Days Gone Remastered joins Sony’s continued push to bring PlayStation 4 heavy-hitters up to snuff on PlayStation 5 hardware. Originally released in 2019, Days Gone brought an impressive post-apocalyptic open world set in Oregon. The game boasted impressive amounts of zombies on screen, in addition to a robust crafting system and some light survival mechanics, such as having to deal with your fuel and repairs for your bike while adventuring in the wastelands.
Although the game eventually saw release on PC in 2021, Days Gone for console-only players remained a 30fps experience, that is, until now, thanks to the power of the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. Days Gone Remastered now offers several performance modes across both the base PlayStation 5 and Pro systems. On a standard PlayStation 5, players jumping into Days Gone Remastered can pick between a Performance and Quality Mode, with the former offering a 60fps experience at 1440p, while the Quality Mode promises to render the game at a full 4k with its original cap of 30fps.
Playing on a PlayStation 5 Pro, I opted to use its exclusive Enhanced Mode option, which utilizes PSSR, PlayStation’s own upscaling technology, to present the game at 4K while still maintaining that buttery smooth 60fps performance boost. In practice, the Enhanced Mode in Days Gone Remastered never faltered, with the game running at a constant 60fps, even during demanding sections with lots of enemies on screen.
As far as the image quality is concerned, Days Gone Remastered on PlayStation 5 Pro looks sharp, with only minor visual artefacts associated with upscaling present in the game. These include a slight halo around character models in some instances, particularly around fast motion and some noticeable instances of visual noise in scenes with volumetric lighting, such as the torches used by NERO soldiers.
A 120fps mode would have been welcome, but thankfully, even the 60fps on PlayStation 5 Pro is consistent, offering a big enough boost in performance to warrant its next-gen upgrade price of $10. Luckily, performance isn’t the only upgrade present in Days Gone Remastered.
The game is now shipping with all of its DLC content from the base experience, in addition to a brand new Horde Assault mode that allows the player to engage in a firefight style battle with endless waves of the undead, complete with modifiers, different playable characters and other unique challenges that in essence, gives the community access to a fun arcade-style challenge on top of the gripping single player experience.
Another small but surprisingly welcome addition in Days Gone Remastered is its new haptics when paired with the Dualsense controller, which feels like an order of magnitude above playing using a DS4 or Xbox-style gamepad, offering nuanced haptics such as the drizzle of rain or the grit of the guns as you spray buckshot into a feral Freaker.
“Days Gone Remastered now offers several performance modes across both the base PlayStation 5 and Pro systems.”
Even with the inclusion of a new Horde mode and the performance tweaks, the game is best reserved for those who may have missed out on its initial launch. Fortunately, the modest asking price to upgrade to the Remastered edition will give diehards or returning players enough incentive to jump back into the apocalypse.
For those new to the game, Days Gone Remastered takes the tried and tested zombie apocalypse setting and introduces it to an expansive open-world setting with a focus on crafting and survival elements on top of upgrades for both your character and your trusted motorbike. Gameplay in Days Gone is fairly open-ended, featuring a typical assortment of story markers and side objectives that encourage exploration.
“Days Gone Remastered is the definitive way to experience the game and a must-play for fans of survival horror and open-world experiences.”
Side missions include, for example, having to clear out zombie nests, which unlock fast travel points and other valuable resources for the player. Downloadable content from the base game is also included in the remaster, which includes the Broken Roads content, as well as a new permadeath mode that ramps up the tension of the already bleak game setting to new heights.
Days Gone Remastered is a worthy upgrade over its PlayStation 4 original, with its 4K 60fps mode looking better overall than its previous-generation checkerboard rendering presentation. Unfortunately, the jump to PlayStation 5 also introduces its own set of visual artefacts when using the PSSR mode, but for the casual player, these minor blemishes will be of little concern, making it the ultimate version of the game.
If you’re someone like me who missed out on Days Gone back in 2019, Days Gone Remastered is the definitive way to experience the game and a must-play for fans of survival horror and open-world experiences. With the release of this latest remaster, Days Gone joins the ranks of Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Parts I and II. Let’s hope Sony continues this upward trend of quality ports in the future by further leveraging the PlayStation 5 Pro’s hardware.
