Dying Light 2 Stay Human - Review

 

I finally stopped playing The Elder Scrolls Online long enough to get into a new game that I have been very excited about playing - Techland's Dying Light 2 Stay Human. As zombie games have been done to death the original passed me by but was not going to let the sequel do the same. 

Anyone reading this blog (I thank you), knows that I am a healthy eater and only enjoy the best quality ingredients and food - if you believe this you actually have not read my blog before, welcome! I have been partaking in shall we say certain plants of the earth that make me feel chill, when this happens I reach for Deliveroo (bad Barry). Instead, I make sure I have food at home to avoid this, one such thing I have taken to is steak sandwiches in garlic ciabatta, it is epic. There is lots of it, tasty and extremely filling. Playing Dying Light Stay Human I found myself asking was there enough and was it filling?

  

Story

The story has you take on the role of Aidan, a pilgrim, wandering the wastes after the release of COVID across the world, no I'm joking it's a virus that infects people and essentially turns them into zombies. But to Aidan that does not matter, he is on a mission to find his sister and will do whatever it takes to find her. There will be a lot of tough decisions to make and there are a lot of people looking for help that will change the city of Villedor for better or worse. There are parts of the main story that don't always seem to make sense but are not enough to pull me out of it all. There are also multiple endings so is certainly not a one-and-done.

The game separates itself from the zombie genre by making it about the people, their lives, and struggles  - it is very human and easy to make connections with them. The main story is great don't get me wrong but the side stories are so much fun, some made me laugh others nearly made me cry. I did not want to try and complete every story to gain trophies but to enjoy Villedor for as long as possible. 

Overall a fantastic set of stories woven together in a very satisfying way, the biggest disappointment was coming to the end of it all.

Visuals

The visuals are out of this world and made me feel the same way as when I first played The Last Of Us on Playstation 3. There were a lot of critics very negative about them as a whole but being honest playing it on the Playstation 4 Pro just made me want to see how it looks on the PlayStation 5. Nature has started to reclaim a damaged city, the two mix well together especially when you land on a high rise and see a garden growing on top of it.

It is all based in a city so is to a degree hard to diversify the landscape but I feel Techland did a great job of it. In makeshift towns, people live in relative safety on rooftops, and there a large bridges spanning bodies of water. The first area of the game is so different from the main part of the city it is overwhelming when you first go there, but I loved that, wondering how was I going to get to the top of that building and navigate the roads below. 

Overall the visuals were amazing, to me the city was as big of a personality and important as many of the characters I came across. 

Music 

The soundtrack is as close to a masterpiece as is possible. The music moves from the fast beat, heart-pounding music that actually knocked me off balance when on occasion when playing, there are more somber reflective pieces and of course, those creeping dread tracks where you know something bad is about to happen. The soundtrack is carefully crafted by Olivier Deriviere, who was worked on more than a few great titles including; Streets Of Rage 4, Vampyr, Remember Me, Alone In The Dark, and Of Orcs and Men.

Even listening to the soundtrack as I type this I cannot believe how much was packed into less than ninety minutes. It was of these lucky occasions where I find it challenging to pick out my favorite tracks as I loved the whole soundtrack, some really standout pieces for me were; 'Run Jump Fight', 'The Good Doctor', 'The Last Parkour', 'Monsters We', 'The Renegades', 'The Mark' and 'New Beginnings'.

Overall a phenomenal soundtrack that once again has me asking why do they not get noted as part of game reviews when they are such an integral part of games?

Gameplay

The gameplay has a lot of RPG elements combined with some Far Cry and Mirrors Edge. It's a lot of elements to throw into one game but I do feel it worked. Combat works pretty well, for the most part, the infected are mostly easy prey unless you get a few coming at you, that said as soon as the more crazy variants appear all bets are off, especially at night when the rooftops become your friends. The human enemies start easy but later that AI gets pretty good at blocking and weaving around your attacks which in groups can be tough if you are not prepared. The weapons in the game are all beaten up looking but some can really pack a punch if you are willing to upgrade them even better. The only sad thing is that there is no repair option so don't get too attached, unless you are willing to get the Korek Charm which is one of the developer's tools, in my opinion well worth the effort in getting it. Attachments can be upgraded with the right parts and money. There is also the option to craft med kits and explosives, who knew a tennis ball grenade would be so powerful?

There are a lot of skills to unlock, which can be with a little effort unlocked in a single playthrough. The skills are broken into combat and parkour. The more you do in the world the more experience you gain and can unlock points. Some complained there was so much focus on this, to me it was like playing Metroid, finding an area I could not reach, getting the upgrade later, and coming back later to overcome it. 

There are a number of tools you will have access to in the game and is certainly worth unlocking all of them as soon as possible. The tools change the way you can move around the world and also gives you access to inhibitors that help increase your health and stamina. For me, hands down the paraglider was the best it feels really cool flying through the skies and once upgraded is even better.

There are lots of things to buy and craft but you never feel overwhelmed and a lot of what you can do depends on your own playstyle.

Parkour! This is huge in the game, climb, roll, swing your way into anywhere but one wrong button press, and you become road pizza quickly. If there was a weakness in the gameplay I would say it was parkour as sometimes Aidan did not always seem to respond to button presses which turned more than a few things to failure. It did not happen often but when it did I was left a little frustrated. That being said movement as a whole is pretty good and the fact you can climb almost everything gives you so many options to reach places. 

The game has you pick a faction that offers some great rewards on both sides and can really change the landscape of the game. Two things I thought were really cool are the option of a plus game and calling for a random real-world player to come help you if the need arose. 

Overall the gameplay is fairly solid, a few crashes here and there and a lack of responsiveness with controls were frustrating but not game-breaking.

Final Thoughts

So, after dropping 60+ hours how did I feel? Sad but in a positive way. With the exception of a few questionable stories the overall story and side stories with really great. The visuals were awesome and never got bored of exploring Villedor.  The music was stellar and really for me is what video game music is all about. The gameplay had a few shortcomings but nothing game-breaking or that ever affected my wanting to play. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5

The Evil Within - Review

I have never been huge into the horror genre, well at least with movies but with games, it's slightly different for me.  Perhaps it's the deeper level of engagement and control?  There are a number of standout horror titles for me; F.E.A.R. series, Until Dawn, Alan Wake, Condemned, and Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 4.  Recently, my work brah Ivan offered to loan me The Evil Within developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda, I was intrigued so I said why not.


I love steak (yes I have used it before as an analogy but it's different this time).  There is never a bad time to eat steak unless you have just eaten steak and even then I can usually chow down another.  There is something challenging about a steak, especially a large one.  Imagine the slab of meat below all cooked up and you have to eat it all.  I mean if it is was there I would challenge myself to eat it, doesn't mean it wouldn't be a struggle or sweat a bunch, but could  I finish it all?  Playing The Evil Within I found myself asking could I devour this steak or was it more likely I would pass out?

Story


The story is starts out in an old mental asylum, a classic horror staple and immediately put me on edge.  The protagonist is Detective Sebastion Castellanos, who has had lost his wife and daughter, along for the ride is Detective Joseph Oda mild-mannered and the brains, then there is Detective Juli Kidman cold, distant and doesn't feel like part of the team.


I was stabbed, chainsawed, driven off a hillside, strapped to a bed, and molested by something that didn't look human, that was the first twenty-eight minutes of the game. The story is unrelenting and certainly does not want you to feel at ease.  The director of the game is Shinji Mikami who was the force behind Resident Evil 4.


The story is fantastic and constantly had me questioning the world I was in and what was real. Even after finishing the game I was still left curious, luckily there are three DLC which expands on the story...well two really.  'The Assignment' and 'The Consequence' focus on Detective Juli Kidman and what her role was in the story and what she was doing with everyone else was doing their thing.  It definitely adds more depth to The Evil Within world, and there are some shocking revelations in it. 'The Executioner' focuses on a dad trying to find his daughter but in honesty, it doesn't really add a lot to the overall story.

Visuals


Playing The Evil Within it reminded me of Resident Evil 4, not that they look the same but that feeling of constantly feeling encased by the darkness that could swallow you at any moment.  The enemies look human but are either a little twisted or completely deformed into something that left me genuinely creeped out.  One of the most interesting character designs was the Safe Head, which is exactly what it sounds like and also where a butcher's apron covered in blood - lovely.  There are a couple of areas where the sky is dark and the rain is heavily pouring down that felt so real it was almost like being in Sebastion's shoes.


Overall the visuals are eerie and quite unnerving, which is really what you want from a horror game.  However, The Evil Within manages to do it better than most which really is saying something considering the number of good horror games available.



Music


With a horror game having the perfect soundtrack is key and the soundtrack is certainly perfection. There is something about it that made my heart pound and that was without the visuals or gameplay.
The soundtrack is composed by Masafumi Takada, who created the sound for Shining Soul 2, God Hand, No More Heros and Vanquish to name but a few.

The soundtrack is short and sweet or terrifying depending on which way you look at it and runs at just shy of an hour.  My favorite tracks include; 'Clair De Lune (by Claude Debussy), 'Them', and 'Lurking In The Dark'.


Overall the soundtrack is great and certainly made my experience playing all that more terrifying.

Gameplay


Where to even begin?  Firstly, the game is a third-person horror, initially, you start with nothing but a knife, kind of like the first Assassins Creed. This makes things extremely challenging and I ended up dying more than a few times, normally this would be annoying but I liked the challenge.  Then you finally get some weapons which made me feel unstoppable, for all of five seconds.  The enemies get much faster, smarter and tougher and ammunition is in short supply so if you are going to pull the trigger you better hit something.  Most things can be upgraded by using brain goo? You sit in what can only be described as a torture chair, shocked and then you're upgraded.


The controls at times did feel a little awkward, for example when you are disarming a trap it takes ages to disarm it and it takes a second to stop and often run to avoid getting bludgeoned.  I didn't think too much about it until Ivan informed this was not done by accident and in an interview with Shinji Mikami, he confirmed it was intentional.  Detective Castellanos is far from the top his game and he has hit the bottle hard meaning sometimes even basic things can be tough, this is personified in the controls which I love.  It isn't broken controls due to oversight or poor planning but a very intentional effort to put you in the shoes of Detective Castellanos.


While the entire game is challenging (not in a Bloodborne or Dark Souls way) I was able to overcome everything with a little perseverance.  The only section that got a little frustrating was during the final chapter where there is an onslaught and with so little ammo it took me more than a few tries to get past it.


The DLC is a mixed bag.  'The Assignment' and 'The Consequence' focus on stealth more than anything else as you have no weapons for the most part.  It did feel frustrating at times especially after playing as Sebestation who has a small arsenal. 'The Executioner' on the other hand was a lot of fun, you play as a Dark Keeper (the guys with a safe for heads) in first-person.  All missions involve you beating the hell out of enemies, and you can upgrade yourself which was a lot of fun.


Overall the gameplay is amazing and manages to splice old school gaming with more modern games.  If you are up for a challenge this game is for you.




Final Thoughts

So, after nearly thirty hours did I manage to devour the oversized steak?  Yes, yes I did, even if I did gain a few pounds and sweat the same amount out of myself.  The story is intriguing and kept me hooked throughout, the visuals are creepy and cool, and the music is on another level.  The gameplay is frustrating good and certainly curious to see what has been done in the second installment.  This one gets a very solid 4 out of 5