Dying Light: Platinum Edition review for Nintendo Switch

For the purposes of this review, let?s take it as a given that Dying Light is a very good game. While it certainly has some issues, as my colleague Dustin noted six years ago when the game was first released, on the whole my way of thinking is closer to Benny?s: that if you?re in the mood for a zombie game with a lot of engaging content, this is it.

As such, it should come as no surprise that there?s a lot of game to be found in Dying Light: Platinum Edition now that it?s on the Switch. You get the original base game, plus all the DLC — including both The Following, which was practically a game unto itself, as well as Be The Zombie, which…honestly, isn?t as good, but still a fun little diversion. Given that we?re talking about a pretty decent game, if you?re in the mood for horror, that?s a solid package.

That said, as good — or, arguably, as great — as the content is, Dying Light: Platinum Edition isn?t without some issues. And, unsurprisingly, virtually all of those issues come down to the game?s performance.

This is probably not a huge surprise to anyone. I mean, as much as I love my Switch, I don?t think I?d call it a graphical powerhouse (unless we?re talking first-party games). Consequently, you probably won?t be shocked to hear that Dying Light doesn?t look so great here.

In fact, that?s probably understating things. It looks mostly passable when there?s not much action happening on the screen — though even when my character was simply walking down a mostly deserted street, there was still lots and lots of the environment popping into existence as he walked. As for when things got a little busier or a little more chaotic, it wasn?t a pretty sight. The game struggled when it had to render lots of zombies all at once. Seeing as we?re talking about a game set in a world overrun by zombies…well, you probably get the picture.

Whatever other issues there are here come down to personal preference. For example, the combat here is awfully repetitive, since you?re usually just armed with a pipe (or some other blunt instrument), and you just whack away at whatever zombies get nearby. At the same time, however, viewing Dying Light as a game where combat matters probably does it a disservice — this is a survival horror game, after all, and the game basically wants you to run away from zombies, not straight into them.

And from that perspective, Dying Light: Platinum Edition, with its lengthy playtime and tonnes of DLC, gives you ample opportunity to do that. There aren?t really any other games like this on the Switch, so as long as you?re okay with — or at least willing to tolerate — visuals that pale in comparison to how they look elsewhere, then you?re in for one of the last gen?s best zombie games.

Techland provided us with a Dying Light: Platinum Edition Switch code for review purposes.