The Day Before: Gameplay

The Day Before: Gameplay

Trailers have offered us snapshots of The Day Before, but it was IGN’s video from 2021 that first showcased the game’s actual gameplay. The clip highlighted a duo of players rummaging for supplies in a gas station and neutralizing the infected, giving us a peek into the game’s inventory management and looting mechanics, reminiscent of State of Decay. As the original release date approached, much of the game, particularly post-transition to Unreal Engine 5, remained shrouded in mystery.

Before the announcement of the delay, Fntastic had hinted at a January gameplay reveal. Subsequently, on February 2, they delivered a 10-minute gameplay video. It started with two characters navigating an eerily quiet residential neighborhood, followed by a looting session in a house, and then a journey through deserted urban streets punctuated by zombie encounters. The gameplay reveal, however, was met with underwhelming reactions from viewers.

Further gameplay footage has not been forthcoming, but in a dialogue with Well Played, Fntastic expanded on features such as employment, housing, and even saunas in the game’s apocalyptic setting. They discussed the various types of infected enemies designed to increase the game’s intensity. Yet, Fntastic emphasized that zombies aren’t the central theme; the essence of The Day Before lies in the player-driven interactions and the lived experiences as they traverse and settle in the devastated landscape.