Recoil Offgrid – August-September 2019

BUYER’S GUIDE

Techland

Dying Light (Enhanced Edition)

Notes:
This game takes place in Harran, a fictional
Middle Eastern coastal city with terrain ranging
from towering skyscrapers to claustrophobic tun-
nels. Harran has been quarantined after a viral out-
break turned most of its residents into zombie-like
mutants, forcing the remaining survivors to go into
hiding. You play as Kyle Crane, an undercover agent
inserted into the city on a mission to retrieve a top-
secret file for his employer, the Global Relief Effort
(GRE). In addition to hordes of shambling infected
filling the abandoned streets, you face fast-moving
“virals” as well as heavily armed bandits. A continu-
ous day-night cycle ramps up difficulty after sunset,
when more powerful and aggressive enemies come
out to hunt.
Dying Light’s free-running parkour system encour-
ages the player to move quickly through Harran,
vaulting over obstacles and scaling buildings to
avoid enemies. Getting bogged down or cornered is
often a death sentence. There’s also an extensive
crafting mechanic in which players are encouraged
to scavenge for food and resources throughout the

abandoned city. Found items can be combined in a

variety of ways to construct first aid kits, weapons,

and weapon upgrades — for example, the Wrench Kiss

is a heavy pipe wrench wrapped in barbed wire with a

blade fastened to the leading edge. As the game pro-

gresses, you’ll start to obtain handguns, shotguns,

and full-auto rifles, but ammo scarcity means you

must use every round carefully.

Numerous downloadable updates have kept the

game fresh since its release in 2015, including a

large expansion called The Following (included in the

Enhanced Edition) that adds new map areas, drivable

vehicles, and missions. There’s also an upcoming

sequel, Dying Light 2, which was announced in mid

2018 and is currently in development.

PLATFORMS

Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, PlayStation 4,

XBOX One

PL AY ER S

1-4

PRICE AS TESTED

$60

URL

http://www.dyinglightgame.com

Pros:

Excellent co-op gameplay lets you team up with

up to four friends, working together to scavenge,

defend each other, and complete missions.

Situational awareness is critical. If you stop

moving or get distracted, it’s easy to get over-

whelmed, especially at night.

Huge variety of weapons — each must be repaired

over time, and can be upgraded or modified.

Cons:

Using your parkour skills to make death-defying

leaps like post-apocalyptic Spiderman is a lot of

fun. In a real disaster, it’d leave you exhausted,

injured, and/or dead.

If you’re looking for immersive realism, the

game’s often-cheesy dialogue, sci-fi enemies,

and exaggerated weapons won’t appeal to you. ISSUE 32

OFFGRIDWEB.COM 073