Dying Light

A lot of fun in small bursts, but not amount of polish, parkour or persistence can plaster over the cracks of the aging Dead Island mechanics and systems. [Issue#121, p.72]

Dying Light shares much with Dead Island, some would probably say a little too much, but it cuts away a lot of the septic flesh and binds the wounds with some new (if not entirely fresh) ideas.

There’s a lot of potential here, as well as some high-quality building blocks, but unfortunately, things didn’t fall into place perfectly. It’s technically superior to Dead Island, but running from zombies isn’t as fun as killing them over and over again. Furthermore, the game’s problematic downward climbing (or lack thereof) ends up being more frustrating than you’d think.

As someone who enjoyed both Dead Island games, warts and all, Dying Light certainly feels like a vast improvement...Unfortunately, Techland is still unable to deliver a story worth telling. I didn’t feel any emotional attachment to any of the characters, nor did I care if they ended up surviving or not.

Dying Light’s core gameplay is solid and offers a uniquely thrilling sort of fun, but for every moment you spend having a good time, you’ll spend just as many frustrated by its shortcomings.

I am rooting for Dying Light's success, even as I shake my head at its avoidable foibles. I understand it, I get it, and so I find pleasure in it even as it disappoints me, even when I land between a fence and a rocky cliff and get stuck there, even when I don't grab a ledge or pole after a jump for reasons that I can't quite understand.

As a follow up to Dead Island, Dying Light represents an improvement on the technical front, but has lost some of its knockabout charm in the process.

It’s got some great ideas and a great setting that bring new life to overplayed subject matter. The climbing and vertical navigation are in a class of their own. But Techland’s attention and focus on the undead distracts from the things that Dying Light does well, and it’s all spread far too thin.

Though not entirely soul-destroying, Dying Light will leave you feeling like you've just eaten a box of budget chocolates - unsatisfied, underwhelmed and unsure if it was worth the money. [March 2015, p.72]

With Dying Light, Techland has most certainly improved on Dead Island's melee-focused, open-world formula, but it still hasn't perfected it.

Some will love it, others will hate it, but Dying Light is an interesting experiment at least.

Dying Light parades its lack of invention and frustrates with some unrewarding missions, but it barely matters: there’s an immediate joy in exploring this compelling concrete playground of undead, explosions, and bins.