Days Gone’s expansive and often terrifying post-apocalyptic world is full of things to do that don’t always involve fighting Freakers. Deacon St. John has his work cut out for him and players have to put in more than a few hours if they hope to make the most of their experience of the game.
While the game does a good job of showing players the basics about upgrading their gear or looting abandoned houses, it doesn’t teach them everything. This makes it easy to miss some crucial things that can make the gameplay smoother or add to the title’s compelling narrative.
Throw Rocks At Bear Traps
Stealth is an important part of ambushing camps and taking down enemies in Days Gone. One of the things that can hinder players from staying perfectly hidden is the several bear traps scattered all over the bleak video game’s world.
The usual method to disable these traps is to slowly walk up to them and hold the square button until they’re dismantled. This is fun to watch at first, but the process eventually becomes a boring and tedious one. A quicker way to get rid of these traps is to simply throw rocks at them – just be careful to make sure that Deacon is hidden the entire time, as the sound of the bear trap snapping will attract attention from nearby enemies.
Use The Flashlight For Defense
A humble flashlight is a useful tool in a Freaker apocalypse, as no one wants to get ambushed on a dark road in the middle of the night. While it would make more sense to avoid traveling when it’s dark, sometimes a mission calls for it and players have no choice but to venture into caves or dingy rooms with their trusty flashlight.
Something fans may never discover is that the flashlight also doubles as a defensive tool, as shining it on Freakers will startle them and cause them to temporarily cover up their eyes. This isn’t a permanent effect, however, and they’ll eventually start charging towards Deacon, who hopefully has his gun ready and loaded.
Find Hidden Freaker Nests
Days Gone has been praised by fans and critics for making video game zombies scary again with its nightmarish Freakers that can run and jump. For fans who need a break from the main storyline or simply want to kill a bunch of the mindless monsters, a great pastime is to actively seek out Freaker Nests hidden all over the map.
The best indications of Freaker Nests on the map are the historical markers that usually lead to monuments. If players look around in these areas, they’ll likely find a cave that usually houses a lot of Freakers. It’s best to come prepared before attacking, as these battles can quickly get out of hand due to a large number of enemies concentrated in one area.
Loot Cars More Efficiently
Looting cars is a great way to get materials for upgrades and gasoline for Deacon’s bike. What most players may not know about this process is that there are more efficient ways to collect items rather than just randomly choosing a car.
For one, there’s an easy way to tell if a car will set off an alarm that will attract nearby Freakers – just check if it has a blinking red light. There’s also a quick way to figure out if a car has loot or not without even touching it. Vehicles that have their trunks open or even slightly ajar never have anything in them, as it’s a sign that someone took the items already.
Disable Speakers
Infiltrating NERO Checkpoints is a crucial part of the game that helps players upgrade their stats and strengthen their character. Days Gone does teach Deacon how to do this the first time with a step-by-step tutorial that includes disabling the speakers that could potentially attract Freakers once the generator is up and running.
However, some players don’t realize that they have to do this for every single NERO site so they can just skip the part where they fend off a massive Horde. The speakers are not always easy to find, but the best way to locate them is to follow the wires from the main generator until they reach the speakers. There can be more than one on each site, so it’s important to double-check that all of them have been disabled before restoring power.
Gain Trust Through Kitchens
One of the reasons Days Gone is considered one of the best post-apocalyptic video games is its focus on developing relationships between the main characters. This is true for the side characters and most NPCs, too. While most players figure out that the best way to earn Trust in encampments is to do jobs for its people, there’s a lesser-known approach that depends on how skilled Deacon is at gathering plants and meat. Every encampment has a kitchen where players can sell these items in exchange for a bit of money and Trust as well, which contributes to the overall Trust level with that particular camp.
Revisit Sarah’s Tombstone
Early on in the game, Deacon believes that his wife Sarah Whitaker died after they were separated during the outbreak. He sets up a tombstone for her and in a moving cutscene, he talks to her about how much he misses her and wishes she could be there with him. This is the only time players are led to that location, so it’s easy to miss the fact that they can revisit it multiple times throughout the game.
Visiting Sarah’s Memorial Stone after major events in the game will result in new dialogue from Deacon, who reveals exactly how he’s feeling about the things going on around him. It’s a fascinating look into the protagonist’s perspective that players would otherwise never learn about.
Unlock The Secret Ending
Days Gone seems to end on a happy note for most players, with Deacon and his friends hanging out at the Lost Lake encampment. However, the protagonist’s adventures are not over just yet, and the real dangers have only just begun.
Players who only complete the main storyline will miss out on one of the best video game secret endings of all time. To unlock it, fans have to finish all 12 Finding NERO missions – this will trigger a phone call from James O’Brian, who has a few shocking revelations about himself and his organization.
Craft A NERO Weapon
Players are likely to encounter IPCA tech scattered across different locations in the game, but it’s not clear exactly what these are for until after the credits have rolled. Collecting all 18 pieces will cause an “Unknown NERO Weapon” recipe to show up in Deacon’s inventory, but only if fans have unlocked the secret ending.
It’s a long and tedious process to craft this mysterious weapon, which turns out to be an IPCA Stun Gun. The stun gun is an homage to the PS1 game, Syphon Filter, which the developers worked on before creating Days Gone. It’s the same weapon that Gabe Logan used and even features his initials on the top portion.
