Dead Island Definitive Edition or Dying Light?

When I first witnessed the Dead Island announcement trailer, I had expectations that this was going to be a beautiful horror and yet depressing game on a tropical island. After its release and launch, my expectations were not that far off, and here is why.

looking to get into a zombie survival game with RPG elements.

I would say Dead Island would be more RPG-like than Dying Light is. Let me go into my detailed experience on my choice and the differences between the two. Dead Island will be described, followed by Dying Light.

  • As always, starting off for both will seem slow at first, but the more you play it the better your character and abilities will get.

  • Comparatively, the visuals are very impressive and the gameplay is smooth and responsive.

  • There are several environments to explore—the jungle, beach, city, and sewer, to name a few. I think there's a little more with Riptide. Dying Light has some of these too, and both have environments that are only accessed through the story.

  • Comparatively, co-op gameplay is where the game shines even more; having more than one player taking off limbs of the undead is undoubtedly satisfying for up to several hours. However, Dead Island does not have a multiplayer mode where you fight another player as a Night Hunter as you have to destroy nests, which can be adrenaline-pumping at times.

  • Each character has their own ability—rapid gun fire, throwing knives—makes each character unique in their own way, along with a skill tree but that skill tree cannot be filled all the way as there is a max level. There are new abilities in Riptide, but sadly I have not played all the way through it. Dying Light only has one character but there are several cosmetic outfits that players can don to reflect their specific playstyle, and there are normally three skill trees; agility, strength, and survivor. Dying Light introduced The Following with a Driver skill tree, and as levels go, Dying Light's Legend levels go beyond Dead Island's skill tree with bonuses for every Legend level—even outfits to unlock.

  • Dead Island has some DLC; Bloodbath Arena, Ryder White, and the Blueprint "The Ripper" Weapon. Plus Fashion Victim and Survivor Pack from Riptide. Dying Light has more DLC such as The Following and Bozak Horde, but if you would rather save money then go for Dead Island.

  • I find Dead Island to not be as scary and intense; it feels as if it's an underwhelming atmosphere resulting in a horrific zombie outbreak. It feels...in a way...melancholy. Dying Light on the other hand may be safe during the day, but at night and in quarantine zones it feels like an entirely different game that keeps you on your toes and could get creepy.

  • Weapons are pretty much the same in both games. However, when your weapons break in Dead Island, they are gone for good unless you repair them at a station using money, which to me is freaking laughable and unrealistic. When Dying Light weapons break, they can only be repaired a certain amount of times and you must have metal parts to repair it.

  • I find the navigational system in Dead Island while driving to be odd since it tends to change pathways sometimes and it has white dots, whereas Dying Light is pretty straightforward with just orange targets on your map.

*Lastly, Dead Island to me seems to be more comfortable with casual players who want to take their time in doing and discovering the environment, whereas in Dying Light there is more movement involved: running and jumping off walls, jumping over the undeads' heads, drop-kicking—basically Mirror's Edge's mechanics, and that is freaking awesome.

Both games are similar. My overall preference is Dying Light because I believe there is more content to last you for a long time. I've been playing Dying Light for ~180 hours now and never get bored of it. If you are a beginner to first-person zombie games and desire a calmer feel and introduction to the open-world genre, then go for Dead Island. If not, by all means, go for Dying Light.

Both choices are excellent. I just love Dying Light more. I am anticipating your decision and the other responses on this post.

/r/dyinglight Thread