I don’t very often get sucked into vidyagame
But while taking some time off. I got sucked into Days Gone and today I needed to write about it.
And if you know me, you know how I get with these post apocalyptic survival games (obsessive, slightly unhinged, definitely sleep deprived)
Starting off. The game isn’t perfect. The pacing sometimes feels like a drunk guy trying to ride a motorcycle through a horde of freakers. (Zombies for the uninitiated)
BUT…
The storytelling? The characters? That’s where this shit shines.
Deacon St. John could’ve been Generic Gruff Protagonist #457, but instead he’s this beautifully broken mess of a human who somehow makes you root for him while he’s literally setting people on fire.
His relationship with Boozer?
(And when I first heard the name I just pictured some old alcoholic dude sitting at the edge of a smoky bar)
The relationship is pure gold. It’s that ride or die friendship that doesn’t feel forced, you know?
The kind where they’d literally take a bullet (or a freaker bite) for each other.
And just cause my brain works this way. Here few lessons from a writer-ly if you like to spin a story…
1) Imperfect protagonists are your friends. Deacon’s got rage issues, trust problems, and the emotional processing skills of a constipated toddler and it works. Your characters should be messy. They should make decisions that make readers scream “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” at the page. You can do that in your marketing too. The whole when they zig you zag or jump off a cliff. I dunno?
2) Environmental storytelling is underrated as hell. The abandoned Nero checkpoints, the hastily evacuated camps. Days Gone lets the world tell half the story. You don’t need to explain everything through dialogue when a child’s abandoned teddy bear next to an empty bottle of pills can punch your audience right in the gut.
3) Relationships are what hold apocalyptic stories together. Not the zombies. I mean, “freakers.” Not the cool bikes. It’s watching Deacon and Sarah’s love story unfold in those flashbacks. It’s Iron Mike’s stubborn pacifism against the brutal world. These connections give weight to all the throat slitting and molotov throwing. Which is also probably one of my favourite parts to this game. That and I like to watch things burn in person and in a vidya game too.
Remember how we talked about my zombie fatigue in the past? This game somehow made me care about another fucking zombie apocalypse in 2025 which is basically a storytelling miracle.
The way they handle the biker culture stuff is surprisingly nuanced too. You get this whole code, this brotherhood thing that’s simultaneously toxic and life saving.
(Side note: I would 100% die within the first 15 minutes of any apocalypse scenario, but playing this game made me briefly consider whether I should buy a motorcycle “just in case.”)
Anyways. You playing anything good lately? I need something new before I start a second playthrough and completely destroy my sleep schedule again.
Stephen Walker
P.S. Now I’m about go indulge in a fancy IPA and watch that new MobLand series on Paramount+