Summary
Days Gone Remastered is an easy recommendation for newcomers and fans who missed the original, thanks to its improved visuals, performance, and extra modes. For returning players, the $10 upgrade price is reasonable for the enhancements and new content. However, those who bounced off the original’s slow pacing or lackluster story may find the remaster’s improvements insufficient to change their opinion. So does this mean we’re getting Days Gone 2?
Developer – Bend Studio
Publisher – Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platforms – PS5 (Reviewed), PC
Days Gone Remastered on PS5 represents a thoughtful and ambitious attempt to revitalize Bend Studio’s 2019 open-world survival adventure, offering a blend of technical improvements and artistic refinements that both enhance and complicate the experience for returning and new players alike.
Narratively, Days Gone Remastered remains unchanged from the original version. The story follows Deacon St. John, a former biker gang member, as he navigates a post-apocalyptic Oregon two years after a devastating pandemic has turned much of humanity into aggressive, zombie-like creatures called Freakers. Deacon is haunted by the presumed death of his wife, Sarah, from whom he was separated during the initial outbreak when she was evacuated by helicopter to a NERO (National Emergency Response Organization) camp that was subsequently overrun.
In terms of gameplay, the remaster preserves the original’s mix of open-world exploration, stealth, and action. The cycle of scavenging, managing resources, and upgrading Deacon’s motorcycle remains engaging. However, the core mechanics–especially gunplay and melee combat–still lack the refinement seen in genre leaders. Enemy AI remains predictable, and while managing your bike’s fuel and condition adds a layer of strategy, the moment-to-moment action can feel repetitive and uninspired over long stretches.
What’s new with this Remastered version of Days Gone? The main content of the game remains unchanged, though there are a few new modes: Horde Assault and Challenges. Horde Assault pits you against waves of Freakers in a focused, action-packed challenge whereas Challenges are split between bike, horde, and combat challenges. There’s also a Permadeath mode where dying means starting over from the beginning (perfect for those seeking the ultimate challenge), along with a Speedrun mode.
The core objective of Horde Assault is to last as long as possible, rack up a high score, and unlock rewards, all while navigating escalating threats and resource scarcity. You begin with only a sidearm and must fight your way to your Drifter bike. Supply Boxes, randomly scattered across the map, provide new weapons (including some not found in the main story, like a flamethrower), ammo, and healing items. Efficiently looting and managing resources is crucial, as running out of ammo with hundreds of Freakers in pursuit can be fatal.
Each run earns you XP based on your performance, which translates into levels and unlocks along a 35-level reward path. Rewards include injectors, character skins, cosmetic patches, and the ability to play as new characters like O’Brian, Lisa, and Skizzo. Some rewards even carry over to the main story mode!
On the technical side, the remaster boasts significantly improved lighting, with a new atmospheric simulation that results in more realistic sky colors and sunlight. Nighttime scenes are now much darker and moodier, with the moon and stars rendered more naturally. Shadow quality has also been doubled in some areas. Ambient occlusion and screen space lighting have been enhanced, and the overall foliage draw distance is increased.
On a base PS5, you can switch between 1440p/60fps Performance mode or a native 4K/30fps Quality mode. However, these visual gains come at the expense of image clarity. The remaster unfortunately runs lower than the checkerboarded 4K of the PS4 version running on PS5 via backwards compatibility.
Frame rate stability seems to have been improved, with traversal and combat running much smoother compared to the PS4 version. Load times are still quite long though, taking 15 seconds to load in from the main menu. The PS5 remastered version also comes in at 44.97 GB, whereas the original only took 40.66 GB. The DualSense controller is fully supported, adding haptic feedback and adaptive trigger effects for riding the motorcycle, firing weapons, and even feeling the weather, such as rain and thunder, in your hands.
Accessibility has been improved as well, now allowing you to slow down the game speed to 75%, 50%, or even 25%, making horde encounters more manageable. Other options include customizable subtitle colors, a high-contrast mode, UI narration, and audio cues for collectibles. Quick-time events can now be auto-completed on any difficulty, not just easy, making the game much more approachable. And yes, you can import your save data from the PS4 version of the game if you already own it.
Days Gone Remastered is an easy recommendation for newcomers and fans who missed the original, thanks to its improved visuals, performance, and extra modes. For returning players, the $10 upgrade price is reasonable for the enhancements and new content. However, those who bounced off the original’s slow pacing or lackluster story may find the remaster’s improvements insufficient to change their opinion. So does this mean we’re getting Days Gone 2?
