Review

If you were to write down a list of the features in Dying Light, it would seem like a game designed by a committee of men in suits in search of all the things that “the kids like these days”. Zombies? Check. Open world? Check. Parkour? Check. Crafting? Check. Voice actor who sounds a lot like Troy Baker? Check. Maybe I'm being overly cynical though, as Techland have finally made the game we all thought Dead Island was going to be.

The game begins with you parachuting into the fictional city of Harran and within less than a minute of landing you are accosted by a group of rebels before being attacked and bitten by some zombies. After being rescued you are then taken on brief tour of The Tower, which will act as a mission hub for the first couple of hours, followed by a free-running tutorial. In the first hour I only saw and killed a single zombie and it was another couple of hours after that before the online modes were enabled. It's safe to say this is a long game.

It's perhaps unsurprising that there are a number of similarities with Techland's last attempt at bringing us a zombie apocalypse. There's once more an emphasis on melee combat (I didn't even find a gun until I'd been playing for nearly eight hours!), although there's no manual control option. Your weapons will wear out and break if you use them too much and you'll need to scavenge for items so that you can craft equipment. However, whereas Dead Island was pretty infamous for it's glitches and bugs, this is has no such problems.

This is a spectacular feast for the eyes, even though it did remind me of the Far Cry series a lot of the time – especially during sequences where you have to climb a radio tower, but that's not a bad thing. You can't help but be amazed with the view when you reach some of the more elevated positions. It's all too easy to spot something interesting in the distance and head in that direction.

Even better is the night time sections which feature excellent lighting effects. The black of night is a truly terrifying experience and forces you to change your approach to play. The game's most deadly zombies only come out at night and should you get spotted by one the best advice is to run. It's a stroke of genius on Techland's part to include a “look behind” button as you run, as this only heightens the tension of the chase. The feeling of relief if you manage to reach a safe zone is incredible.

Sadly, despite all the good work making the world believable, the designers have populated it with a cast of dull and forgettable characters. I can't even remember their names five minutes after switching the game off! The plot sees you working to find a lost file somewhere in the city and it transpires that in order to do this you'll have to become a glorified errand boy. The majority of the story missions are bog-standard fetch quests enlivened by a brief dose of combat or platforming.

That's not to say all of the missions are boring. One set inside a deserted school is a fantastically tense affair and another involving switching on the cities gas supply is an action-packed highlight that forces you to think on your feet. It's unfortunate that missions like these are the exception rather than the norm. Good job simply running around and exploring is fun otherwise I'd have got bored fairly quick.

This is ultimately a difficult title to pin a score onto. There are times it's easily been a 9/10 but others where it would get a 5/10. It's clearly a slicker and more enjoyable game than Dead Island, especially if you can drag a few friends into the co-op mode, but the story and characters knock it down. It's also the scariest zombie game since the first time I heard a witch in Left 4 Dead, having made me leap out of my skin at least five times so far!

About the Review

Platform

Microsoft Xbox One

Developer

Techland

Publisher

WB Games

Released

30th January 2015