If Days Gone teaches me nothing else, it's that the roads are as dangerous as they are vital. You've got to keep yourself moving to stay alive. And the key to keeping yourself moving is gas. Just like in Mad Max (with apologies to Dune), he who controls the fuel controls the universe.
I came to the great American road novel late in life. Jack Kerouac's On the Road, sure. But more importantly in this case, I think, is Cormac McCarthy's The Road. See, you can tell they're road novels because it's right there in the title. Days Gone is a road novel set in a video game, in a pandemic apocalypse taking place in the busted-up high desert and Cascade mountain range of the Pacific Northwest. Beautiful stuff.
You've got to take care of your horse, too. Well, your bike. Your drifter bike. You know how you can customize and upgrade your seat and saddle, etc., on your horse in Red Dead Redemption 2? Same thing. Your motorcycle is your mount, and without it, you're going to have a whole lot of fast-moving zombies that you can't outrun forever. So, keep your bike in shape. Do field repairs. Modify it with more durable pieces and parts. Throw some nitrous on that bad boy. In a world with marauders setting up ambushes by day, and zoombies swarming by night, your bike will often be your only friend in the world.
Days Gone is a PlayStation 4 exclusive, launching April 26.
