Dying Light 2 Pc Review
Nichelle Gruger
Pulling off the moves requires good timing and smooth controls, something I was initially worried about when porting this to the Switch. Any slowdowns or frame drops could be a disaster and send you back to the loading screen. I was extremely impressed that during my time with Dying Light I did not experience a single hiccup in performance. It ran at what I would say feels like 30 fps and did so regardless of how many zombies I had on the screen at a time. Even with hordes chasing me, it ran butter smooth. The controls are tight and feel great with the Pro Controller in hand. I also played in handheld mode and felt that the Joy-Cons were acceptable but not quite as good.
There are some prices to pay in regards to the texture quality, which is to be expected when running something like this on the Switch. When playing the game docked and on my TV, it was apparent if you were looking for it but never detracted from the experience of the game. Playing on handheld actually felt better from a graphics perspective just due to the smaller screen. Climbing up to a high point to get my bearings, I was impressed at just how good this port is. Draw distance is as good as I remember it being on the PlayStation. While slightly muddied because of the textures, I had no issues looking out and planning my best route through the streets or over the rooftops.
This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Dying Light: Platinum Edition provided by Stride PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.
[Editor's note: Because we only received our review copy of Dying Light this morning, we weren't able to produce a full review in time for tonight's launch. Our apologies for the delay! In the meantime, we'll provide you with updates on our experiences in Techland's zombie-infested open world to give you an early idea of what to expect. Thank you for your patience. More about IGN's review policies.]
Going out at night in Dying Light seems like a bad idea. Everyone warns you against it, and as the sun begins to set, your fellow survivors radio in to let you know it\u2019s time to come home. Nighttime is something you \u201cget caught out\u201d in, not something you actively seek out. For braver runners, however, the rewards far outweigh the risks; for one thing, exploring at night imparts a huge XP boost, giving you quicker access to skills that can make fighting and parkour much easier. For another, it radically changes Dying Light\u2019s feel, adding a stealth element as you work to avoid the attentions of the agile Volatiles (or \u201cnightmares,\u201d as one survivor calls them) that roam the streets of Harran after sundown.
Now that I\u2019m on my second day of playing Dying Light and have gotten far enough for the day/night cycle to become dynamic (instead of dictated by the story), testing the Volatiles is irresistible. For me, the core appeal of survival horror isn\u2019t in jump scares, gore, or getting mauled by horrific creatures - it\u2019s in the simple thrill of being chased by something hungry, dangerous, and tough (if not impossible) to kill. The Volatiles check all those boxes, and if you\u2019re spotted by one, they\u2019ll be at your heels in seconds, howling to attract more of their friends. The ensuing chases are fantastic, because trying to weave a high-speed path across Harran\u2019s tall rooftops and dark alleys while your pursuers pant and scream behind you is a crazy, desperate rush that few games offer.
I have a couple of defenses against the Volatiles - a UV flashlight that can briefly stun them (especially useful when performing the somewhat difficult feat of looking over my shoulder while sprinting) and a selection of light traps that will slow them down if I can lure them in - but the most powerful tool at my disposal is the mini map, which shows their positions and cones of vision, and keeps me from blundering into them too easily. They also don\u2019t seem to be able to see my flashlight, which is great, because otherwise I\u2019d be stumbling around in the dark and running into the innumerable normal zombies that still clog the streets.
If I ever get bored of the Volatiles, I have the option to open my multiplayer games up to invasions by Night Hunters: other players inhabiting super-powerful zombies. I\u2019ve given Dying Light\u2019s Be the Zombie mode a try, and while I wasn\u2019t able to actually invade any games (online matchmaking is still a little wonky, and kept dumping me out immediately after I joined games), I\u2019m impressed by what the Night Hunter can do in the tutorial. Tougher and more agile than even the Volatiles, the Night Hunter has a cool grappling ability that lets it zipline to distant areas, Bionic Commando-style (just be sure to aim for a ledge, or you\u2019ll awkwardly drop to the ground when you get there). It can also pounce on (and quickly kill) pesky human players as they try to destroy its nests. Its big weakness, however, is UV light; unlike the Volatiles, who just get stunned by the UV flashlight, Night Hunters are rendered almost powerless, reduced to scrambling away with their suddenly human-level jumping and climbing abilities.
I had less trouble finding human partners to pair up with. Dying Light supports co-op for up to four people, and having an extra pair of hands around to help bash through zombies definitely makes the fighting a little more fun, both in story missions and out in the world. Co-op is more than just a tacked-on feature here: my partner and I were frequently offered co-op and competitive challenges depending on our current situation, which let us compete to see who could kill the most zombies in a swarm, who could reach an air-dropped chest first, or who could climb more quickly to the top of a radio tower. Given how big the world is, and how quickly you can move, it\u2019s easy to get separated; fortunately, if your partner\u2019s waiting next to a mission marker, you have the option to quickly teleport to them if you\u2019re too far away. Finally, everyone gets their own loot - including level-appropriate weapons visible only to individual players - so there\u2019s no squabbling over resources.
Being tough enough to go out at night and keep up with co-op partners means I\u2019ve also progressed far enough to diminish a few other irritations that had dampened my enjoyment of the first few hours. Thanks to a few new skills and judicious use of upgrades, my weapons - which have graduated from pipes and boards to knives, machetes, and bats - can now take a lot more abuse before they finally break. I\u2019ve also managed to find a few blueprints that let me make Dead Island-esque implements like spiked bats, electrified shovels, and fire-enhanced knives. And unlike in Dead Island, crafting these things is quick and doesn\u2019t require the use of any workbenches.
The story has taken some interesting turns, too. After a mildly shocking turn of events that I won\u2019t spoil here, I\u2019m trying to strike a deal between the survivors and the local crime boss, Rais, who introduces himself by mutilating one of his own flunkies. With bigger goals than simple survival, Rais\u2019 missions are more interesting than the ones I\u2019ve been handed previously, with objectives like climbing radio towers that evoke Far Cry, and collecting protection money from Harran\u2019s beleaguered inhabitants - who then put me on side quests of their own, like hunting down a lunatic who goes by \u201cGasmask Man.\u201d It\u2019s given the action (which is plenty compelling on its own) an intriguing structure, and I\u2019m eager to see where it goes next.
The first few seconds of Dying Light set the tone for the early hours of the story. After skydiving out of a plane and into the quarantined city of Harran, my parachute gets caught on a building, forcing me to endure a long drop to hard pavement. I\u2019m then ambushed by a few local thugs, who shove me to the ground and try to break my legs until a pair of friendly survivors (and their pursuing mob of flesh-hungry zombies), scare them off. Weakened and with clouded vision - a state I\u2019ll experience pretty frequently over the next few hours - I\u2019m dragged off to the safety of the tutorial chapter.
Combining first-person, Mirror\u2019s Edge-esque parkour with open-world, zombie-brawling RPG action (a la Dead Island), Dying Light\u2019s monster-infested, ramshackle slum is filled with possibilities. As of this writing, however, I\u2019ve only experienced a few of them, but the good news is that I have yet to run across anything particularly unbearable. Jumping with R1 (on PS4) has been tough to adjust to, and forgetting about that unconventional control setup still results in the occasional sharp drop off a ledge, but climbing and jumping across Harran\u2019s rooftops feels fun and fluid when I know what I\u2019m doing.
Fighting, meanwhile, is an awkward mess \u2013 but I get the sense that it\u2019s supposed to be at this point. Wielding pipes, boards, and rebar, I flail awkwardly, even blindly, at zombies, hoping to connect with their heads or other vital spots. It\u2019s rough, nasty, and brutal, as enemies - whether undead or alive - can soak up a lot of punishment before their rotten heads explode. And while I hammer on them, other zombies slowly close in on my blind spots, making it a very bad idea to pick a fight if I\u2019m dealing with more than two or three walkers at a time. Fortunately, combat is usually optional, in that you can parkour your way around most of it unless a mission demands a throw-down.
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