By: Amir Salad

WARNING: This review talks about some major story parts and characters from the game and contains spoilers.

‘Dying Light’ is one of the best horror/zombie survival games I have ever played. The game was made by Techland and first released in January of 2015. Even though the game is over a decade old it still feels fun and exciting compared to other games that have been released recently.

The main way to get around the game movement wise is parkour although, you can unlock a grapple hook later on in the story. Dying Light mixes parkour, fighting, survival, and horror together in a really nice way. It keeps you interested, basically glued to the game the entire time you’re playing. Well, at least for me.

The setting of Dying Light takes place in a city called Harran after a zombie outbreak happens. You, the main character, play as a man named Kyle Crane. He works for the GRE as an agent and gets sent into the city to track down a colonel gone rogue named Suleiman who stole a file very important to the GRE. But the life he sees in front of him changes him and he starts to go against the GRE because they planned to weaponize the Harran virus and bomb the city once their intentions were revealed to the world.

The main campaign of this game is emotional, serious, and captivating at times. There are many characters Crane meets in the game, but my favorite character is Jade Aldemir. Jade is smart, brave, and very strong. She helps Crane with many things in the story and always tries to look out for him. That’s why it hurt when she sacrificed herself and gave the antizin to Crane instead of using it on herself near the end of the game.

One of the best things about the game is the movement system. You can run across the roofs of buildings, climb them, jump over walls, and swing around the city if you have the grappler hook. The parkour makes the game feel somewhat real as if you’re actually doing the parkour yourself. Even moving around when you’re not doing missions is fun and thrilling. I think this key part of the game makes it stick out from other games in the same genre.

The combat in this game is also top notch. At the start, your choice of weapons are not good: like pipes and planks. But later in the game, you can collect different things and craft new and better weapons like swords, electric bats, and strong hammers. Fighting zombies can go from almost impossible to really easy depending on your choice of weapons. Some are fast and strong while others are slow and weak. So, you might have to pick the right weapon for each type of zombie.

The scariest part of the game to me is during nighttime. During the day zombies are still dangerous but you’re able to make your way fairly easily enough. But at night, stronger zombies called Volatiles come out. They are faster, stronger, and can kill you in seconds compared to a normal zombie during the day. The game during the day compared to during the night is different. You run through the dark streets that are somewhat lit facing way stronger variants of zombies that chase you down. I like this aspect of the game because it gets your heart racing and induces fear.

The graphics are also really nice in this game even though it’s over a decade old. The detail in the city, how abandoned it feels, Techland really brought it to life. The sound effects are also amazing. Like the zombie growls, the music of the game, and background sounds of the city. All these combined together makes the feeling more intense.

Overall, ‘Dying Light’ is an amazing horror/zombie survival game with thrilling parkour, exciting combat, and a strong and emotionally heavy story that will keep you glued to your seat. Techland did a great job mixing all the action and horror together. Even after all the time the games been out, it is still worth playing to this day.

I would easily give ‘Dying Light’ a 9.1/10. It’s available on PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo.