Several weeks ago some Easter eggs were discovered within Bend Studio’s Days Gone that hint toward the game being a sequel to Syphon Filter, the series that Bend Studio is most known for. I believe these Easter eggs to be more than just fan service, and I want to talk about evidence that supports this theory. Before I touch on that though, let’s go over some of Syphon Filter‘s history. The first Syphon Filter released for the original PlayStation back in 1999 when Bend Studio was still called Eidetic. You played as Gabe Logan, an international spy for the IPCA (International Presidential Consulting Agency) who was tasked with stopping terrorists from using a bioweapon called Syphon Filter.
The game was a massive success, and opened the door for the series to continue. There were three Syphon Filter games released for the PS1. The aforementioned Syphon Filter, Syphon Filter 2 (2000), and Syphon Filter 3 (2001). The series continued after that as well. Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror was released for the PS2 and PSP in 2006, and lastly, Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow released for the PSP in 2007. The series always focused on stopping bio terrorism before the world was thrown into chaos. Sound familiar? It just might if you’ve played Days Gone.
One of the immediate things you will notice if you are a fan of the Syphon Filter series and have played Days Gone is that the NERO soldiers wearing yellow suits with black respirators resemble a group from the Syphon Filter series known as the CBDC (Chemical and Biological Defense Command). This group was known to help Logan, and was often called to clean up the bioterrorist mess after Logan stopped the actual terrorists. It’s highly possible that the CBDC has simply been rebranded as NERO over the years. Aside from this though, there are some other very important lines in the game that confirm that the virus from Days Gone is man made, just like the Syphon Filter virus was engineered. In one mission, where Deacon St. John must sneak into an area that NERO is investigating, you will hear a conversation in which a NERO scientist says that the virus is functioning in a way that it was clearly designed to do.
A grunt asks the scientist, “Terrorism? You’re saying this was deliberate?” To which she replies, “I don’t know.” The note you get in-game after this however, says that there is “speculation that the virus is bioengineered.” It certainly makes you stop and think about the plot of the Syphon Filter series. In Syphon Filter, the Syphon Filter virus was a bioweapon engineered to specifically attach itself to a person’s genetic structure. Essentially, it was a programmable super virus that could eliminate any person it was designed to infect, while avoiding those that its engineer decided specifically to spare. The only way to cure the virus was with a specific genetic key, and with each person’s genetic code being different, so too was this key. This wrinkle prevented a vaccine from being created that could counter the virus’ effects. Lian Xing was infected with the virus in the first game, but was ultimately cured in Syphon Filter 2.
Syphon Filter Was the Beginning of Days Gone’s Outbreak
One document you can find in-game at the Cloverdale laboratory where Deacon’s wife Sarah worked, name drops Logan, his partner Lian Xing, the locations of several Syphon Filter attacks, and company names such as Kemsynth and Pharcom Industries that were used as fronts by terrorist organizations within the Syphon Filter series. There are also items in Days Gone known as IPCA Tech which you can collect. As mentioned above, Logan worked for the IPCA. These items are obtained from the corpses of NERO scientists. After you beat the game, you will gain access to a crafting recipe which will allow you to use all 18 pieces of IPCA Tech to craft Logan’s iconic stun gun from the Syphon Filter series (complete with Logan’s initials on it). Logan’s stun gun would electrocute enemies, but if you didn’t let go of the button, it would light people on fire. It does exactly that within Days Gone too, so if you’re a fan of Syphon Filter make sure you craft it as soon as you get the chance to do so!
Personally, I already loved Days Gone, but this made me like it even more. I have missed Syphon Filter, and have hoped for quite some time that maybe one day Bend Studio’s would consider returning to the series. There aren’t a lot of good stealth games out right now (looking at you Splinter Cell). It would be extremely interesting to see Deacon St. John meet Gabe Logan, and all of this honestly just makes me wonder if Logan and Xing are still alive somewhere out there in the post apocalyptic world. Perhaps they died and this is the world that is left due to their inability to stop the bioterrorists. It’s a grim thought, but one that makes things all the more intriguing.
Days Gone is essentially the sequel to the entire Syphon Filter series, while still managing to stand on its own two legs. Bend has always maintained that the freakers are not zombies, but rather living beings that have genetically mutated, reverting to a feral state. I believe that the virus from Days Gone is actually a mutated, or perfected version of the Syphon Filter bioweapon. Only now we are witnessing its intended purpose in full.
What do you make of all of this? Would you ever like to see Bend Studio return to Syphon Filter? Do you accept Days Gone as the next evolution of Syphon Filter’s world? Let us know in the comments!
[Source: GamesRadar]
