Better late than never, DayZ is finally making its way to the PS4 over four years after it was formally announced. After the initial hype died away, resurfaced, and again settled down with a seemingly endless and no updates, today’s PlayStation Blog update shows the title finally arriving at the end of May.
The game was first announced as coming to the PS4 during the Gamescom 2014 keynote address made by Sony. While it was popular then, the real question is whether the release of the game onto the PS4 will be met by anything than passing interest in a player base that may have moved on.
The game first appeared on the PC in 2013, not as its own stand-alone game but as a mod for ARMA II, another open-world shooter. DayZ would eventually be known for its extremely long period in early access, with Bohemia Interactive providing updates far and few in between.
Over the years there has been controversy with the pricing of the game, which would increase during early access before one of Steam’s sales, leading new players to believe that they were buying at a discount, when in fact they were still paying close to full price.
DayZ is set the post-soviet country of Chernarus after suffering the prolonged effects of some unknown virus, which turned most normal people into what we would consider generic zombies by today’s standards. Players could then duke it out alongside friends or try to go at it solo. Either way the game can be as enjoyable as it is punishing.
Gameplay focuses on scavenging, crafting, and also stealing resources to survive. It could be considered a multiplayer rogue-like game as well, in that as careful as you may be and as well armed and defended you may think you are, death can come in the blink of an eye. All progress can vanish from one moment to the next. Some players relish that style of gameplay, while others see it as too punishing.
For those who were interested in the announcement four years ago and now need a refresher as to what to expect from this game, the main features are:
- Detailed, authentic backdrop of Chernarus, an open world terrain featuring 230 square kilometers of hand-crafted environment based on real life locations.
- Environmental dangers including the infected, dynamic weather, and animal predators.
- A wide variety of complex survival mechanics – from hunting and crafting, through sophisticated injury simulation, to transferable diseases.
- Persistent servers with complex loot economy, and the ability to build improvised bases.
- Visceral, authentic gun play and melee combat systems.
- Rewarding and authentic experience of driving vehicles for travel and material transport.
DayZ will be launching formally on the PS4 this May 29, 2019.