This generation of machines (and we're including the PC in that) is decidedly a bit sad when you think about it. With the regular price increases, the absence of certain first-party studios whose new releases we're still waiting to play, remasters galore to compensate for a sometimes rather empty calendar of first party titles, there's plenty of reasons to be sad about when you consider the current state of the industry. And don't even get us started on the numerous studio shutdowns and layoffs that we keep hearing about... The irony in all this is that titles which had disappointed the press and some of the players on their initial release have a chance of making a comeback. Days Gone Remastered is one of them. While there's no doubt that Bend Studio's title is well worth a look if you're not familiar with it, the question is whether the free PS5 update offered at the console's release truly justified a new remaster, which some will no doubt describe as highly opportunistic.
Note: We added some base PS5 gameplay in the two available graphics modes so you can also see this version.
Following the PS4 version's free 60 fps update for all players who owned a PS5, we were eagerly awaiting to discover what the remaster would offer. In addition to VRR and 3D audio support, no less than three graphics modes are available if you own a PlayStation 5 Pro, and two only if you're playing on base PS5. Common to both machines, Performance and Quality modes have, as usual, very different objectives: If the number of frames per second is more important to you than resolution, you'll opt for the 60 fps mode, which runs at 1440p on PS5 and 1800p on Pro; if, on the other hand, you're after a sharper image, the 30 fps Quality mode will push resolution up to 4K on PS5 and 2880p on Pro - even if you don't have an 8K screen. In all modes offered on both consoles, foliage draw distance is increased (although this doesn't prevent pop-up) and shadow and lighting quality improved (although there are still some surprising occasional problems with shadow cascades). Of course, as is often the case, many will find these changes hard to perceive without directly comparing the remaster to the original game. Something you could already feel when Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part II were re-released on PlayStation 5. That being said, we must nevertheless acknowledge the efforts made to make the vegetation denser this time around. There's also a marked difference in the night-time sequences, which are much darker in the remaster than in the original. Lighting and color tones are also quite distinct when compared directly, but the untrained eye might almost believe that this is more a slight change in art style than a genuine technical overhaul. Finally, those who own a Pro model are entitled to one last graphics mode to justify their investment. With Enhanced mode, the implementation of PSSR allows the game to run at a resolution of 1584p, while displaying a 4K image reconstructed by AI. Overall, the result is convincing, even if some occasional blur can sometimes be spotted around certain elements when the camera is in motion, as well as the increased flickering effect on shadows visible on trees (be aware than the problem remain in the other modes and on PS4 but somehow to a lesser extent). Comparing Performance and Enhanced modes on PS5 Pro, however, there's no doubt that image quality is superior in the latter, showing once again that internal resolution isn't everything. One more thing to be noted, the Pro wins just as clearly over the basic console when it comes to image quality, with a visible difference in terms of resolution, especially in Performance mode.
In addition to these various technical adjustments, this remaster also features full support for DualSense, haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. The gain isn't necessarily all that decisive, but it's well within the range of titles that take advantage of the PlayStation 5 controller. As with The Last of Us Part II Remastered, the developers have also added a few game modes to give players an extra reason to put their money down. Opinions will inevitably differ on the Horde Assault mode, which pits us against swarms of monsters, which can also be accompanied by numerous other enemies, such as vengeful survivors or more advanced Freakers. For our part, we can't say we're very interested in this kind of addition, but the arcade/scoring aspect and the type of gameplay perhaps make this mode more addictive than Naughty Dog's No Return. As you progress through Horde Assault, you'll revisit familiar regions from the base game, with more and more challenge and a level-based progression meant to keep you coming back for more. In this exclusive mode, we're also given the chance to control new characters and not just Deacon, unlock new outfits and unique injectors to give us an edge over our opponents, or on the contrary to make the experience more difficult. The remaster also includes a Permadeath mode for those who are into that kind of challenge. To be honest, in a game whose lifespan exceeds thirty hours, we don't feel that attracted by such experience but you may beg to differ. The same goes for the Speedrun mode, which will undoubtedly appeal to a certain category of players, but which left us totally indifferent. Last but not least, the photo mode has been enhanced with a few new options, such as the choice of time of day, and the remaster doesn't forget to add a nice array of accessibility options that should allow a wider audience to try the game. As you will have gathered from this short piece of reading, Days Gone: Remastered makes some notable efforts to deserve the name (which it does not officially have, however) of “definitive edition”, but the work is not as thorough as that done for Horizon Zero Dawn, which benefited from the major improvements made to the Decima Engine in recent years. While not essential, this update at least has the merit of getting people talking about the game again. If you have never played it, we encourage you to try it out whatever the version you choose (PS4 app running with backward compatibility, PC or the remaster). Now we just have to hope that Sony will one day decide to give it the sequel it deserves.
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