Dying Light - review

   When I was playing Dying Light it was hard for me not to draw some comparison with Techland's Dead Island. However there were some changes made in Dying Light that really distinguished it from Dead Island (mainly in a gameplay department). But before we get to that lets start with the story

 The Story

        In this game you play undercover operative Kyle Crane who is sent to infiltrate quarantined city named Harran. Initially you are essentially helping other survivors in Harran by doing errands and essentially helping them survive. However you are on a bigger mission, you are supposed to find a rogue agent. Along the way there are some twist and turns, which could have been quite interesting and enjoyable if the game didn't telegraph them. As you guessed it the story in Dying Light is probably the weakest part of the game. There weren't really any real hooks that made me invested in overall story.  It is better than that in Dead Island, Characters in Dying Light were for the most part your typical characters that you've probably seen in other mediums that deal with zombies (movies, TV shows and other zombie video games). There is noting particularly unique about most of  them, aside from some weird accents. They are not particularly   bad, even when the voice acting is concerned but they don't really help that much to make story any less generic. Think of for example Vaas from Far Cry 3. Even though the general story was kind of weak, he provided that carrot on the stick that made me want to progress in the story and see what is he up to and well I was always looking forward to listening to his dialog. There are not such characters in this one. Even the main character is kind of dull and boring. They actually could have made him a much more compelling character if they've at least given him some semblance of a back-story, so we could understand his motives and ideas better but alas that was absent.  However if we were to compare it with those in Dead Island there is no competition, Dying Light blows it out of the water, which is not that hard to achieve. Things you do in the world do have some impact in the world but even this things didn't make this story a whole lot compelling

Gameplay

        Basically this game is a horror survival game which is in equal parts focused on melee combat a traversal. The way in which you can traverse the world is what differentiate this game from Dead Island. If you know what is parkour, well it is esentially that. Gameplay wise it is very similar to Mirrors Edge, although it takes some time to get used to. But once you figure out how it works, it is a lot of fun. It is a great addition and a great improvement over the gameplay of Dead Island. The game often puts you in position where you can really be creative with the ways that you can navigate the environment. Combat is pretty similar to that of Dead Island. Essentially it is melee focused, sure you can obtain weapons but they are not that fun to use as melee weapons. Melee combat at first felt kind of weird to me, it felt kind of janky. However once you get used to it, and once you get certain skills it would become much easier and enjoyable. Weapon combat, much like that of Dead Island is pretty weak, especially when you compare it with other games in that genre. Also you can mod your melee weapons and in that way make them more effective. 

       The way in which the leveling up system works is similar to that of Elder Scrolls games, you earn exp. by doing things in the city. You improve your combat skills by fighting zombies, agility by traversing the environment (parkour style) and survivor skills for which you get experience by completing quests and helping other survivors. Once you earn a certain amount of experience points you will level up that skill, and you can spend a skill point in that particular skill tree. Skills are plentiful and they make this game really fun. Experimenting with some of this skills is an interesting game in itself. One skill in particular is very useful, and that skill is grappling hook. Since you can only fast-travel between two large sections of the town, and since that there were no vehicles you could drive your only mean of travel are basically your hands and feet. Grappling hook makes city traversal much easier and faster, which is a godsend. Eventually you will get other skills like sliding, dropkick, stun etc. In combat skill tree there are definitely some interesting skill that will make fighting zombies much more enjoyable. 

      The game is consisted of day and night cycles. During the day you will face slow-walking zombies (for the most part) and some special infected (usually some big dudes with some lets say eccentricities combat wise). During the night the more powerful zombies patrol the streets. The most powerful ones are marked on your map with vision cones. Once they pounce on you they can deal a lot of damage. You can really fight them, and your best options if they see you is to either run or stun them by pointing your flashlight at them. Basically during the night there is a bigger emphasis on hiding and avoiding the zombies rather then fighting them. You can always skip night cycles by sleeping at safe houses, however there are a few missions that can only be completed by night. Also a good incentive to play during the night is the fact that for everything you do in the world you get double the experience. Day and night dynamic works well, since it changes up the way you approach zombies significantly. Basically it adds much needed gameplay diversity.

      Aside from zombies you will on occasion have to face some human enemies. However fighting them can be very clunky since their AI is pretty weak.

       You can also play this game co-op with up to 4 players. Co-op makes this game more enjoyable and much more fun it also speeds up the pace of the game significantly. There is also a multi player portion of the game, where you will get to play as a hunter and invade other games (this is only available as pre-order bonus). It is a fun distraction but it is nothing that you will invest a lot of hours in. 

     Once you figure out all of its quirks the overall gameplay can be really fun and enjoyable. For me it is the strongest part of the game. RPG elements provided me that carrot on the stick that wasn't present in the story.

Graphics
 

     Dying Light can look really pretty at certain points, however there are definitely some irregularities in overall  game presentation. Weather effects and lighting can at times make this game look really gorgeous and much more immersive.  Character models are pretty generic and rarely show emotions. And some character models were repeated up to a ridiculous point. Also reflections on the water at times ca look really ugly. Also there are some technical issues that can at times make game unplayable. Until some patches get released be ready for a bunch of glitches and texture pop in. And don't get surprised if you get stuck in the environment.

Final Thoughts

  

       Even though the weak story and some technical difficulties drag down the overall experience it is still a fun game to play. Improvements in gameplay over the Dead Island are immediately noticeable, even though there were definitely some things that could have used more work.

7.6/10