Dying Light

 Xbox One
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 566 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 441 out of 566
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 566
  3. Negative: 62 out of 566
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  1. UnKn0wN_DiSeAsE
    Feb 27, 2015
    8
    This game one one on my radar from the first screenshots over a year ago.Developed from the same team who developed Dead Island. This game feels very much like an expanded version of the same. Even with all Dead Islands flaws I still loved it. The same goes for this game.

    I really liked the pace of the game but after awhile once you have upgraded your skills you become a tank and the    This game one one on my radar from the first screenshots over a year ago.Developed from the same team who developed Dead Island. This game feels very much like an expanded version of the same. Even with all Dead Islands flaws I still loved it. The same goes for this game.

    I really liked the pace of the game but after awhile once you have upgraded your skills you become a tank and the game feels like your have the Cheats turned on. After beating the game it unlocks a New Game + which even with your Tank Character is not impossible but more of a challenge.

    There are 52 Side Missions some are Awesome some are not Noteworthy at all. While some are needed to continue the story most are not, and some lead to cooler stuff, weapons, or items.

    Again the Season Pass so far as of 2-27-2015 is a bust and the first DLC release was just 2 Quarantine Zones which took about 8 minutes each to complete.

    The game has some issues when playing with others. A lot of the bugs come from the fact it registers you as doing said mission if you join a friends game and he completes it with you. But from an achievement stand point does not give you credit. This requires you to remember which mission restart either a new game or New Game + to redo those missions to get credit.

    All Side Missions and All Collectibles seem to be buggy in general. As stated above you must replay to get credit for side missions you may have done in Co-Op. Collectibles can more easily be fixed by just starting a new game and collecting already collected items to get % increase toward achievement. I had 67/67 collectibles and only 88% toward achievement. After I beat game started New Game at Last Checkpoint and just grabbed items next to Quartermaster at Tower to increase % toward achievement. Just rinsed and repeated.

    If you also have to much in Private Stash and on Personal Backpack it might delete your inventory either completely or just certain items. So on those missions your items are taken from you do not restore your items. go back into Private Stash and select each Item you want to get back to avoid this issue.    … Expand
  2. JakeyWV
    Mar 2, 2015
    8
    Haven't really got into many games that much as i believe I've grown out of them, but this is something else! Combat could be better hence the 8/10 but i'm still early in the game. As you level up your agility improves giving you more Parkour to do.

    I love how you genuinely have to scavenge to survive! If you're looking for something you can get stuck in to then get this! But if you're    Haven't really got into many games that much as i believe I've grown out of them, but this is something else! Combat could be better hence the 8/10 but i'm still early in the game. As you level up your agility improves giving you more Parkour to do.

    I love how you genuinely have to scavenge to survive! If you're looking for something you can get stuck in to then get this! But if you're just after a zombie hacker then don't bother as you'll be dead easy and quickly in the early stages at least.    … Expand
  3. jdwarrior
    Apr 20, 2015
    8
    This game earned an 8 from me. A 6 for when I am playing alone, because it feels somewhat average then, but no major complaints. But this game is a true 10 when playing with friends. The fact that every single tiny aspect of the game can be played with up to 3 friends is amazing!!!!! Dying light also has the best assortment of eastereggs I have EVER seen. So grab a friend or two and pickThis game earned an 8 from me. A 6 for when I am playing alone, because it feels somewhat average then, but no major complaints. But this game is a true 10 when playing with friends. The fact that every single tiny aspect of the game can be played with up to 3 friends is amazing!!!!! Dying light also has the best assortment of eastereggs I have EVER seen. So grab a friend or two and pick up some copies of Dying light.… Expand
  4. Fracturedchief
    Sep 7, 2015
    8
    Xbox 360 comparable graphics and numerous glitches don't stop this game being the most amazing fun especially in co-op mode with friends.And you simply must go out after dark when you are a level one and you will scream like a little girl.Highly recommended.
  5. cish
    Oct 20, 2015
    8
    The storyline in this was great especially utilizing coop. The parkour + zombie gameplay really worked out. The parkour was very well developed and once you get a hang of it is very fluid. This game could have been better if there were better online game types.
  6. SextonHardcase
    Nov 9, 2015
    8
    Dying Light is as cliched as the undead enemies that populate the game world. Though it features solid voice acting, nearly every character has unknown or downright idiotic motivations and decisions throughout the game. It's attempts at creating emotion (care for Jade, the love interest. anger towards Rais, the antagonist) fail miserably due to a lack of character development, suffice toDying Light is as cliched as the undead enemies that populate the game world. Though it features solid voice acting, nearly every character has unknown or downright idiotic motivations and decisions throughout the game. It's attempts at creating emotion (care for Jade, the love interest. anger towards Rais, the antagonist) fail miserably due to a lack of character development, suffice to say, you probably spend 10 minutes total throughout the entire game (including cutscenes) interacting with every major character in the game. Where Dying Light succeeds is in it's gameplay, combat may seem jerky, but their's weight behind every skull crushing blow you make on your enemies. Difficulty is really unforgiving to begin with, but as you level up you begin to feel far more powerful. Traversing through the game world is Dying Lights strongest aspect, as free running and parkour make for a fluid and enjoyable experience. Another big positive is the Day/Night cycle, during the day, simply running along rooftops is enough to evade enemies, during the night however, zombies undergo a transformation, going from shambling "walkers" to frightening runners, not to mention the Volatiles, an extremely deadly enemy that should be fleed from. Unfortunately, the Night time isn't central to the games plot, and feels like an unneccesarily tacked on mechanic. Levelling up is seperated in to Three skill classes, Strength, Agility, Survivor. Strength points are accumulated mainly through combat, and upgrades tend to focus on Damage. Agility points are accumulated through Free running and parkour, upgrades focus on stamina and how long you can last in combat/running, Survivor points are accumulated by saving NPC's or collecting supply drops, upgrades focus on mainly passive elements e.g Vendor prices. Overall, a game of solid design let down by a poor narrative… Expand
  7. Alex_Pilgrim008
    Sep 9, 2022
    8
    "Dead Island" meets "Mirror's Edge". It's solid fun during solo play, but it's meant as a 4 player experience. If "Island" felt like a low budget zombie flick, this one fees like a Hollywood epic. The city is huge and there are tons of zombies scattered throughout. Parkour is a great way to explore the buildings and escape the undead. There's also a touch of Far Cry 3 in the game. Dying"Dead Island" meets "Mirror's Edge". It's solid fun during solo play, but it's meant as a 4 player experience. If "Island" felt like a low budget zombie flick, this one fees like a Hollywood epic. The city is huge and there are tons of zombies scattered throughout. Parkour is a great way to explore the buildings and escape the undead. There's also a touch of Far Cry 3 in the game. Dying Light is not too different from Dead Island, but it's still great. I would rate it with an 8.1 out of 10.… Expand
  8. hejtyjaa
    Oct 11, 2018
    8
    I have like 150 hours already and i can't stop! This game fun, i really like the zombie-parkour concept which is that small thing that made Dying Light way better than Dead Island. One thing that was annoying me was gun-fights. Shooting system on XBO is good to fight with slow zombies, but when your opponents are armed and so f*cking strong it makes you feel uselesss sh*t. Anyway - youI have like 150 hours already and i can't stop! This game fun, i really like the zombie-parkour concept which is that small thing that made Dying Light way better than Dead Island. One thing that was annoying me was gun-fights. Shooting system on XBO is good to fight with slow zombies, but when your opponents are armed and so f*cking strong it makes you feel uselesss sh*t. Anyway - you should at least try it.… Expand
  9. zNeverSleeping
    Oct 29, 2020
    8
    ---{Graphics}---
    ☐ You forget what reality is
    ☐ Beautiful X Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{Gameplay}--- X Very good ☐ Good ☐ It‘s just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{Audio}--- ☐ Eargasm X Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{Audience}--- ☐ Kids X Teens X Adults ☐ All    ---{Graphics}---
    ☐ You forget what reality is
    ☐ Beautiful
    X Good
    ☐ Decent
    ☐ Bad
    ☐ Don‘t look too long at it
    ☐ MS-DOS

    ---{Gameplay}---
    X Very good
    ☐ Good
    ☐ It‘s just gameplay
    ☐ Mehh
    ☐ Watch paint dry instead
    ☐ Just don't

    ---{Audio}---
    ☐ Eargasm
    X Very good
    ☐ Good
    ☐ Not too bad
    ☐ Bad
    ☐ I'm now deaf

    ---{Audience}---
    ☐ Kids
    X Teens
    X Adults
    ☐ All

    ---{Difficulity}---
    ☐ Just press 'W'
    ☐ Easy
    X Significant brain usage
    ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
    ☐ Difficult
    ☐ Dark Souls

    ---{Story}---
    ☐ No Story
    ☐ Some lore
    X Average
    ☐ Good
    ☐ Lovely
    ☐ It‘ll replace your life

    ---{Game Time}---
    ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
    ☐ Short
    X Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{Price}--- ☐ It’s free! X Worth the price ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{Bugs}--- ☐ Never heard of X Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs    … Expand
  10. SenorKoquonfaes
    Mar 22, 2020
    8
    Gameplay-wise, Dying Light is what would happen if you combined Dead Island’s combat, crafting, environment design and overall art direction with the parkour/free-running mechanics and level verticality of Mirror’s Edge. This makes traversing Dying Light’s open world incredibly fast, smooth and fun. You can bound from one rooftop to another effectively playing a giant game of “The Floor isGameplay-wise, Dying Light is what would happen if you combined Dead Island’s combat, crafting, environment design and overall art direction with the parkour/free-running mechanics and level verticality of Mirror’s Edge. This makes traversing Dying Light’s open world incredibly fast, smooth and fun. You can bound from one rooftop to another effectively playing a giant game of “The Floor is Lava”. This also provides a pretty effective alternative to combat encounters. If you draw more than 3-4 standard enemies at once, you’re better off just pulling back and parkour-ing your way onto a rooftop for some relief. The parkour elements are what really stood out to me while playing through Dying Light.

    Dying Light’s combat mechanics are comparable to Dead Island’s considering it’s the same developer, that’s not really a surprise nor an indictment on the game. It’s melee-centric combat that features a variety of blade and blunt weapons. There are some options for guns, like a pistol, military rifle, police rifle, shotgun and bow. There’s also stamina management and stun locking enemies with kicks and weapon strikes. Weapons and item crafting is also very similar to Dead Island; you scavenge and loot buildings and vehicles for crafting materials, which can then be used for weapon upgrades such as “durability’ or “handling”. You can also acquire blueprints that require specific materials in order give your weapons elemental damage upgrades. You can also craft Medkits, grenades, boosters and lock picks, among others. I personally got more use out of blade weapons than blunt ones, slicing off limbs and heads was never not satisfying and watching the geyser of blood shoot out of the stumps was equally parts gory and delightful. I tried to limit my use of firearms to when I was fighting thugs in isolated environments such as the insides of buildings as part of a mission objective. They can block and dodge your attacks with melee weapons, making them a bastard to try and kill. If more of them gang up on you, it’s game over. They can also shoot you with assault rifles and they can tank more shots than Crane can. Unless you have throwable weapons, this can prove to be a bit of challenge without a gun. The gunplay itself feels great; firearms sound powerful and punchy and while it’s not Call of Duty or Battlefield good, it holds up well enough.

    Dying Light features a dynamic day and night cycle. During the day, the zombies are mostly non-threatening, unless you come across a fairly sized horde or a few “Virals” that’ll chase you. During the night time, however, is where Dying Light really shines and borders on being a horror game. Along with environments going incredibly dark, the game also introduces a new kind of zombie. Referred to as “Volatiles”, you get a glimpse of one during an early game cutscene, they are bigger, faster and more aggressive than another zombie in the game. Get spotted by one and it immediately becomes the most dangerous enemy in Dying Light. Avoiding it means using all your precision parkour techniques as getting caught or trying to stand and fight results in almost instant death. The night time atmosphere can provide some genuinely terrifying and tense moments. The game also provides you with more XP if you’re playing at night, as well as provide you with a bulk of bonus XP when you decide to take refuge in a safe house and sleep. If that’s not your thing, however, you can skip the night time altogether and go back out in the relative safety of day time.

    Dying Light features a skill tree that you can sink XP into and grab upgrades, such as crafting twice as many Medkits using the same amount of material, unlocking the ability to drop kick and grapple with zombies, among many others. It’s broken down into 4 categories: Survivor, Agility, Power and Legendary. Your play style will dictate which skill tree you’ll be levelling up the quickest; mine was the Power skill tree which is essentially combat, followed closely by the “Agility” skill tree, which is essentially parkour-ing. The Legendary skill tree only unlocks once you’ve maxed out your other three: Survivor skill-tree 25, Agility 24 and Power 24. Gameplay tip: Try and get the grappling hook upgrade as quickly as you can. This makes traversing the environments even faster and will be a huge quality of life improvement during the second half of the game.

    Graphically, Dying Light is great. The open world is beautifully rendered and the gore effects are awesome. The game is also well-optimized, even on vanilla Xbox One. Load screens are incredibly short for an open world game and I didn’t run into many issues with texture pop-ins, screen tearing or draw distance.

    Overall, I can certainly recommend Dying Light for it’s beautiful open world environments, dynamic day and night cycles, it’s fast, fluid parkour mechanics and it’s tried and true zombie slaying combat.    … Expand
  11. Soguys
    Dec 25, 2019
    8
    so guys we did it we reached a quater of a million subscribers, 250,000 subscribers and still growing
  12. Caldan
    Nov 15, 2020
    8
    ✅81%
    I would have never thought parkour an zombies would be mixed into an actual good game. Glad I played this.
  13. DadkaMitka
    Jul 7, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Пэздато, охуенный паркур, клёвый открытый мир, жаль только сюжет средний… Expand
  14. CriticFromHell
    Jul 15, 2020
    8
    This game is what i have to say one of the best games in the history of modern gaming. Its an action packed thriller survival game where you fight to survive against the zombie outbreak in Haran. Use knifes, guns, and the world around you to mutilate the undead. Not only is the game play fun it has an awesome story to it as well. The lore often times makes you want to beat the next missionThis game is what i have to say one of the best games in the history of modern gaming. Its an action packed thriller survival game where you fight to survive against the zombie outbreak in Haran. Use knifes, guns, and the world around you to mutilate the undead. Not only is the game play fun it has an awesome story to it as well. The lore often times makes you want to beat the next mission even more to unlock more of the intriguing story. The only issues that i have with the game is that once you beat the game 1 or 2 times it starts to not be as fun. The zombie mode isn't that great either i feel that it could have been better.… Expand
  15. Scoutgoat
    Jan 13, 2021
    8
    This is easily one of the most fun games I've played. It has excellent melee combat, which utilizes weapon durability, crafting, and a multitude of different weapons. Ranged combat is also very good, with a unique twist. Guns kill the zombies (and human enemies) very quickly, although it alerts all zombies to where you are, so you have to be smart about when you use them, or you'll getThis is easily one of the most fun games I've played. It has excellent melee combat, which utilizes weapon durability, crafting, and a multitude of different weapons. Ranged combat is also very good, with a unique twist. Guns kill the zombies (and human enemies) very quickly, although it alerts all zombies to where you are, so you have to be smart about when you use them, or you'll get swarmed. The parkour is what really sets this apart from other games. You wouldn't think first-person, parkour, and zombies would be good genres to mix, but this game manages to pull it off exceptionally well. The world design is phenomenal. Every car, house, and lamp post is specifically put where it is to make the parkour flow. For example, a flipped over car creates a ramp that you can jump off of to land on top of a lamp post, and then jump to the top of a house. The story is the main reason why I don't give this game a 9 or 10/10. It just isn't that good. It obviously wasn't the main focus, but I still feel like they could've done better with it. The main villain is an obvious rip-off of Rais from Far Cry 3, except not done anywhere near as well. The side-characters aren't very interesting and are quite frankly 1 dimensional. The story also in general feels kinda rushed. You don't feel anything when something bad happens to a character you're meant to like, because they barely have any screen time to get to know them. But besides the story, it's a very fun game and I highly recommend it, especially since the developers are still supporting the game even though Dying Light 2 is a few months away.… Expand
  16. mlnsn
    Jul 15, 2021
    8
    Gameplay : 8/10
    Design (video + audio) : 8/10
    Story : 6/10
    Technical aspects : 8/10
    Repeatability: 8/10
  17. TheVezyrQ
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    Amazing game with amazing animation of parkour as on 2015. Good story telling and graphic.
  18. Tomas95
    May 7, 2023
    8
    Dying light ist ein sehr gutes Action Reiches zombie Game mit coolen parkour System was auf viel schuswaffen und Kampf Gameplay sezt was auch grafisch wie Sound technisch beeindruckt. Leider ist die Story nicht so gut geworden
  19. Xuggor
    Aug 31, 2023
    8
    Dying Light apresenta um mundo extremamente cheio de recursos, onde a cada ponto do mapa existe a possibilidade de encontrar algum colecionavel, armas ou materiais, alem de diversas casas exploraveis, instigando a exploração, o sistema de parkuor é muito satisfatorio, sendo um dos melhores sistemas dentro do mundo dos games, a variedade de armas sendo elas de ataque físico ou a distanciaDying Light apresenta um mundo extremamente cheio de recursos, onde a cada ponto do mapa existe a possibilidade de encontrar algum colecionavel, armas ou materiais, alem de diversas casas exploraveis, instigando a exploração, o sistema de parkuor é muito satisfatorio, sendo um dos melhores sistemas dentro do mundo dos games, a variedade de armas sendo elas de ataque físico ou a distancia amplia toda uma maneira de abordar o game, sendo de uma maneira mais agressiva ou mais voltada para o stealth, contendo uma historia bastante fluida com boa duração, possuindo uma dificuldade que se torna desafiador seja ambientado de dia ou de noite.
    Com sua atmosfera mais escura criando uma sensação de urgência quando a noite se aproxima.    … Expand
  20. ACWise
    Feb 21, 2015
    7
    100% pretty cool. Parkour aspect of the game is very high quality. The combat is essentially the same as Dead Island, but the solid parkour mechanics add to the diversity of each encounter. For me, these things alone are enough to pull the game up to a seven. Basic game mechanics have taken a back seat lately to over-done visuals and over the top presentation. This is not the case with100% pretty cool. Parkour aspect of the game is very high quality. The combat is essentially the same as Dead Island, but the solid parkour mechanics add to the diversity of each encounter. For me, these things alone are enough to pull the game up to a seven. Basic game mechanics have taken a back seat lately to over-done visuals and over the top presentation. This is not the case with Dying Light, so it's a welcome change. However, that's about all this game has to offer. The story is not engrossing at all, and lends nothing to the game. (par for the course with zombie games lately) Thus, the game quickly turns from an experience to a zombie-parkour sandbox. Since the mechanics are good, that's okay. Just look at Minecraft. It doesn't even have a story. The killer for this game though, is the level up system. It's lame. The skills are over-powered and easy to acquire, making this game lose it's difficulty at an alarming rate. That, combined with the lack-luster story leaves little reason to pick the game back up after 20-30 hours. So, is it worth the money? Probably not if you don't have friends to play it with. I would recommend a purchase price of $40, but if you really need to kill zombies and do parkour right now, go for the $60 tag.… Expand
  21. Alucard1989
    Feb 13, 2015
    7
    I have over 30 hours played so far and I must say this game is a major step forward from Dead Island. The overall tone of the game is an improvement, and the combat is more refined. The parkour system is a welcome breath of fresh air, and is absolutely necessary for the fantastic open world they have developed for the game. Exploring some of the games highest locations is absolutelyI have over 30 hours played so far and I must say this game is a major step forward from Dead Island. The overall tone of the game is an improvement, and the combat is more refined. The parkour system is a welcome breath of fresh air, and is absolutely necessary for the fantastic open world they have developed for the game. Exploring some of the games highest locations is absolutely amazing, and the world is full of small details to discover.
    However, the game has its drawbacks when it comes to its quests as well as a few of the mechanics. I have been completing every side quest as I progress through the game, and I have to say that they are absolutely boring. There are only a few side quests that actually add anything interesting to the game, and I do have to admit these were done very well. The day/night cycle is also a let down considering it can be skipped altogether. The biggest flaw in my opinion is the spawning mechanic for the game. Clearing an area so that you can search uninterrupted? NOPE! Zombies will continue to spawn within your immediate area regardless of if it even makes sense. One side quest lead me to a part of the bridge in the slums that was segmented from the rest, and was only accessable by climbing. Even after clearing the entire bridge zombies continued to spawn without there even being a legitimate way for more to show up. More spawning overnight I can accept, but in front of my eyes is a little too much. Viral spawning is another low of the game. You WILL hear the viral spawn noise A FEW HUNDRED TIMES, and they WILL know where you are regardless of if you flee. Virals have to be the most obnoxiously annoying part of the game. They constantly spawn, and killing them only spawns more and so on and so on. This would not be as annoying if they added any sort of challenge to the game, but they very quickly begin to feel like flies that need to be constantly swatted over and over.
    I am excited to see what hard mode has to offer considering how easy the game is in its current state, but spawning needs to be fixed for a more realistic and gratifying hard mode experience.    … Expand
  22. GameSplash
    Mar 20, 2015
    7
    The player takes control of Kyle Crane; an undercover operative working for an organisation known as The Global Relief Effort. Crane is sent to infiltrate the quarantine zone in the city of Harran to retrieve a sensitive file in the possession of a political figure turned slum warlord; Rais. The game is arguably spread rather thin in terms of narrative with many characters owning their ownThe player takes control of Kyle Crane; an undercover operative working for an organisation known as The Global Relief Effort. Crane is sent to infiltrate the quarantine zone in the city of Harran to retrieve a sensitive file in the possession of a political figure turned slum warlord; Rais. The game is arguably spread rather thin in terms of narrative with many characters owning their own story arcs. This creates depth in the world, showing how multiple characters have their own agendas and motivations, and adds to the games immersion and realism. However this multitude of story arcs is also a distraction from the main narrative, striving more for gameplay hours over one fully explored and developed narrative focusing on a single character. Additionally, the absence of any actual likeable characters makes it difficult to invest in these story arcs, and they instead feel like another pass-time for the player until Rais pops up again and reminds you what you're actually there for. On the other hand, the moments where Rais is on-screen are fairly exciting, and after failing to kill him off multiple times, the game does quite well in building up to the final encounter

    The combat in the game has a strong emphasis on melee weapons, which you'll use to fend off the stereotypical zombie types (spitters, runners etc). The undead aren't the only enemies the player will face within Harran, there are also militia-type enemies that are under Rais' control, and random encounter hostile survivor attacks. You can buy and scavenge an interestingly large variety - from machetes to hammers to medieval long swords. The start of the game is slightly grueling, beating even the weakest zombies to death takes two recharges of a stamina bar - hardly what you'd expect from a trained freerunning agent. The melee weapons can be customised in a variety of ways. This may sound interesting to begin with, but wait until it detaches you from reality and you start to question how exactly duck-taping a battery to the end of a hammer turns you into Thor, Norse God of thunder. However, despite the break in immersion, decapitating a zombie with a flaming hatchet is fun and so it gets let off, if that is all Dying Light is trying to be.

    The parkour is well-integrated within the combat, being able to unlock skills from three individual trees which provides you with new weapons in your arsenal, for example vaulting over the infected, and tackling your way through crowds. These upgrades were fairly well executed and when remembered, could be made good use of. However, I was disappointed to learn that I couldn't unlock the best upgrade of each tree until I had first gained enough experience to gain the abilities on each individual branch, even if I didn't see myself making much use of them. Additionally, I found myself raising my eye multiple times due to the parkour, when I'd fall short of the ledge I was jumping to and be teleported atop it moments after, when the game realised what I was actually trying to do. Apart from that, it felt good to run, jump, and climb my way through playable areas that lent themselves well to the game mechanic. After a few hours of playtime and becoming adept and recognising what I could and couldn't do, I almost reached a point in which I became elegant or graceful in my performance.

    Dying Light adds another layer to the world by having a day-night cycle. It adheres to the trope of more powerful enemies spawning at night, and advises players to sleep in one of the many safe zones dotted throughout Harran. If you find yourself unable to get to one of those safe zones, you may be spotted by a powerful infected and activate a pursuit. When this happens, you'll be chased by the undead throughout the city until you lose them, having to make use of your parkour practice and the multiple "traps" that have been set up in the environment.

    Finally, Dying Light offers a multiplayer experience called "Be the Zombie" in which you'll either invade someone's single player campaign as a Hunter or join other humans to co-operate in destroying Volatile nests marked on your mini-map. I found playing as the zombie wildly unbalanced, having your energy easily drained by UV flashlights and being slaughtered in only a few hits. What I came to realise was that you'd have to have played as the zombie for a considerable amount of time and unlocked almost your entire set of skills before even being able to put up a fight against two humans, let alone four at one time. Despite this, the multiplayer is actually enjoyable and unique in it's presentation. The speed and addition of tentacles that work like a grappling hook allow you to become even more adept at traversing the city than your average human and it brought me joy to zip around overhead and if I got lucky, pounce on unsuspecting players.

    Overall, Dying Light is lacking in the story department but provides a refreshing experience for the zombie genre.    … Expand
  23. JustAr3v13w3r
    Aug 17, 2015
    7
    This game is great, I loved the gameplay, multiple skill trees, the fluent and great partcore which feels like assassins creed, and great combat. But the story was really bad, and when you start out at level one, it's hard to kill zombies and especially humans. Still, stick around past the first seven levels and your bound to have an amazing time!
  24. IQDecIined
    Dec 9, 2015
    7
    Surprisingly fun game. The mediocrity of Dead Island is not present despite the similarities. Decent plot and characters despite treading into familiar territory.

    This game is actually scary and most players will initially want to spend as little time as possible outside after nightfall. Being able to scale/climb/jump from building to building is a satisfying dynamic and you'll want    Surprisingly fun game. The mediocrity of Dead Island is not present despite the similarities. Decent plot and characters despite treading into familiar territory.

    This game is actually scary and most players will initially want to spend as little time as possible outside after nightfall.

    Being able to scale/climb/jump from building to building is a satisfying dynamic and you'll want to get proficient at this or find yourself dropped into an alley full of zombies.

    Very enjoyable in the earlier stages, though the last third of the game suffers from cliche plot developments and a few tedious boss battles.

    I played Dying Light solo and found it worthy on those grounds, which is saying nothing about a healthy multiplayer component.

    Can't give it an 8 or 9 simply because the game suffers on multiple levels in later stages.    … Expand
  25. Visko
    Jan 29, 2015
    6
    I wouldn't recommend this game for what it's being advertised as. It's not much of a Survival game at all. Not much of an open world experience. Not much of a story. It is however a good combination of tried and true game mechanics in a zombie-afflicted fictional middle eastern city.

    I haven't tried Co-op, but considering it's nothing at all what's being advertised (as expected), there    I wouldn't recommend this game for what it's being advertised as. It's not much of a Survival game at all. Not much of an open world experience. Not much of a story. It is however a good combination of tried and true game mechanics in a zombie-afflicted fictional middle eastern city.

    I haven't tried Co-op, but considering it's nothing at all what's being advertised (as expected), there was nothing within my soul telling me to bother trying it.

    It is however a good combination of tried and true.. oh yeah, I already said that. So anyways, if you liked playing every single Assassin's Creed, you'll probably like this game too. Especially if Zombies are also awesome in your book.

    If not, don't expect this game to give you any thrills outside of what I already mentioned. Not to say that I can't have fun with it, I just can't recommend it.    … Expand
  26. captainkane
    Mar 21, 2015
    6
    Dying Light is a decent game, and it’s fun. I haven’t had this much enjoyment playing a new title since Shadow of Mordor. That being said, the zombie obsession is getting a bit tired, and Techland doesn’t bring us anything new. Despite its fun factor, there are many glaring technical problems with Dying Light that hold it back from greatness.

    When done right, zombie genocide brings    Dying Light is a decent game, and it’s fun. I haven’t had this much enjoyment playing a new title since Shadow of Mordor. That being said, the zombie obsession is getting a bit tired, and Techland doesn’t bring us anything new. Despite its fun factor, there are many glaring technical problems with Dying Light that hold it back from greatness.

    When done right, zombie genocide brings about frenzied gameplay that doesn’t make sense in typical settings. But it has to be done right. There’s a bunch of reasons so many people still play Left 4 Dead. It’s chaotic, creepy, and makes teamwork essential. More importantly, L4D is a polished, lean experience that’s satisfying without being barebones. Less is more truly applies here.

    Although Dying Light highlights teamwork, it lacks polish. Instead, it crams in a bunch of content. Fortunately, the developers get a few things right. Foremost, DL allows players to kill zombies all day every day. I spent the first 10 hours slaying hordes of grotesque creatures without progressing thru the story. Completing missions is required to unlock new creatures and better items, but the pacing is definitely casual. Even better, unlike Far Cry 4, friends can help each other complete the main story.

    Second, DL trades creepy for urban. The city of Harran is a gritty shanty town undergoing urbanization. Techland juxtaposes highways and skyscrapers against dirt roads and huts. My initial reaction was “Wow, this would make an awesome Battlefield map”. DL’s map design will definitely appeal to both zombie fanatics and fps gamers in equal measures. Parkour adds verticality. But things get scary at night. Don’t venture out alone after dark. Period.

    Lastly, players are rewarded for playing in the sandbox. Gamers who stick only to the missions will miss out. Looting and exploration yield rewards, such as awesome weapons. Players can share weapons by dropping them. I’ve done this to help new players. On the downside, DL offers so much stuff that players can spend more time looting than anything else. Thorough players will end up with mountains of inventory since everything respawns. No point in being frugal.

    So what’s wrong with the game? Most noticeably, screen tearing—It’s the worst I’ve seen on Xbox One. Despite DL’s crisps visuals and vibrant colors, the tearing is utterly distracting and mars the experience.
    Then there’s the awful lag. Game states rarely sync up when playing co-op. So 4 different players often kill the same zombie, and one player may kill a single zombie several times. On many occasions my character mutilated a zombie only to witness it rise up with all its limbs intact. Zombies teleport too. That’s some scary #^@#.

    DL’s lag has a sinister side tho. During lag spikes, players will die, fall thru the map, or other bizarre crap. It’s annoying because it happens once during any prolonged session. At times, the lag spikes create outlandishly comical moments. It’s amazing how next gen games are plagued with so many connectivity problems.

    The graphical problems and persistent lag point to poor optimization. Yet, DL’s problems don’t end there. Players are losing their save files. Players can’t join their friends’ games. Sound cuts out. Dialogue cuts out. Fast traveling is broken. Constant pop ups break the immersion. And the list goes on…

    DL’s combat is imprecise. It’s like playing Skyrim: Zombies Edition. Jumping and running attacks are too often ineffectual. On screen commands prompt players to initiate executions, but the game doesn’t always react accordingly. And players must be in exact positions for them to appear. Good luck doing that while being mobbed.

    The unintuitive control scheme adds to this problem. Players must hit the right bumper to jump, not “A”. Some buttons control multiple actions. For example, players hit “X” to search, but “X” can also remotely detonate traps and executes enemies. All too often I’ve seen players injure teammates because traps activated when they were searching loot. The parkour elements work better, but nothing to write home about.

    DL manages system resources poorly. Zombies appear out of thin air. Loot disappears if there’s too much action. And zombies are motionless unless players are close. I’ve thrown explosives into clusters of zombies and they remained still. They don’t respond to traps. So thinning out zombies from afar isn’t effective.

    The conclusion? Technically speaking DL is a beta. It has problem gamers shouldn’t be seeing in 2015. Plus, DL offers nothing new. The copy/paste fetch quests become tedious. But Far Cry 4 blew its chances of being the co-op champ on next gen consoles, and DL fills that void. Despite the long list of glaring flaws, DL is fun. Additionally, I’ve experienced a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. And this enjoyment is due in large part to the current selection of lackluster shooters. But I still wholeheartedly recommend DL. I just wish Techland created a beefier engine for it.    … Expand
  27. memus
    Jan 29, 2023
    6
    On a more basic level, this game is a mix of Mirror's Edge and Metro 2033. In general, instead of inventing stuff it bluntly mimics visuals and mechanics from other fan favorites: Half-Life, FarCry, Assassin's Creed, and even Fallout. So it's hard to take this game seriously, but it works quite well as a gaming nostalgia trip.

    + The basic mix of parkour and FPS gel quite well. When    On a more basic level, this game is a mix of Mirror's Edge and Metro 2033. In general, instead of inventing stuff it bluntly mimics visuals and mechanics from other fan favorites: Half-Life, FarCry, Assassin's Creed, and even Fallout. So it's hard to take this game seriously, but it works quite well as a gaming nostalgia trip.

    + The basic mix of parkour and FPS gel quite well. When parkour works (to be fair it fails miserably in ~10% of runs), it's a blast.
    + The open world map here has a reasonable size.
    + The quest structure is basic but legit.

    - The story is generic incoherent bs that uses gore and shocking scenes to hide this fact. And for my taste, the treatment of the Middle East setting here wasn't respectful enough.
    - The locations look quite generic and don't invite exploration (this is no Zelda or AC). There is nothing to discover in the open world except for loot.
    - Too much looting.
    - As mentioned above, this game copies and mimics other games a lot. So you'll find little originality here.    … Expand
  28. EdwardWalsh
    Apr 23, 2015
    6
    Dying light has one distinct feature that seperates it's unique gameplay amongst all the other myriads of Zombie games that have recently released in the last 5 years, and that is it's newly adapted Parkour feature. In Dying Light, players have the ability to overcome tall, obstruct obstacles using their rapid functioning endurance and visual prowess. Whilst these abilities can be furtherDying light has one distinct feature that seperates it's unique gameplay amongst all the other myriads of Zombie games that have recently released in the last 5 years, and that is it's newly adapted Parkour feature. In Dying Light, players have the ability to overcome tall, obstruct obstacles using their rapid functioning endurance and visual prowess. Whilst these abilities can be further upgraded for better performance, from the beginning you like a human spider, and yes, it is a fine enjoyment. It's this ability that allows for a fresh gameplay experience. But, in truth, aside from this (Very Entertaining) add-on to the zombie slayer genre, Dying Light, in itself, is just another Dead Island with slightly more appealing visuals. Yes, the environment is beautiful, and the graphics are easily next-gen certified, but in reality, how far do these qualities go when it comes to the thrill of a gaming experience? It's the same game with a slight adjustment in exploration. Is it a must own? If you have ever played any of the Dead Island games, then, in truth, you should have a pretty clear idea of what is to be expected in Dying Light. However, if you happen to be a die-hard zombie fan, then i guess it's worth a try.… Expand
  29. cavenaugh
    Feb 5, 2015
    6
    I was ever so addicted to this game in the beginning, but once you get near the end of the game, it becomes very boring and less surprising. I have already beat the game and the game doesn't last as long as you think. The weapons customization was poor and the character customization was horrible too. Not only did this game upset me, but it left me doing repetitive things over and overI was ever so addicted to this game in the beginning, but once you get near the end of the game, it becomes very boring and less surprising. I have already beat the game and the game doesn't last as long as you think. The weapons customization was poor and the character customization was horrible too. Not only did this game upset me, but it left me doing repetitive things over and over again. At most I would give it a 7. The parkour often glitched and the constant grabbing by the zombies made this game very annoying. Half-way through the game, I was wondering what the hell the developers were working on during the development of this game. Hopefully the DLC pays off because this game didn't meet my expectations. The only reason I would ever play it again is if my friends wanted to play co-op.

    There were only 2-4 types of each gun but the only difference was the damage and I was expecting a wider variety of guns. I think it is sad that the developers only managed to create 3-4 different guns in a zombie game. We were given 2 models of pistols, 1 model of AR's, and only 1 shotgun. How can a game lead a game up to release date with only 4 guns??? Even the weapon customization is horrible and easy to find materials to make weapons. Even most of the drops you pick up around the world consist of only Alcohol, metal gears, and rubbish that barely helps with anything. If they would have managed to created different models of guns and better weapon customization overall, this game wouldn't be so disappointing. I have been waiting for this game for a long time, and I left with some regret. Hopefully Dead Island 2 is a great game and can capitalize on this games mistakes.

    The story line is amazing but the open-world left me often bored. You even come across 3-4 zombies with the same skin color and clothing as well. If you are going to make a zombie game, take time to make atleast 100 different models, it cant be that hard but time worthy. This game was advertised as a survival game, it's not, it consist of mainly campaign missions. I feel they could have done so much more with this game. Not only the customization but the campaign could have been longer. The skill points were interesting, but there were only a few that I actually considered even using and most weren't even needed at all. If they would have focused on the more important things on the game and less on the others, the game would have been more enjoyable.

    I wish they would have waited another year to develop this damn game.

    Dying Light is a great title! When dark arrives, atleast in the beginning of the game with poor weapons, don't attempt going outside.

    The graphics are amazing!

    I rate 6 because this game was awfully advertised and probably left people in disappointment.

    Can't wait until the DLC and future updates.

    I give this a very LOW replay score, because even getting it just a week ago, I am already bored of this overhyped game.    … Expand
  30. JJ2FAS4U
    Dec 29, 2021
    6
    Atmosphere: 7
    Enjoyment: 5
    Gameplay: 6
    Graphics: 6
    Music: 5
    Story: 5
    Total: 5.67
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Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
13
#13 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
24
#24 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Games Master UK
    Apr 9, 2015
    73
    This is a sure shank redemption for Techland, and a big step up from previous Dead Islands. [April 2015, p.65]
  2. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Mar 10, 2015
    70
    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]
  3. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Mar 4, 2015
    60
    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]
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