Dying Light may have come out a decade ago in 2015, but many players still treasure the tension and anxiety they felt when first playing the game, with its exciting combination of survival-horror and parkour action.
For those of us that already played all of the Dying Light titles that followed the original, there are still some other games out there that can give you the same gritty thrills. Check out this list of five of the best games like Dying Light, and you’ll surely find at least a couple that can scratch the itch for you.
Image Credit: Techland
If you’re looking for more zombies, Dead Island offers the perfect blend of tension and gore to satisfy fans of the genre. Players will battle plenty of undead ghouls while roaming a small island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The bloody action is quite satisfying, but players will soon realize that you can’t just go out just defeating zombies without giving it any thought.
Like Dying Light, Dead Island is among the popular survival games that have some strategy involved. Players will be immersed in its detailed environments, giving them an extra sense of tension as they try to avoid a great variety threats. There’s little safety available here, conveying the same feelings of dread and tension that Dying Light once did.
Image Credit: Bend Studio
Here’s another zombie-infested apocalyptic world for players to survive in. But this time, you have a motorcycle. Players will have plenty of fun beating down hordes of zombies (called “freakers” in Days Gone) with satisfying melee weapons as they traverse an open world on their motorbike, seeking out power boosts and drifting around sharp corners.
While it may sound like endless mayhem (and it mostly is), there are stealth-focused missions in the game as well. Days Gone doesn’t carry the same tension as other zombie-focused games, but the required determination to survive at all costs will still hit home for fans of the genre and players looking for more games like Dying Light.
Image credit: Bethesda
Anyone who wants to survive a gritty, unforgiving apocalyptic world where people and ghouls are both big-time threats will enjoy the immersive story and world of Fallout 4, despite the unavoidable bugs that are a trademark of Bethesda games.
Taking place in a desolate and desperate version of Boston, Massachusetts, you’ll find yourself entwined in an emotional and gripping storyline, teaming up with surprisingly deep characters, and sneaking around some of the creepiest locations imaginebale with your heart rate racing the entire time. A sudden horde of ghouls or a hulking mutant brute running at you will definitely give players a fright when the sky grows dark and you’re caught in the middle of nowhere looking for shelter. And maybe an extra does of RadAway, so don’t turn into a ghoul yourself.
Image Credit: EA
This is a sequel to 2008’s first-person parkour platformer, providing Dying Light fans with the fast-paced movement they crave. The movement system in Catalyst makes the game worth playing alone. On top of parkour agility, players will have a range of weapons to make combat pretty fun and equally chaotic.
The main story has been hit or miss with most players, but the game’s momentum will keep fans of open-world parkour hooked, even if there’s a noticeable lack of zombies in this futuristic version of the world.
Image credit: Naughty Dog
The Last of Us 1 and 2 both have plenty in common with Dying Light, bringing to players many of the same gameplay elements: intense combat, even more intense zombie encounters, the crafting of survival materials, and white-knuckle survival situations. On top of that, The Last of Us features an impactful and memorable story that few will ever forget after experiencing it, a story so good that it inspired a critically-acclaimed television series.
The story follows a survivor named Joel after his daughter has been murdered, a tale of grief that turns towards hope when he meets a young girl named Ellie. While you’ll still find plenty of the same tension as in Dying Light, Last of Us will provide an even deeper human element that makes its threats even scarier since you’ll care what’s happening to everyone around you just as much as you’ll care about what happens to yourself.
And if you work your way through each of these games and are still left wanting more, check out our list of the best survival games to play. You may not find quite as many zombies there, but you’ll still feel the rush of working to keep your character alive in all manner of wild conditions.
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