“Just don’t stop running.” Mróz said in amusement. So I didn’t. In a panicked state my brain could only focus on one thing, staying alive. Using as much forward momentum as possible, I frantically vault over a massive fence, sitting on the top momentarily to get a grasp of my surroundings. The other side of the fence was crawling with the undead, but I have no choice, I have to go through them. My heart began to beat out of my chest as a drop to the ground and head towards the mass of death that was charging relentlessly at me. Expletives left my mouth, making me glance over to the Mróz in embarrassment. He was laughing. Obviously this sort of “anxiety attack” reaction is what Techland want player’s to get out of the game.
Before I hit the front of the zombie horde I perform an effective, but messy jump kick, which sends both myself and an ill-fated zombie into the middle of the mass. With a bit speed and good timing I use the climb button to launch myself over the shoulders of zombies in my path and then, with a grace not unlike a drunken bear trying to walk in stilettos, make my way up a building. Occasionally a zombie grabs at my face in attempt to rip out my jugular, but with a quick time event I am able to tear their jaw off or break their neck. Tempted to turn to see the chaos I left behind, I pause, but the Mróz is quick to warn me to continue, a warning that was foreshadowed by the growing noise in each direction. I was surrounded. At night, there is no such thing as safety. As soon as the sun goes down, all of the zombies evolve into incessant killing machines, gaining speed, intelligence, and the ability to climb. I continue to run past the hordes of zombies, occasionally taking an alleyway or climbing a building and running through its rooms to lose my pursuers. At one point I run under an electric trap which I then activate. Though I couldn’t see the rampant zombies frying away in the fire, their ghastly agonizing calls were all I needed to hear to know I was successful. One group of zombies down, an infinite amount to go. If I could give one newbie piece of advice in this situation, it would be to not stop running. Ever.
While the daytime experience is enjoyable, night is by far the most exhilarating part of the game. Without it, Dying Light would simply seem like any other generic zombie game. In some eccentric reaction to fear and the need to survive, at night the controls suddenly become extremely fluid, allowing me to do things freerunning that I would be too slow to consider otherwise. From a psychological standpoint, fear makes people focused and quick to react, a primal survival instinct not that different from many animals. The game literally adapts this instinct, the way the human brain addresses fear, into the gameplay itself. Relying on primal instincts in a video game? It can’t get much more intense than that.
Overall, Dying Light is an impressive title that left me with mild heart problems, and I mean that in a good way. Let’s just say that I didn’t need to consume more coffee for the rest of the day, despite it being the fourth day of PAX. The world of Dying Light is dynamic, with a reactive environment that contains traps and collapsing roofs. But perhaps the best addition to the game is the day and night cycle, which vary in length with each mission. During the day the game proves to be a somewhat unoriginal but amusing first-person zombie hacking sandbox, but at night it becomes a completely different beast. The variety of play styles offered within the game will be able to please a wide ranging audience, but what has me the most excited is the ability for four player co-op. After the demo, producer Tymon Smektala went through some of the strategies that can be used in co-op, which includes kiting zombies away from other players or playing around with trap mechanics. He also mentioned a zombie multiplayer, similar to that of Resident Evil 6’s somewhat unrefined Agent Hunt mode. Hopefully it will progress where RE 6’s mode fell short, as Smektala pointed out that the zombie mode will actually house aspects of evolution and a performance based-leveling system that will stick with each player. Regardless, this is a game that I cannot wait to enjoy both solo and with friends.
Dying Light will be making its way onto shelves sometime in 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Brace yourselves. Good night, and good luck.
