Don't Liken PS4 Free-Runner Dying Light to Mirror's Edge

PlayStation 4 parkour-‘em-up Dying Light may look like a fusion of Dead Island and Mirror’s Edge, but developer Techland reckons that that’s a “lazy” comparison to make. Chatting exclusively with AusGamers, producer Tymon Smektala explained that there’s more to the upcoming undead adventure than the above description conveys – and he’d prefer it if more people paid attention to that.

"I think that it’s a lazy thing to say," he said of the comparisons to the abovementioned titles. “If you look at the game, it has zombies in it and it’s melee-based, so it is Dead Island, then you look at it again and see that the motion has that free-running aspect to it, so it is Mirror’s Edge. Of course, that description is ok, and covers the basics of Dying Light, but I don’t personally really like that description because it’s just a very small part of the picture that we’re trying to paint here.”

He continued: “Mirror’s Edge really was a game that opened a lot of eyes, but even though it looked like it was set in an open-world, it was a corridor game with only a few objects that you could interact with. With the current demo of Dying Light, and how the whole game plays right now, you’re really not limited. You can think of any way to get around the environment and you can use that way, if it looks like it’s realistic for you to go there.”

The title itself is set to run wild in 2014, and has attracted plenty of praise for its clever day-to-night cycle. While you’ll be able to battle the undead fairly easily when the sun’s shining, the foes will get significantly stronger in the dark, forcing you to change your approach depending on the different times of day. Are you looking forward to running through an all-new post-apocalyptic world? Catch your breath in the comments section below.