During Gamescom 2018, Polish game studio Techland, known for its Dying Light game introduced their take on the currently popular Battle Royale genre. The new Dying Light: Bad Blood is taking the existing formula, scaling it down to 12 players and introducing elements like PvE and parkour for which Dying Light game became so popular.
Similarly to other games of this genre, the beginning of Dying Light: Bad Blood match is all about looting. However, it’s worth mentioning that looting in Bad Blood works a little different than in other battle royale games. First of all, the firearms in this game are extremely rare and if by any chance you manage to loot a gun, in most cases you’ll have a very limited amount of ammunition. Most of in-game time you’ll run around with close combat weapons such as knives, axes, or hammers. Each melee weapon has different swinging mechanic and timer, so it might take a little while for some players to get used to each weapon.
Another thing that sets Dying Light: Bad Blood apart, is the PvE element of the game. In order to level up their character, players will be tasked to collect blood samples throughout the map. These samples will recover your lost health and increase your HP and damage output. However, these samples are often protected by various AI controlled zombies. Some of them are easy to beat, while others may pose a real challenge, but you can avoid them completely.
In order to win a game, you must collect a set amount of blood samples. After completing this objective an extraction point on the map appears to all remaining players. If you reach it first – you win. But there’s a catch – when you collect enough samples you become visible to other players who might hunt you down and take your hard-earned blood. So, the game blends PvP and PvE action seamlessly.
It would be weird if a game with a Dying Light name-tag would exclude another iconic element – parkour. Bad Blood captures the thrill of running, jumping, and climbing and further encourages this playstyle with brilliant little details which make it worth your while. In addition to the obvious reason of staying alive, Bad Blood parkour also promotes vertical gameplay – ability to reach vantage points, possibility to execute attack moves from above and a wider minimap that encourages players to climb, or at least to look up once in a while.
All these features promise to be a gulp of fresh air to the battle royale genre. Techland already have proven to be one of the most elite gameplay oriented developers out there, so we can’t wait to get our hands on the full version of the game. While Dying Light: Bad Blood is still in development, you can join the fun right now by purchasing the founders pack. The game is scheduled to be fully released in 2019 and it’s going to be a free-to-play title with microtransactions.
