If you're somewhere between excited and dubious of The Day Before, you're definitely not alone. The survival horror title has been highly anticipated since its premise was unveiled, and after multiple delays, players might finally get their hands on it sooner than expected.
If you aren't aware of the game, The Day Before is a multiplayer open-world survival horror video game developed by Fntastic and published by Mytona. It was first revealed all the way back in 2021.
The game has been through some tumultuous development setbacks, delayed a total of three times and even having moderators from the game's official Discord doubting if The Day Before was even real to begin with. There have been countless video essays and blog posts from fans and detractors documenting the development of The Day Before for years, and nobody is quite sure what to make of it.
Regardless, it seems that barring last-minute delay, The Day Before is very much a real product and we're here to tell you everything you need to know about it.
The Day Before - Release date and platforms
The Day Before is releasing in early access on 7 December for PC via Steam
It's unclear if The Day Before will be released on consoles. The game is being developed by an indie studio, so console players should only get their hopes up if the game does particularly well on PCs.
The game was planned originally for a June 2022 release before being delayed to March 2023 to accommodate a switch in engines from Unreal Engine 4 to 5. After a trademark dispute in early 2023, the game got pushed once again to a release date in early November. It didn't keep this release date for long - the new release date is in December 2023 as mentioned above.
The Day Before - Gameplay
A so-called 'final trailer' has been released on the 1st November, showing the game's open world and several features, listed below. It mentions the early access launch coming on December 7, 2023.
- Character customisation
- Main hub, 'Woodbury'
- Health, hunger, and thirst
- Player versus player combat
- Community tasks
- Trading for food, ammo, and more with Woodbury coins
- Weapon modification
- Vehicles
- Customisable ranch with furniture and decorations
- Upgradable houses
Before the final trailer, fans were treated to 20 minutes of gameplay in a video uploaded on 29 October. It caused quite the buzz, as Fntastic were otherwise quite quiet in the run-up to their game's release. In it, characters are seen using vehicles, looting buildings, dealing with zombies, and fighting enemy players.
The trailer drew quite a bit of criticism, however, as the notable downgrade in visuals and perceived lack of polish were not taken well. Some also claimed that there looked to be fewer mechanics in the game than originally promised.
Despite the final trailer promising an early access launch and a Steam page finally going live, an indefinite delay is still lurking in the back of players' minds. No matter what happens, we'll update this article with the latest, and hope fans can finally get their hands on the game.