Dying Light: the Digital Foundry verdict
Despite our criticisms, Dying Light is a beautiful game in motion and works well across all three platforms. The animation in particular is very well done - motion has real weight and the way melee weapons physically connect with enemies is very effective. Backed up by excellent post-processing effects, densely populated environments, strong lighting effects and gently blowing foliage, Dying Light impresses even in the face of its drawbacks. Everything feels streamlined and solidly pieced together while the game itself is a joy to play.
Techland has a history of technically unpolished console games and, in that sense, Dying Light is a huge improvement with a level of stability far exceeding anything the company has released in the past. Even at its worst on Xbox One, the performance is far more consistent than its last generation games. There was a time when Dying Light was also planned for release on PS3 and Xbox 360 - now that would have been interesting to see, but based on the ambition of the new Chrome Engine, plus our experience of Techland's prior catalogue, we're glad that the developer chose not to pursue those releases.
As things stand, anyone with an interest in the game should be able to enjoy it on any of the three platforms. Between the two console versions we definitely have to give the nod to the PS4 version with its improved frame-rate and better texture streaming, its higher resolution, and a near complete lack of screen-tear. However, anyone with a decent gaming PC should definitely stick to the computer version as it offers excellent scalability alongside further improved visuals. Ultimately, we were impressed with Techland's first release on this new generation of gaming hardware and look forward to seeing more of Chrome Engine 6 in the future.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-dying-light-face-off
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-dying-light-performance-analysis
Play Me
