The demo briefly showed off some of the game’s motorcycle riding, wildlife, crafting, but mainly the hordes of zombies. The studio showed an emotional announcement trailer for the post-apocalyptic biker game and later a ten-minute gameplay demo. Bend Studio called in that favor to stop making portable versions of other studios’ games and create a new Intellectual Property for the PlayStation 4.įast forward to E3 2016’s PlayStation showcase, and Bend Studio debuted their new game, Days Gone. In 2009, they released Resistance Retribution – a fresh take on the Insomniac Games franchise for the PSP handheld console- and then, in 2011, they released Uncharted: Golden Abyss for the PlayStation Vita.Īfter the success of Golden Abyss, then President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida told the creative director at Bend Studio, John Garvin, that they essentially had one favor they could call in whenever they wanted. After Bubsy 3D flopped, Bend Studio worked on Syphon Filter from 1999 through 2007. The Oregon-based studio we know as Bend Studio cut its teeth developing games like Bubsy 3D and Syphon Filter for Sony’s PlayStation consoles and handheld devices. While deep-diving into the history of the game I reviewed its launch, its sales over time and revisited the game on my PlayStation 5 to play it in its current state. I decided to stop thinking about it and perform a post-mortem with a Days Gone retrospective. What is it about Days Gone that resulted in the lack of admiration from Sony? Was it the buggy launch and the poor review scores that resulted? Do lifetime sales mean less than first month sales? Is it an optics problem? What does Sony want? Perception of Days Gone has seemingly changed for the better, but Sony shot down the pitch for a sequel. With most of the bugs squashed, I enjoyed the game a lot. I originally played Days Gone in January 2020, well after its launch, on an original PlayStation 4. This comparison caused my mind to wander. Ross compared Days Gone’s sales and lack of praise to Sony’s admiration of Sucker Punch’s latest title, Ghost of Tsushima. The game’s director, Jeff Ross, made headlines with a recent tweet about the lack of enthusiasm Sony showed to Bend Studio after the game’s release. I’ve been thinking about Days Gone a lot lately.