Sony Bend Studio’s Days Gone is now available on PC for Steam and Epic Games Store. Released in 2019 for PS4, the open world action adventure title sees Deacon St. John traveling through the wilderness of Oregon, avoiding masses of infected humans and trying to survive. Along the way, he’ll search for his wife Sarah, cooperate with the local factions and unravel more about the Freakers’ origins.

Along with all of the post-launch updates like New Game Plus, Survival Mode and Challenges, various PC features have been added. Support for 4K resolution, uncapped framerates and ultra-wide monitors is provided. Level of detail, foliage and field of view have also seen improvements and there’s also a new Super Resolution Photo Mode for even higher resolution images.

Days Gone is currently available for PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. You can check out our review for the original PS4 version here to learn more about the story and gameplay. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Days Gone on PC is OUT NOW!

Available on:
Steam ➡️ https://t.co/2LbBvzovT3
Epic Games Store ➡️ https://t.co/5YSEJGiPvZ pic.twitter.com/xZRQPK6xu5

— Bend Studio (@BendStudio) May 18, 2021

Sony Bend Studio’s Days Gone has received 28 minutes of gameplay footage from the PC version courtesy of GameSpot, showcasing the title’s fidelity in 4K/60 FPS. Along with some of the opening, it features Deacon St. John as he attempts to survive in post-apocalyptic Oregon. Check it out below.

Initially released in 2019 for PS4, Days Gone releases on May 18th for PC. Along with all of the post-launch updates, it features a new Super Resolution Photo Mode and support for 21:9 Ultrawide monitors. Level of details, foliage draw distances and FOV have also been improved along with being able to play at unlocked framerates.

For more details on the hardware requirements, head here. Sony Bend Studio also recently confirmed that the PC version won’t support DLSS or include ray tracing. PS4 and PS5 players won’t be able to transfer their save data either. Stay tuned for more details and in the meantime, check out our review for the PS4 version here.

Story and Setting

The story of Days Gone takes place two years after a virus breaks out, turning most of the population into Freakers. Former war veteran turned bounty hunter Deacon St. John roams the Oregon countryside, taking on jobs and fending off hordes of Freakers whenever possible. Initially, Deacon believes that his wife Sarah – who was seriously injured during the initial outbreak and evacuated by the National Emergency Response Organization or NERO – is dead. However, upon spotting NERO helicopters, he believes that she may have survived. Thus, does he embark on a journey to locate and hopefully reunite with his wife.

Activities and Camps

In terms of structure, the open world of Days Gone is somewhat similar to other open world Sony exclusives. There are several side activities to complete and numerous regions to explore but the narrative is the main anchor, gradually introducing players to the world and its various characters. Different factions abound in Oregon and few are friendly. The antagonistic ones are holed up in Ambush Camps which you’ll need to clear and capture.

NERO Checkpoints can also be investigated and provide Injectors that will increase your stats but can attract tons of Freakers. Injectors can also be found in NERO Research Sites which require careful exploration to locate. Then there are the roaming Hordes, sometimes up to 500 at once, which must be eliminated.

Deacon will also receive new missions via his radio after progressing enough. New missions and quests may also pop up when exploring while others can be added to the journal by studying maps. Missions and bounties can be completed at various camps to raise Trust, which unlocks better items and upgrades to purchase.

Crafting and the Drifter Bike

While Deacon won’t have to manage his hunger or thirst, he doesn’t have unlimited resources for tackling the world. Locating bandages and first aid kits is necessary for restoring health and you’ll need to search for ammo or buy it. Crafting is also essential, providing new melee weapons to fight with along with Molotov Cocktails, Cocktails for restoring Stamina and Focus, and much more. Bandages and Health Cocktails can also be crafted to bolster your chances of survival. As you unlock more crafting recipes and locate different resources, you’ll be able to craft more items and weapons.

You won’t be exploring the world on foot though. Deacon’s Drifter Bike is available and can be customized for greater speed, carrying ammo and so on with paint jobs and decals available to change its look. It needs to be refueled on a regular basis and repaired upon taking too much damage, though it can be upgraded to absorb more punishment. The bike also serves as a save point and is necessary for fast travel – take too much damage or use up all your fuel and you won’t be able to use the latter.

Enemies

The Freakers are the primary threat and there are different types to contend with throughout the game. You have the Swarmers that are easy to tackle solo but dangerous in groups with the Horde versions essentially connecting together in a swelling tide of bodies. Bleachers are slightly tougher while Newts will attack if Deacon gets too close or is on low health. Screamers will attract Hordes by, well, screaming and must be taken down quickly. Depending on the weather and time of day, the Freakers’ behavior can also change. Don’t try to assault a Horde at night since they’re faster and more aggressive.

Of course, there are other enemies like the Rippers; the Marauders who are violent gangs roaming about; and even infected animals like bears and wolves that can be a real nuisance to deal with.

Combat

Days Gone offers a variety of different weapons to combat foes with. Firearms include sniper rifles, LMGs, shotguns, assault rifles and more along with more silent options like crossbows. You can also discover and use weapons like baseball bats, clubs, machetes and more, with crafted weapons dealing even more damage (though melee weapons in general can break after some time). Deacon can also acquire skills that will increase his proficiency in either ranged or melee combat. Of course, you don’t have to leap into the fray with every battle – it’s possible to sneak into Ambush Camps and take out enemies with stealth. If you’re feeling particularly creative, it’s possible to manipulate a Horde into an enemy camp and have them clear it out.

New Game Plus and Survival Mode

Along with New Game Plus – which allows for carrying over all collectibles, bike upgrades and so on into a new playthrough – Survival Mode difficulty is also available. It brings tougher enemies, and an “immersive” HUD with no indicators or outlines for enemy awareness. Playing through on this difficulty will unlock exclusive rewards like new bike skins. If you crave an even greater challenge, try playing on New Game Plus and choosing Survival II difficulty which makes enemies drop less ammo, take more damage and hurt way more.

Challenges

Other content includes Challenges which provide unique missions with different objectives and modifiers (like surviving against an endless Freaker horde). Different outfits are available for Deacon in this mode and you can even unlock different characters. Spending some time in Challenges is also beneficial for unlocking Patches, which provide passive benefits, and Rings which offer perks like reloading a portion of your ammo on rolling. You can use both of these for higher scores in the Challenges, though only the Patches can be used in the main game. New bike skins can also be purchased, allowing even more customization for Deacon’s ride.

Playtime

You’re looking at about 35 to 40 hours for finishing the main story. Going for full completion can raise that to roughly 63.5 hours as per HowLongToBeat.com. However, keep in mind that this is before Challenges, Survival Mode and New Game Plus were added so the overall number can be even higher. Either way, there’s more than enough content to sink one’s teeth into.

Ultra-wide Support and Unlocked Framerates

Being on PC means more options for graphics and display modes. Ultra-wide monitors are supported, allowing players to enjoy the visuals in 21:9 ratio, while frame rates have been unlocked, providing 60 frames per second or potentially even higher. All options for graphical customization haven’t been explicitly outlined but there are a few interesting bits like…

Improved FOV and Foliage Draw Distances

Days Gone was already a pretty good-looking game when it launched in 2019. The PC version sports an increased level of detail and improved foliage draw distances along with improved field-of-view. So while it might not be a huge departure from, say, running the game on PS5, the PC version should be the best looking.

Mouse and Keyboard Support

Keyboard and mouse support is confirmed with options for adjusting mouse sensitivity, aiming sensitivity and bike sensitivity. You can also vertically and horizontally invert all three. First and third party controllers are supported, which includes the DualShock 4, Steam Controller, Xbox 360 and Xbox Wireless Controllers and even a Switch Pro Controller.

System Requirements

In terms of system requirements, Days Gone isn’t too demanding. At minimum, an Intel Core i5-2500K at 3.3 GHz or an AMD FX 6300 at 3.5 GHz is needed along with 8 GB of RAM. For the GPU, a GeForce GTX 780 3 GB or AMD Radeon R9 290 4 GB is required. Though it isn’t required, a solid-state drive and 16 GB of RAM is “recommended”. For the recommended requirements, an Intel Core i7-4770K at 3.5 GHz or a Ryzen 5 1500X at 3.5 GHz with 16 GB is necessary. A GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB is also required and, once again, an SSD is recommended despite not being required. In both cases, you’ll need 70 GB of installation space.

Super Resolution Photo mode

Along with the usual Photo Mode, Days Gone on PC features something called “Super Resolution Photo Mode.” While there aren’t a lot of details on this, it’s possible that this allows for capturing images at much higher resolutions than possible on PS4.

After launching in 2019 and receiving PS5 support last year, Sony Bend Studio’s Days Gone will be making its debut on PC next week. Unlocked framerates and ultra-wide monitor support, which supports the UI and cutscenes, have already been confirmed but what about ray tracing or even Nvidia DLSS? In a new FAQ, the developer confirmed that neither feature would be supported.

At least in the case of DLSS, it adds “at this time” so plans could change later. It also confirmed that Achievements were fully supported and the field of view (FOV) slider went up to 100 degrees at max. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to transfer your PS4 or PS5 save file to the PC version (not that this was possible with titles like Horizon Zero Dawn when it came to PC).

Days Gone is out on May 18th for PC. Head here for more details on the PC requirements. You can also check out our review of the base PS4 version here, though the game has since received a number of updates and free DLC like challenges, New Game Plus, Survival Mode, and more.

Sony Interactive Entertainment Bend Studio, also known simply as Sony Bend Studio, has seen the departure of its creative director John Garvin and game director Jeff Ross. While Garvin had spent over two decades at the studio (starting in 1997 when it was known as Eidetic), Ross has been with Sony Interactive Entertainment since 2006 and joined Sony Bend in 2015. Interestingly, Garvin left more than a year ago.

On his Twitter, Garvin revealed that he had been focusing on “personal projects” after shipping Days Gone. This includes painting, writing, publishing and “enjoying a break from the game industry.” Ross, meanwhile, will be leaving the studio – and PlayStation as a whole – this week. “I’m incredibly proud of all the games I got to make, but also looking forward to new challenges ahead. I’ll post about my plans later, but I’ll be moving to Chicago once COVID calms down.”

The studio has been known for its work on the Syphon Filter series (and Bubsy 3D as Eidetic but we don’t talk about that). It went on to develop Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Uncharted: Fight for Fortune on the PlayStation Vita. Days Gone was the studio’s only released title for the PS4 but there could be a sequel coming to PS5. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Hi all, a quick announcement: I haven’t spoken about this before for various reasons, but I’m no longer with Bend Studio and haven’t been for over a year. Since Days Gone shipped, I’ve been focusing on personal projects: painting, writing, publishing … (1

— John Garvin (@John_Garvin) December 1, 2020

… and generally, enjoying a break from the game industry. For those that don’t know, I moved to Bend, Oregon in 1997, and began work as art director for Eidetic, a tiny 12 person studio headed by the legendary Marc Blank (creator of Zork). (2

— John Garvin (@John_Garvin) December 1, 2020

This week is my last at @PlayStation and @BendStudio. I'm incredibly proud of all the games I got to make, but also looking forward to new challenges ahead. I'll post about my plans later, but I'll be moving to Chicago once COVID calms down. #JeffsGone #DaysGone

— Jeff Ross (@JakeRocket) December 1, 2020

Days Gone is almost here, and Sony has released several videos to detail the game’s many features, including its wildlife enemies and how to traverse the open world, to name just a few. Today, they’ve released a video where the developers give some tips on how to deal with one of the game’s biggest features- the massive Freaker hordes.

The Horde fights see you taking on large groups of the game’s main enemy, the zombie like Freakers, that move in a huge mass. Hordes will have a large number of Freakers, from 50 to a hundred, and at times even all the way up to 500. How you tackle that will come down to preparing for the fight, knowing where the best exits are, and simply a little bit of luck. As you can see from the video below, once one of the Horde sees you, they all do, and you can very quickly get overwhelmed.

Days Gone launches April 26^th, exclusively on PlayStation 4. The review embargo lifted today, so keep your eyes out for what people are saying about the game.

With Days Gone coming at the end of the week, and the pre-load up for digital purchasers now, Sony have gone full steam ahead with their marketing with several videos detailing various aspects the game, fFrom the bike the main character uses to traverse the landscape to the deadly world itself. Today Sony released another new video, showing there’s more than just humans to worry about, even when it comes to the Freakers.

In the feature, which you can see below, they detail some of the wildlife that’s also affected by the disease. You have infected wolves, bear,s and crows, nicknamed Runners, Ragers, and Criers, respectively. The infection has the same effect on them as humans, making them more aggressive and, very unluckily for you, hungrier than normal. Runners will chase Deacon and even try to knock him off his bike if they get close enough, Criers will divebomb and overwhelm you, and Ragers are just hulking beasts that can kill you very quickly if you’re not careful when you’re unfortunate enough to run into one.

Days Gone is out April 26^th exclusively for PlayStation 4, with reviews set to go live a day before.

One of the standout features of Days Gone has been its biker aesthetic. The game’s main character, Deacon St. John, is part of a biker, and uses his trusty bike to traverse the game’s open world. Motorcycles are, by no means, a new thing for this type of game, but Sony Bend really wants it to be a big part of the game’s identity, and they’ve released a feature video to highlight that.

In the video, which you can see below, they talk about the bike and its many uses, particularly how you’ll need it to get out of hairy situations when you find yourself overwhelmed with enemies. The bike will also see a lot of customization options, like extra gas tanks to keep you on the road longer, and nitrous boosts to get you out of trouble just a little faster. You can also tweak the cosmetic look of the bike, such as the paint job and headlights, to your liking.

Days Gone is out April 26^th exclusively for PlayStation 4. In the meantime, you can check out some other videos, such as some detailing the world of the game and all its dangers.

Days Gone, the game that Sony hopes will launch their next big franchise, is coming at the end of the week, with reviews set to go up the day before. For those going digital, there’s some good news. It looks like the game is now up for pre-load on the PlayStation store.

Digital pre-order buyers definitely will want to take advantage of that, because Days Gone is a big game. I’m not just referring to the open world scope, either- the size of the download is quite significant. The game’s initial install size will be a whopping 67 GBs, and then an addition 17 GBs will be needed for a day one patch that is live now. You’ve going to need the extra time, so make sure your PS4 has the extra space, too, because in total the game will take up a lot of space.

Days Gone releases April 26^th exclusively for PlayStation 4. Check out a recent video exploring the world of the game while you boot up that pre-load.

Sony Bend Studio’s open world zombie…er, Freaker title Days Gone has a release date. It will be releasing on February 22nd 2019, exclusively for PlayStation 4. Check out the announcement trailer below which touts a whole world that’s coming to get you.

Along with angry biker gangs, crazy birds and dogs (known as “Criers”), legions of the undead and much more, players will have to deal with survival as well. Ambush events are showcased somewhat in the trailer with a rival gang attempting to knock the player off their vehicle. Interestingly enough, Days Gone also has a human faction called the Rippers who worship the Freakers and will anyone else.

Deacon has already been introduced and this trailer showcases William “Boozer” Gray, who’s also a member of the Mongrels MC and voiced by Jim Pirri. Alkai Turner, played by Jonathan Joss, is an arms dealer residing in the Hotsprings survivor camp and Ada Tucker, voiced by DeeDee Rescher, is a former prison matron who runs the camp.

What are your thoughts on the new trailer and release date? Let us know in the comments below. What other announcements could be coming from Sony in the build to E3 2018? Let us know in the comments.