This game is amazing. I'm about halfway through i think, but I need to slow down. I've kind of been speed running the story progression just because its so fucking good, and as a result I dont think I'm powerful enough to move on to the 3rd map. I haven't even fought a horde yet because they scare the fuck out of me.
The characters are fantastic. Sam Witwer, who is an absolute underrated gem of a national treasure, in the role of the player character (Deacon St. John) is just brilliant. The mocap, face capture, and performance capture are so well done, you'll find yourself appreciating the facial animation a great deal especially. The NPCs are varied and feel alive, and frankly most of them piss me off, buncha tryhards and pieces of shit, lol. The dialogue is so good that I feel emotionally invested enough to legitimately hate a lot of these fucks (obligatory FKSKIZZO). Meanwhile there's other characters you care deeply about, like your bro that you ride with and your absent wife. It really draws you in.
The game mechanics are a little different from what you typically see in an action horror. The horde mechanic is what stands out. The game isn't scary but barreling over a hill on your motorcycle and finding yourself suddenly waist deep in 100 or more (up to 500!) enemies all at once, just surrounded. I haven't yet learned to fight a horde, but just trying to get away from them while you have their aggro is tense as fuck. They'll clothesline your ass and knock you right off your bike.
Speaking of your bike, it's some of the most satisfying driving I've ever done in a game. I hate driving mechanics in games. I'm terrible at it. I veer all over the place. I can't stay on the fucking road. But this game, it's intuitive. It's manageable. I can stay on the road even! The driving is actually fun. I even skip fast traveling at times just to enjoy riding around on my motorcycle. It's fantastic. The implementation is just right for me.
As an aside, I'm running a ROG Ally, which is a mobile AMD processor, and it runs just great with no tweaking.
So anyways, if you skipped Days Gone like I did, as an action horror junkie, I highly recommend it l. The story and characters and voice acting are the highlight, and I just dont have a single complaint about the combat or driving, even the crafting (which I typically hate) is well done. My only complaint would be that the game has allowed me to progress the story before i feel prepared for it, and that's minor. Plus for all I know maybe I can handle the next chunk, I won't really won't know til I get there. Great game.
Can I get some of that plastic action in my testicles too please?