Dying Light earns its place on this list through movement. The parkour system turns the city of Harran into a vertical playground where rooftops become highways and alleyways become traps you learn to avoid at night. I went in expecting a zombie game. What I got was an open-world traversal game that happened to have zombies in it. The day-night cycle creates genuine tension because the infected change behavior after dark and the city feels different enough to keep you on edge. The Switch version holds up better than you might expect. Not a game for everyone, the tone is darker than anything else here, but the world design is strong and the city rewards exploration.


Dying Light
January 26, 2015ShooterESRB M
About Dying Light
Story setup
At a glance
- Released
- January 26, 2015
- Platforms
- Xbox One, PC, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, macOS
- Genres
- Shooter, RPG, Adventure, Action
- Play modes
- Single Player, Multiplayer, Co-op, Online Multiplayer, LAN Multiplayer
- Age rating
- ESRB M
- Time to beat
- ~29 hours
- Multiplayer
- By platform
Screenshots
Click any screenshot to view it full size.
How long to beat
Player-reported completion times for Dying Light.
- Rushed
- 13hoursMain story only
- Typical
- 29hoursStory plus some extras
- Completionist
- 46hoursEvery side objective too
Estimated from 13 player reports — a small sample, so treat these as approximate.
Multiplayer by platform
How Dying Light supports playing with other people, broken down per platform.
| Platform | Local | Online | LAN | Split-screen | Co-op campaign | Drop-in/out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | No | Yes, up to 4 players | No | No | Yes | No |
| PlayStation 4 | No | Yes, up to 4 players | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Xbox One | No | Yes, up to 4 players | Yes | No | Yes | No |
- Supported (a number is the player cap)
- Not supported
- Not documented for this platform
Age ratings
How rating boards around the world have classified Dying Light. Open a board for its content descriptors.
ACBR 18+
High impact violence, blood and gore, online interactivity
CEROZ
- Violence
CLASS_IND16
- Violência Extrema (Extreme Violence)
ESRBM
- Intense Violence
- Strong Language
- Blood and Gore
GRAC15+
- Violence
PEGI18
- Violence
- Bad Language
- In-Game Purchases
The content of this game is suitable for persons aged 18 years and over only. It contains: Extreme violence - Violence towards defenceless people - Strong language This game allows the player to interact with other players ONLINE
Often listed alongside Dying Light
Titles that appear in the same guides on this site. Grouped by where they show up, not by recommendation.
Featured in our articles
This game appears in 2 articles on this site.
Dying Light 2 softened the horror. The original did not. Nights in the first game are genuinely threatening in the early hours because the Volatiles are faster than you and you run out of stamina before you run out of danger. Playing through the campaign with three other people made it easier but not easy, and the nights never became a formality the way they do in the sequel. The parkour is still enjoyable a decade on. Four players, open-world campaign, and available on Xbox One through Series X via backward compatibility. The Enhanced Edition is the version to get.
Game data and imagery provided by IGDB.com

