Dying Light

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2022 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,532 out of 2022
  2. Mixed: 314 out of 2022
  3. Negative: 176 out of 2022
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  1. drlowdon
    Sep 14, 2015
    7
    With its added parkour elements, more responsive controls and improved combat Dying Light is without doubt a better game than Techland’s previous title Dead Island and, when played co-op in particular, it offers some good, fun gaming. Much like Dead Island it also has its flaws however. Most of the optional missions are little more than dull fetch quests, some of the story missionsWith its added parkour elements, more responsive controls and improved combat Dying Light is without doubt a better game than Techland’s previous title Dead Island and, when played co-op in particular, it offers some good, fun gaming. Much like Dead Island it also has its flaws however. Most of the optional missions are little more than dull fetch quests, some of the story missions (including one that involves moving slowly through some sort of fever dream for 10 minutes and a final boss that is defeated through, of all things, a QTE section) are downright dull and there is virtually no freedom in the way it allows you to complete these missions.

    Techland seem to be going in the right direction with these games so maybe one day we’ll see a true classic but for now we’ll just have to settle for these enjoyable, yet flawed, offering.    … Expand
  2. Kenmei
    Feb 2, 2015
    7
    This is a decent FP Parkour Zombie simulator. Basically, it's Mirror's Edge with Zombies. If you liked Mirror's Edge, you'll enjoy this game. But there's more to the game than just that and it both helps and hurts the overall experience.
    Starting with the story, you're a runner for the good guys, the Tower people, who are looking for a cure for the zombie outbreak, while also a spy for    This is a decent FP Parkour Zombie simulator. Basically, it's Mirror's Edge with Zombies. If you liked Mirror's Edge, you'll enjoy this game. But there's more to the game than just that and it both helps and hurts the overall experience.
    Starting with the story, you're a runner for the good guys, the Tower people, who are looking for a cure for the zombie outbreak, while also a spy for the organization who wants to take the cure and do mysterious things to it. The story is decent enough and with Troy Baker, who is basically just printing money with all the VO gigs he's gotten since the Last of Us, giving a very well done performance, it can suck you in at times. There are giant lulls in the story and not all the characters are very well done. But it works enough to keep you invested.
    The gameplay is fun but can take some time getting used too. Like Mirror's Edge before it, it can take a bit to really know when to jump and what you can and can't grab onto. After some trial and error early on in the game, things become a bit more easier later on. The biggest problem with the game, however, stems from the fact that they force you to run everywhere. There is no waypoint system in the game whatsoever and that, by itself, probably added a good 1-2 hours on the gameplay. Yes the running is fun but when almost every quest takes you to all 4 corners of the map, a waypoint system is just about mandatory. Needless to say, I stopped a number of times because I was tired of running past the same spots over and over again on the same quest.
    The music is very hit or miss, mostly miss, but the zombies sounded great. The graphics were good in some spots and terrible in others, especially when you would look at zombie corpses on the ground.
    The main problem I see here is that there is just a general sense of "been there, done that" with pretty much everything in the game. Dead Island did the zombie FP thing, Mirror's Edge did the Parkour, and there are elements of other games mixed in, but nothing is particularly memorable. In a few months, I don't believe anyone will remember this game for being one of the best of the year. The biggest crime that the game committed was that there's nothing for it to really hang its hat on at the end of the day. It's a decent game that won't be turning any heads.    … Expand
  3. Kinokee
    Jun 14, 2020
    7
    The game doesn't deliver the greatest platforming experiences despite being focused around it. Most of the trophies have bugs or glitches. Late game human enemies are bullet sponges. There's a lot of inconsistencies where you can't platform certain things and are greeted with certain doom.
  4. DNAVL
    Mar 8, 2015
    7
    Prepare for a fun filled zombie adventure,

    Graphics/Visuals - Dying Light no question has gorgeous graphics from the beautiful sunsets to the well designed land marks; all aspects that helped shape Dying Lights diverse atmosphere. Even when it rains it adds more fidelity to the game, DL detail is also surprisingly noteworthy to w/destruction of debris to the ability to venture through    Prepare for a fun filled zombie adventure,

    Graphics/Visuals -
    Dying Light no question has gorgeous graphics from the beautiful sunsets to the well designed land marks; all aspects that helped shape Dying Lights diverse atmosphere.
    Even when it rains it adds more fidelity to the game, DL detail is also surprisingly noteworthy to w/destruction of debris to the ability to venture through buildings, Techlands art & design team certainly did their job here.
    Another cool instance is where you sometimes do a slow motion attack when hitting a critical slash which i thought was cool.
    + Great Atmosphere.
    + Epic Landmarks.
    9/10

    Sound/Music -
    The SFX were great, the sound of weapons smashing into zombies was all to satisfying also the sound of crashing through a roof or ACTIVATING car traps were spot on.
    Sound actually plays a big part in the game, using any gun or explosive is a risky move; which attracts all zombies in the vicinity.

    Licensed music in the game would’ve been good, it’s unfortunate though the start screen music was the only noticeable piece of music i remembered in the game.
    Voice casting wasn’t great but not bad either, actually it was just average; the voice actors weren’t bad but i think the poor script writing sure effected the voice acting here.
    - Average Voice Acting.
    + Spot On SFX.
    + SFX Importance.
    7/10

    Story/Characters -
    The story is what lacks most for Dying Light, it is very mundane & short which is disappointing after presenting us w/this great open world experience.
    Most characters were dull & i had NO INTEREST in the main protagonist Kyle Crane but the main antagonist Rais failed to impress me the most, his design seemed unoriginal & cliche.
    The supporting cast was disappointing too & was probably worse; Rahim was annoying, Jade seemed more negligent then helpful & most of the other characters just seemed pointless to the story.
    Despite all the above its the side missions that were interesting, they were fun & they SAVE the game from becoming a bore & even the side mission characters were more interesting and appealing.
    - Short & Predictable Story.
    - Lifeless Main Cast.
    + Great side missions.
    4/10

    Gameplay/Multiplayer -
    Gameplay is highly addictive when it comes to killing zombies, the melee system is great & you have a fair amount of abilities at disposal for killing zombies which are quite pleasing thanks to the skill tree.
    Sadly though i was disappointed with the gun variety & how they handle, i found myself hip firing instead of using ADS & the lack of variety in guns and top tier melee weapons disappoints too.
    Blueprints keep the weapons fun though & there are some wicked mods in the game if you put time & effort into finding them.

    The biggest major though is the parkour system; the parkour is really smooth and feels natural when leaping around and climbing.
    You can do exciting things like leap from rooftop to rooftop too climbing a bridge & it gets even more intense at night when being chased which is very satisfying,

    Multiplayer is also a lot of fun and is best played with friends making the story easy but enjoyable.
    Everything can be done with friends except the end, quarantine zones & challenges are easier too.
    Be a Zombie is a fun PvP feature but can be frustrating at times for both the hunter & the zombie.
    + Satisfying Melee System.
    + Fun Parkour.
    9/10

    Technical/AI -
    I barely witnessed much frame rate drop, if so it didn’t effect my experience throughout my play throughs but there is a few problems like survivors getting stuck, the mission log not functioning well in co-op, all the little things that i witnessed throughout my gameplay.
    The A.I. wasn’t too bad, Rais men were relatively smart and even zombie runners were unpredictable for a while but i’d say the AI works fine.
    + Steady Frame Rate.
    + Good A.I. 8/10 Trophies/Challenge/Replay Value - Trophies is bugged so be warned, as for the games difficulty it all depends on how you play overall. Its a moderately difficult game but if you’re playing w/friends then the game can be quite easy. The replay value is great & expected from a open world game, you have statues, notes and blueprints all to find and i easily spent 80+ hours on Dying Light. -/+ Easy Trophies. + Moderate difficulty. + Vast replay value. 7/10 Overall - This game is fun for any type of gamer, but if you really love your story driven games then this is not for you but if you are a Dead Island fan, love open world games, finding collectables and high action then this is a definite pick up for you. A great buy and definitely worth the MONEY despite the cons. Final Rating - 7.5/10    … Expand
  5. Juras
    Mar 14, 2017
    7
    Quite good game, slashing zombies with home made burning swords/katanas cannot be better but getting boring too early, no boss fights at all (just bigger monsters), final boss in retail is disappointment (no real fight), endless resources farming and endless zombies spawning. I liked graphics and design, as a polish player there is so many familiar things from my country, especially fromQuite good game, slashing zombies with home made burning swords/katanas cannot be better but getting boring too early, no boss fights at all (just bigger monsters), final boss in retail is disappointment (no real fight), endless resources farming and endless zombies spawning. I liked graphics and design, as a polish player there is so many familiar things from my country, especially from communism era, like bikes, ovens, analogs TVs, settlements, sewer pipes, fuses etc. I really liked it.… Expand
  6. Underpants158
    Feb 2, 2015
    7
    The flaw? You are an errand boy and most of the things you do, especially in side quests, is go to point a, to point b, then back to point a. There is also no fast travel so I felt that the traversing got to be a little tiring. The concept is good but it is limited. However it is fun for awhile and I would recommend the game.
  7. Jellybean15
    Feb 23, 2015
    7
    Dying Light is a very different type of zombie game, especially when compared to Techland's previous zombie franchise Dead Island. Ditching the campy over the top fun of those games, Dying Light goes for a more dark, dreary and serious take on the genre, while also taking many elements from other games. With Mirror's Edge inspired parkour, the climbing mechanics of Assassin's Creed, DeadDying Light is a very different type of zombie game, especially when compared to Techland's previous zombie franchise Dead Island. Ditching the campy over the top fun of those games, Dying Light goes for a more dark, dreary and serious take on the genre, while also taking many elements from other games. With Mirror's Edge inspired parkour, the climbing mechanics of Assassin's Creed, Dead Island like combat, exploration elements of Far Cry, and even some RPG elements from Fallout, Techland has created the most standout game in the zombie genre to date. However, that's not saying very much.

    When it comes to the combat, it's largely reminiscent of Dead Island and Dead Rising. Weapons have a limited amount of uses before they break, and you can use blueprints to craft new and improved weapons using supplies you scavenge in the world. In the beginning of the game, you'll feel incredibly underpowered, with zombies feeling like sponges and humans that feel unfair and cheap. It forces you to use your resources intelligently in the beginning, and as you naturally progress and get more powerful, the moves and damage you can do feels like something you've earned from your struggles.

    The gunplay doesn't fair as well as the melee unfortunately. Gunplay still isn't very refined, with a stiff iron sights mechanic and bullets that straight up miss what you're aiming at, gunplay falls short of the typical shooter. Luckily, the game usually doesn't require any real precision from you.

    The parkour mechanics are fun, and climbing works very well. It takes a little getting used to, but you will get the hang of it, although I'll never understand why Techland thought a sprint meter was a good idea. Aside from that, you can scale most of anything, though there are some occasional inconsistencies. The grappling hook is also a cool add-on, if it weren't for the fact that it's auto lock is unreliable about half of the time. Overall, the sprinting is good enough that it actually makes me grateful that there's no fast travel.

    There are a variety of zombies, including spitters, Titans, Virals (recently turned and still retain human semblances), giants with clubs, boomers and even screeching babies. None are exactly unique, but there's enough variety to stop it from getting stale. The scariest of them are definitely the volatiles, powerful zombies capable of parkour but incredibly weak to light, only appearing in dark places or at night.

    Speaking of which, night is truly where this game comes into its own. More powerful zombies appear and at times your only choice is to run, but Techland smartly encourages you into going outside by doubling you XP. Fighting, running, and accomplishing goals all attribute to three primary bars of experience, with each having their own respective trees of skills and upgrades. At night, the amount of experience you get for doing all these actually tempts you to leave your safe zones.

    The most impressive thing for me was this game's side content. Not only is there a massive amount of stuff to do outside of the main campaign, but all of it is well thought out and fun. There are multiple side quests which feel like their own self contained stories, consisting of multiple objectives and story arcs. There's quarantine zones which require you to enter 8 unique areas and pick up drops or clear out the zombies inside. There's even small things like air drops where you have to race to an crate full of supplies before any scavengers get to it. There's also safe zones where you have to seal off an area and clear the zombies inside, rewarding you with an area where you can sleep, store your items into a portable stash, and even respawn when you die. What's great is that all these quests have meaningful rewards which make you want to do them.

    Dying in this game works like multiplayer, causing you to respawn at a checkpoint or safe zone without resetting any safe zone. The caviot is that dying causes you to lose all experience points you've been gaining since you last used them.

    Overall, the story is pretty weak. Despite the amazing world and atmosphere, Dying Light fails to make you care about its people. Moments that are meant to have impact or meaning fall flat, the main villian is a cliched stereotype that only serves to annoy you, and the ending refuses to wrap up the story purely to sequel bait.

    The worst thing about this game by far is the challenges. About half of them require you to accomplish insane objectives that the game doesn't even provide you the skills to do so. It's in these challenges where the game's mechanics are revealed, and they become huge rage fests. Admittedly, they are clearly multiplayer focused.

    As much as I want to praise this game, I can't ignore the issues. Whenever the game is all about mindless fun, it's great, but whenever the game requires any skill, the mechanics in place do not provide that. Combine that with a weak narrative, and Dying Light is fun but not remarkable.    … Expand
  8. theeDarkhorse
    Dec 1, 2016
    7
    One of the best gaming experiences of my life, also the most frustrating. It is an incredibly flawed jewel. Its inconsistencies inevitably start weighing on your mind, to the point of frustration. But you'll stick with it until it lets you down again. It provides challenges the coding of the game just cannot live up to and then punishes you for its mistakes. Its unforgivable. But i cantOne of the best gaming experiences of my life, also the most frustrating. It is an incredibly flawed jewel. Its inconsistencies inevitably start weighing on your mind, to the point of frustration. But you'll stick with it until it lets you down again. It provides challenges the coding of the game just cannot live up to and then punishes you for its mistakes. Its unforgivable. But i cant stop playing it. A famous game developer once said "Anyone can make a great game, but not everyone can finish one"… Expand
  9. pholly
    Feb 2, 2015
    7
    This game is good, it's definitely better than it's relatively low critic average would let on but it's not as good as it could have been. It's like a combination of The Last of Us' crafting system, with the combat and lockpicking of Skyrim and the movement of Mirror's Edge. The constant lockpicking, foraging for weapons and ingredients, and inability to change the control scheme make theThis game is good, it's definitely better than it's relatively low critic average would let on but it's not as good as it could have been. It's like a combination of The Last of Us' crafting system, with the combat and lockpicking of Skyrim and the movement of Mirror's Edge. The constant lockpicking, foraging for weapons and ingredients, and inability to change the control scheme make the game more of a chore than it should have been.… Expand
  10. bigboss1964
    Mar 17, 2016
    7
    Dying Light

    Game-Play: The game-play is good with one of the best free running first person games with good melee weapons and ranged weapons but mostly the same weapons that can break and have only some repairs each weapon especial in the start of the game that makes the game difficult. Story: The story is garbage with totally uninteresting characters and every cliche in the history    Dying Light

    Game-Play: The game-play is good with one of the best free running first person games with good melee weapons and ranged weapons but mostly the same weapons that can break and have only some repairs each weapon especial in the start of the game that makes the game difficult.

    Story: The story is garbage with totally uninteresting characters and every cliche in the history of zombie games.It will take you to complete the story about 12 to 14 hours.

    Graphics:The graphics are good nothing more to say here.

    Notes:In the end the game is a fun open-world game but not a very good zombie game buy it only if you like open-world games and surly it does not deserve the full price    … Expand
  11. aciphex
    Feb 5, 2015
    7
    this game is a great shame because it does almost everything right...free running is almost flawless and the melee combat is among the best and most satisfying of its sort...the graphics are often superb and many fun hours are to be had here running around killing zombies, which techland definitely nail as the core of the experience...however it seems they spent 99% of the time on gameplaythis game is a great shame because it does almost everything right...free running is almost flawless and the melee combat is among the best and most satisfying of its sort...the graphics are often superb and many fun hours are to be had here running around killing zombies, which techland definitely nail as the core of the experience...however it seems they spent 99% of the time on gameplay mechanics and forgot to build a good game around it...the characters are all extremely forgettable, the game almost entirely consists of "i don't trust you. go do some errands" style missions and when you find yourself skipping cutscenes you know the story isnt at all engaging...however it will fill your lust for blood and provide you with a neat urban playground, as long as you're not looking for a good story but mindless fun you will enjoy this game… Expand
  12. RATTY
    Jan 27, 2015
    7
    Its a good game at heart but it shows it flaws and how it was going to be for last gen and current gen, it is very poorly optimized even with that 1.75 gb patch console were locked at 1080p 30 fps, but the frames constantly drop, in co op mode with as little as 2 players together the frames are like a slide show when things get too crazy it just stops and goes, the audio will also go inIts a good game at heart but it shows it flaws and how it was going to be for last gen and current gen, it is very poorly optimized even with that 1.75 gb patch console were locked at 1080p 30 fps, but the frames constantly drop, in co op mode with as little as 2 players together the frames are like a slide show when things get too crazy it just stops and goes, the audio will also go in and out when things get too crazy. It shows how they cancelled the ps3 360 version, It may be possible to patch it in the future but for right now its a train wreak online, but if you don't want these problems just play single player only its less bad that way… Expand
  13. vicbrusal
    Feb 20, 2015
    7
    A good, solid mixture of zombies and parkour, Dying Light is more than the typical zombie experience. It has a cliche, yet well developped story, lots of things to do and, of course, the classical pleasure of ripping tons of zombies apart, with great body details and physics. DL's multiplayer mode is also something that deserves attention, since the co-op works great (even though there areA good, solid mixture of zombies and parkour, Dying Light is more than the typical zombie experience. It has a cliche, yet well developped story, lots of things to do and, of course, the classical pleasure of ripping tons of zombies apart, with great body details and physics. DL's multiplayer mode is also something that deserves attention, since the co-op works great (even though there are 4 of the same character) and the PVP zombie vs human is something worth taking a look at.… Expand
  14. Sergi
    Feb 4, 2015
    7
    13-й район про зомби. Вот, что коротко можно сказать об этой игре.

    Теперь немного деталей. Безусловно к достоинствам данной игры относится её игровой процесс. Бегать по крышам домов и уничтожать толпы ходячих мертвецов и враждебно настроенных людей днём, а ночью делать тоже самое только прячась и убигая от толпы преследователей, просто доставляет массу удовольствия. Правда, сам по себе    13-й район про зомби. Вот, что коротко можно сказать об этой игре.

    Теперь немного деталей. Безусловно к достоинствам данной игры относится её игровой процесс. Бегать по крышам домов и уничтожать толпы ходячих мертвецов и враждебно настроенных людей днём, а ночью делать тоже самое только прячась и убигая от толпы преследователей, просто доставляет массу удовольствия. Правда, сам по себе отдельно взятый от сюжета данный процесс очень быстро надоедает. (А сюжетная линия в данной игре коротковата. Но о сюжете потом.) Делать это безцельно уже радости столько не приносит, а только разочаровывает.
    В игре пугаюбщая атмосфера. И это тоже радует.
    Музыка соответствует. Она добавляет напряжения и усиливает эти пугающие моменты.
    Хорошее взаимодействие с миром. Это приятно. Динамический характер игры. Смена дня и ночи, погодных условий, всё это радует. Про паркур говорить не буду, и так уже сказано достаточно.

    Теперь сюжет. Он прост, предсказуем. Как в дешевых боевиках, не обладающих сколь нибудь глубиной. Хотя по началу задумка какая-то чувствуется; начало радовало. Но потом сюжет постепенно становится всё менее интересным. А отдельные моменты просто вообще убивают его. Для чего создатели решили пойти на эти шаги, понятно. Добавить напряжения, душевных терзаний, противоречий, вызвать чувства. Это получилось у них. Но только с отрицательным знаком чувства получились и отношение. Сюжет, одним словом, разочаровал.
    В принципе всё о сюжете можно понять еще из заставки игры перед началом. Разработчики только добавили немного содержания.
    Сюжет в игре абсолютно линеен. Даже возможности формального выбора игроку не дают. Всё решили уже за нас. И это печалит, удручает даже еще больше, чем сюжетная предсказуемость, поверхностность.
    Как-то разбавить всё это могла бы романтическая линия, которая явно напрашивалась. Но разработчики решили иначе.

    Главный герой получился никакой. Он вполне подходит под характеристику данную ему главным злодеем - тупая марионетка. Примитивные эмоции, примитивные реплики, столь же предсказуемые действия. Он разочаровал.

    Еще к небольшим минусам могу отнести не понятную мне систему выхода из строя оружия. Мне это правда не понятно, как труба может ломаться, почему меч также ломается, и я не могу его точить бесконечно? Ладно, деревянная палка, но всё металлическое... Это бред.
    Другим мелким недостатком считаю инвентарь. Всякой ерунды в него можно кидать до бесконечности много, а вот с патронами проблема. Только 60 пистолетных и 100 для автоматической винтовки. Это тоже недочёт.
    Также можно было бы добавить возможность блокировки атак. Врагов этой способностью наделили. Понятно, что герой и так много умеет (перепрыгивать, уходить от атак, подкаты и т.п.), но блок бы не помешал. К тому же кнопочка почти свободная имеется (для второго действия).

    Одна проблема заставила меня постоянно обращаться в техподдержку игры. Игра у меня постоянно вылетала в самые неподходящие и разные другие моменты. Проблем с другими играми подобных у меня не было. Вот я и грешу на разработчиков. Видеокарта позволяет играть на самых высоких настройках качества. Но разработчики посоветовали установить некоторые параметры на средние. Хотя приложение для видеокарты (NVIDIA GeForce Experience) устанавливала их на максимальные в качестве оптимальных настроек. Но изменение настроек так и не помогло. Игра продолжала безщадно вылетать. Что портило впечатление от игры. Другого решения проблемы я так и не дождался от разработчиков. Прошел так.

    В целом игра всё же заслуживает внимания. Именно из-за интересного игрового процесса. Из-за атмосферы. Сюжет не портит впечатления от него. Пусть сюжет слабоват, герой туповат, но в процессе об этом не думаешь. Жаль, что заканчивается всё так быстро.
    Но есть еще кооператив. Хотя и это не долго радует.

    Твёрдая 7 из 10.    … Expand
  15. TrueReview13
    Feb 2, 2015
    7
    This game is a odd one, if you enjoy dead island you will enjoy this one. But the lack of story missions and not so good story honistly hurts this game alot. There are only two areas which are alright was hoping for a jungle and there arent any special quest weapons like dead island. Parkour is fun and gameplay is awesome, graphics are great and very smooth. Coop is fun as well but playerThis game is a odd one, if you enjoy dead island you will enjoy this one. But the lack of story missions and not so good story honistly hurts this game alot. There are only two areas which are alright was hoping for a jungle and there arent any special quest weapons like dead island. Parkour is fun and gameplay is awesome, graphics are great and very smooth. Coop is fun as well but player movements look sort of weird to me and the pvp is decent. If you want the full expierence then you must do the side quests. 20 hours it took me to get to the second zone and i still havint completed all of the quests. Crafting, guns, skills, traps, items all that is included. Day and night cycle is great but not as amazing as it seemed in the e3 gameplays. I wouldint reccomend a full 60 dollar purchase as this game doesint do that much that other games havint already done. Just look forward towards the Order, Bloodbourn and Metal Gear 5. Pick this up if you want to put yourself through the apocalypse.… Expand
  16. whoswho
    Jan 30, 2015
    7
    First off My first review.Hello.Second to all the reviewers that tend to give 10s OR Zeros,I personally will not Read them,i skip right by.This game at first had no appeal and was looking like a glad purchase on disc and NOT download as I will be able to get some of my money back.The more ive played it it actually has gave me some hope for a decent game.It has it's pitfalls for sure but itFirst off My first review.Hello.Second to all the reviewers that tend to give 10s OR Zeros,I personally will not Read them,i skip right by.This game at first had no appeal and was looking like a glad purchase on disc and NOT download as I will be able to get some of my money back.The more ive played it it actually has gave me some hope for a decent game.It has it's pitfalls for sure but it does make up for it.I still don't understand the co-op drop in yet.Once I get that dialed in maybe it will retain some of its replayability about it, or hold my attention till The order or Bloodborne or W3.… Expand
  17. ejgamer13
    Feb 2, 2015
    7
    I've never really been a fan of the Dead Island series. I found it to be clunky and tiresome, with missions that never seemed to have any soul. Well now I can say, Techland has blown me away with Dying light. I didn't go into it expecting much, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. First of all the graphics (I'm on PS4), are extremely pretty, with foliage that sways in the wind, andI've never really been a fan of the Dead Island series. I found it to be clunky and tiresome, with missions that never seemed to have any soul. Well now I can say, Techland has blown me away with Dying light. I didn't go into it expecting much, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. First of all the graphics (I'm on PS4), are extremely pretty, with foliage that sways in the wind, and lighting that looks gorgeous no matter what time of the day in game. Next is the game play. The free running system has breathed new life into the zombie genre. Its fluidity mixed with the tactics you can use make for some interesting situations to get into or out of. My main problem with the free running system would be the tower climbing. It feels like it was tacked on and it feels a bit difficult to climb. The combat, which is largely melee, is fine tuned to feel fluid and hits feel like they connect in the best most brutal ways. Last, but definitely not least, is the soundtrack. The ambient music, the action music, it all works beautifully to create the true ambiance of a zombie outbreak. Techland has made a very solid zombie game, with a few hitches here and there. Definitely a solid 7/10, and I would recommend this game to anybody with a PS4.… Expand
  18. Smildoe
    Feb 8, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I feel that this game does not offer a great amount of variety and has a lack of new boss zombies. There are the normal zombies, runners, nightmares, goons, spitters, boilers, boomers, and then the demolisher. Unfortunately the demolisher only appears around three times in the game unless you go hunting for one.

    The co-op aspect of the game is fun and allows friendly competition between you and your friend. You can challenge each other throughout the game on various missions like climbing tower races and kill the most zombie in a time limit. You can also play through the single player story together with single player cut scenes. They do not allow you to play the final level together and show that there is no reason why you needed to be split up.

    Story wise this game is seriously lacking with boring characters and deaths of characters you meet maybe twice. The deaths feel meaningless and try to make you feel sad with off theme music and emotional out bursts from Crane. The mission that take you through the story are mostly diverse and fun to play including my favorite mission called The Pit. While playing these missions you will probably glance over the story surrounding it.

    While not hunting zombies or playing main missions there are tons of side missions and other things to try in the city including clearing out safe houses, climbing towers, racing to air drops, and free running races. There is also the be the zombie DLC that alows you to invade a friends single player game and fight at night over the zombies nests. I have a problem with this only because it is such a small mode it could have been included into the game and DLC.

    The game has enjoyable gameplay and good graphics even though it suffers from a terrible story with a poor ending. The story has very little emotional attachment to any characters. It does have a wide variety of weapons and crafting new ones. So i give this game a seven out of ten and declare it a good game but not at full price.    … Expand
  19. Vondergraaf
    Mar 2, 2015
    7
    In just a few words:
    + graphics are nice (runs smooth)
    + sound is good
    + parkours mechanics work better than Assassins Creed in my opinion
    - normal zombies are kinda boring and no challenge
    - battle system is very "dead-island"-ish (aka sloppy)

    Overall impression:
    Fun, gory zombie splatter experience which just makes way more fun with a few friend around
  20. DShredderR
    Mar 3, 2015
    7
    After playing this game for over 40 hours, I can honestly say don't believe the people that give it 9's and 10's. Don't believe the people who say this game is absolute garbage either. What we get from Dying Light is a huge playground that can be very fun after the first few levels. This story is laughable at best. Watch any zombie movie and you know the plot. And those last few storyAfter playing this game for over 40 hours, I can honestly say don't believe the people that give it 9's and 10's. Don't believe the people who say this game is absolute garbage either. What we get from Dying Light is a huge playground that can be very fun after the first few levels. This story is laughable at best. Watch any zombie movie and you know the plot. And those last few story missions... What the hell? Apparently Techland heard that putting a bunch of special zombies in corridors and killing rooms makes a game worthy of an award. The combat is fantastic. The only problem with it is that combat early on will discourage players, but that was their choice. Overall, this is good game that you should pick up if you like graphics and gameplay and don't mind having to listen to a laughable story.… Expand
  21. KiwiTracker
    Mar 23, 2015
    7
    This game is a pleasant surprise. This is especially true after the fiasco that was Dead Island. This game is full of pros and cons, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons.

    Pros - Character movement control: the parkour system and verticality make you feel like a total badass. As your jumping from building to building, avoiding the zombies sprinting after you and grabbing at your    This game is a pleasant surprise. This is especially true after the fiasco that was Dead Island. This game is full of pros and cons, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons.

    Pros - Character movement control: the parkour system and verticality make you feel like a total badass. As your jumping from building to building, avoiding the zombies sprinting after you and grabbing at your ankles just as you hoist yourself onto a roof is oh-so-satisfying. This system puts the subtle fear and subsequent "whew" moment back into a zombie game. As more and more zombies flock to you the more noise you make, you have to make the tactical decisions to stay and fight a little longer or GTFO by any means necessary!

    - Weapon customization / crafting: Options, options, and more options. You can make just about any classic zombie fighting weapon you can think of, and them some. All while able to add cool features like fire, electricity, and toxin to the weapon. Weapons will break after too much use if you don't fix them, making scavenging for more weapons a must. This only adds to the immersion that this game offers. However you can only repair items a certain number of times, which can be a little annoying, but it doesn't hinder gameplay.

    - Co-op: This game is at its best when you play with friends. Working together to take out large groups of zombies, or separating to accomplish missions at various points on the map gives the players a real sense of teamwork and need for each other. This is especially true when one player goes down and needs help. You can trade items you find and create all kinds of strategies to take on large zombies, big groups, or map hazards. Definitely play with a friend when you can.

    - Map / Environment: The map is huge. It can take 15 minutes sprinting and hurdling everything in your path without stopping to cross it. It is full of buildings, typical urban infrastructure, and environmental diversity. The graphics are not bad either. The other piece of this is the day night cycle. All too often when this is part of a game, the cycle feels too fast. "Day" lasts about 5 minutes in real time. That's just garbage. This one is much more solid and fair. Scavenging around during the day and keeping an eye on the time is a great mechanic and makes you feel a sense of urgency as you run out of daylight and the real "baddies' come out at night utterly destroy you. Get to a safe house!

    Cons - Story: This is what plagues zombie games. It is laughable. No memorable characters, no surprise plot, and not that interesting of a bad guy (aside from the zombies).

    - Actual mission objectives: all of these feel like you're operating a switchboard. Go here and flip this switch, then go there and flip another switch. HOLY S*&%T this whole world is operated by switches! It gets a little annoying.

    - Lack of character customization: This one is pretty straight forward. You don't get to do anything to the character you play as aside from slap on painfully clothing sets. Some even have flags! Woot. Additionally you really never see your character from any other view than 1st person. It just doesn't allow you to get attached to who you are.

    - Lack of gun options: With lots of melee weapons, the devs just got lazy with the firepower options. there are a few skins for a pistol, and a few skins for a assault rifle, and that is pretty much it. I'd like to see more here.

    All in all, you will have fun with this game. If is a fresh feeling to an old genre. Worth full price? yes, especially when playing with a friend. Pick this one up and go to town pulverizing some Z's!    … Expand
  22. EpikTheMaster
    May 6, 2015
    7
    Pretty Good Let me give you the list of pros and cons:
    Pros:
    -Combat is fun and nostalgic to Dead Island -Graphics look good for next gen - The Parkour is AMAZING(mostly) -Night time stealth is a great addition and truly adds the fear in a zombie apocalypse -Sound is great meaning everything doesn't sound so basic. CONS -The Story is so cliche -Characters are not interesting -The    Pretty Good Let me give you the list of pros and cons:
    Pros:
    -Combat is fun and nostalgic to Dead Island
    -Graphics look good for next gen
    - The Parkour is AMAZING(mostly)
    -Night time stealth is a great addition and truly adds the fear in a zombie apocalypse
    -Sound is great meaning everything doesn't sound so basic.
    CONS
    -The Story is so cliche
    -Characters are not interesting
    -The antagonist rips off KHAAAAAAAN from Star Trek 2: The wrath of Khan
    -End boss battle Sucks!
    -The fact that is is basically like Dead Island so you have already played something like this before
    7/10 It manages to at least pull itself up from the Khans(BADUM TISS)    … Expand
  23. FrankyPuuSensei
    Apr 2, 2015
    7
    You know a game's free running mechanic is good when you just want to forget about the campaign for a few hours, and run around the map, satisfyingly bashing zombies' heads in.

    Don't play for story, play for online and first-person free run simulator.
  24. Crisiscore7iet
    Dec 16, 2015
    7
    This game is pretty fun. It has a great open world filled with zombies everywhere. It has great graphics,decent story, and simple combat. But the problem I had with the game was... it got old fast. Most of the game, your just running around doing stuff for people. Then your looking for stuff for your weapons as they break pretty fast. Good game to get at a cheap price and play for a bit,This game is pretty fun. It has a great open world filled with zombies everywhere. It has great graphics,decent story, and simple combat. But the problem I had with the game was... it got old fast. Most of the game, your just running around doing stuff for people. Then your looking for stuff for your weapons as they break pretty fast. Good game to get at a cheap price and play for a bit, but it gets boring and old fast.… Expand
  25. EHansen14
    Jun 2, 2015
    7
    Another year, another zombie game, but how does Dying Light fare in this crowded genre? In this review I will give my opinions and ratings for the following: Gameplay, Story, Sound, Graphics, Last Impressions. This will be followed by final score for the game.

    Gameplay: 8/10 - For the most part, the parkour system in Dying Light is actually done surprisingly well. There is a clear    Another year, another zombie game, but how does Dying Light fare in this crowded genre? In this review I will give my opinions and ratings for the following: Gameplay, Story, Sound, Graphics, Last Impressions. This will be followed by final score for the game.

    Gameplay: 8/10
    - For the most part, the parkour system in Dying Light is actually done surprisingly well. There is a clear feeling of momentum and pretty much everything you'd expect to be able to climb, you can. The combat is good. Weapons have some weight to them, and chopping limbs off is fun for a while. With that being said, the gunplay in the game is poorly done and feels very overpowered. Once you get your hands on a gun of any sort, the game loses any suspenseful feeling it once had.

    Story: 6/10
    - A cliche, over the top story is what you expect in a zombie game in today's day and age, and that's exactly what Dying Light gives you. The story features countless characters that you won't care about, and a main villain that seems as though he's trying his hardest to imitate Vaas from Far Cry 3. The plot twists can be seen from a mile away and the ending gives no feelings of resolve or satisfaction.

    Sound: 7/10
    - Classic zombie game sounds here. Nothing special, but nothing to really complain about. Most voice acting is done well enough, though some is not so good. Weapons sound okay, and chopping apart a zombie sounds how you'd expect it to. No notable musical moments, not that you'd expect a musical going into a zombie game.

    Graphics: 9/10
    - This is one of the areas where the game shines. Graphics look excellent, and for the most part the game runs very fluidly. The views you get from the higher building tops (especially in the 2nd area) are marvelous. Zombie look gross as you'd want them to, and some of the ones you encounter can be quite terrifying at first. The day/night cycle looks really good.

    Last Impressions
    - Dying light is a good game, but no more than that. I played most of the game with a friend, and if it hadn't been for the co op, which is quite a bit of fun, I may have not even finished it. The game doesn't throw anything at you that you wouldn't expect (story wise and mechanically) but can still be some quick fun and is a good pick up and play game. This game gets a 7 from me, but that is based off of my co op experiences, when played alone I would give the game a 6.

    Final Score: 7/10    … Expand
  26. Austyn_rk
    Jun 8, 2015
    7
    Graphics 9/10, Gameplay 6/10, Voice acting 8/10 = Overall 7/10
    I will say they have improved since Dead Island. But this game is sort of a fetch quest with a twist. Multiple quest will tell you to go turn something on, go get this, go do that. The game is in no way bad, but it lacks something to make it very good. The parkour mechanic at times feels more a like a gimmick than anything. My    Graphics 9/10, Gameplay 6/10, Voice acting 8/10 = Overall 7/10
    I will say they have improved since Dead Island. But this game is sort of a fetch quest with a twist. Multiple quest will tell you to go turn something on, go get this, go do that. The game is in no way bad, but it lacks something to make it very good. The parkour mechanic at times feels more a like a gimmick than anything. My biggest complaint though is the combat, weapons will break far to easily for my taste, and it will take longer than it should for a zombie to die. Overall I enjoyed the game, and co-op made it a bit more bearable.    … Expand
  27. ReviewsByScott
    Jun 15, 2015
    7
    Dying Light is an intense thriller in which the protagonist, Kyle Crane, works to save the doomed residents of Harran. The was marketed as a survival game, especially after the sun goes down and the zombies get faster and more aggressive and the viral zombies appear. Running the streets at night is a video experience which will get your pulse racing. In addition to the night survivalDying Light is an intense thriller in which the protagonist, Kyle Crane, works to save the doomed residents of Harran. The was marketed as a survival game, especially after the sun goes down and the zombies get faster and more aggressive and the viral zombies appear. Running the streets at night is a video experience which will get your pulse racing. In addition to the night survival modes the story attempts to really ratchet up the intensity and draw you in, sometimes succeeding, more often failing.

    Dying Light is also a beautiful game and the graphics are 1st rate. The game has everything you would expect from an open world, including side quests and ways to waste time, however the game lacks the feel of Skyrim or GTA 5 where you could spend hours of game time doing nothing. In many ways that is a good thing. This is the zombie apocalypse, wasting time watching TV or playing cards or golf would not make much sense.

    The game is driven by the free running parkour mode, and its well done. Kyle can climb virtually anything although the game does have some glitches in that there are things that Kyle can't climb that it feels as if he should be able to. This glitch does not ruin the fun though. Its incredibly fun to free run, climb and jump through the streets of Harran. The main method of survival is to avoid fighting (although at some point you will eliminate a zombie horde by yourself with only a sword just for the fun of it) and many times it involves making very fast free running choices while moving at full speed. Make a mistake and Kyle is eaten by a horde of zombies or virals.

    With all the good described so far and the sheer fun of being a wall climbing zombie killing machine it probably seems like the game deserves better than 7 out of 10 as a ranking. The reason for the lower ranking is that the story is limited and the ending is not as fulfilling as it should be. The writers attempted to create a powerful bond between Kyle and certain characters early in the story so that certain scenes would be more emotionally impactful later. It fails. The hoped for emotional link never occurs. The player just never gets really invested in the characters (say as in The Last of Us, with Ellie and Joel) to care or to have the plot twists leave an emotional impact. Certain characters, like Brecken, just seem incomplete.

    The main villain is Rais. While diabolical and certainly evil incarnate, he won't be memorable as a video game character. His henchmen largely blur together. Rais as a villain, like the story, just falls a little short of being great. He falls into a wide category of good, but not great, video game villains.

    The main premise of the story of itself, while decent, fails to be great, or even above average. Its a good story, with some predictable actions and behaviors by government and quasi government agencies. The story has the requisite plots twists and drives the action toward a final confrontation. The stories biggest failing though is the final confrontation. Without spoiling anything the final confrontation is simply lacking. From the players perspective and Kyle Crane's, the ending is satisfying, but the manner is not. From a story perspective lose ends are left. While the general ending is clear there are multiple significant lose ends are left untied for the player to fill in as they see fit.

    Dying Light is a good game. Its above average and if MetaCritic allowed me to give half points it would get a 7.5. It is an enjoyable game with the depth and breadth expected of an open world game. The story is solid, the voice acting is ok, its not great but its not terrible. However its not a great game. Its not a great game because it falls short of what it attempts to be. The story, the villain, the hero, the attempt to grab the player and emotionally invest them in Jade, Rahim, Brecken, Kyle and make you feel for them, care about them and their plight, all falls a little short.

    Dying Light will scare you. It will be intense. Your pulse will race. The zombie baby scene will creep you out, maybe for a couple days. The parkour free running is challenging and fun. Its worth the cost to own the game. Just don't expect it to be a GTA 5 or The Last of Us level game. Its a good second tier effort.

    Good Night/Good Luck    … Expand
  28. badgerryan19
    Jun 19, 2017
    7
    Dying Light is what Dead Island should of been. A more action free slowing combat game. The story was nothing too special, but overall I did enjoy it. Especially going out at night.
  29. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    7
    Although the narrative is awful, and I also found the side quests to be bland, everything else about this game is great. Some of the most fun I've had in a co-op game.
  30. gdiego135
    Dec 3, 2015
    7
    when this game first came out i wasn't hyped about it at all, but my friend told me it was pretty cool and "scary" and it is but their's some flaws. First off if your a graphics freak the graphics are terrible in this game, and the lip syncing is pretty bad, and don't get me started on the story, i just skipped all the cut scenes that's how bad it was. But the gameplay is pretty fun!!!!when this game first came out i wasn't hyped about it at all, but my friend told me it was pretty cool and "scary" and it is but their's some flaws. First off if your a graphics freak the graphics are terrible in this game, and the lip syncing is pretty bad, and don't get me started on the story, i just skipped all the cut scenes that's how bad it was. But the gameplay is pretty fun!!!! from the parkour to the slicing and dicing, it's great, but the guns are a last resort and their isn't a lot of them. I haven't played the multiplayer but i think it's pretty much you play with four friends and do side missions i think some story missions as well and you can also play as the hunter which is a very fast zombie at night. It's an okay game im waiting for the upcoming dlc which gives you a cross bow and let's you ride a dune buggy. AWESOME!!!… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
34
#34 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 58
  3. Negative: 0 out of 58
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Apr 22, 2015
    70
    A slightly better version of Dead Island in everything but name. [Apr 2015, p.84]
  2. Play UK
    Mar 31, 2015
    85
    With some crazy fun online elements and a badass sense of actual achievement, Dying Light is the zombie game we've been working for. Just mute those terrible voices. [Issue#254, p.64]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Mar 24, 2015
    80
    It's not perfect, but Dying Light is last, brutal and most importantly, fun. [April 2015, p74]
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