Dying Light is a first person action game that draws many comparisons with Techland's Dead Island series, but introduces more nuanced gameplay elements, a crafting system, a full day-and-night cycle, and a free-running movement mechanic to create an entirely new gameplay experience.
Exploration
Based in a fully open world city which has been taken over by a zombie infestation, players traverse the game world in first person, like most first person shooters and Dead Island. The difference here is that Dying Light features free-running/parkour elements that have drawn comparison with Mirror's Edge and Brink.
Players will be able to explore as they wish, with the game's world having both scripted and dynamic events. There will be the main story missions, as well as side missions, with the game's co-op mode having it so different players can complete more than one mission at a time. In addition to missions, there will be plenty of collectibles and other challenges to do.
Day/Night Cycle
A key element of the game is the day and night cycle. During the day, the zombies in the city move slowly and are relatively easy to dispatch. It is during the day cycle that you will want to explore the city, scavenge for supplies, and craft items and weapons.
At night, the zombies take on an altogether more vicious, blood-thirsty form. They will pursue you with vigour and survival becomes a true challenge. It is at night that you will want to seek shelter and a safe haven, or at the very least put your newly-crafted items to good use.
New zombie forms also appear at night - the so-called Volatiles, which have the ability to communicate with other zombies and introduce an element of organisation to the horde.
Combat
Combat is similar to that found in Dead Island. Players can defend themselves using melee attacks, melee weapons that they manage to find or craft, or fire arms and thrown weapons. In addition to using the base weapons, players will be able to craft new weapons by combining other ones.
Weapons will each feel different and require a different strategy for each, such as the knife being quick but relatively short-ranged and not powerful. The hammer, on the other hand, is slow and uses a lot of stamina, but it will likely kill whatever it hits in a single strike. Firearms will be powerful, but make a lot of noise and may draw the attention of a large horde of infected.
Traps
The player can also create traps, which can serve a variety of purposes and give you more tactical options. The Night-Time Gameplay Walkthrough video showcases some of the traps the player can use, such as rigging a car to explode via remote control.
Three types of traps are currently known about, these are:
- Disorientation Traps
- Distraction Traps
- Chase-Breaker Traps
