History YMMV / DaysGone

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: The events of the final part of the game, from the death of Doc Jiminez to the Colonel's [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope descent into madness]] and [[spoiler: Skizzo seizing authority among the Militia and using them to attack the Lost Lake Camp]] were all a series of unfortunate events that coincided, but they might have been mitigated, or even stopped, if Deacon had been a little more willing to speak truthfully instead of obfuscating for a change. Certainly, maybe the Colonel was always going to go mad, but Jiminez would probably be alive if Deacon had mentioned to Kouri that Taylor was a junkie, and Skizzo would probably not have had his opportunity if Deacon had been honest about the knowing the Rippers and mentioned the traitor who sold him out to them.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: The events of the final part of the game, from the death of Doc jiminez to the Colonel's [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope descent into madness]] and [[spoiler: Skizzo seizing authority among the Militia and using them to attack the Lost Lake Camp]] were all a series of unfortunate events that coincided, but they might have been mitigated, or even stopped, if Deacon had been a little more willing to speak truthfully instead of obfuscating for a change. Certainly, maybe the Colonel was always going to go mad, but Jiminez would probably be alive if Deacon had mentioned to Kouri that Taylor was a junkie, and Skizzo would probably not have had his opportunity if Deacon had been honest about the knowing the Rippers and mentioned the traitor who sold him out to them.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: The events of the final part of the game, from the death of Doc jiminez to the Colonel's [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope descent into madness]] and [[spoiler: Skizzo seizing authority among the Militia and using them to attack the Lost Lake Camp]] were all a series of unfortunate events that coincided, but they might have been mitigated, or even stopped, if Deacon had been a little more willing to speak truthfully instead of obfuscating for a change. Certainly, maybe the Colonel was always going to go mad, but Jiminez would probably be alive if Deacon had mentioned to Kouri that Taylor was a junkie, and Skizzo would probably not have had his oppertunity if Deacon had been honest about the knowing the Rippers and mentioned the traitor who sold him out to them.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: The events of the final part of the game, from the death of Doc jiminez to the Colonel's [[SlidingOffTheSlipperySlope descent into madness]] and [[spoiler: Skizzo seizing authority among the Militia and using them to attack the Lost Lake Camp]] were all a series of unfortunate events that coincided, but they might have been mitigated, or even stopped, if Deacon had been a little more willing to speak truthfully instead of obfuscating for a change. Certainly, maybe the Colonel was always going to go mad, but Jiminez would probably be alive if Deacon had mentioned to Kouri that Taylor was a junkie, and Skizzo would probably not have had his oppertunity if Deacon had been honest about the knowing the Rippers and mentioned the traitor who sold him out to them.

** Another downplayed example is how the vast majority of cars on the roads are badged as having turbocharged diesel engines (TDI) despite diesel being extremely unpopular in USA outside of semi-trucks.

* CriticalDissonance: While mainstream critics have agreed the game is SoOkayItsAverage, most of the general playerbase have a much more positive opinion, with the Metacritic user score being an 8/10. The main theory is that ''Days Gone'' is thematically similar to ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' and mechanically similar to ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', with its main weakness being its narrative isn't quite as strong as the other two games, and regular players were more willing to forgive that weakness than the critics were.

** Of particular note, it formed one with ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'', ''Videogame/TheLastOfUs'' and ''VideoGame/DeathStranding''. Especially with ''Death Stranding'' due to both titles being 2019 [=PS4=] exclusives that are set in a post-apocalyptic America and being notable for receiving a divisive reception from press and gamers. It helps that both SIE Bend and Creator/KojimaProductions are on friendly terms, with the former helped working on ''Death Stranding'', ''Days Gone'' releasing free content based on the game, and both games in general [[VindicatedByHistory enjoying a warmer reception post-launch]] than at release.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: One of the most common criticisms of this game is that zombie survival has become an overplayed genre in video games and that, while beautiful, this game doesn't seem to do enough to innovate in that regard.

** Iron Mike's idealism about appealing to humanity's good side makes him seem naive and weak, especially in the face of the [[ForTheEvulz obviously evil]] Rippers. However, Iron Mike has already seen other survivor groups wipe each other out over their stubborn inability to coexist or make peace, and doesn't want to repeat the same mistake.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Wade Taylor. After he murders Dr. Jiminez and steals the camps' supply of narcotics, when Deacon catches up to him he's blubbering on the floor about how he didn't mean to do it and how much he doesn't want to be hanged for murder. The game's narrative takes pity on him and Deacon gives him an overdose. Some players felt that, considering he murdered the camp doctor in cold blood, hanging was the ''least'' he deserved.

* CriticalResearchFailure: 'Critical' might be pushing it a little, but Lucas, the Canadian mechanic at the Diamond Lake encampment says things like "They call it petrol where I come from" when you refuel the bike with him. It's....not called that in Canada. It's called gas, same as in the States.

* UnintentionalllyUnsympathetic: Wade Taylor. After he murders Dr. Jiminez and steals the camps' supply of narcotics, when Deacon catches up to him he's blubbering on the floor about how he didn't mean to do it and how much he doesn't want to be hanged for murder. The game's narrative takes pity on him and Deacon gives him an overdose. Some players felt that, considering he murdered the camp doctor in cold blood, hanging was the ''least'' he deserved.

* VindicatedByHistory: Combined with its status as a SleeperHit, this appears to be the case for ''Days Gone''. In the months after its release and by the time for its first-year anniversary, reception became much warmer thanks to SIE Bend working on patches to rectify glitches and other mistakes in the game, as well as constantly updating the game with free content and challenges.

* ToughActToFollow: Even before its release, there was doubt that ''Days Gone'' could live up to the quality and acclaim set by the releases of Sony's previous big budget games such as ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 God of War]]'', ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Marvel's Spider-Man]]'' and ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'', the last one also being a post-apocalyptic WideOpenSandbox. As noted on CriticalDissonance, this is ultimately [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], as while ''Days Gone'' failed to receive critical acclaim among publications and was deemed SoOkayItsAverage, it was still positively received by the gaming community and even managed to win a variety of awards after its release.

* GoddamnedBats: Criers are infected crows that are difficult to shoot, move quickly, do a startling amount of damage, and actively attempt to blindside you. Fortunately, burning the local nest seems to get rid of all of them in a given area.

* ItGetsBetter: One of the main complaints of the game is that the game's story only really picks up at the last 3rd of the game.

* ShePannedItNowSheSucks: Kallie Plagge of [=GameSpot=] was harassed on social media for her 5/10 review of the game, with her main complaints being about the story and the main character, in addition to [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks being very similar to other recent games]]. Many of those attacking her allege that she deducted points for reasons that were never stated in the review, as this was also not the first time she's done arbitrary score deductions in reviews either: She is also infamous for her "7.8/10, Too much water" review of [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]], where she also performed arbitrary score deductions for reasons that were unstated in the review.

* ToughActToFollow: As a first-party Sony title, some felt that VideoGame/DaysGone doesn't quite reach the highs of acclaimed games such as VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4, VideoGame/SpiderManPS4, and the similarly post-apocalyptic WideOpenSandbox (and the first of such first-party titles) VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn, leading to criticisms of SoOkayItsAverage.

* SoOkayItsAverage: With a Metacritic score of 72, this has been the general critical reaction. Many critics argued that the game, while mostly enjoyable and well put-together, doesn't do anything too remarkable to make it stand out in the over-saturated genre of open world zombie and/or survival games. Coming off the heels of the surprisingly remarkable ''VideoGame/WorldWarZ2019'' didn't help either.

** All four leaders also prioritize the survival of their groups, and are not out for personal gain or power. [[spoiler:Even Garret's genocidal agenda in the end is in a misguided attempt at purging the world from all 'dangerous' people.]]

* ShePannedItNowSheSucks: Kallie Plagge of [=GameSpot=] was harassed on social media for her 5/10 review of the game, with her main complaints being about the story and the main character, in addition to [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks being very similar to other recent games]]. Many of those attacking her allege that she deducted points for reasons that were never stated in the review, much like in her infamous "7.8/10, Too much water" review of [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]], where there was also nothing in the review itself that the infamous quote can be construed/derived from.

** Which is a funny story as WWZ's Devs originally apporached the Sony Bend team about making a multiplayer focused mode for Days Gone before choosing to do WWZ, which ended up being ready in time for Days Gone's release.

* ToughActToFollow: As a first-party Sony title, some felt that VideoGame/DaysGone doesn't quite reach the highs of acclaimed games such as VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4, VideoGame/SpiderManPS4, and the similarly post-apocalyptic OpenWorldSandbox (and the first of such first-party titles) VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn, leading to criticisms of SoOkayItsAverage.

* ToughActToFollow: As a first-party Sony title, some felt that VideoGame/DaysGone doesn't quite reach the highs of acclaimed games such as VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 and VideoGame/SpiderManPS4, leading to criticisms of SoOkayItsAverage.

** The Colonel is incredibly strict and rigid, commanding his followers like an army rather than a survivor group. However, he's the only faction leader who actually has long term goals in mind, like finding a way to permanently end the threat of the Freakers and preserving what's left of human civilization for future generations.

* ShePannedItNowSheSucks: Kallie Plagge of [=GameSpot=] was harassed on social media for her 5/10 review of the game, with her main complaints being about the story and the main character, in addition to [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks being very similar to other recent games]]. Many of those attacking her allege that she deducted points for reasons that were never stated in the review, much like in her infamous "7.8/10, Too much water" review of [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]], where the infamous verdict quote was also ''not'' part of the review itself.

* ShePannedItNowSheSucks: Kallie Plagge of [=GameSpot=] was harassed on social media for her 5/10 review of the game, with her main complaints being about the story and the main character, in addition to [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks being very similar to other recent games]]. Many of those attacking her allege that she deducted points for reasons that were never stated in the review.

* CriticalResearchFailure: 'Critical' might be pushing it a little, but Jacob, the Canadian mechanic at the Diamond Lake encampment says things like "They call it petrol where I come from" when you refuel the bike with him. It's....not called that in Canada. It's called gas, same as in the States.

** Deacon and Sarah's wedding has this uncomfortable line said by the latter; "Promise to ride me like you would ride your bike." This was instantly made fun of on social media outlets. Though the line is TruthInTelevision, as a tongue-in-cheek saying used at biker weddings.

* ToughActToFollow: As a first-party Sony title, VideoGame/DaysGone doesn't quite reach the highs of acclaimed games such as VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 and VideoGame/SpiderManPS4, leading to criticisms of SoOkayItsAverage.