Defend your hero: Deacon St John
Ian Dean argues Days Gone’s hero isn’t who you think he is
With a name that sounds like a 1970s aftershave to place in your cabinet alongside a bottle of Sex Panther, Deacon St John’s a character it would be too easy to overlook.
The ex-soldier turned Mongrels biker gang enforcer is that rare thing in a modern game: a working-class hero. A school dropout who never attended college, Deacon learned his life lessons the hard way: down the barrel of a gun in Afghanistan. He’s not a rich kid with daddy issues who’s become a treasure hunter. It’s his background that makes Deacon such an interesting character. Over Days Gone’s 60-hour playtime his layers are peeled away like the skin of an onion, one layer at a time, until we’re teary eyed and retching. Days Gone demonstrates why it’s important not to judge a book by its time-worn cover.
We discover the world of Days Gone through Deacon’s eyes. It’s a harsh environment where loyalty is rare and actions speak louder than words. Through Deacon we learn the nuances of this post-Freaker world. The moment we see the toll taken on his estranged wife Sarah, when Deacon’s own flaws are reflected back at him, is a narrative pivot that only works because we’ve become accustomed to walking in the biker boots of a rare selfish and lost lead.
Days Gone preys on our preconceptions. We’re led to think Deacon is a retrograde biker but he’s actually an emotionally intelligent hero with a moral clarity few others in the game have. He would literally fight up a mountain for the people he loves, and even here the game subverts our assumptions – Sarah’s not really a princess who needs saving.
WE MAKE THE WORLD WHAT IT IS BY WHAT WE DO.”
Deacon may come across as an ape in a biker jacket, but he has his moments.