The arrival ofDays Gone Remasteredis significant for a lot more than just its additional visual polish. Aside from the very noticeable uplift in performance and visual fidelity,Days Gone Remasteredalso delivers the “complete"Days Goneexperience by adding several new ways to play the game. There are the new Permadeath and Speedrun modes to challenge returning players looking for a fresh new experience, but the most noteworthy shake-up introduced inDays Gone Remasteredis the new Horde Assault Mode that both extends the title’s replayability and introduces a component that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the story mode.
An arcade-style challenge that pits the player against wave after wave of bloodthirsty “Freakers” (Days Gone’s term for the undead roaming its bleak apocalyptic vision of the Pacific Northwest),Horde Assaultalmost justifies picking upDays Gone Remasteredon its own. With several characters to choose from, plenty of challenges to chase down, and a slew of new trophies to try and acquire, Horde Assault is much more than just a momentary distraction. Best of all, it’s a strong showcase for how impressiveDays Gone’s enemy tech and AI still are years after the game’s initial release.
The Arcade-Style Thrill of Days Gone Remastered’s Horde Assault Completes the Package
Getting to experienceDays Gone’s excellent story mode would likely have been reason enough for either new or returning players to pick up or upgrade toDays Gone Remastered.But that the title includes a slew of new modes, Horde Assault among them, is a step toward providing a more complete package that offers up potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay. Most players will completeDays Gone Remastered’s story modein 35–40 hours, depending on difficulty. Conversely, Horde Assault will take those same players much longer to fully complete, and they’ll be experiencing some of the best combatDays Gone Remasteredhas to offer when doing so.
What’s more impressive is how different each of the playable characters feels in Horde Assault and how the inclusion of several challenges and score targets inspires and incentivizes repeat runs. Players will start with justDeaconavailable and one of three unlockable locations before progressively unlocking a steady stream of content specific to Horde Assault, which makes each subsequent playthrough of the mode even more rewarding. Compared to the more survival-focused and narrative-driven story mode, Horde Assault isDays Gone Remastered’s adrenaline-pumping showcase of the title’s combat sandbox.
Days Gone Remastered Presents the Best Looking and Performing Version of the Impressive Horde Technology
The basic premise of Horde Assault will be immediately familiar to anyone who has played anotherwave-based horde survivalmode in a third-person shooter, but it’s a premise that comes across as all the more impressive inDays Gone Remasteredthanks to its signature enemy AI and impressive number of on-screen threats.Days Gone’s Hordes were a sight to behold in 2019, and the technology remains noteworthy 6 years later, regardless ofDays Gone Remastered’s visual and performance improvements. That said, seeing hundreds of Freakers descend on Deacon in 4K at 60 FPS is almost overwhelming.
In that sense, Horde Assault is both a showcase forDays Gone’s combat as much as it is one of the better showcases forDays Gone Remastered’s visual enhancements, making it an essential inclusion in the remaster package. Being able to survive the onslaught of a Freaker Horde inDays Gone’s story mode was one of the highlights of the experience, and nowDays Gone Remasteredhas provided Horde Assault as a way for players to have that thrill any time they like, complete with an addictive set of scores to chase and challenges to unlock that extend its replayability and cement the mode as more than just a tacked-on bonus.
