Dying Light - Review

Ever since this game was announced, and the first clip was shown I have been excited to see what the game has to bring to the table. It got to the point where the more clips and trailers that were being released the more I was getting hyped for this game!

The closer the release then crept up, a realisation hit me.... I was at a point on my 'Joon-Hype-o-Meter' that i didn't want this game to let me down. I didn't want to be deflated after wanting to play it for so long.

Release day was upon me, my digital pre-order suddenly pinged to tell me that the game was ready. Butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of what was to come, was this going to be everything that the trailers had promised it to be, or was it going to let me down?!



I started the game and did the opening sequence, and after getting passed the initial prologue and learning the ropes, I could tell that this was going to be a game that I had lots of time for.

Once in the motion of things, running across rooftops and jumping from building to building felt seamless, and when running and climbing up onto buildings, whether it was to get somewhere, or to get away from the infected the motion was fluid and I can't complain with how the game feels. Especially when you start upgrading your skills points and getting your agility up, you can start to run faster and longer which is good for getting a good rhythm together.

There are 3 different groups in which you can upgrade your skills in, Agility, Power and Survivor. The Agility skills tree as it says upgrades your agility. It can give you some awesome upgrades, such as increased stamina, meaning you can fight for longer and run further, as well as some other cool abilities such as being able to drop kick a zombie... Which is the best perk ever, specially when your dropkicking a zombie off the top of a building and watch them fall and splat on the ground below... *cough* Achievement *cough* *cough* Might have to do it 100 times *cough*



Power, again it does as it says on the tin. This allows you to upgrade your power, making you a more meaning fighter, this combined with some agility makes you a walking talking ass kicking machine... Especially when you have a powerful sword or machete in your hand and you can slice the head of a zombie off in one swing.... There is a certain satisfaction to this....

The survivor ability, gives you nice upgrades to your backpack etc, meaning you can carry more... Trust me, this sounds like a trivial thing, but when you upgrade it, you'll be thankful of it.

The music for the game is lovely when it needs to be as well as atmospheric and terrifying. What I like regarding the music and sounds is that, there are times when you're running around Harran and there is no music at all, and all you can hear are the screams from the infected. Especially when you go into an area such as the Freeway/Bridge where there are hundreds of Zombies and all you can hear are the screams.



The graphics and lighting for me are fantastic, I love the design of the world, being able to go from the Slums to the City, two very different environments to run around and play with. The layout is well designed too with a good balance from being able to go from rooftop to rooftop to having to run for your life through a hoard of Zombies.

One of the good things again that I love about this game, is that once you have finished the story, there is plenty left for you to do in side missions, coop as well as the Be A Zombie mode, which I haven't tried yet.

I did come across a few things in regards to the story plot. Such as, at the start of the game Kyle parachutes into Harran and is found within seconds of landing by both groups. Rais' men find him, but Breckens manage to fight them off and get Kyle of safety.... Not without loss though...



You go through the prologue of meeting everyone that is going to be relevant to the main story, however not one of them questions Kyle as to why he has parachuted in and what it is he is doing there. Found that rather strange that no questions where asked of his sudden appearance there... If it was me, I would be asking what he was doing there, who sent him in etc etc... Anyone else agree?

I've based this review pretty much on the game itself, not comparing it to what the developers made before, which I have seen across the board, and there have been some low scores based on this fact, which is wrong... This is a new game, even if the theme is the same, the story, setting etc is all different, and to compare it against something else i believe is wrong.

I am going to give Dying Light a 9.2. Reason behind it? I thought this was an awesome game, yes it had its downs with the story, but i felt the overall mechanics and feel to the game, and the main part of what the story was trying to tell was brilliant, and i for one will be getting the season pass to get the extra DLC content. This could easily become my game of 2015.

Coop Addition
I did say that after I had played enough of the Coop i would review that section and let you know how it was. Well, here is that part of the review.

With the Coop mode, you can basically play through the entire game with up to 6 people. Which is pretty cool, it also makes the game a lot easier as you have people there with you who can back you up, get you out of a tight corner, heal you etc etc

The only part of the game that you can't coop is the ending... and when you get there you will see that is for obvious reasons...

I've played with several different people in coop, and havent had any connectivity issues, the game still runs pretty solid. There are a few animation errors that i saw with the other people in the game, such as someone could be looting a body and on there screen, they're being showed as bending down, however, on my screen, they are stood there feeling the air.. Looks a bit raunchy at times...

I love the looting system in coop as well, mainly because its not a first come first serve type system. No matter who gets to the crates, everyone will get something based on there character level (If weapon applicable)

I enjoy the coop, and its nice to be able to jump into someone's game and help them on a hard part if need be and vice versa. The stability has helped loads, although that maybe down the internet connections between players, and some with slower internet speeds may have different results to my self. (Remember this is all based on my experience of the game.)

I would highly recommend the coop mode and play with friends as it is a fun experience, even if you have all finished the main story, there's loads in side missions and quarantine zones to do, which some missions I have to admit that i would have loved some help on lol!!

I would love to know everyone's thoughts on the game, whether you have bought it, or are sitting on the fence.