What do you do after you’ve had one successful first-person zombie game that is owned by a publisher? You don’t develop the proper sequel in that series and you instead make your own version of that thing. We’re going back to 2015 to look at a first-person zombie action survival game. We’re talking Dying Light.
On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at Techland finding their niche in the zombie world with Dead Island, before their relationship with that game’s publisher ended. We also discuss a a very good tagline that was almost definitely inspired by George Clooney; an announcement trailer that was almost definitely inspired by Peep Show; a world-building trailer that was almost definitely inspired by those poetry adverts; Techland’s answer to a housing crisis; and battering punching bags in the car park.
Here are some of the things you’re gonna hear us chat about in our review: the vicious, running Volatile zombies give chase at night; GTA 4 police radar; fairly uninteresting nighttime sneaking; waiting hours to rub zombie guts on yourself a la The Walking Dead to blend in; enemies are attracted to sound, but you have no way to regulate the noise the protagonist makes, but you can throw firecrackers; crossbows come in handy with humans; swinging all manner of melee weapons at the heads of the undead; an uninviting crafting menu that makes you wait for your items; no fun human battles; fluid parkour (once you’ve levelled up and bought skills like “slide on the ground”) that gets the David Belle seal of approval; Mirror’s Edge; the grappling hook; the skill trees; slower first-person platforming puzzles; a decent Escape from New York-style setup that is let down by some terribly boring characters; American saviour Kyle Crane and his very quick turn to good; and a contained zombie outbreak.
After all that, we take you through what some of the critics were saying about the game around the time it came out, and then we give you our final verdicts on whether Dying Light is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.
For those who would like to play along at home, we'll be discussing, reviewing and dissecting Shadow of Rome on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.
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