Dying Light

Did You Know?

• A prequel novel titled Nightmare Row, written by Raymond Benson, was released on 8 April 2016.
• A spin-off battle royale game, Dying Light: Bad Blood, was released in early access in 2018 and later made free for all Dying Light players in January 2020.

Gameplay

Dying Light is a first-person survival horror game set in the open world of Harran. Players initially explore an area called the Slums, later gaining access to Old Town via sewers. The urban environment is overrun by zombies, and traversal relies heavily on parkour mechanics such as climbing ledges, leaping from edges, sliding, jumping between roofs, and zip-lining. A grappling hook aids in climbing buildings and quick travel. Players scavenge supplies and loot to craft weapons or sell to vendors, and can use a survivor sense to identify nearby loot and lock picks to open locked containers. Side missions are accepted from non-playable characters in safe zones. Collectibles include notes, journals, and voice mail recordings. The game features a dynamic day–night cycle. During the day, infected are slow and easily avoided; players can set traps, save survivors, and reach airdrops. At night, infected become more dangerous: they sprint, inflict more damage, and can jump and climb. Players use survivor sense to locate and avoid them, and ultraviolet light slows their movement. Safehouses allow players to skip night if desired.

Development

Development began in early 2012 after Techland completed Dead Island. The team felt the new project differed considerably from Dead Island and warranted a separate game. Techland director Adrian Ciszewski noted a difference in creative vision with Dead Island publisher Deep Silver, leading Techland to split from Deep Silver and develop a new property. The team saw Dying Light as an opportunity to prove they could make a AAA game. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment published the game and gave Techland complete creative control. Parkour was a key focus; the team believed restricted movement would hinder immersion. Initially they aimed for a system similar to Mirror's Edge, using hooks on specific objects, but this limited player freedom and was troublesome for designers. In 2012, programmer Bartosz Kulon implemented a system that scans all climbable objects and recognizes them as hooks, with the engine choosing appropriate animations. The story was inspired by Heart of Darkness and The Plague, and the writing team collaborated with Dan Jolley to suit American audiences.

Marketing and release

Dying Light was announced in May 2013. Originally planned for 2014, it was delayed to February 2015 to improve parkour elements, then brought forward to 27 January 2015 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were cancelled due to hardware limitations. The frame rate was locked at 30 FPS on consoles to deliver native 1080p graphics and reduce input lag. It was the debut title for Techland's Chrome Engine 6. On 17 January 2015, Techland announced physical copies were delayed in the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe due to longer lead time; digital copies released on schedule, and physical copies in those regions arrived on 27 February 2015. The Be the Zombie mode, originally a pre-order bonus, was made free for all purchasers. Pre-orders of physical copies received Cuisine & Cargo and Ultimate Survivor Bundle DLC. Pre-orders also included bonus rare weapons, and early adopters received more in-game weapons. On Steam, players could pre-order four copies for the price of three.

Reception

According to Metacritic, the PC version received generally positive reviews, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions received mixed or average reviews. Critics praised the combat, graphics, co-operative multiplayer, navigation, and day–night cycle, but criticized the story, difficulty, and technical issues. Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer found the story predictable and the campaign repetitive. Mike Williams of USgamer described the hero as generic but praised Roger Craig Smith's performance. Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat criticized the writing and story coherence. Chris Carter of Destructoid called the story uninspired and characters contrived. Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot said the story lumbers through clichés but praised voice acting and facial animation. Mikel Reparaz of IGN found characters interesting but under-developed, and the villain entertainingly clichéd. Brian Shea of Game Informer praised the story as immersive. Grubb praised responsive controls, upgrade options, and the progression system rewarding night risks, calling night gameplay exhilarating and terrifying. Christopher Livingston of PC Gamer agreed. VanOrd found night gameplay terrifying but melee combat less fulfilling than in Dead Island. Carter enjoyed the deliberate combat as an improvement over Dead Island. Shea liked combat animations but criticized gunplay. Williams called free-running a ton of fun. VanOrd said it energizes tense moments and makes climbing anxious.