'An Action-Packed, Open-World, Zombie "B-Movie"'
Dying Light finally achieves what Techland aimed for with its first two titles in their Dead Island series: providing an open world sandbox with light RPG progression, multiple methods of combat, and a sense of horror at both the terrifying zombies that populate their worlds, as well as the monstrous humans that inhabit them. While it isn't a perfect game, containing a flawed parkour system, a weak story, and some pretty awful side content, Dying Light still shines as one of the go to open-world action games for zombie slaying fans.
The combat is where this game shines. There are many types of melee weapons, ranging from nimble knives to destructive hammers, from flaming axes to lightning katanas - all of these tools are available to chop, hack, slice, and slam zombies within the world. In addition to these weapons, there are different ranged weaponry including shotguns, pistols, rifles, and throwable bombs and knives. All of these weapons, paired with a great moveset granted from the robust skill trees found within the game, allow you to constantly experiment and try new ways of slaughtering zombie foes.
The core gameplay loop really carries this game, because the overall story and side content are a bit lacking. On the story side of things, it remains a predictable ride throughout its run-time. The voice acting is sub-par, and there aren't many plot devices that I would say "surprised" me throughout. However, it is serviceable enough in that it gives context for the reason that you kill about ten thousand people and zombies throughout the game. As for side content, most missions are "fetch quests", and these get really repetitive after a while. The characters and side stories are not well done at all, and the rewards for most of these are pretty lame. Honestly, if I didn't end up doing so many as to force myself to get the achievement, I would have ignored the rest of the missions until I finished the game.
A bit of a nitpick for me was the parkour system. While it is no doubt fun to engage in, it is wildly inconsistent with how Kyle Crane acts. Sometimes Crane will not grab onto a ledge despite being close enough to smash into it, and other times his climbing jumps will go opposite of where you intend them to. It got me killed a few times, and I hope these issues are ironed out in the upcoming sequel.
Despite some fairly big flaws for the structure of the game, it was a damn fun time. I think the gameplay was extremely well designed, and a huge step forward for Techland. If the sequel can bring in a great story and extra content to supplement the awesome gameplay, it might be GOTY material for me. Until then, I can only Recommend this game, since it is one of the more entertaining open-world games I have ever played.
Final Verdict: 8/10 (Great)
Dying Light finally achieves what Techland aimed for with its first two titles in their Dead Island series: providing an open world sandbox with light RPG progression, multiple methods of combat, and a sense of horror at both the terrifying zombies that populate their worlds, as well as the monstrous humans that inhabit them. While it isn't a perfect game, containing a flawed parkour system, a weak story, and some pretty awful side content, Dying Light still shines as one of the go to open-world action games for zombie slaying fans.
The combat is where this game shines. There are many types of melee weapons, ranging from nimble knives to destructive hammers, from flaming axes to lightning katanas - all of these tools are available to chop, hack, slice, and slam zombies within the world. In addition to these weapons, there are different ranged weaponry including shotguns, pistols, rifles, and throwable bombs and knives. All of these weapons, paired with a great moveset granted from the robust skill trees found within the game, allow you to constantly experiment and try new ways of slaughtering zombie foes.
The core gameplay loop really carries this game, because the overall story and side content are a bit lacking. On the story side of things, it remains a predictable ride throughout its run-time. The voice acting is sub-par, and there aren't many plot devices that I would say "surprised" me throughout. However, it is serviceable enough in that it gives context for the reason that you kill about ten thousand people and zombies throughout the game. As for side content, most missions are "fetch quests", and these get really repetitive after a while. The characters and side stories are not well done at all, and the rewards for most of these are pretty lame. Honestly, if I didn't end up doing so many as to force myself to get the achievement, I would have ignored the rest of the missions until I finished the game.
A bit of a nitpick for me was the parkour system. While it is no doubt fun to engage in, it is wildly inconsistent with how Kyle Crane acts. Sometimes Crane will not grab onto a ledge despite being close enough to smash into it, and other times his climbing jumps will go opposite of where you intend them to. It got me killed a few times, and I hope these issues are ironed out in the upcoming sequel.
Despite some fairly big flaws for the structure of the game, it was a damn fun time. I think the gameplay was extremely well designed, and a huge step forward for Techland. If the sequel can bring in a great story and extra content to supplement the awesome gameplay, it might be GOTY material for me. Until then, I can only Recommend this game, since it is one of the more entertaining open-world games I have ever played.
Final Verdict: 8/10 (Great)