Dying Light: Platinum Edition Impressions – Kick Down Memory Lane

Portably dropkicking zombies works even better than you might think.

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We’ve seen the Switch perform some miracles in the past – how exactly does it run The Witcher 3? – but every time I play a port, I’m hit with the same worries. Will it look like a blurry watercolour painting? Will it run beyond 15fps? Will the Switch’s tiny control sticks and Joy-Con drift make me fall off a building constantly?

Although the answer may be ‘yes’ to that last one, I’m happy to say that in every other regard, Dying Light: Platinum Edition the Switch is another porting miracle. Not only has Techland successfully translated its massive zombie-kicking game over to the Switch, but it’s done so with barely any concessions at all. This is one of the Switch’s most impressive ports to date.

The most striking thing right out the gate is the visuals. They’re muddy, brown, and devoid of life – exactly like Dying Light was when it first released. That might suit the Switch’s capabilities, but the colour is as ugly and dull as it is on the most expensive of PCs. I spent most of my playtime playing in handheld mode on the OLED, and was constantly impressed by how good things looked. Well, not good, but you know what I mean.

As you’d expect, characters look a little worse, the draw distance isn’t as long, and there’s some texture pop-in here and there, but none of these are deal-breakers. The worst of it is that zombies often lack detail, and seem more interested in stealing Crane’s pixel count than eating his brains. There’s also slightly fewer zombies, but you’ll still get your arse kicked most of the time anyway.

One thing I didn’t expect is the lightning-fast loading times. Seriously, you can be in and out of a building in less than five seconds sometimes, which feels quicker than I remember even on the PS4. There’s no slowdown or massive frame drops either, which is important for a game all about fluid movement.

No matter where you look, Dying Light has made its trip to the Switch without concession. The graphics are nearly spot-on, its framerate is solid, and it loads impressively quickly. Perhaps I’m putting too much stock into a port of a game from 2015, but it’s a treat to see it done justice on a handheld.

As someone who only ever played the base version of the game, The Platinum Edition also brings in a ton of DLC like different skins and craftable weapons. Usually, this wouldn’t be too worth mentioning – it’s a Game of the Year-style re-release, of course it has the DLC – but here, it messes with the experience a bit. By level four, I’d managed to craft a Left 4 Dead golf club that could kill in two hits. Being able to two-shot enemies thanks to a crossover removes the tension, especially when it’s combined with tons of stupid looking outfits. Dying Light does horror quite well, so it’s a shame that it’s reduced by all of the DLC.

My only issue with Dying Light being on Switch is that none of the control options feel comfy enough for the fast-paced gameplay. Using the Switch in handheld mode highlights how tiny the control sticks are, which is especially noticeable when attempting a first-person precision dropkick near the edge of a rooftop. I’ve got famously small hands too, so it will be even less comfortable for most people. Playing with a pro controller in docked mode also relies on often flimsy triggers, and makes everything feel a lot slower, highlighting some of the porting issues more, so it feels like there’s no great answer.

Beyond the porting, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Dying Light itself holds up incredibly well. Once I skipped past any and all cutscenes trying to tell a moving narrative about a Sonic the Hedgehog-sounding government man realising that the government is corrupt – shocker – I remembered how excellent the parkour and combat work together to create an open world that’s perfect to mess around in.

Oh and the dropkick – my god, the dropkick. As soon as you reach agility level four, get that dropkick and you’ll see exactly why Dying Light has managed to stick around as long as it has. Seeing ragdolling zombies fly into spiked walls and off buildings never gets old and I won’t hear otherwise.

Usually when talking about Switch ports, I’ll say it’s a decent option if it’s your only choice, but to go with the original release if you can. I’d still say that here, but Dying Light: Platinum Edition is the closest I’ve come to recommending a Switch port over the original. If you want to dropkick zombies whilst lying in bed, this is your best choice.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/dying-light-platinum-edition-impressions/