODImproved visuals, The new modes (Permadeath, Speedrun and Horde Assault) are excellent additions, Great world design, In-depth customization mechanics, The freaker horde.
THE BADInconsistent AI, story takes a long time to pick up, some NPCs are just downright boring and lack depth.
Final Verdict:AMAZING
Days Gone Remastered is the definitive way to play one of the most divisive games from the PlayStation library. Sony, it’s time to think about Days Gone 2.A copy of this game was provided by Developer/Publisher/Distributor/PR Agency for review purposes. Click here to know more about our Reviews Policy.
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