Days Gone DLC begins now with free Survival Mode update

Days Gone DLC is rolling out now and it just made the Farewell Wilderness even more inhospitable. The first new feature for the open-world apocalypse is Survival Mode, which makes enemies tougher and your own user interface far less accomodating. Coming up later in June is the first of 12 weekly challenges, giving players an infinite horde to survive against and some handy rewards they can take back into the main game. Meanwhile, all remains quiet on the Days Gone story DLC front, but that doesn't mean it's out of the question. 

Survival Mode gives you more challenge and rewards

If you finished the Days Gone story and were left pounding your chest as you howled for "MORE CHALLENGE," welcome to Survival Mode. The new option for campaign play means tougher enemies, no fast travel, and a disabled HUD by default. You can get your minimap and on-screen status bars back temporarily by activating survival vision, but even then it won't outline enemies or show you their current awareness. Your Survival Mode travails will turn into triumphs when you earn exclusive new bike skins and Trophies by playing and finishing the mode.

Weekly Challenges let you earn boosts for the main game

Some folks like playing Challenge stages for the thrill of chasing high scores, other folks can't be bothered. You'll want to pay attention to Days Gone's upcoming Weekly Challenges even if you're in the latter camp for at least one reason: vest patches. Completing challenges will earn you patches for Deacon's vest that come with mechanical perks like increased health, better melee weapon durability, and faster stamina regen, and they even work in both challenges and Story mode. You'll also be able to earn rings that provide bigger boosts and character skins that let you look like Boozer, Rikki, or Deacon but without a shirt, though they can only be used in challenges.

The first of 12 weekly challenges will go live in late June, and it's of the horde survival persuasion: titled Surrounded, it drops you into Sherman's Camp and surrounds you with an endless horde of freakers. Your objective is to survive as long as you can, but you can't just camp somewhere safe - a timer's ticking down and the only way to fill it back up is by taking out freakers in skillful way.

Days Gone story DLC could still happen

There hasn't yet been any word about Days Gone story DLC, which could expand the narrative and world like Horizon: Zero Dawn's Frozen Wilds DLC. There's still plenty of time for Sony and Bend Studio to announce it, if there will be any. The vanilla game hasn't even been out for two months as of this writing.

Read about how Days Gone's apocalyptic accuracy rates with the Zombie Research Society, or check out our 60 second review of the game.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Adventure
The player character in Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks at the three starter Pokemon, Totodile, Tepig, and Chikorita.
You can let fate decide your Pokemon Legends Z-A starter with a random plushie pre-order bonus, just in case you couldn't pick between Totodile, Tepig, and Chikorita
Key art for Pokemon Champions
Pokemon Champions could be the series' "biggest announcement in over a decade," says former world champ, because Nintendo might finally be about to separate competitive play from single-player
Pokemon Legends Z-A screenshot
Lumiose City is going through an "urban redevelopment plan" in Pokemon Legends Z-A, and I bet it has something to do with the 1100lbs battles on its rooftops
prisim tower standing tall and proud in the center of lumiose city
In classic Nintendo fashion, the latest Pokemon Legends Z-A reveal left out the best part: the Lumiose City map looks great after a massive overhaul in the 12 years since X and Y
Pokemon Champions
Former Pokemon World Champion says new game is about to turn the competitive scene upside-down, with changes so big he "can't even fathom" them
the female protagonist in pokemon legends z-a standing in a city street. she's wearing wide-legged pants, a series first
Pokemon Legends: Z-A breaks a 24-year fashion tradition, giving its female protagonist pants for the first time in the series' history
Latest in News
Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom promises "this is just the start for the next generation of Monster Hunter" as Wilds shatters sales milestones: "The Guild authorizes this celebration!"
Lester sitting at a computer in some artwork for GTA Online
Some GTA 5 players can't bring their characters to the new PC upgrade, and the open-world game's mixed Steam reviews are hammering FPS caps and a lack of text chat
Kamala Khan holds Jean Grey's body in an homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #136
45 years after the original Dark Phoenix Saga, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel back in time to save X-Men history
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows is the first game in the series with "a fully customizable sandbox" as your base, which is where Yasuke and Naoe hang out and pet baby animals
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot of spider boss Nerscylla
Monster Hunter Wilds takes an infamously rare and annoying material from the old games and absolutely buries you in it – and also buries you in tiny spiders
Severance
Ben Stiller asked President Barack Obama to appear in Severance and he declined in the most Obama way: "Hey Ben, big fan of the show"