So I just finished Dying Light for PC using my Steam Deck. I want to use more exclamations than just the word ‘wow’ because this game was unlike anything I’ve ever played before. This is not your average zombie game. Its gameplay mechanics, larger than life open world, and crazy story are just the tips of the iceberg that really make this game stand out. And this game came out in 2015! When I look at games that have come out over the last nine years since this game was released, there hasn’t been anything close to being quite like Dying Light. Sure, there've been countless zombie games. I mean, come on, everyone loves zombies. Probably a genre that will never die. But this type of game? With its fast paced parkour elements, its building and climbing functions, weapon crafting, and massive open world with virtually no loading times?
The only game I can think of that is remotely similar to Dying Light is probably Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. Both games have you climbing buildings, jumping rooftops, and has a grappling hook to make traversing things a bit faster. But one is a third person time-traveling action adventure game and the other is a first person survival horror experience full of zombies and other strange monsters. Different types of games altogether, but both have similar gameplay elements. However, I will say, grappling is much faster and more intense in Dying Light than it is in Assassin's Creed: Syndicate.
Funny thing to note, both of these games came out the same year. Coincidence? Probably. But let's look at other games that came out the same year. In 2015 you’ll find titles like: Fallout 4, Halo 5: Guardians, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Batman: Arkham Knight, Splatoon, and Resident Evil: Revelations 2, just to name a few. Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on that for a moment...
Damn, 2015 was a banger of a year when it comes to video game releases.
Now, I got Dying Light on Playstation 4 sometime after launch. Unfortunately, I never finished it. I didn’t really get very far and I’m not exactly sure why. Part of me remembers playing this game while my wife watched. It’s a thing we like to do together. But I have a memory of when the night hunters showed up and that was a big ‘nope’ right there. She wasn’t a fan, it was a bit too scary, and those deaths when you get caught were pretty grotesque. So I opted to not play it with her around since it was a bit uncomfortable. Unfortunately, after that point, other games came out that eventually occupied my time. And when it comes to gaming, it’s a very fun pastime that I share these gaming experiences with my wife. So, Dying Light just sat on my shelf collecting dust.
Well, fast forward to 2024 and you will find that I have a Steam Deck. Most of you may already know this because I wrote about it briefly when I was talking about my experience completing Half-Life for the first time in my life. It was all thanks to my Steam Deck. But for those that don't know and are here for the first time, dude...This device is really changing how I play games. There’s something about having all the games at your fingertips and having the ability to play it whenever and wherever you want. Nintendo really changed the game with the Switch. They did an amazing job of showing us how cool and flexible gaming could be on the go on a handheld device and connecting it back to the TV while docked. It was such a game changer that many companies have been experimenting with handheld consoles ever since. When Valve came up with the Steam Deck, their approach was a bit different and unique. It isn’t just a handheld, it’s a portable computer. This device runs on Steam OS and can play 75% of games found on Steam, That’s around 10,000+ games!
Browsing the Steam Store on my Steam Deck, I found out Dying Light Definitive Edition was on sale for $9.99, which was an absolute steal! It was even more exciting when I found out it was Steam Deck verified, which means everything will work as intended on my handheld. It’s been far too long since I gave this game a try and I immediately bought it. Being able to play it on the Steam Deck was an amazing experience. I was spending a few hours a night playing this game while laying in bed. Another pastime that my wife and I both like to do when we want to wind down for the night is playing our handheld devices while laying in bed. She’ll be on her Switch and I’ll be playing something on my Steam Deck.
So what’s up with this game? Well, to start off, I'm pretty blown away by how beautiful this game is. For a game that came out nearly a decade ago, I think this game has aged very well. Not only that, but, for a game that is completely infested with zombies, I was absolutely impressed with how much of this game was grounded in reality. They took a realistic approach to the over all look, tone, and feel of this fictional city of Harran. They made this place and the world it inhabits pretty relatable. Like, if this was real life, and you were thrown in the middle of this infected city, how would you survive? What kind of choices would you make? Would you help people? It's very intriguing. Not only that, I'm still blown away by just how damn big this world is. Seriously, this city is HUGE! The world is so open with zero loading times (except for certain designated areas) and just about every single building has a variety of windows, doors, and rooftops to explore. And they're not just areas to explore for the sake of exploring. There's a building mechanic in this game that requires you to scavenge for parts to make a variety weapons, ammo, and health. You need to explore to find parts you need, making this game feel extremely immersive. The fact that this game forces you to explore your surroundings, pick up all that you can, and create something out of it to help you survive, is absolutely amazing. The sense of urgency and panic that this game can create while traversing this hellish landscape is pretty impressive. Thankfully, you don’t have to rely solely on scavenging to create things as there are various outposts where you can buy and sell supplies. But you gotta start somewhere, right?
I found scavenging the world was daunting at first. Some areas are infested with a lot of zombies. I had nothing but my fists and maybe a small knife to get me by when I started. Not really ideal when you're trying to get from point A to point B. Also not ideal if you are in dire need of supplies. Certain situations call for certain actions. By having little-to-no weapons to defend yourself, you really start thinking about strategy. That's where the fun really begins. Should I run? Should I sneak? Sound is pretty important in this game and you find that out the hard way. It was pretty eye opening for me when I found out that the slightest noise will draw attention to yourself. At first you think, "no big deal. I can handle a few zombies" and you start to engage them. But then more come out of the woodwork and you find yourself really starting to defend yourself a little more intensely. Next thing you know, you're making a lot of noise and in doing that, you suddenly find yourself trying to run away at full speed because you bit off a bit more than you could chew. But then you learn something even more important that this game teaches you when you least expect it. Stamina is extremely important.
You can't just keep running and climbing endlessly. Talk about realism, right? So now strategy, in the moment decisions based on your health, and stamina start to change the course of how you play this game. One wrong turn or one wrong move could be the difference between life and death. And it's exhilarating when you realize this. You never know what you're going to find in any given place or situation. What's also thrilling are those moments where you find yourself piecing together all these random supplies that will help you survive just a little bit longer. It could be items to increase your health when you need it the most, or, it could be the right parts you need to turn your knife into a fire-breathing, electric shocking torch. In the end, it’s the simplest things that help you get just a little bit further. What I think is neat is, even though you may have already scavenged items in various buildings, those items will regenerate going into the next day and so on. So you can revisit places you've already scavenged and use what you find to stock up and build newer items.
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Aside from all the surviving and scavenging stuff, this game is full of mission objectives, side quests, and a variety of survivors that may need in-the-moment saving. Plus, there’s a night and day mechanic that adds even more danger to the whole experience. Just like real life, you don’t have an infinite amount of time in a day to do what you want. This is another reason why exploring is key because you never know what you’re going to find and you only have so much time to do it. Pretty crazy right? It's like this game pits everything against you. You've got to pay attention to your health, your stamina, and even the time of day. Because when darkness comes, this game becomes even crazier.
Night time is scary. This is when the game gets really interesting as darkness unleashes new types of hellish monsters, like the night hunters I mentioned earlier. These things are very perceptive and freakishly fast. Instant death is not only a possibility, but a down right fact when you get surrounded by a bunch of them. Dying Light almost becomes a different game entirely when night falls. You can't see well, your flashlight kinda gives you away to the more perceptive monsters, there's still hoards of zombies wandering around, and if you get with in visual range of even just one night hunter, they start chasing you. It's absolutely intense. Thankfully, there are special designated survival zones in which the undead cannot penetrate thanks to UV Light. These safe zones help in those moments you find yourself too far away from headquarters when night falls and you can't make it back in time. From here, you can sleep until morning, which is helpful. However, if you really want to challenge yourself, you could try surviving at night. Staying alive at night is hard but it can be done. An incentive that may entice you to survive during the night is the double amount of experience points you'll receive compared to the normal amount you acquire during the day. It's wild.
And let's not forget the game's biggest selling point: Parkour
This game was an absolute blast. Its vast openness invites endless exploration and discovery, allowing you to chart your own course amidst a dynamic world. I spent some days trying to reclaim safe havens from zombie hordes, while others days I would spend my time just gathering as much supplies as I could find as I really loved crafting weapons and gear. When I wanted something different, I would dive into the main storyline. I actually found the plot to be satisfyingly immersive. The voice acting was stellar, and the main antagonist's presence created a constant sense of tension. With each twist and turn, the story and plot left me eagerly awaiting what was to come next.
After spending so much time in this world, I kept asking myself “Why is this not a Resident Evil game?” or “Why isn’t Resident Evil doing this?” When you play a lot of zombie games, you have a tendency to compare them to others. And I can't help myself. Resident Evil is a franchise that is near and dear to me so of course I'd be making comparisons. Resident Evil 6 wasn't great and Resident Evil Revelations tried something different by going the episodic route like Alan Wake. By the time Resident Evil: Revelations 2 came out, here comes Dying Light from Polish developer Techland, and takes the zombie genre to heights I never thought imaginable. Plus, they got Roger Craig Smith to voice the main protagonist! All Resident Evil fans would recognize that name because he also voiced Chris Redfield in quite a few games in the Resident Evil series! My friends and I used to joke that Dying Light is basically a first person Resident Evil featuring Chris Redfield.
Resident Evil wouldn't go the first person route until two years after Dying Light came out with it's saving grace of the franchise, Resident Evil VII. Capcom's approach to first person survival horror was a bit different to Techland's Dying Light though. Instead of being a fast action, rooftop climbing, open world extravaganza, Resident Evil VII would go a full immersive, slower paced, story driven approach. There was still plenty of action to be had with the enemies you encounter and the weapons you acquire. But instead of a vast, open world city, you are essentially trapped in a big house on a big property full of puzzles and death traps. The experience was absolutely amazing, very memorable, and I loved where they've taken the franchise since then. But going back to playing Dying Light, I look at it this way: Dying Light is what I feel Resident Evil 6 should have been, or could have been. Capcom tried to take their zombies on a much bigger, global scale with RE6. The game was heavy on the visuals as it looked beautiful, but terrible in the gameplay. For a game with a big scope as it is, the game is very linear and cutscene heavy. They also kind of went rogue with the whole action, Call of Duty route, and the game wasn't really scary. Instead of survival horror, it was filled with a barrage of bullets, hordes of infected, gun-wielding zombies, and too many characters and plotlines to really care about. It didn't really work out in Capcom's favor and is honestly my least favorite entry in the series.
But Dying Light? This gaming experience was a breath of fresh air in an already oversaturated market full of zombie games. Playing this game, while also using my imagination, the Global Relief Effort (GRE), the international humanitarian organization you work for in the game, I would pretend it was a branch of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) from the Resident Evil series. Kyle Crane, the main character, I would pretend was Chris Redfield, obviously. I found it kinda funny that swapping out names, titles, and organizations in this game would make it fit perfectly in the Resident Evil universe. But as fun as it is to play around with this game using my imagination, in the end, this game stands on its own and should be recognized for its accolades and accomplishments. I commend Techland for creating an experience that I will never forget. If you have never played this game, if you are in to the whole zombie scene, and most importantly, if you aren't squeamish, I highly recommend you check this game out. I loved this game so much that I have immediately downloaded Dying Light 2: Stay Human and am looking forward to talking about the adventures I'll have playing that game. But until then, I'll see you guys around in The Paradigm. Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
BlueNile101
Always a good read my dude :P. Keep up the fun. Can see you writing a book about something some day.