Game review: Days Gone Remastered (PS5)
There has been some criticism towards Sony this console generation for releasing too many remakes and remasters for the PS5. This trend is quite true because we've already received remakes and remasters for The Last of Us Part 1 and 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, and PS5 versions of Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima.
Well it looks like the re-releases keep on coming because Sony has released Days Gone Remastered for the PS5 in 2025. It's the third time FutureFive NZ has reviewed this game as we already covered the original PS4 release in 2019 and the PC port in 2021.
To try and make this version seem more attractive to first-time or returning players, Days Gone Remastered actually includes a few new game modes that weren't featured in the original 2019 release of the game.
Not to mention Days Gone Remastered has somewhat undergone a visual upgrade because this version takes advantage of the superior power of both the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles. One such visual upgrade most players will notice is that the game fully runs at a buttery smooth 60fps at all times!
If you compare the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game, you will also notice some other visual changes as well. Bend Studio has changed the lighting in many areas of the game - especially during night levels. I do feel it's up to the player's own preference if you feel the lighting changes are an improvement or not.
If you are a returning PS4 player, you will also be happy to know that your saved data can be transported over to the PS5. Not to mention you will also notice that the loading times have been improved thanks to the speed of the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles.
While the visuals have been improved, the new features and game modes are what makes Day Gone Remastered worth revisiting. The biggest new feature that has been added is an arcade survival mode called 'Horde Assault'.
Horde Assault is essentially where you have to get a high score by surviving as long as you can against a swarm of zombies. One of the best features of this mode is that you can play more characters other than Deacon. You can play as his wife Sarah, his best friend Boozer, and other characters in the main story.
My favourite new feature of Days Gone Remastered is no doubt the 'Challenges' mode. Aside from surviving zombies, you can also do combat challenges where you have to kill as many enemies as possible in a short time.
The best challenges are the bike time trials. As some of you may know already, Deacon owns a motorbike, and in these challenges, you can race around the town trying to get the best time. Extra challenges include drifting and jumping off stunt ramps too.
A personal favourite of mine is the Crazy Taxi style mini-game where Deacon drives in a golf cart and has to save survivors from the zombies lurking everywhere. You have a time limit so you have to get to their wanted destination really quickly. The faster you are, the happier the survivors will be and you get a better high score.
As for the main game itself, the gameplay is relatively exactly the same as the PS4 version. Deacon lives in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies roam the land, and hostile humans want to kill others for food and shelter. It's pretty much an open-world version of The Last of Us.
Deacon can ride on his motorbike to other villages, but he has to find fuel to keep his bike going. If he runs out of fuel, players will have to make him run on foot instead. Running on foot is dangerous at night because the zombies become more feral and it's harder for Deacon to survive.
Combat-wise, Deacon has access to guns and lots of melee weapons to kill both zombies and enemy humans. Deacon can also stealthily kill his enemies if he can crawl from behind and attack being unseen.
Days Gone is also a pretty lengthy game because it took me around 40 hours to complete during my first playthrough. You can get more hours of gameplay if you want to 100% the game and finish all of the optional sidequests and trophies.
The story and gameplay aren't anything too original, but it's still enjoyable to play if you haven't played the original game before. I remember I was too harsh on the original game in 2019 in my original review, but it was nice to play the game again in 2025.
Returning players can play Days Gone Remastered if they already own the original PS4 game for a small fee. Sadly, you have to own the game outright because people who have Days Gone via PlayStation Plus only aren't eligible for the upgrade option.
In my opinion, the visuals and gameplay aren't too noticeably different in Days Gone Remastered. The PS4 version already has a 60fps patch if you play the game on PS5. However, the upgrade is worth it if you want to play the new game modes. As I said before, the Crazy Taxi mode is worth giving this version of the game a second playthrough.
Verdict: 8.0/10
