And there is a very real sense of dread and adrenaline every single time a nearby growl is heard, or you happen to turn the wrong corner to see human enemies fraternizing. But that feeling pales in comparison to the sense you get when the sun goes down. In a way Dying Light becomes a whole new game once the night settles on the city of Harran. With the darkness comes extremely powerful Volatiles which can kill you and any friends instantly. Of course you can wait through the night by making your way to one of the numerous safe-houses scattered around Dying Light. For anyone looking for an extra survival challenge though, the darkness offers double experience and interesting fiends to take down.
Dying Light also provides the RPG elements you’ve come to know from Techland games. There are three independent skill trees that level up based on your playstyle. Not into avoiding the walking rotting corpses? Then get into some fights in order to raise your power level and unlock new combat options. Or you can mix in a little bit of everything in order to create a much more balanced runner.
Gameplay shines a bit more once you have some friends along for the ride. After a brief tutorial section (about an hour or so) you will be able to play the entirety of Dying Light with up to 3 of your friends. Co-operative play does nothing to ruin the balance so the palpable fear that lies around every corner remains completely in tact. There is some friendly competition in the form of timed challenges that you are able to participate in for some extra experience, but it is 100% optional and won’t get in the way of your action survival adventure.
There is also an asymmetrical multiplayer mode that is now part of the base game after some development issues. Without a doubt it is worth some of your time. “Be the Zombie” allows for you to invade the nighttime world of other players’ games in order to prove who is the best hunter, the infected or the runners. It’s a nice change of pace between missions and with a full skill tree and interesting abilities it can very well take up a chunk of your time.
All of this comes packaged in one of the best looking open world games to date. Dying Light is absolutely stunning. Weather effects show realistically in the city of Harran, as do the effects of flesh being ripped from the bone with each gruesome attack. Dried blood caked onto your weapons is a reminder that you are playing for keeps, and death comes frequently. It’s one of the first third party games that really takes advantage of the latest generation of gaming hardware.
On the surface Dying Light may be nothing more than your average run-of-the-mill zombie game complete with predictable story and tons of flesh eating monstrosities. But, beneath the very pretty surface lies a game with some excellent ideas that, when combined with some tried and true mechanics, create one of the best zombie games in recent years. Techland’s take on action survival, mixed with a responsive traversal system, and great combat combine to make a game that well worth anyone’s time.
4/5
GREAT
[+Stunning Visuals]
[+Solid Traversal Mechanics]
[+Great Mix of Action and Survival Gameplay Elements]
[-Overused, Predictable Story]
This game was reviewed for PS4