The Day Before Launched today, two-and-a-half hours ago at the time of writing. I really have no interest in it. I didn’t even know it existed until today, and my job is to keep up with this stuff. However, that’s probably for the best because it already has around 1900 negative reviews on Steam out of 2200.
Destructoid’s own Steven “Axel Grease” Mills is currently on the case, but he reports that he can’t even get onto a server. However, Steam user Dr. Compton states, “Turns out it is a real game. Kind of wish it wasn’t.” Others report that The Day Before’s performance isn’t quite what it should be. Some state that the settings menus don’t quite work right. A few imply that it’s not really a survival game, but is actually an extraction shooter.
As for positive reviews, user Scarrd touts, “For every like this review gets, I will consume 1 spoonful of mayonnaise.” Currently, the review has over 4000 interactions. I’m not a scientist, but I estimate that Scarrd will be eating a life-threatening amount of mayonnaise. While the comments on that review are disabled, their profile page now features people demanding video evidence of mayonnaise consumption.
Early Access releases are quite frequently pretty rough, especially for online-centric titles like The Day Before. There is the possibility that things will get ironed out, and we will forget about it in a few months. It has happened before. The only authority I’m speaking from right now, however, is optimism. On a good day, I don’t have much optimism to spare, but to make up for that, I have an abundance of sarcasm.
This follows a lot of controversy leading up to launch. The Day Before has been delayed quite a few times since its initial announcement. The Steam store page was, at one point, taken down due to a trademark dispute over the name but was eventually restored along with an announcement that it would initially be launched in Early Access at the current date.
Like I said, I haven’t played the game. I probably won’t play the game because even if it was what everyone expected, I’m not really interested. Right now, I’m just rubbernecking at the traffic accident.
The Day Before is available now for PC via Early Access. Console versions will reportedly arrive later, and let’s hope their launch in better shape.
