Article Key Points
The Day Before has faced development delays and copyright disputes, but the PC version is set to launch in Early Access in December.
The gameplay mechanics highlighted in the new trailer include weapon customization, missions, vehicle driving, and exploring the city infested with zombies. However, there is a concern that the gameplay loop feels repetitive, as it mainly revolves around resource gathering for the Woodberry settlement hub, potentially lacking long-term variety.
The Day Before has faced numerous delays and a copyright dispute, causing concerns among fans regarding its release. The game failed to meet its November 11 release date, and unfortunately, the Xbox and PlayStation versions have been indefinitely postponed. However, there is hope for PC fans as the zombie survival MMO is expected to launch in Early Access this December.
Fntastic, the developer, and Mytona, the publisher, recently unveiled a new trailer for The Day Before, highlighting its mechanics and gameplay. Players can personalize their weapons, complete missions, drive vehicles, explore the zombie-infested New Fortune City, customize their character's house, and relax in the hub-settlement known as Woodberry. While the open-world MMO offers a plethora of activities, a particular aspect of the gameplay loop appears to be both limited and excessively repetitive.
The Day Before Trailer Makes it Seem Repetitive
Players wake up in a clinic after being rescued by survivors from Woodberry, the game's main hub. Woodberry offers various amenities such as weapons, food, and item vendors, as well as a spa and gymnasium. It is also where players can complete quests and sell items found in the open world.
The residents of Woodberry are always in need of supplies and will reward players for salvaging food, building materials, and resources from the city and surrounding areas. Players can choose to do this on their own or in response to specific requests from the residents. However, there seems to be limited activities available that do not involve finding supplies for the town.
To clarify, it should be noted that there are numerous ways in which players can approach the task of completing the loop. The Day Before offers a PvPvE gaming experience, giving players the option to either collaborate against the zombies or engage in looting by attacking each other. The weapons in the game are fully customizable, with each possessing distinctive attributes such as realistic reloading and recoil mechanics. Additionally, players of The Day Before have the opportunity to purchase cars, allowing them to navigate the post-apocalyptic world with a touch of elegance.
Features Listed in The Day Before Release Date Trailer
Open-world map
Richly detailed environment
Detailed character customization
Health, hunger, and thirst meters
Multiple zombie types
PvP combat
Weapon modification
Realistic weapon handling
Quest system
In-game spa and gym
Cars
Customizable player housing
The Potential Problem with The Day Before's Hub Town
However, it appears that all of these actions serve the purpose of collecting resources for Woodberry. The primary objective for players is to explore the city in order to gather resources for Woodberry. Engaging in battles against zombies allows players to explore more areas for resource collection and also to compete with other players, stealing their resources to bring back to Woodberry. In order to expedite the process of supply gathering and cover larger distances, players have the option to purchase cars. Although The Day Before incorporates crafting and survival mechanics, one could argue that these mechanics merely present additional challenges within the resource-gathering journey.
This is not to imply that those mechanics can't or won't be enjoyable. The Day Before may also be suffering from poor choices made by its marketing department. However, it appears that Fntastic and Mytona are promoting The Day Before as a series of repetitive fetch quests in the same town, with increasing complexity.
To be fair, the full game has yet to be seen, so it is possible that The Day Before addresses this concern. There may be a long-term objective that provides additional context to the gathering of resources. Additionally, The Day Before may offer more diverse gameplay than what is shown in the trailer, or perhaps its social aspects are what make the game engaging. However, the impression given by the trailer does not indicate any of these possibilities, and it is peculiar that the developer of The Day Before hasn't provided more information about them.
The Day Before is an open-world zombie game developed by Fntastic and published by MYTONA. It was released on December 7, 2023, and is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. For more information, you can visit the official site or check it out on Steam.
Editor's P/S
As an enthusiastic fan of The Day Before, I am thrilled to see the release of the Early Access trailer. The game looks absolutely stunning, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.
However, I share the concerns of some fans about the repetitiveness of the gameplay loop. It seems like the game will mainly revolve around resource gathering for the Woodberry settlement hub, and I'm worried that this will get old after a while. I hope that the developers will add more variety to the gameplay in the future, such as more quests, different types of enemies, and more ways to interact with the environment.
Despite my concerns, I'm still very excited for The Day Before. I think it has the potential to be a great game, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops in the coming months.