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Days Gone Creative Director Blames Bugs, Reviewers Not Bothering to Play and "Woke" Reviewers For Lack of Better Reception
- Thread starter adamsapple
- Start date
MiguelItUp
Member
That was my initial reaction to it. The characters, world, combat, etc. all felt like a been there done that kind of thing and nothing exciting. The zombie tech with all of them onscreen was the big ooo ahhh if anything.
Shadowstar39
Member
Look in this thread there are at least 20+ reviews where the reviewers were woke trash bashing the game for having a stright white hetero protagonist, and that he found his wife's ass sexy. Do you guys who deny woke reveiwers and twitter mobs exist closing your eyes or something? Proof is there and was posted in this thread. He is not wrong.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I understand nuance, I also think it was artistic projection/expression as well in that scene. They knew what they were doing with the chosen looks and optics.
Not saying it was a bad game, it wasn't at all. The gameplay was great, the story set out what it was trying to do, dreadful with a depressing conclusion.
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Grildon Tundy
Member
I finished Callisto Protocol in about 12 hours. Perfect length for that kind of game imo. I want more like that--but ship with NG+! Which Callisto didn't do
Famipan
Member
It's a really enjoyable 8-9/10 game in my book if you review the fully patched versions, and especially the PS5-patched 60-fps version. But even PS4 Pro version got patched with hugely improved loading times.
I would have tried to avoid upsetting people by calling the game got bad reviews from 'woke people'. However, it was really unfortunate and unfair that a highly broken first version of Days Gone got turned down when other broken on release games can get a free pass. I myself avoids games at launch and try to avoid the FOMO since I know the real version of a game I would like to play is available around 1-48 months from release depending on game. Of course reviewers can't wait that long and that makes reviews for new games kind of useless if people checking the review 2 years later don't know they have to add around 10 Metacritic points to a former bug-plagued game.
The characters in Days Gone are crazy and fun and not too serious like in other games. And I never care much for story anyway. Since we are talking about video games, it can never and shouldn't become too serious if it's not a cinematic masterpiece such as Detroit: Become Human.
This is not TLoU which is a game with great story but which has too much killing for my taste, when I just want to follow the story. I would honestly have enjoyed TLoU more if it had Telltale games/David Cage-style QTE-parts and conversation options.
Days Gone, in contrast, is a great, fun, enjoyable open world survival game where some good and some bad humor and therefore often misunderstood such as The Evil Within or Mad Max.
I have only finished three open world games: ACIV: Black Flag, Mad Max, Days Gone.
A good open world game should in my book have:
BONUS points:
Days Gone is my favorite open-world game and it has a similar kind of aura and misfortune that plagued Mad Max.
I couldn't enjoy Mad Max on PS4 because it only ran in 30 fps but when I tried it in 60 fps on PC I had a blast and played it through thanks to responsive driving, great physics and meaty combat - points which are similar in Days Gone. Mad Max also got 60 fps patches for Series S/X and people started rediscovering its magic, although I'm sure more people would have given it attention if there ever was a free PS5-patch too.
I bought Days Gone about six months after release for half-price (and on PSN which is rare these days) after it got many bugfixes, and I played it on PS4 Pro.
Then came the PS5 and the free PS5-patch and I replayed it again in 60 fps, from start to finish.
I think a sequel/Days Gone 2 would be nice if it could add significant new and enjoyable mechanics, some kind of story continuation and for the sake of reviewers and FOMO people ā a less bug-ridden release.
I would have tried to avoid upsetting people by calling the game got bad reviews from 'woke people'. However, it was really unfortunate and unfair that a highly broken first version of Days Gone got turned down when other broken on release games can get a free pass. I myself avoids games at launch and try to avoid the FOMO since I know the real version of a game I would like to play is available around 1-48 months from release depending on game. Of course reviewers can't wait that long and that makes reviews for new games kind of useless if people checking the review 2 years later don't know they have to add around 10 Metacritic points to a former bug-plagued game.
The characters in Days Gone are crazy and fun and not too serious like in other games. And I never care much for story anyway. Since we are talking about video games, it can never and shouldn't become too serious if it's not a cinematic masterpiece such as Detroit: Become Human.
This is not TLoU which is a game with great story but which has too much killing for my taste, when I just want to follow the story. I would honestly have enjoyed TLoU more if it had Telltale games/David Cage-style QTE-parts and conversation options.
Days Gone, in contrast, is a great, fun, enjoyable open world survival game where some good and some bad humor and therefore often misunderstood such as The Evil Within or Mad Max.
I have only finished three open world games: ACIV: Black Flag, Mad Max, Days Gone.
A good open world game should in my book have:
- Not too large map: Check! ā Perfect Size!
- Gameplay/Fun Mechanics: Check! ā Riding the bike, sneak kills, hunting prey, nice weapons, settings up bombs in enemy nests, molotovs and attractors, hoards (although introduced a bit late), creative kills by using the environment or enemy AI. Could perhaps have more boss fights and enemy variation.
- An interesting story (but not too much if I'm ever going to finish the game): Ok! ā Days Gone's story doesn't win any Oscar but I'm all in for the gameplay anyway. I enjoyed the sect-vibes from all the different factions and the lovely characters (main character talking to himself, Boozer, Jessie, Iron Mike).
- Lots of side missions: Ok! ā Although side missions were simple and a bit repetitive it didn't get too boring thanks to the games fun mechanics.
- Suspense: Check! ā Sneaking, crazy factions with humanoid enemies, zombies, bears, wolves, traps, limited gas so you need to look for gas)
BONUS points:
- Nice soundtrack although not too many tracks.
- One of the best ending songs ever heard in a video game and it sucks it is not available on Spotify. But that song mixed with the bike noise alone makes it worth to replay the whole damn game (or just check Youtube)
- Creative use of the Touch Pad (Swiping in 4 directions for Map, Equipment, Journal/Quests, Skill Tree).
- "Challenges" a very enjoyable arcade style mode where the prices you get transfers to the main game seamlessly!
Days Gone is my favorite open-world game and it has a similar kind of aura and misfortune that plagued Mad Max.
I couldn't enjoy Mad Max on PS4 because it only ran in 30 fps but when I tried it in 60 fps on PC I had a blast and played it through thanks to responsive driving, great physics and meaty combat - points which are similar in Days Gone. Mad Max also got 60 fps patches for Series S/X and people started rediscovering its magic, although I'm sure more people would have given it attention if there ever was a free PS5-patch too.
I bought Days Gone about six months after release for half-price (and on PSN which is rare these days) after it got many bugfixes, and I played it on PS4 Pro.
Then came the PS5 and the free PS5-patch and I replayed it again in 60 fps, from start to finish.
I think a sequel/Days Gone 2 would be nice if it could add significant new and enjoyable mechanics, some kind of story continuation and for the sake of reviewers and FOMO people ā a less bug-ridden release.
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Hypereides
Member
Put some glasses on next time:
:
What a wall of disgrace. Yet some of you still take "recommendations" (reviews) and advice from these absolute crazies on what constitutes a "good" video game. Video games do not fucking revolve around their personal worldview and they must learn to accept that. Deducting points for something as mundane as this should invalidate their reviews entirely.
They really have to get their heads pulled out of their asses instead off projecting what they deem "acceptable" for their readers. It conflicts with the interests of gamers who expect their verdicts to come from a neutral stance when they clearly don't.
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Mobilemofo
Member
Loved it. Bought it's year ago. .all patched etc. Paid Ā£20 . Way better than some of the shit available currently.
bitbydeath
Member
Still the best open world game ever made, I look forward to seeing what they do next.
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Interfectum
Member
Whether you agree or disagree with him, I think we all can agree it's fucking stupid to post this shit on Twitter. We all know how this ends.
.
ToTTenTranz
Banned
I finished the game up to close to 100% when it came out on the PS5's Plus Collection, and I watched a bunch of interviews on John Garvin.
Here's what I have to say about the subject:
- The game is pretty good all around, well deserving of a 80+ metascore in my opinion. Sam Witwer carries the thing on his back, but the end result is still pretty awesome IMO.
- I remember the game having a bunch of bugs on release, but those were ironed out by the time I picked it up.
- The game does take about 6 to 8 hours to become interesting and get players to feel immersed in the story. This is probably my biggest complaint in the game.
- John Garvin is right about game journos. They're still triggered today by the "ride me like you ride your bike" line from the MC's wife during their wedding, which does have an "inside joke" context and is well explained throughout the game. It's a joke between the couple. "Tell me you haven't played the game without telling me you haven't played the game" is a great fit for the morons complaining about that line. They've been trying to cancel the game for a joke they missed (despite getting the joke was their actual job).
- John Garvin should speak less in public forums. By his own admission he's not a great "people's person" and he gets needlessly defensive and inflexible when faced with constructive criticism.
- Those game journos saying the MC's scientist wife would never date or marry a biker mechanic are bigoted idiots. I personally know a woman with a PhD in Chemical Engineering married to a truck driver with whom they have 3 kids and they're happy. I know another woman with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering married to a guy who runs a small restaurant, they have a kid and they're happy.
Neither is a degree or occupation an IQ test, nor is love and attraction supposed to be dependent on academic success and intelligence. PhD holders in general aren't stupid enough to believe this, though I guess the same can't be said about game journalists.
- Also, the MC looks at his girlfriend's ass (once, in a >40h long game). Game journos' reaction: omg female body objectification reeeeee. Give me a break.
Here's what I have to say about the subject:
- The game is pretty good all around, well deserving of a 80+ metascore in my opinion. Sam Witwer carries the thing on his back, but the end result is still pretty awesome IMO.
- I remember the game having a bunch of bugs on release, but those were ironed out by the time I picked it up.
- The game does take about 6 to 8 hours to become interesting and get players to feel immersed in the story. This is probably my biggest complaint in the game.
- John Garvin is right about game journos. They're still triggered today by the "ride me like you ride your bike" line from the MC's wife during their wedding, which does have an "inside joke" context and is well explained throughout the game. It's a joke between the couple. "Tell me you haven't played the game without telling me you haven't played the game" is a great fit for the morons complaining about that line. They've been trying to cancel the game for a joke they missed (despite getting the joke was their actual job).
- John Garvin should speak less in public forums. By his own admission he's not a great "people's person" and he gets needlessly defensive and inflexible when faced with constructive criticism.
- Those game journos saying the MC's scientist wife would never date or marry a biker mechanic are bigoted idiots. I personally know a woman with a PhD in Chemical Engineering married to a truck driver with whom they have 3 kids and they're happy. I know another woman with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering married to a guy who runs a small restaurant, they have a kid and they're happy.
Neither is a degree or occupation an IQ test, nor is love and attraction supposed to be dependent on academic success and intelligence. PhD holders in general aren't stupid enough to believe this, though I guess the same can't be said about game journalists.
- Also, the MC looks at his girlfriend's ass (once, in a >40h long game). Game journos' reaction: omg female body objectification reeeeee. Give me a break.
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lughnasadh123
Member
The writing was uneven, voice acting sometimes below porn level, repetitive missions, and a bit long in the tooth towards endgame, yet it was a magical experience that surpassed all that. The world was beautiful and a joy being in with a fun loop of harvesting materials and killing zombies while treking around on the bike. It's nothing new, but what's there works perfectly warts and all.
I get why it didn't score high for some people, and that's fine, but it ranks up imo with some of Sony's best. I'd actually say that it offered more of what I wanted, story aside, from TLOU2 in it's broad open world.
I get why it didn't score high for some people, and that's fine, but it ranks up imo with some of Sony's best. I'd actually say that it offered more of what I wanted, story aside, from TLOU2 in it's broad open world.
Fake
Gold Member
MiguelItUp
Member
Some avenues, definitely. Some people still go to Kotaku which is completely baffling to me. Especially for games as its clear they choose to point out some of the most ridiculous things. It's just another reason why reviews should always be taken with a grain of salt. I can understand glancing at Metacritic to see the average of all the ratings to get an idea on the quality of the game. But other than that, I personally just don't get it. They're "professional" opinions. That's it.
It's wild to me that we've some some widely appreciated games get some extremely divisive review scores, lol.
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TheThreadsThatBindUs
Member
This is fucking hilarious!!!
A) Goon squad makes fake complaints about the game not being woke enough in terms of representation
B) makes a complaint about no black zombies
C) All the while not at all realizing that by making this complaint, what they are really saying is "I want to blast black savages away with military-grade munitions"
I've said it all along... the real racists are the wokesters.
kapshin
Member
He identifies as the cookie monster.
StealthGoblin
Banned
Story was on the long side, but I really enjoyed the game. Genuinely one of my favourites of the PS4 era.
NickFire
Member
100%, spot on, absolute truth.
They are also massive hypocrites to tear people down over things like that.
I really enjoyed it when I played the fully updated version on PS4 Pro but I can understand why some reviewers might have been down on it when they reviewed the pre-release version of the game. I think having to cram your playthrough in a few days for a review when the game was in that state would've magnified the flaws of the game too.
Taking on hordes was fantastic. Like something out of RE4 but better.
Taking on hordes was fantastic. Like something out of RE4 but better.
One is a limited preview. The other is a full review after playing the game. How is this a 180?
Seen lots of games where the previews are greatā¦then the full game disappoints. Hereās Gameinformer gushing about Mass Effect Andromeda after a hands on preview
https://www.gameinformer.com/games/...nds-on-time-with-biowares-space-epic.aspx?amp
Ghost of Caelid
Banned
You're the one doing it. most people are just enjoying great games. Cory Barlog is left leaning, he is still one of the creators of god of war one of the most machismo series out there. If deacon was a well written character like Joel or Drake it wouldn't be a point of contention. But them mentioning him being white doesn't take away from the fact he would be a poor character no matter his race.
Gamerguy84
Member
Top 5 game last gen for me. Loved everything from Pacific Northwest setting to the characters themselves. Hordes were amazing to fight.
Funny I owned it at launch and didn't play it because of lower scores. It's true it had bugs but got straightened out and I experienced it on PS5 for the first time.
Would love a DG2.
I agree with his statement to a point. There was a lot of bashing from woke bitches and reviewers don't get paid to finish games. It was actually the game that made me stop listening to reviews all together.
Funny I owned it at launch and didn't play it because of lower scores. It's true it had bugs but got straightened out and I experienced it on PS5 for the first time.
Would love a DG2.
I agree with his statement to a point. There was a lot of bashing from woke bitches and reviewers don't get paid to finish games. It was actually the game that made me stop listening to reviews all together.
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
Not to mention the fact that the game explains why they are all white or rather pale skinned because of the mutation.
Also the game has several black characters. Including a black lesbian and an indian bi woman named PATEL. The final boss is literally a bible thumping nutjob. Its insane how they ignore all of that to focus on the fact that Deacon is a white biker.
I actually remember some criticism at Nicki Patel falling for Deacon. People were upset that they had a lesbian fall for a straight guy. Whatever happened to the B in LGBT?
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
It's easy for them to not know.... most were exposed for never getting past 30% of the game before crying about the ass moment.
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
Same. Id give it a 7.5 myself even though i loved my time with it and platinumed it. The story kinda crawls to the finish line though the post credits scene was an awesome ending that set up what couldve been a truly awesome sequel.
The thing is I also think Ratchet is a 7. HFW is a 7. I saw Halo 5 and Gears 5 had a 86 metacritic. I was like wtf. They overrate all these games so their 7 is not exactly the same as our 7. This game if it was reviewed on content alone wouldve around mid 80s like all those Ubisoft open world games. The horde battles, the combat, the world design and yes, even the story had some great moments.
I have no idea what Ratchet and HFW do better in 2022 than Days Gone did in 2019 aside from graphics of course. It's still a better designed game.
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BlitzerRadic
Member
I beat the game. Its the only 1st party AAA by Sony I have no interest in playing again.
Its like they had a fun cool idea for a game (zombie hordes) but couldnt really make it work. The end product is still OK but I think thats a result of Sony giving bend a lot of time and support.
Its like they had a fun cool idea for a game (zombie hordes) but couldnt really make it work. The end product is still OK but I think thats a result of Sony giving bend a lot of time and support.
Dr. Suchong
Gold Member
He's probably right in some respects.
Understandable exasperation and frustration.
I loved it, a really pleasant surprise for me personally.
Understandable exasperation and frustration.
I loved it, a really pleasant surprise for me personally.
Vick
Gold Member
Hawking Radiation
Member
The game really picks up after 2 hours.
It was one of the few games I actually played till the end on last gen.
It was one of the few games I actually played till the end on last gen.
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eastcoastkody
Member
i bounced off of it because of the horrible directing or pacing or whatever the hell that was. Where the game who just cut to black randomly then u would walk from a cutscene and then another cutscene happens.
it was jarring
it was jarring
remember_spinal
Banned
The creative director of the next game worked on the original siphon filter and has been at the company since the 90ās. I think the studio is in good hands
Garvin was literally fired for anger issues that he even admitted himself
chromatic9
Member
If it was without the things the woke crowd picked up on I still don't don't think it would've done any better. Had ~7 all over it from day one.
Games like Alan Wake, Quantum Break didn't land either and have a similar feel, if those games had something to attack it with the Remedy devs could blame that for poor scores. Really what we see is similar dull dry games that are not compelling to a large audience, wonky dialogue, dingy look and fall below other games quality, yes there's a fanbase for all these titles, they're just ok games and some very buggy at launch but if compelling enough bugs can be overlooked, QB,DG weren't, Oblivion was and that's how it is. Many years on Oblivion has shown it's a special game and didn't need to be knocked down far.
Games like Alan Wake, Quantum Break didn't land either and have a similar feel, if those games had something to attack it with the Remedy devs could blame that for poor scores. Really what we see is similar dull dry games that are not compelling to a large audience, wonky dialogue, dingy look and fall below other games quality, yes there's a fanbase for all these titles, they're just ok games and some very buggy at launch but if compelling enough bugs can be overlooked, QB,DG weren't, Oblivion was and that's how it is. Many years on Oblivion has shown it's a special game and didn't need to be knocked down far.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I'd have anger issues too if I had to work with half the parrots in game development.
Kidding, sort of.
Justin9mm
Member
It's worlds better than Callisto Protocol
Justin9mm
Member
I played and completed the game at launch on my Pro. A few bugs aside, the first 2 hours I was like not sure about this, after that I didn't put it down. The graphics for the time were amazing and the gameplay is very good, story is decent. It's a long game so I can imagine you would need to be invested in the characters and story to keep going but there was a lot of depth to the game.
I wholeheartedly believe that some reviewers did not finish or play long enough because it is a slow burn. Still one of my fav Sony Exclusives, I def had more fun with it then a lot of other AAA's. Looking at you Callisto Protocol.
I wholeheartedly believe that some reviewers did not finish or play long enough because it is a slow burn. Still one of my fav Sony Exclusives, I def had more fun with it then a lot of other AAA's. Looking at you Callisto Protocol.
Rendered Tangent
Banned
I think playing it at 30 FPS wouldn't have done it justice, so the revamped 60 FPS offering on ps5 and unlocked on pc is how it should be played.
A bit like The Last of Us on ps3, which just about ran but really didn't do the game any justice.
Unfortunately, it took the ps4 remaster to provide the experience it, and the player, really deserved.
R6Rider
Gold Member
SeriousCrayon
Member
ya it is pretty disgusting what he did to Colin...
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
lol Future is so bright that ever since they forced out their directors, they have spent the last 3.5 years working on fuck all. To the point that they have only been able to reveal a logo. A fucking logo in nearly 4 years. What a talented studio!
Kenneth Haight
Gold Member
I like both games so I must be the first youāve seen
NickFire
Member
Workplace culture > workplace output. You can't pay the bills with output.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
ChoosableOne
ChoosableAll
If you like The Last of Us or RDR 2 for it's gameplay, definitely check this out. It has a beautiful open world that works. They say the story is ridiculous especially towards the end. They also mention that the game is too long(36 hours according to HowLongToBeat). I don't think it will get bad enough to deserve these points(72 metacritic) though. For now, I'm playing with pleasure. I haven't even stumbled upon the hordes.
