Days Gone Remastered Review

When Days Gone first launched back in 2019, it received a mixed reception, with many players wanting to love it more than they actually did. The promise was there—a gritty open-world survival game with emotional storytelling, dynamic weather, a unique motorcycle-centric traversal system, and massive, terrifying hordes of zombie-like Freakers. But the bugs, inconsistent AI, rough performance and pacing issues in the story held it back from hitting its full potential.

In the years since, Bend Studio patched and polished the game considerably, and I’ll admit it improved a lot post-launch. But now, in 2025, we’ve finally got Days Gone Remastered on PS5—a version that smooths out most of the original’s rough edges and adds some welcome enhancements. Playing through it again, I found myself not only appreciating what Bend Studio had created, but actually enjoying it even more this time around. This is the definitive way to experience Days Gone—especially if you’re coming in fresh.

Days Gone puts you in the weathered boots of Deacon St. John, a former biker turned drifter trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic Oregon. Society has collapsed after a virus outbreak turned millions into feral creatures known as Freakers. Deacon’s wife, Sarah, was presumed dead during the early chaos, and now he drifts across the broken landscape doing odd jobs, looking for purpose, and slowly unraveling a mystery that might lead him back to her.

What makes Deacon interesting isn’t just his tough-guy exterior—it’s the cracks beneath it. He’s not your typical action hero. He grieves, he doubts, he rages. His biker brotherhood loyalty, especially to his friend Boozer, grounds him in a believable emotional core. And while the story still takes a while to really ramp up (something I never expected a remaster to fix) it’s worth sticking through the slow burn. The second half hits harder, both emotionally and mechanically, and by the end, I was genuinely invested in the fun gameplay loop again.

If there’s one thing that defines Days Gone, it’s the bike. Deacon’s motorcycle isn’t just a vehicle—it’s your lifeline. You’ll constantly be managing fuel, upgrading parts, and making sure it’s in top condition. At first, it’s a rusty mess with poor handling and a tiny gas tank, but over time, as you upgrade it, the bike feels like an extension of Deacon himself. Every improvement, from better suspension to a larger gas tank, feels earned and significant. It’s like having a second skill tree, one focused purely on freedom of movement.

The core gameplay loop revolves around exploration, crafting, and combat. You’ll scavenge for supplies—scrap, bottles, rags, ammunition—and craft everything from Molotovs to bandages and custom melee weapons. It’s a system that constantly reinforces risk vs. reward. Do you burn through all your scrap fixing your bike now, or save some in case you need to repair a weapon later? The tension adds to the survival vibe in a meaningful way.

Deacon also has his own skill tree, and the upgrades are impactful. From better focus time during gunfights to silent takedowns and increased melee damage, the progression system rewards the time you invest in side quests and Freaker-killing. It’s not overly complicated, but it works and provides meaningful improvement to Deacon’s capabilities.

Combat in Days Gone is a mix of stealth, melee, and loud, explosive gunplay. Melee weapons range from baseball bats to machetes and makeshift tools, and they degrade over time unless you repair them. Guns feel weighty and satisfying to use, especially with the added immersion of the DualSense controller. Adaptive triggers and haptic feedback give every riffle round and pistol pop an extra layer of punch. The original had guns that felt weighty, but the DualSense adds a surprising amount of presence to firefights.

Sound is a tactical factor here. Everything you do makes noise, and that noise is represented visually on screen. Fire a gun or rev your bike too close to a group of Freakers and they’ll swarm you. But the game gives you clever ways to offset this—like exploring during heavy rainstorms, when the sound of your footsteps or bike engine is muffled. It’s a subtle but smart system that rewards environmental awareness.

Then there are the hordes. Still the game’s most impressive feature. Dozens—sometimes hundreds—of Freakers charging at you in real time, all reacting dynamically. You can try to run, but you won’t get far unless you’ve prepped the area with traps and explosives. The best part? Setting a trap-ridden gauntlet, luring the horde in, and then watching the chaos unfold. It never gets old.

On PS5, Days Gone Remastered looks and plays better than ever. You’ve got two modes—Performance and Quality. Performance mode runs at 60fps and it’s the best way to play for those that prefer an experience that favours framerate. It’s smooth, responsive, and gives the fast-paced combat and bike riding the fluidity it always deserved. Quality mode locks things to 30fps with enhanced visuals. It’s a great way to see the detail of the world and it’s characters, though this is a game that really benefits from responsiveness.

Visually, the improved lighting and shadows make a huge difference. The forests of Oregon feel more alive, with richer contrast and deeper detail in every biome—from snow-covered mountains to lush green valleys to rain-drenched towns. The draw distance has also been expanded significantly, giving the world a much more cohesive, expansive feel.

As for the DualSense, it’s used to great effect. The resistance on the triggers when firing weapons, the rumble of the bike as you ride over rough terrain, even subtle environmental feedback—like rain or nearby explosions—are all felt through the controller. It’s immersive in a way that wasn’t possible on PS4.

The remaster also adds three new modes that cater to different types of players: Speedrun Mode is exactly what it sounds like. Get through the story as fast as possible. It’s a great challenge for returning players who know the map and mechanics inside out. Permadeath Mode raises the stakes. One life. Die once and it’s game over. It’s brutal but surprisingly compelling if you’re looking for a real test of your survival instincts. And Horde Assault Mode focuses purely on the Freaker hordes. It’s wave-based, escalating in difficulty, and lets you unlock upgrades between rounds. It turns the best part of the main game into its own standalone experience, and I genuinely had a blast with it.

While Days Gone Remastered fixes a lot, not everything is perfect. The story still suffers from uneven pacing, especially in the first half. There are moments that drag, and side missions can sometimes feel repetitive. And yes, even with all the improvements, I still ran into some weird AI behavior—enemies getting stuck on geometry or acting oddly during stealth encounters. It’s far better than it was in 2019, but not flawless.

Final Thoughts

Days Gone Remastered isn’t a reinvention—it doesn’t try to be. It’s a polished, tightened, and enhanced version of an already ambitious game that finally delivers on most of its promise. The story still takes time to get going, but the payoff is there. The horde battles are better than ever. The visuals have been noticeably upgraded. And the DualSense features, along with the added game modes, give it a level of refinement and replayability the original lacked.

For newcomers, this is hands-down the best version to jump into. For returning players, the low-cost upgrade path makes it a no-brainer if you want to revisit Oregon’s broken highways and freak-infested forests. It’s taken six years, but Days Gone finally feels like it got the send-off it deserved.

A PS5 review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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