First Posted: 2/19/2015
Over the last few years there was an astounding amount of zombie related games thanks to the success of “The Walking Dead” AMC series and countless zombie related movies. One of the more successful recent zombie games was the “Dead Island” series by Techland. “Dying Light” is the newest game from the developer and it is much darker and more serious then “Dead Island.”
The tone isn’t the only thing that makes “Dying Light” different, it is also technically superior. The first thing you will notice are the graphics. The detail on the characters and zombies is pretty realistic and some of the environments are breathtaking. What makes it most impressive, it now has an open world to explore. The new world is large and there is a lot to see and do.
The concept of the game is very simple. There is a zombie outbreak and you have to survive. To do that, you have to explore and scavenge for gear and weapons to defend against the hordes of undead. You also need to look for items that can be combined to craft items, repair and make new weapons. Crafting new items is very simple and fun to do, as soon as you find blueprints you can make the item if you have the necessary components. The weapons you have can break so you need to repair them and upgrade them to make a more powerful tool to kill the undead. Early on in the game crafting is very important because you are too weak, your stamina bar will be depleted after killing one zombie so you have to make better weapons and items if you are to stand a chance.
The concept is similar to “Dead Rising” but now it is in a first-person view point and there are some interesting parkour abilities that aid in getting around and escaping enemies. Along with the parkour there is are several new stealth abilities that will help you avoid some of the tougher enemy types you will encounter after dark especially The Volatiles. Sometimes avoiding the enemies is the best option especially when you are low on resources. These creatures are incredibly formidable especially in the dark. They are fast, tough and they create a bunch of noise to attract their friends. Some of the most exciting and scary parts of the game are being chased across rooftops to get away from the Volatiles.
You are going to want to do all your exploring during the day because at night the zombies become extremely aggressive and more dangerous. Being outside at night isn’t absolute death but it is much harder, the extra difficulty does offer greater risk and greater rewards. With the extra experience points you can use toward upgrading your skills faster. Being outside at night can be accomplished with the help of some interesting tools like the UV flashlight. One thing that makes it more manageable is the zombies can’t see your flashlight so at least you don’t have to navigate your way in the dark.
The single play story mode is great but this game is a blast when you play cooperatively with some friends. You and your friends can tackle campaign story missions, side missions, and surviving the night. Adding more players makes the difficulty feel less difficult and frustrating. You can go it alone but is it harder and you miss out on certain missions which are co-op only.
Overall I enjoyed “Dying Light,” the graphics were pretty good and the gameplay is like an interesting mash-up of first person shooter, RPG elements, “Dead Rising,” and the exploration of an “Assassins Creed” game making it the most engrossing zombie game I have experienced in a while. If you are a fan of zombie movies and games you will love this game especially if you loved the “Dead Island” games because “Dying Light” is similar but improves on them in every way.
