Recently, developer Fntastic released the first supposedly actual gameplay of The Day Before, and fans were initially convinced. But now it’s clear: the gameplay is fake and Guided, and Reddit have the proof.
What happened so far: The Day Before was supposed to be the big new zombie MMO, but it made a bad name for itself with pre-rendered trailers and fake gameplay scenes. Most recently, the game was surprisingly removed from the Steam store. A seemingly unforeseeable legal dispute about the trademark rights flared up. A reason for developer Fntastic to postpone The Day Before for the third time – by 9 months. But the community kept up the pressure and “succeeded”. On February 02, the first uncut gameplay of The Day Before was released. But then everything came differently…
Note: At the end of the article, you will find all previous analyses that support this article!
Gameplay Trailer of The Day Before from February 2023 is a Lie.
Before we go into detail about why The Day Before’s gameplay is one big lie, let’s clarify what the developers were able to present in the first place. The trailer shows a duo on a looting spree. First in a suburb, then in the city center. The protagonists fight their way through the overgrown alleys and slap lead into the mouths of a few undead here and there. Towards the end, the gameplay shows a bit of crafting and – that’s it.
https://youtu.be/-KgrIGUhoZA
A few minutes later, Fntastic published another 40-second video on their official YouTube channel. They filmed one of their employees playing The Day Before in this short clip. Even here, some viewers became skeptical and pointed out the mouse’s uneven movements and the game’s movement. Well, so be it, small flaws in the post, perhaps. When in doubt, give the defendant the benefit of the doubt. But you have no idea where this journey will lead:
All Just Dragged and Pirated
Resourceful viewers and users on reddit.com have discovered assets in the trailer that are not from the developers themselves. Buying assets is common in the video game industry to save resources. Fntastic, however, seems to be taking this practice to the extreme. Users could assign almost every object in the trailer to an asset pack on the Unreal Engine Marketplace or on Storeboard:
- Ambulance and Medical Waste.
- Tow trucks.
- Dumpsters and garbage.
- Houses and garden objects.
The developers have left many of the purchased assets in their original state. The objects and vehicles have been plopped into the game world as if they were purchased; this is noticeable. It is especially evident when an entire suburb comes from an asset library. At the beginning of the seemingly long-planned gameplay trailer, we see a quiet suburb and abandoned family homes.
Yep, they’re all purchased, and not only that, but furniture, garden utensils, and the like come from a single large asset pack from the developer PropHaus. The name of the pack is Residential Houses – Modular Pack. You can find the latest version since December 19 for $109 on the Marketplace at PropHaus.
Manufacturer PropHaus even confirmed it in a tweet. They posted a screenshot of The Day Before and added that they were discovering their work.
I think I can spot some things right here 👀 Nice work! https://t.co/xEQczPA716
— PropHaus (@prop_haus) December 14, 2022
This was followed by another now-deleted tweet on Feb. 02, in which PropHaus wrote:
Not the first time: Again and again, we can observe that developer Fntastic serves themselves generously. Environments are copied from one game, trailers from another, and screenshots from somewhere else, for example:
- The cover is copied from The Last of Us.
- Screenshot: Cars in the snow – Snow Runner
- Screenshot: Man running through a city – The Division
- Actual trailer – Call of Duty Zombies
- Mall in a trailer – Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Gas station in the first trailer – Life is Strange
The Day Before Gameplay was Created Only a Few Months Ago
The release date of the above-mentioned asset pack gives us a clear timeframe for creating the gameplay scenes. In The Day Before gameplay, assets from the latest version v2.0 were used. So, the “development” of this part of The Day Before started at the earliest in the last quarter of 2022.
According to official statements, The Day Before has been in development for over four years. But so far, there has only been pre-rendered material and a gameplay trailer, which could have been created within weeks.
What does all this Mean for The Day Before & What is Guided’s take on it?
The development history of The Day Before, the lies of the developers openly admitted, and the current postponement, as well as the gameplay, leave us no doubt from Guided. Regarding The Day Before, there are only two possible options.
- Option 1: The Day Before is a fake product that serves as an advertising vehicle to promote other developers’ projects, such as apps.
- Option 2: The developers would love to develop The Day Before, but don’t have the resources to do so and get caught up in prevarication. The game could have appeared in a desolate state, unfinished and without real content.
Coming updates: In the coming days, we will keep expanding this article with the latest finds from the community, Reddit, YouTube & co. In the eyes of Editor-in-Chief Kevin Willing, The Day Before is not real and never was off the drawing board. Don’t want to miss anything else on the topic, add this article to your bookmarks. We also note that you are welcome to share this article to draw attention to the topic.
From the off: I’ll break the wall between us for a moment: don’t get too excited about The Day Before, because everything about this game is waving red flags vigorously. If you’re still not convinced, you can find my list of analyses of The Day Before below:
All Analyses of The Day Before on Guided.news
- 13 minutes of The Day Before Gameplay show: Something is wrong here!
- The Day Before Developer Missed Their Own E3 Event – Again
- The Day Before Live Ticker: Event Postponed For The Third Time
- The Day Before: Exclusive Combat Gameplay shows Tank in PvPve
- The Day Before: Vehicles Trailer Reminiscent of Mudrunner – Game Too Realistic?
