Why Days Gone hands-down stole this year’s E3

Pop quiz. What links pretty much every major reveal at this year’s E3? Not sure? Here’s a clue. One title not in that club also happens to be the one game that’s left me drooling over every detail and repeat-bingeing its trailers more than any other. That game is Days Gone, Bend Studio’s breathless monster thriller.

But I’ll come back to the openworld post-apocalypse. If you’re still not sure what I’m on about, this list should give the game away: Watch Dogs 2, Titanfall 2, Resident Evil VII… That’s right people, it’s a numbers game, in more ways than one. Reboots, remasters and sequels are hardly new, but we’re being treated to an especially strong batch this year. Many, of course, cunningly drop the numbering system, offering familiarity while hoping we forget just how many times we’ve already coughed up for the series – I’m looking at you Call Of Duty, God Of War and Ghost Recon.

Battlefield 1, meanwhile, has taken the ingenious step of subliminally suggesting this is where it all begins. (What do you mean, there have already been a couple of dozen Battlefield games and expansions? We’ve no idea what you’re talking about…)

But don’t get me wrong – I have no problem with this. I understand that in an era of bigger, technology-pushing games, Triple-A budgets regularly reach studio-threatening levels. If a major title bombs, it’s possible the devs will go down with it. The roll call of reboots and sequels, however, offers some protection, shipping a level of series recognition that, in theory, delivers at least respectable sales. It’s a financial safety net that allows studios to occasionally take a risk. I’ve also got no problem with the iteration fixation. It means we can keep playing as our favourite characters, in our favourite worlds, in current gen, rather than rely on ever-dwindling stocks of nostalgia.

And besides, this year at least, there are so many franchise returns that offer so much to be excited about, with God Of War being top of the heap. Yes, it’s Kratos. But from the mythology to the mechanics, everything is new. Likewise, Battlefield. Utilising a conflict oft-ignored by gaming, on a truly thunderous scale, it’s bound to be in contention come Game Of The Year time. So yes, many of these titles will be fantastic. Are they, however, the games that – right now – have my trigger finger trembling, my credit card pleading for a Christmas call-up? No.

Freak power

Which brings me back to the zom-, sorry, Freakers, of Days Gone. Like with Horizon Zero Dawn at last year’s E3 – and also Death Stranding and Steep this year – you simply can’t beat the magic of seeing something completely new for the first time. It’s an excitement for the unknown, a passion for what might be possible.

Gaming should thrill, surprise and fill us with wonder – and nothing can do that like new IP. Yes, being original is risky. And sure, actually nailing a new idea is a rarity. But we’d have precisely zero great gaming franchises without the devs and publishers who are willing to be that bold, so we should celebrate them to the apocalypse and back when they pull it off. As I bid a fond farewell to Team OPM, I certainly know which of this year’s E3 reveals I’ll be clawing my hands at come its release.

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