Yes, it’s ‘another zombie game’, but Techland and Warner Brothers’ Dying Light looks like an absolute stunner.
Looking like a mix between Dead Rising and Mirror’s Edge, Dying Light looks fast-paced, gritty and downright loaded with stuff to do. Oh, and if you didn’t notice, the shift from day to night is more than just for show. Once the lights go out, Dying Light becomes a whole different game.
Slow, apathetic, and easily visible, the infected are not much of a threat in daylight. A skilled courier, sure of their parkour skills and smart enough not to engage in combat with too many enemies, can effortlessly avoid larger groups of the infected or escape beyond their reach. But this relatively safe state of affairs is turned upside down as the sun sets!
At night, it is you who is at a disadvantage. Without daylight, the senses of the infected become more acute while their thirst for human flesh skyrockets. They run, jump, and climb, so there is really no place where you are safe anymore. They grow in strength, which means fighting them is not even an option. Those of them who were too afraid of light to come out during the day now swarm the city hunting for you. Still, there is something even worse lurking in the shadows…
Techland knows how to do zombies right, we know that from their Dead Island titles, but Dying Light feels like an evolution instead of just more of the same for the sub-genre. The developer is promising a “vast open world” to play in as well as multiple options on how to handle the zed onslaught including stealth, agility and tactical thinking. To say the least, this is one to watch in 2o14.
Dying Light is scheduled to hit the Xbox One/360, PS4/3 and PC sometime next year.