REVIEW: Dying Light

For a few months now the world has been watching in terror as an unknown virus devastates the city of Harran. Hundreds of thousands have succumbed to the mysterious infection, turning them into flesh-hungry monsters.

In a desperate attempt to contain an epidemic that may threaten the whole human population, international organizations sealed off vast areas of the city, thus condemning countless survivors still inside the quarantine zone to certain death. Deprived of basic resources and constantly threatened by bloodthirsty hordes roaming the streets, these people must use extreme measures to ensure their own survival…

Dying light is a new open world survival game, that takes place after zombies take over the city Harran. Jackolas (@Jack_XboxMAD) and BezzJack (@JackCBerry) have spent the last week surviving together in co-op mode (Spoiler alert, there was a lot of hugging ^HooksaN) and so in this review they discuss their experiences and what the game has to offer:

{JACK}
So the game starts off telling you about the virus (a mutated strain of rabies) that spread across Harran and the government are trying to help by dropping crates full of medicine, weapons, food and other basic needs to survive. This is where you take control of your character. You are dropped into Harran as an undercover operative tasked to infiltrate the quarantine zones. When you get there, you are saved by a rebel-like group, and it becomes clear you will need to make a decision: finish the mission you were sent on, or save the survivors in the city of Harran.

{BEZZ}
The game feels great. The open world is shown brilliantly and it feels like the makers of Dead Island really knew what they were doing this time around. What I have loved most about the game so far is the upgrade system. It is quite similar to Far Cry in that when you level up you unlock points which you can spend on abilities. These make the game easier and more fun as you learn a whole range of abilities such as how to drop kick, jump over obstacles and many other things which help to fend off or get away from the zombies chasing you.

The game also reacts and moulds your player to the style of play you adopt. If you want to improve your fighting skills you need to concentrate on fighting as many zombies as you can. If you want to train your fitness and agility, you will need to run and jump away a lot more. These skills and characteristics go up on their own, and it’s just really nice to be in control of how you play and what your character can learn. It gives you great freedom which allows people to choose their own strategy and playstyle. Another thing that impressed me was the attention to detail in the game. You see things like zombies’ clothes wave in the wind as you knock them down… it’s definitely the little things which inspire you as you play through Techland’s detailed new world.

{JACK}
I certainly agree with you there, the open world truly gives a sense of scale. The shift from day to night certainly ramps up the intensity, though. The skills mentioned above become far more useful at night when they help you dropkick that walker in the face that is stopping you getting by.

What struck me instantly with this game, is that every player will deal with situations differently, and therefore everyone will gain a great sense of personal immersion with their character as they are in full control of thier actions and development.

Supplies are not so fruitful in this post apocalyptic world either, so everything you find and pick up matters. Find some gauze and some alcohol? you’ve got yourself a makeshift medkit. It’s simplistically brilliant, achieving a balance between supply, demand and challenge that other open world games can often fall short of.

{BEZZ}
Yeah I couldn’t believe how different it was at night, I almost didn’t want to go out! While you’re running around in the day, you can loot and roam around freely killing the slow and stupid zombies. Once the sun goes down and the super zombies come out you just have to hide, and run. Trying to get back to base felt stupidly terrifying as the zombies were right behind me screaming. Also, it’s pitch black so you need to use your flashlight, which adds intensity to the chase.

The way they have put this into the game is amazing, and really does make your hands sweat. However it might put people off if they aren’t into being scared by games. It’s not really ‘scary’ in the traditional sense, but the intensity gets really high. One issue I did run into at night was how tough the free running is. It’s quite difficult to get up onto some objects and ledges in a rush and it was a little frustrating. I’m still trying to get to grips with the parkour system and it can be very fiddly when these crazy zombies are leaping round hunting me down. I’m pretty sure this will change the more I play and when my character levels up his agility section (I hope!).

When you first start off the combat is also a little clumsy, pretty similar to Dead Island. At first you are just button mashing RT hoping to hit the zombie in a critical place. However, it does get better as you unlock more abilities and find new weapons – which you do pretty quickly. I would give the game a fair chance before you judge the combat, as it has impressed me the more I have played it.

{JACK}
It feels like Techland have really been able to put their stamp on this title. You could say that they are borrowing a load of aspects from other games too. However rather than simple imitation, they have innovated. The way you traverse through the open world is very reminiscent of earlier 360 titles such as Mirror’s Edge, but they have taken much more into consideration. When you make a jump, you feel that sense of doubt, that you may just miss the ledge and fall into the pit of flesh eating walkers. That feeling gives you a rush and makes the game that much more exhilarating.

{BEZZ}
The single player is a massive part of the game obviously, but I love how they have implemented multiplayer into the game as well. You can invade your friend’s game as a super zombie, and this can be set to happen at night, all the time, or never. It’s completely up to you, and you can just change it in the settings. I would set it to never if you don’t want to be bothered (as it does interfere with your story) as it gives you new tasks which are only optional unless a real player is introduced to the zombie horde.

We played a few rounds against each other while I was a zombie in Jack’s game. I was honestly quite surprised how even the fight was, even though he was on his own. As I was playing I was unlocking my own zombie-specific skills on a skill tree; things like UV protection and anti UV spit, which was cool.

{JACK}
Dying Light’s multiplayer aspect is a very unfamiliar take on what we as a generation class as multiplayer. It has a definite element of co-op when you play as the humans, I found it very hard to keep the super zombie away and destroy the nests; tough but not unachievable.

I have mainly played as the human in the multiplayer. During this time I found myself at various times feeling anxious, scared, laughing out of hysteria, and hunting down the hunter with a sadistic grin on my face. Bezz entered as the hunter for the first time a few hours into my gaming session and a sense of ‘oh fuck’ came over me. Was I going to rage quit out of pure panic, like so many of his victims before me?, Hell no… I decided to fix my broken drainpipe-come-bat (wtf is a cum bat? ^HooksaN) and head for the nearest nest site. Well, after I quickly went to the toilet to prevent “accidental” leaks, that was.

The way Dying Light has implemented their multiplayer allows you to play the full game in online co-op with up to 3 other players. The cooperation works on a drop-in/ drop-out basis. I won’t lie, this worked perfect day one; which is how it should be. What you do once you’re there is totally up to you. Go explore Kyle Cranes’ story or just drop kick a few zombies down a flight of stairs.

One MAJOR thing to note is that the multiplayer is certainly not some half assed tacked on afterthought: you could easily find yourself immersed in this for hours.

{BEZZ}
As I have spoke about in my weapons guide (which you can find on the site) there are A LOT of weapons, even though I haven’t found a lot of them yet. I keep seeing videos of people with a badass axe, and it throws me back into the game trying to hunt it down. The weapons really are brilliant, and the freedom the different types provide is mindblowing. My personal favourite is the hammer so far as it’s pretty quick and it can take off the walkers head with good aim.

Finding weapons only really benefits you if you’ve upgraded your fighting skill, as many of them will be locked if you’re not a certain level. As much as this didn’t really need to be in there, it makes people work hard on leveling up for better equipment.

I also loved finding metal parts, as they can be used to fix weapons. You find these all over the place, including on the zombies’ bodies. So make sure you loot as you go. Even if their zombie friends judge you, its the apocalypse! While fixing your weapons is brilliant, attaching a battery and making the zombies dance with electricity is pretty cool too right? Many of your weapons are customizable. So when finding parts, you will get a notification telling you that you can craft a new item. This could be ninja stars that freeze zombies or a hammer that burns the skin on all the walkers in the area. And yes… I did say ninja stars.

{JACK}
So you may be asking yourself is there any extra replayability? Well, once you feel like you can spare a few minutes in this post apocalyptic world, you can lend a hand towards some of the challenges. Every gamer loves a challenge right?.

So among the main quests you will find yourself given some side quests. These will help you develop your skills faster, and will help you discover the tragic and thought provoking back story of Harran. There are also combat and running challenges – which often pit you against the timer in the latter. Combat challenges gives you chance to finesse that backswing by completing brain-eating-zombie killing sprees.

In addition to the normal challenges, Quarantine Zone Challenges will allow you to explore some dangerous territories in the vain hope of some valuable supplies. It’ll take more than a good uppercut and roundhouse kick to the face to kill the horde awaiting inside. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED

{BEZZ}
For those stung on the enemy types of some of the games last year (like Ryse for example), Dying Light will not disappoint. There are normal zombies, called “goons”, which carry round weapons like bars -so you will need to watch out when they swing. There are “biters”, which walk round in groups, and they are a little stronger than goons. There are “virals” which are people currently in the process of turning into a zombie. This is a particularly horrible experience as they are probably attacking you while at the same time screaming at you to help them. There are “demolishers”, which are huge zombies with massive double handed weapons -take these down when possible as the loot is decent and you can pick up the weapon (since he won’t be using it anymore).

There are “gas-tanks” which are zombies that were scientists and soldiers. They were wearing protective gear when they were turned, and have now become a moving bomb. There are “toads,” my least favourite as they project liquid at you from a distance. There is nothing more irritating, trust me. “Bomber”s’ overgrown organs makes it possible for them to run at you and explode, lovely. “Bolsters” are strange blistered zombies that are impossible to catch, worth a try though eh? And last but not least the “screamers” They won’t attack you, but they have lots of friends on speed dial. When they scream, hordes of zombies will come running at you. Can’t wait.

All of these zombies are out in the day, but during the night they get MUCH worse. You will also have “volatiles” and the “night hunters” right behind your ankles at almost every second. These are both super human and will run incredibly fast and run over anything, plus they scream at you, which is just lovely.

{JACK}
This game has surprisingly gripped me, a lot more than I expected. With 2014’s rather lackluster offering I was beginning to think all games would now come out as if they’ve been rehashed and repackaged. The thrill of rotting flesh, blood, guts and quite often my own tears has left me with a ironically refreshing outlook on what a game can be when it truly delivers.

{BEZZ}
We could talk all day about the ins and outs of the game, but in my opinion Dying Light has impressed me in almost all ways possible. Solid story. Great open aceworld experience, filled with exciting free running and intense zombie chases and many challenges, I really couldn’t ask for anything more.

I might not recommend this game to people with heart problems, as I can’t be held responsible for the outcome. But I can say you can buy this game with the last 50 pound in your pocket, and you still wouldn’t be disappointed.