Bogged Down: Days Gone Director Laments Loss of Depth in Lead Character Portrayal

John Garvin, director of Days Gone, thinks it’s pretty sad that the game’s main man, Deacon, has been reduced to a cartoon shill. Why’s that, you ask? Well, Bend, his former studio, released an image featuring Astro Bot – a rival game’s robot – rocking Deacon’s garb on a beach.

Garvin calls it “kinda sad” that Deacon’s been “reduced to promoting other games”. And don’t even get him started on how Bend Studio is handling this – “Way to protect your legacy, Bend Studio!” he joked. When someone suggested he calm down, Garvin fired back, saying: “I see my character reduced to a cartoon shill promoting some small game and I’m being harsh? Sit down, my brotha, adults are talking.”

But, uh, Sam Witwer, Deacon’s voice actor, isn’t as fired up – he even says he’s gonna buy the game now. Meanwhile, Gabriel, a commenter on Twitter, thinks Garvin’s being a bit too harsh. “Don’t keep that magic stored away,” he wrote.

As for Astro Bot itself? Well, it’s having a moment. Eurogamer gave it a shiny five out of five stars, calling it a “joyous celebration of gaming”. And Digital Foundry? They called it “virtually flawless and a PS5 masterpiece”.

You know what they say: when it’s all done, you’re left with the feeling of being well-cared for. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The real question here is… what bots does Astro Bot NOT have?