Parents' Guide to Dying Light

Dying Light delivers an immersive action experience. You'll fight against zombies and take advantage of parkour abilities such as jumping across rooftops or from ladders to ledges, which separates Dying Light from other first-person action games (parkour is usually found in third-person adventures, such as in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed titles). The many missions, huge locations, upgrade system, and weapon crafting provide a lot of bang for the buck -- and that doesn't even include the various multiplayer modes offered. These include four-player cooperative play and a "Be the Zombie" download for those who want to turn the tables on the good guys.

Although the similarities to the Dead Island games can't be ignored, Dying Light nicely balances the day/night objectives. While the sun is out, you'll find yourself performing tasks for other survivors (such as helping a pregnant woman deliver a baby) -- but at night, when zombies are stronger, faster, and more plentiful, you'll need to do your best to survive until the sun comes up again. Visually, the game looks great, with weather effects, high-definition characters (though lip-synching is so-so), and expansive, varied environments. But repetitive missions take away from some of the fun -- there are more than 100 missions and side quests, so a "less is more" approach would've helped gameplay become more polished and enjoyable. Still, Dying Light is an exceptional game worth picking up for those on a next-gen console or PC. It's a gratifying adventure for mature players who like action, exploration, and "survival horror" elements.