After a livestream conversation between two developers drifted into Days Gone territory, pitch details of the sequel have surfaced. I must stress that these details were from one pitch for Days Gone 2, and it’s unknown if Sony has fully canceled the game. The company may well be planning to do a sequel at some point in the future. As of right now though, all sources available suggest that a sequel is not in the works. The pitch for it is very impressive though. There’s one detail in particular which has already been proven to work, it’s just bonkers that it wasn’t allowed.
The feature I’m talking about is a shared universe and co-op gameplay. This would have been a separate game mode, and was actually initially thought of for the first Days Gone. Players would have taken control of key characters in the world, and then work together to survive and build a base as a crew. This would work similarly to how multiplayer in State of Decay 2 works. Players can be in the same world and scavenge for supplies, kill the undead, and do whatever they want together.
I can’t believe that this feature didn’t make it into the full game, let alone sell Sony on a sequel. At the time, State of Decay was already out, and proving that the solo concept was incredibly engrossing. With the infected variants found in Days Gone, I think this would work even better. You could have four players traversing the world for fuel, beer, and food. Each stop is the difference between surviving another night or getting eaten alive by a banc of Freakers.
I think that a good story could have been woven into this as well. Modern MMOs have proven that coherent and well-written stories can be told regardless of the number of players. As long as it’s all framed well, it’ll come across and engross the players just as much as a solo game can. I’d still love to experience this universe with a base building mechanic alongside other players. Hopefully, Sony will one day revive Days Gone and give me what I want.