The Day Before: A Zombie Survival Game Gone Wrong

How The Day Before Went from Steam Darling to Hilarious Disaster

The Day Before From Steam darling to disaster

The Day Before was supposed to be an epic adventure in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. But instead, it turned out to be one of the biggest flameouts in gaming history. It went from being one of the most anticipated games on Steam to an unmitigated disaster.

The game had been generating a lot of buzz, with thousands of players eagerly waiting for its release. But when it finally hit the shelves on December 7, things quickly went downhill. The game was met with a wave of backlash, and tens of thousands of players demanded refunds. The situation got so bad that the studio behind the game had to shut down.

The Day Before’s developer, Fntastic, admitted that the game was a financial failure and announced that there would be no more updates for the early access title. The studio even went so far as to delete all the gameplay trailers from its YouTube channel and disappeared from social media. The game was pulled from sale on Steam, and the publisher, Mytona, had to work with Valve to provide refunds to disgruntled players.

The whole sequence of events, coupled with Fntastic’s broken promises, led players to call the game a “scam.” But the story of The Day Before’s downfall goes back much further than its disastrous launch.

Fntastic, the developer behind the game, had released several other titles before The Day Before, including The Wild Eight, Dead Dozen, Radiant One, and Propnight. Despite some success with these games, nothing could prepare them for the ambitious undertaking of The Day Before.

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The studio unveiled the game with an impressive trailer showcasing stunning visuals and intense gameplay. It promised an open-world multiplayer survival experience set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a deadly virus. The trailers showed players driving through a city, scavenging for supplies, fighting off zombies, and exploring massive buildings.

But as skeptics pointed out, the videos appeared too good to be true. Some accused Fntastic of copying elements from popular games like The Last of Us and DayZ. Nevertheless, The Day Before quickly became one of the most wishlisted games on Steam, generating even more excitement among gamers.

As the launch date approached, Fntastic released more gameplay trailers, each one more impressive than the last. They showcased features like customizable bases, detailed weapon modifications, and even a massive shopping mall filled with recognizable stores. The hype surrounding the game reached fever pitch.

However, as the months went by, doubts started to creep in. Fntastic announced a delay, citing a change in game engines. They switched to Unreal Engine 5, promising even more fantastic gameplay. But the delay only fueled speculation, and some players accused the studio of running a scam.

Despite the skepticism, the game eventually released on Steam in December. But from the moment The Day Before hit the servers, it was plagued with problems. The North American servers were overloaded, causing long wait times. The game crashed frequently and was riddled with bugs, some of which were quite amusing.

But the real disappointment came from the game itself. Players felt that it didn’t live up to the marketing and ambition of Fntastic’s trailers. Instead of the open-world zombie MMO they were promised, The Day Before felt more like an unpolished extraction shooter. It was a far cry from the epic survival adventure that had been hyped up for so long.

The negative reviews started pouring in, and players demanded refunds. Fntastic tried to address the issues with hotfix patches, but it was too little, too late. The game’s reputation had already been tarnished, and thousands of players sought refunds. In the end, Fntastic couldn’t recover from the financial blow, and the studio was forced to close its doors.

It’s a cautionary tale of how a promising game can turn into a disaster. The Day Before started with high hopes but ended up being a letdown for gamers everywhere. Fntastic’s ambitious vision was overshadowed by technical issues and a failure to deliver on its promises.

So, what can we learn from this sad tale? Well, as gamers, we should always temper our expectations and not get overly excited based on trailers alone. And developers should be transparent with their audience, managing expectations and delivering on their promises.

The gaming world is full of ups and downs, successes and failures. But through it all, we’ll keep playing, hoping to find that next great adventure. Remember, even in the face of disappointment, there are always more games to explore and new worlds to conquer.