Stop me if this headline sounds familiar: late period Sony PS4 title receives PS5 remaster. Yes, it’s yet another Sony refurbishing bonanza, this time focusing on Sony Bend’s underappreciated 2019 gem Days Gone. But unlike recent PS5 remastering efforts, this is much more than a simple resolution bump or frame-rate enhancement, packing new lighting effects that can transform the game’s appearance. Does Days Gone stick the landing on PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles? And can Sony Bend improve on the PS4 code without introducing visual compromises along the way?
Days Gone Remastered feels like a more substantial overhaul than we’ve seen from most Sony remasters, with the game’s lighting – especially at night – seeing dramatic changes. The original release had unusually bright night-time scenes, while the remaster opts for a more realistic presentation with darker shadows, less ambient light and more impactful lighting emitted from the player’s trademark motorcycle. Safe zones also appear darker despite the presence of artificial lights, while skies possess far more visible stars – as you’d expect in the post-apocalypse.
Depending on the conditions and surrounding lights though, sometimes the difference between the original and the remaster is less pronounced, and the game never reaches true darkness outdoors for obvious gameplay reasons. Freaker fights are balanced around being able to make out enemies at range, and that is only somewhat diminished in this new iteration. Visibility shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Cutscenes are given a longer leash, and can often be extremely darker with reworked lighting that can cast more dramatic shadows on characters. Back lights and key lights have a real intensity now, and work with the subsurface scattering to produce a sense of translucency on skin. Even though the assets and animation can appear very similar between the two versions, the updated lighting can change the complexion of cutscenes to good effect.