NINETOES VS. DYING LIGHT

Ninetoes loves his Xbox Gamer Pass, but does he love the updated remaster of DYING LIGHT?

Hey there, gamers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ with a look at why now is a great time to get back into DYING LIGHT. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

I am sure that at this point, you are scratching your head and asking if I said “Dying Light” and not the sequel, Dying Light 2: Stay Human. Why mention a game that’s a decade old? Shouldn’t I be hyping the upcoming Dying Light: The Beast?

Here’s the reason. Last Friday, 06/25/25, a major update was released for the original game. When I heard this, I reinstalled it onto my Xbox just to see if there were any improvements. I will admit that it has been a while since I have played the game, especially since the sequel came out. BUT, when I played it, I enjoyed it. I would not go so far as to say I “loved it”. It was a good zombie killer with parkour mechanics, but the controls were a bit clunky, and the visuals, in terms of the flow of graphics, were a bit jerky. The graphics themselves were next-gen, but when you got into frame rate and movement, they were jerky.

After the update, the controls are the same, but the flow of the game has greatly improved. The graphics were already pretty darn sharp for an Xbox One, so there was not much of a change there, but the flow of the game is seamless. The jerkiness before the update is gone. I can honestly say it is a better gaming experience.

One of the questions I have been asking is why update a ten-year-old game?

I am not sure, but I think it is to drum up interest in the upcoming Dying Light: The Beast. The problem I have with this way of thinking is that this update was released so far UNDER the radar that anyone who is not necessarily following gaming news would miss it, and the effort would be lost. I just happened to catch the story in passing. If not for that, I would not have given the game another thought. Especially since there have been other AAA-rated games to come out in the past few months.

Is this game worth a revisit? Yes. IF you have not played it before, now is a good time to become acquainted with it. SHOULD you spend your money on it? Well, it is currently $19.99 for the standard version in the Xbox store, and it is $9.99 for a pre-owned physical copy at certain game retailers, so I would recommend it, but I am not telling you that you MUST get it. However, if you want a greatly improved zombie-killing experience for the summer that will not destroy your bank account, this game is definitely worth a look.

Happy Gaming!

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.