Had a bug in dying light that put all my points in one tree and delete them from the others halfway through. Was actually extremely fun to be very good in one specific way and extremely underpowered in every other. Forced me to do a 180 on my playstyle right in the middle of the game, which honestly was great pacing, and made the second half feel really fresh again. Best bug I ever had haha
That sounds genuinely fun! I haven't played this game in specific yet, but I often wish that there was some way to turn off games' leveling systems. I don't think I have ever played an open world game where I did not find myself frustrated with how strong your character winds up becoming.
I had a bug where the seizure mode that kyle has on occasion was permanent and a bug that reset all my story progress but let me keep all my weapons like a weird new game plus
I'm sort of in agreement, apart from how incredibly bad techland is at writing stories. As for peaked out in interest on zombie games...I dunno man, State of Decay 2 looks preeeeetty compelling to me :D
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but i definitely liked it. Played the main game through 2 times and the bigger expansion through once. It was so satisfying to mess around with the zombies.
I think this is one of your best videos in a while. It really showcases your unflinching respect for the work, even in cases where the work is sub-par. You're critical without being negative, and it's such a balm to the cynicism we so often find ourselves wrapped in in game discourse.
I was devastated by the depressing ending, but I know why it had to happen for the second game to exist. Kyle crane is the first zombie to come out of the big giant walls covering all of Harran, and he is the one who spreads the virus to the whole world which is ironic. Personally, what could've made the ending better is if camden calls you and tells you suddenly tower is saved and some sort of antizin like treatment worked if not a cure but for you its too late and you end up infecting the whole world, allowing events of dying light 2 to take place but at least the tower was saved, so your actions mattered. This really just makes kyle crane the unfortunate but biggest single character to influence the world itself. He LEFT A MARK. A mark of death and destruction on the world, he was never the saviour. He was the doom of humanity itself.
I never minded the mostly narrative reviews of these games. There aren't many people that focus on the games narrative, and even less that do it well. But after watching this, I can see what wasn't there. It's one to review the narration of the game, it's another to review the narration of the mechanics of the game.
Out of all the UA-camrs that do video game analysis, your videos are my absolute favorite! I would love to see you revisit the Gothic or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series. Keep doing your thing for all us old school gamers!
I don't play most of the games you review but I watch the reviews because they're in depth and engaging and its clear you've played them quite a bit. This is a rarity these days where reviewers are more interested in being first than substantive.
My biggest issue with this game has always been that I can't just easily casually throw it on for some relaxing play, because it's too good. It's too well done, and the adrenaline rush is unparalleled by any other game, the hair-raising feel when I am caught out at night, and you slowly feel the danger creeping in and waking up for the night, you see the map and how far away you are from anywhere safe, you don't know any easy ways back. You start trying to get there quietly but it takes little to no time at all until you're sprinting through dark unknown alleys with the footsteps furiously pounding the ground behind you, you have no clue where you're going, or what will be in the next room or the next alley when you turn into it, you are just desperately hoping to see a path you can get to keep moving forward, a door or a window or a ledge that you have no idea where that will lead next, and the footsteps feel like they are right on your back... god I am getting flashbacks
I wish I could replay this game again without remembering any of it. Even restarting fresh is pretty easy because you know how to move around the world still.
Such a good game. I've played it I think 4 times, and twice with The Following. Story is meh, baddy is hilarious. But it still has an earnest quality that I find appealing, and enough good characters that it carries itself well enough. The side mission characters are often really well written, though. But it is the world of Harran that is built so splendidly as a playground for the games mechanics. DL also has one of the best power curves I can think of. Both in the mechanical leveling up of your combat and traversal prowess, and your environmental knowledge as you learn the most efficient ways to move between locations. I so rarely replay games that take more than a spare weekend to zip through, but Dying Light feels damn good to play. The Following is a very good expansion pack, but I do feel it takes away from the solo-player experience moving to a primarily flat world. It definitely feels like it was create with the games large co-op community in mind. On that note, whilst I am not interested in that aspect, the long tail of content support Techland has given its co-op/MP community I think deserves huge cred.
I started a replay of this game in January 2020, and let me tell you.... it was so surreal beginning to recognize the different type of face masks worn by the NPCs. I really love this game. It was the perfect stress relief during the pandemic because it gave me some sense of control, albeit virtual, during a time when everyone was feeling helpless.
So glad to see that after being arrested for trying to take down the Avengers, Baron Zemo has gone on to making video critiques of his favorite videogames.
Dude, fantastic video! Seeing yourself crop up in my subscriptions is always a delight. Also, fantastic analysis as usual; you did the impossible and actually made a compelling case for the base game's ending, which is something I thought impossible. Thanks for continuing to make these!
I really like how to review a game I've tried and quit playing and somehow make me want to go back to after I thought myself done with it. I hated DL, but your review made me think I was playing it wrong. Please keep up the work of changing my opinions.
Dying Light is such a good game. Amazing fun, Coop fun, great parkour, good graphics and sounds, nothing felt repetitive, great progression both story and gameplay wise. The DLCs were great as well, adding a saw style zombie game mode? Great and challenging. The following, more of what we love, and a freaking cool buggy that we can progress as well, as well as a cool story. Although I would like to see: - More unique crafted weapons - A form of survival mode - More interesting setting
Hey, great analysis of one of my favorite games of all time. I agreed with you for the vast majority but I think you have done yourself a disservice by playing the Following sequentially with respect to the main game. I understand that was a necessity for those who had picked up and played at launch but its now five years post launch. I believe the best way to play the Following is by spending an adequate amount of time in the main game until the main quest is over or you are otherwise feeling pretty comfortable in Old Town. I still leave myself some side quest content to do in the main game, which you are free to revisit at any point after completing the main quest. The variety of playing a session in the Following, zipping around on your Doom buggy and crashing into zombies or doing a race and then in the same session loading back and doing some side quests/quarantine zones in the dense urban environments of the main game is a real treat. To exclude one experience for another by completing them sequentially is only at the detriment of your total potential enjoyment with the game imo. By playing both together at least for awhile in parallel then you also allow for a more organic growth of your buggy skill tree as you most likely haven't yet maxed the other trees as well.
"Dying Light is much less about achieving mastery of place than it is about achieving a level of comfort with danger and opposition." concise, astute observation my man. Whenever we get to the point where there's a Criterion Collection of games, you need to be the curator. you've got a gift.
A nice detail: any gun works for a bluff on rais' men if you get to the supply drop to late *ish* point any gun at them and their hands are up and if youre fast enough you can loot the drop. Pretty fun but ive only done it once
@@yaboicreamyfeet I've played the game for 3 years now, this is a lot easier in the following cause *c a r* And most of the time even if you don't aim at them for 15 seconds they still shittin they pants
One of my favorite games of this generation, I appreciate that you take the time to dissect the game and lay bare all of its faults. Can you please do a video on I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream? It is a wonderful little forgotten horror game based on a short story, both of which tackle so many interesting themes like grieving and living with the choices you’ve made, and I’d just love to hear your take on its twisted hellscape
when you described the length of the afternoon and how it "feels like you have forever". that was a great description of the feeling of daytime gameplay in dying light. I would check my watch so often by raising my weapon to throw. you really feel like you have a good chunk of time and each day that you rise you feel as if you can get some serious work done.
I did that bridge quest by scaling the bridge at evening, getting the lights and then jumping into the water, swimming to the harbor safe zone. So I basically cheesed it, but I just thought I did what was most sensible, in the real world that would’ve probably been the best thing to do (the jump from the bridge is kinda dangerous tho)
Another superb piece Noah. I think it was a great idea to look at a mechanically-focused game; it shows you have just of much of interest to contribute in that realm as you have regularly shown for narratively-driven works. I watch a lot of long-form UA-cam content, from many talented creators. But for me you stand above the rest in your ability to create work that is greater than the sum of its parts. Your content stands out as artistic work in its own right, separate from and often irrespective of the quality of the game(s) being studied. In other words, while your work is ostensibly critiques of the work of others, it is also great art in its own right. Always with something new, valuable and interesting to say, and expressed and communicated in an engaging and imaginative way. Good on you, and thanks.
As much as i love Dying Light, I love the Following even more. The buggy and country side are awesome. I feel like it is like Far Cry 2 (which i love a lot) in having to read the map or remembering how to get from place to place. I also like repairing the buggy, finding paint jobs and siphoning gas for it. I never once worried about leveling my skill tree outside the new driving skills. I however did not like or even try to kill all the giant "freaks".
I'm the opposite. The Following is a big, empty place with little to do outside of a few key areas. Most of the mission time was just driving from one side of the map to the other. I think the parkour of the base game was much funner and more engaging than the buggy.
@@inputfunny aside from talking over safehouses and scavenging when i needed, i just stuck to missions. The driving is so fun to me. I can see how taking the focus away from parkour would be a bummer though. I am hoping Dying Light balances both. If it ends up having driving anyway.
Great video as always. As for the issues with the increasing proliferation of guns and general power inflation, weirdly enough, the solution (or so I found) is Hard Mode, where resources in general are less common, and you cannot buy ammo aside from a couple of arrow types. Gun enemies also tend to be roughly as tough as you are in Hard. Plus, zombies are broadly more dangerous and healing takes time rather than just happening instantly when you use a medkit. Clearing out a single courtyard of zombies will cost you a huge amount of your ammo capacity if you choose to use guns, and you won't even begin to recoup the lost ammunition until you've fought at least a couple squads of human soldiers.
I played the game several times, with 3 friends. When we realized that the game wasn't challenging enough anymore (I think that was at a time before the nightmare mode was added), we used a mod that caused *all* normal zombies to become runners, capable of scaling walls. Doing the story and side-quests in that scenario is a good challenge and requires attentive cooperation. It also means guns aren't an option, because stealth is very important when all zombies are on steroids. xD
If I had to guess, the cannibal *might* be a Dead Island reference, there was a random psychopath with a machete way off the beaten path named Jason as a Friday the 13th reference who was similarly super tanky
Fantastic critique. My favourite part - eating a sandwich on the rooftops of Harran, mustard dripping on the zombies below. Subtle, creative dry humour. Love it.
really proud of your growth as a video creator. the audio of this vid i have to especially mention and commend. you've been able to remove the white noise, echo, and distracting eq outcomes of past vids, with perhaps better mixing / mic / booth set-up, and it shines a lot through the vid. great work man, keep on critiquing.
Noah's April Fools joke: the anticipation that this will be just another April Fools video, but the real bait-and-switch is that this was a real video.
Christ, I remember watching your videos 5 years ago but haven't watched another due to being so busy in Uni. Thank god for the youtube algorithm recommending this video, I've got a lot of catching to do.
I think I’m the only one who kind of liked Dying Light’s story. Yes it was cheesy and full of cliches, but I still found it amusing and entertaining, much like how I find the narratives of the most popular zombie franchise of all time entertaining (Resident Evil) despite it also being cheesy and full of cliches. I personally think the worst sins a narrative of any medium can commit is being incredibly slow, overly melodramatic, and too serious for its own good, none of which are traits I’d assign to Dying Light’s narrative.
I watched this entire video. I've been playing video games for more than 35 years and Dying Light is hands down my favorite game. It is nearly a perfect co-op experience and the mechanics are perfectly tuned. Every aspect of the game was to the highest standard (save maybe the writing as you say, but I didn't really care). I could gush for days. I love this game. I agree with nearly everything you say in this video, although I would be a little less harsh on The Following. I'll admit that The Following is merely 'excellent' to the main game's 'nearly perfect', but they were working with a set of mechanics that couldn't easily be extended. They had to add the buggy to keep it fresh. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it.
Just discovered your channel here. Excellent analysis and insight! I'm thoroughly impressed with the level of detail, effort, and enthusiasm you obviously put into this. I happily look forward to seeing your future content and seeing what else you have uploaded!
Listen man. I know this video is old and you probably wont see this, but you are HANDS DOWN the single most eloquent, in-depth critical game reviewer I've come across on UA-cam. This video just gained you a life long fan and sub, the bell is already ticked.
I’m surprised I watched through everything. I was planning to stick for a bit then watch other stuff again. But I stuck through the whole thing. This was a really well made review
I'm playing blood dragon right now, and I love how they were able to make things a threat in the environment with the Blood Dragons, like they were able to do with the various zombies. I know you don't play games outside of the show, but I might recommend it if ya like Dying Light.
I still play this abit too much 😁. I love the exploration and the crafting system is very well done. Sneaking around people's homes whilst trying to watch your back is always thrilling you never know where a zombie might be. It's nails that lone survivor feel more games could take note for it. Far cry 5 reminds me alot of dying light atm but as good so far. Great video!
Fastwinstondoom "Even the characters in Dead Island" Not even close. He may be a mostly generic, bald white soldier badass number whatever, but he is still better than the dead island characters, where I struggle to remember even the player characters, much less anyone else.
I didn't mind the ending. The story was pretty bad, overly cheesy stuff, but the ending should have been just an ingame cutscene, not a goddamn quicktime event. I always think that when a game is fairly grounded in reality and the main bad guy is a human, its fair to have a non-interactive finale as long as fun stuff happens before it. in Dying light it was the exciting climb that I enjoyed greatly. I didn't really expect anything from the story, it being a techland game so I guess I can say that it was hard to disappoint me on that front.
During that mission when you'd have to kill the dude who killed the kids dog was wierd for me because i didn't remember that I didn't track the mission on the map I just went along with it.
My favorite part of the UV bridge quest is that you can actually observe it at night from afar and memorize which lights are working, and harvest them during the day when its considerably safer
You have a lot of subs now, but even your newer videos have the feel of getting in on the ground floor of an interesting new channel. Not a comment on quality at all. Keep up the good work.
27:26 Oh, my, god! This is speak to me in a spiritual level. That was ACTUALLY something i experienced myself. I actually went through thinking: "Huh. It would be awesome if i could sit on that roof and eat a sandwich". And at least one, i've afk'd to get me some food, climbed to a roof and phisically ate my meal while ocasionally moving the mouse around, gazing through the landscape.
Great work Noah. Knew nothing about either game, but always find your readings very engaging. Turned a drab Sunday evening of chores into something far more fun.
You are my favorite UA-camr Noah. Thank you for this wonderful surprise this morning. I hope my UA-cam red helps contribute to your financial independence. Nobody does interesting, long form video essays like you do. I always leave your video with an interesting new perspective.
one of my favorite aspects about the Bridge UV bulbs is that you can get them during the day but you can't tell which ones are active. and if you pick the wrong one you get electrocuted. this would be a great deterrent if not for the fact that medkits are pretty easy to craft so you can basically revert that damage dealt.
I'd love a video about a pure arcade experience, like Nex Machina. Something that has a an emphasis on gameplay over all else, including graphics and story. A game where everything the game does is in service to its gameplay, and nothing else. If you did make a video like that, I'd be ok if it was only 20 minutes long, since those kinds of games might be deep mechanically, but in a way that doesn't lend itself well to lengthy discussion.
I always felt this game warranted its own video. 40:45 One note about buggies. If it's turned over, you can reset the vehicle by holding A on the hood to make it upright again in a safe, nearby location. This is also the case if you dunk it into the ocean or get it stuck in a tight environmental squeeze. Recalling the buggy from a safehouse is only ideal if you've become so side tracked from your vehicle that running to a safehouse is more time consuming than returning to the buggy and driving to your next destination.
Nicely done. I remember that in the bridge UV lights sidequest, you could swim underneath the bridge and climb upwards directly to where the lights are, thus enabling you to get past all the volatiles without breaking a sweat. This is pretty much essential in nightmare mode because there's no way you'll be able to outrun that many volatiles. (Stealth is still possible). I thought this was a neat touch to this game with already incredible depth. That being said though, I do believe you need to play in nightmare mode to get the true sense of progression because at the start, even a single zombie can kill you without breaking a sweat and you might be throwing stones at them for all the damage you're doing to them. But towards the end of the game, you feel like 'zombie batman'. Easily my favorite single player game I've played in recent years, cannot wait for the sequel.
Damn dude ... you've got a thoughtful and very cerebral approach to these games ... You wrote this right? ... and then read it over gameplay videos .... Respect! ... for the unique perspective.
I remember playing this a couple years back. I absolutely hated. It grew on me though. It's really well made. The story is birdemic-tier, but the mechanics are so fucking satisfying and deep. I hated dead island, but you could tell techland tried to improve the formula from that game. I admire that.
i dont understand how you hated dead island but liked dying light,they are at their core the same game,dying light just has parkour and a more serious tone
Still playing it right now, the Enhanced Edition, and i just downloaded recent stuff like the prison, a new enemy and 3 new characters for co-op... A compelling story in games is very important, i feel that this vital point was lost since the 90s and early 2000s... But while i feel DL's story is nothing superb and fairly cliché, the atmosphere, immersion, fantastic and ever-changing gameplay, soundtrack, the impeccable technical realization, and how you can interact with lots of stuff, giving a very good sense of realism, all makes up for it, in my opinion... One of the very best and most fun games i ever played, and definitely the best zombie-free roam's game, who set a very high standard for the genre...
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Dying light is the first game that made me care about what time it is. You will feel genuine fear when the sun starts to go down.
*Beep beep beep*....... *Night is coming.*
minecraft
@@GriffinWellsisasquid tru
My only problem with night is it was too short.
Yeah the second the sun went down I felt genuine fear.
You have unspent skillpoints
zip2kx BUT I DONT WANNA GET TIC TAC
@@tasuu_ good lord.......wish i never got that shit. I keep jumping behind off buildings and fuckin my shit up.
@@rimyxb1551 same
@@rimyxb1551 it was kinda useful once when I rained death on night hunter
I have unspent skillpoints
Had a bug in dying light that put all my points in one tree and delete them from the others halfway through. Was actually extremely fun to be very good in one specific way and extremely underpowered in every other. Forced me to do a 180 on my playstyle right in the middle of the game, which honestly was great pacing, and made the second half feel really fresh again. Best bug I ever had haha
When I played the game the second time, I remember barely using any skill points. The game is far more fun when you have a serious handicap going on.
That sounds genuinely fun! I haven't played this game in specific yet, but I often wish that there was some way to turn off games' leveling systems. I don't think I have ever played an open world game where I did not find myself frustrated with how strong your character winds up becoming.
That is one the best glitches but one of thd best came from a guy in rdr2 comments. He glitched the quiet time mission song to replay forever
I had a bug where the seizure mode that kyle has on occasion was permanent and a bug that reset all my story progress but let me keep all my weapons like a weird new game plus
I would not have continued at that kind of breaking bug
This game is a masterpiece. Shame it came out after we peaked out on interest in zombie games.
I'll drink to that
I'm sort of in agreement, apart from how incredibly bad techland is at writing stories. As for peaked out in interest on zombie games...I dunno man, State of Decay 2 looks preeeeetty compelling to me :D
Fun Game...but far from a masterpiece.
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but i definitely liked it. Played the main game through 2 times and the bigger expansion through once. It was so satisfying to mess around with the zombies.
DANNY you are confusing 'open world' with 'big sandbox'.
But definitely the best FPS-Parcour-System, for sure.
I think this is one of your best videos in a while. It really showcases your unflinching respect for the work, even in cases where the work is sub-par. You're critical without being negative, and it's such a balm to the cynicism we so often find ourselves wrapped in in game discourse.
@@dinerenblancc Agreed x2. The amount of work put into these reviews really shows. :D
I was devastated by the depressing ending, but I know why it had to happen for the second game to exist. Kyle crane is the first zombie to come out of the big giant walls covering all of Harran, and he is the one who spreads the virus to the whole world which is ironic.
Personally, what could've made the ending better is if camden calls you and tells you suddenly tower is saved and some sort of antizin like treatment worked if not a cure but for you its too late and you end up infecting the whole world, allowing events of dying light 2 to take place but at least the tower was saved, so your actions mattered. This really just makes kyle crane the unfortunate but biggest single character to influence the world itself. He LEFT A MARK. A mark of death and destruction on the world, he was never the saviour. He was the doom of humanity itself.
I never minded the mostly narrative reviews of these games. There aren't many people that focus on the games narrative, and even less that do it well. But after watching this, I can see what wasn't there. It's one to review the narration of the game, it's another to review the narration of the mechanics of the game.
Out of all the UA-camrs that do video game analysis, your videos are my absolute favorite! I would love to see you revisit the Gothic or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series. Keep doing your thing for all us old school gamers!
I don't play most of the games you review but I watch the reviews because they're in depth and engaging and its clear you've played them quite a bit. This is a rarity these days where reviewers are more interested in being first than substantive.
I couldn’t play Dying Light at night both in the game and irl bc that’s how terrified I was
only thing im terrified of is losing my survivor points lmfao
Me after i lose 900000 legend points on nightmare when trying to get level 11 legend *fuck*
My biggest issue with this game has always been that I can't just easily casually throw it on for some relaxing play, because it's too good. It's too well done, and the adrenaline rush is unparalleled by any other game, the hair-raising feel when I am caught out at night, and you slowly feel the danger creeping in and waking up for the night, you see the map and how far away you are from anywhere safe, you don't know any easy ways back. You start trying to get there quietly but it takes little to no time at all until you're sprinting through dark unknown alleys with the footsteps furiously pounding the ground behind you, you have no clue where you're going, or what will be in the next room or the next alley when you turn into it, you are just desperately hoping to see a path you can get to keep moving forward, a door or a window or a ledge that you have no idea where that will lead next, and the footsteps feel like they are right on your back... god I am getting flashbacks
If only reviews from all of the big game outlets could be this in depth and detailed. You do the best game analyses on UA-cam man, keep it up.
I wish I could replay this game again without remembering any of it. Even restarting fresh is pretty easy because you know how to move around the world still.
Such a good game. I've played it I think 4 times, and twice with The Following. Story is meh, baddy is hilarious. But it still has an earnest quality that I find appealing, and enough good characters that it carries itself well enough. The side mission characters are often really well written, though. But it is the world of Harran that is built so splendidly as a playground for the games mechanics. DL also has one of the best power curves I can think of. Both in the mechanical leveling up of your combat and traversal prowess, and your environmental knowledge as you learn the most efficient ways to move between locations. I so rarely replay games that take more than a spare weekend to zip through, but Dying Light feels damn good to play.
The Following is a very good expansion pack, but I do feel it takes away from the solo-player experience moving to a primarily flat world. It definitely feels like it was create with the games large co-op community in mind. On that note, whilst I am not interested in that aspect, the long tail of content support Techland has given its co-op/MP community I think deserves huge cred.
I started a replay of this game in January 2020, and let me tell you.... it was so surreal beginning to recognize the different type of face masks worn by the NPCs.
I really love this game. It was the perfect stress relief during the pandemic because it gave me some sense of control, albeit virtual, during a time when everyone was feeling helpless.
So glad to see that after being arrested for trying to take down the Avengers, Baron Zemo has gone on to making video critiques of his favorite videogames.
His voice reminds me of Alan from Two and a Half Men
So the joke is you release a video about a zombie game on Easter Sunday. Nice! Lol
nice catch, that flew over my head, and it is great
Jesus was the first zombie
The Cool Cario
Well Nazareth would be the first, actually Jarius daughter would be the first.
I view "The Following" as a different flavor of Dying Light for a different kind of fan. Great video, as always!
Dude, fantastic video! Seeing yourself crop up in my subscriptions is always a delight. Also, fantastic analysis as usual; you did the impossible and actually made a compelling case for the base game's ending, which is something I thought impossible. Thanks for continuing to make these!
I'm so glad you made this; this video is the reason why I bought Dying Light and The Following, now two of my all-time favorite games
So glad i was finally able to support one of my favorite UA-camrs and my all time favorite UA-cam game reviewer. Love the work Noah, keep it up!
Ahhh yes finally not a stupid april first joke
Hbomb's was barely an April Fool's joke. There was nothing to laugh at, it was just stupid.
It's totally fine if he releases an actual video within the next week, but if this is his only output for the next month, that sucks.
You subscribed to the wrong channels if that's an issue.
RLM did it.
this
I really like how to review a game I've tried and quit playing and somehow make me want to go back to after I thought myself done with it. I hated DL, but your review made me think I was playing it wrong. Please keep up the work of changing my opinions.
Dying Light is such a good game. Amazing fun, Coop fun, great parkour, good graphics and sounds, nothing felt repetitive, great progression both story and gameplay wise. The DLCs were great as well, adding a saw style zombie game mode? Great and challenging. The following, more of what we love, and a freaking cool buggy that we can progress as well, as well as a cool story. Although I would like to see:
- More unique crafted weapons
- A form of survival mode
- More interesting setting
Hey, great analysis of one of my favorite games of all time. I agreed with you for the vast majority but I think you have done yourself a disservice by playing the Following sequentially with respect to the main game. I understand that was a necessity for those who had picked up and played at launch but its now five years post launch. I believe the best way to play the Following is by spending an adequate amount of time in the main game until the main quest is over or you are otherwise feeling pretty comfortable in Old Town. I still leave myself some side quest content to do in the main game, which you are free to revisit at any point after completing the main quest. The variety of playing a session in the Following, zipping around on your Doom buggy and crashing into zombies or doing a race and then in the same session loading back and doing some side quests/quarantine zones in the dense urban environments of the main game is a real treat. To exclude one experience for another by completing them sequentially is only at the detriment of your total potential enjoyment with the game imo. By playing both together at least for awhile in parallel then you also allow for a more organic growth of your buggy skill tree as you most likely haven't yet maxed the other trees as well.
Noah is gonna have a fucking field day with DL2
it seems like rewatching those videos... cause always i come i already find a like on the video means i watched it YEARS ago.
"Dying Light is much less about achieving mastery of place than it is about achieving a level of comfort with danger and opposition." concise, astute observation my man. Whenever we get to the point where there's a Criterion Collection of games, you need to be the curator. you've got a gift.
A nice detail: any gun works for a bluff on rais' men if you get to the supply drop to late *ish* point any gun at them and their hands are up and if youre fast enough you can loot the drop.
Pretty fun but ive only done it once
How tf are you that fast
@@yaboicreamyfeet I've played the game for 3 years now, this is a lot easier in the following cause *c a r*
And most of the time even if you don't aim at them for 15 seconds they still shittin they pants
can't wait too see your critique on the second entry, it's going to be one hell of a watch :D. Keep up the great work dude.
Damn man, this is one of the best video essays that I've ever listened to... Good job!
Love the intro music. It's impossible to not smile while listening to it.
One of my favorite games of this generation, I appreciate that you take the time to dissect the game and lay bare all of its faults. Can you please do a video on I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream? It is a wonderful little forgotten horror game based on a short story, both of which tackle so many interesting themes like grieving and living with the choices you’ve made, and I’d just love to hear your take on its twisted hellscape
when you described the length of the afternoon and how it "feels like you have forever". that was a great description of the feeling of daytime gameplay in dying light. I would check my watch so often by raising my weapon to throw. you really feel like you have a good chunk of time and each day that you rise you feel as if you can get some serious work done.
I did that bridge quest by scaling the bridge at evening, getting the lights and then jumping into the water, swimming to the harbor safe zone. So I basically cheesed it, but I just thought I did what was most sensible, in the real world that would’ve probably been the best thing to do (the jump from the bridge is kinda dangerous tho)
I didn't expect such in-depth video when I clicked but damn this is really good.
Another superb piece Noah. I think it was a great idea to look at a mechanically-focused game; it shows you have just of much of interest to contribute in that realm as you have regularly shown for narratively-driven works. I watch a lot of long-form UA-cam content, from many talented creators. But for me you stand above the rest in your ability to create work that is greater than the sum of its parts. Your content stands out as artistic work in its own right, separate from and often irrespective of the quality of the game(s) being studied. In other words, while your work is ostensibly critiques of the work of others, it is also great art in its own right. Always with something new, valuable and interesting to say, and expressed and communicated in an engaging and imaginative way. Good on you, and thanks.
As much as i love Dying Light, I love the Following even more. The buggy and country side are awesome. I feel like it is like Far Cry 2 (which i love a lot) in having to read the map or remembering how to get from place to place. I also like repairing the buggy, finding paint jobs and siphoning gas for it. I never once worried about leveling my skill tree outside the new driving skills. I however did not like or even try to kill all the giant "freaks".
I'm the opposite. The Following is a big, empty place with little to do outside of a few key areas. Most of the mission time was just driving from one side of the map to the other. I think the parkour of the base game was much funner and more engaging than the buggy.
@@inputfunny aside from talking over safehouses and scavenging when i needed, i just stuck to missions. The driving is so fun to me. I can see how taking the focus away from parkour would be a bummer though. I am hoping Dying Light balances both. If it ends up having driving anyway.
Great video as always. As for the issues with the increasing proliferation of guns and general power inflation, weirdly enough, the solution (or so I found) is Hard Mode, where resources in general are less common, and you cannot buy ammo aside from a couple of arrow types. Gun enemies also tend to be roughly as tough as you are in Hard. Plus, zombies are broadly more dangerous and healing takes time rather than just happening instantly when you use a medkit.
Clearing out a single courtyard of zombies will cost you a huge amount of your ammo capacity if you choose to use guns, and you won't even begin to recoup the lost ammunition until you've fought at least a couple squads of human soldiers.
I played the game several times, with 3 friends. When we realized that the game wasn't challenging enough anymore (I think that was at a time before the nightmare mode was added), we used a mod that caused *all* normal zombies to become runners, capable of scaling walls.
Doing the story and side-quests in that scenario is a good challenge and requires attentive cooperation. It also means guns aren't an option, because stealth is very important when all zombies are on steroids. xD
If I had to guess, the cannibal *might* be a Dead Island reference, there was a random psychopath with a machete way off the beaten path named Jason as a Friday the 13th reference who was similarly super tanky
Jason Easter egg
Fantastic critique. My favourite part - eating a sandwich on the rooftops of Harran, mustard dripping on the zombies below. Subtle, creative dry humour. Love it.
really proud of your growth as a video creator. the audio of this vid i have to especially mention and commend. you've been able to remove the white noise, echo, and distracting eq outcomes of past vids, with perhaps better mixing / mic / booth set-up, and it shines a lot through the vid. great work man, keep on critiquing.
What's even better is that the Following's bad ending is considered the canon ending
Noah's April Fools joke: the anticipation that this will be just another April Fools video, but the real bait-and-switch is that this was a real video.
The absolute best kind of April Fools Joke
Christ, I remember watching your videos 5 years ago but haven't watched another due to being so busy in Uni. Thank god for the youtube algorithm recommending this video, I've got a lot of catching to do.
I think I’m the only one who kind of liked Dying Light’s story. Yes it was cheesy and full of cliches, but I still found it amusing and entertaining, much like how I find the narratives of the most popular zombie franchise of all time entertaining (Resident Evil) despite it also being cheesy and full of cliches. I personally think the worst sins a narrative of any medium can commit is being incredibly slow, overly melodramatic, and too serious for its own good, none of which are traits I’d assign to Dying Light’s narrative.
I watched this entire video. I've been playing video games for more than 35 years and Dying Light is hands down my favorite game. It is nearly a perfect co-op experience and the mechanics are perfectly tuned. Every aspect of the game was to the highest standard (save maybe the writing as you say, but I didn't really care). I could gush for days. I love this game.
I agree with nearly everything you say in this video, although I would be a little less harsh on The Following. I'll admit that The Following is merely 'excellent' to the main game's 'nearly perfect', but they were working with a set of mechanics that couldn't easily be extended. They had to add the buggy to keep it fresh.
Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it.
Just discovered your channel here. Excellent analysis and insight! I'm thoroughly impressed with the level of detail, effort, and enthusiasm you obviously put into this. I happily look forward to seeing your future content and seeing what else you have uploaded!
You sir are one of the best reviewers I have ever watched.. Subscribed! you deserve more followers
Listen man. I know this video is old and you probably wont see this, but you are HANDS DOWN the single most eloquent, in-depth critical game reviewer I've come across on UA-cam. This video just gained you a life long fan and sub, the bell is already ticked.
I’m surprised I watched through everything. I was planning to stick for a bit then watch other stuff again. But I stuck through the whole thing. This was a really well made review
I'm playing blood dragon right now, and I love how they were able to make things a threat in the environment with the Blood Dragons, like they were able to do with the various zombies.
I know you don't play games outside of the show, but I might recommend it if ya like Dying Light.
The Following had an amazing ending though.
I won't spoil anything, but that ending for Crane was really balsy on Techland's part.
Because Noah spoiled it
Oh man I can't wait for that Max Payne retrospective that's bound to come out any week now!!
Raycevick just did one so I think we're good on Max Payne for a little while.
Jokes on you, I'd love a Max Payne retrospective.
I still play this abit too much 😁. I love the exploration and the crafting system is very well done. Sneaking around people's homes whilst trying to watch your back is always thrilling you never know where a zombie might be. It's nails that lone survivor feel more games could take note for it. Far cry 5 reminds me alot of dying light atm but as good so far. Great video!
This game is amazing... EXCEPT the ending... *sigh*
BlazinTre right such a letdown.
Naw, just except the story altogether. Even the characters in Dead Island are more compelling than Crane.
Fastwinstondoom "Even the characters in Dead Island" Not even close. He may be a mostly generic, bald white soldier badass number whatever, but he is still better than the dead island characters, where I struggle to remember even the player characters, much less anyone else.
I didn't mind the ending. The story was pretty bad, overly cheesy stuff, but the ending should have been just an ingame cutscene, not a goddamn quicktime event.
I always think that when a game is fairly grounded in reality and the main bad guy is a human, its fair to have a non-interactive finale as long as fun stuff happens before it. in Dying light it was the exciting climb that I enjoyed greatly.
I didn't really expect anything from the story, it being a techland game so I guess I can say that it was hard to disappoint me on that front.
BlazinTre at least The Following has a better ending.
Get to X difficult place is very different and much more worthwhile, interesting, valuable, than collect 15 bear (zombie) asses quests.
Why is this guy's voice so soothing it's odd.
Someone mentioned you Mr. Caldwell in another vid I was viewing, so here I am. Like what I see and hear thus far, subbed.
During that mission when you'd have to kill the dude who killed the kids dog was wierd for me because i didn't remember that I didn't track the mission on the map I just went along with it.
My favorite part of the UV bridge quest is that you can actually observe it at night from afar and memorize which lights are working, and harvest them during the day when its considerably safer
I remember the bozak horde. I grinded solo for 7 days and finally beat it. I was so happy lmao
You have a lot of subs now, but even your newer videos have the feel of getting in on the ground floor of an interesting new channel. Not a comment on quality at all. Keep up the good work.
I have the album that theme tune is off somewhere. Thank you for reminding me.
Noah you're a bloody national treasure, your stuff is so good
27:26 Oh, my, god! This is speak to me in a spiritual level.
That was ACTUALLY something i experienced myself. I actually went through thinking: "Huh. It would be awesome if i could sit on that roof and eat a sandwich". And at least one, i've afk'd to get me some food, climbed to a roof and phisically ate my meal while ocasionally moving the mouse around, gazing through the landscape.
I've experienced such a feeling in quite a few games. STALKER comes to mind immediately when he talked about that.
It's a shame dying light 2 only makes me want to come back to 1
I havent played the second one. Where did it fail?
Great work Noah. Knew nothing about either game, but always find your readings very engaging. Turned a drab Sunday evening of chores into something far more fun.
You are my favorite UA-camr Noah. Thank you for this wonderful surprise this morning. I hope my UA-cam red helps contribute to your financial independence. Nobody does interesting, long form video essays like you do. I always leave your video with an interesting new perspective.
I'm feeling Noah will have a field day with the sequel.
I always look forward to your videos, Noah! Great job as always. I hope your travels are going well!
YOU'RE BACK. Good to see you dude
Damn, I almost missed this. I'm glad I decided to just check your channel again.
Great video. One of the best retrospective analysis of a game i have seen.
one of my favorite aspects about the Bridge UV bulbs is that you can get them during the day but you can't tell which ones are active. and if you pick the wrong one you get electrocuted. this would be a great deterrent if not for the fact that medkits are pretty easy to craft so you can basically revert that damage dealt.
I'd love a video about a pure arcade experience, like Nex Machina. Something that has a an emphasis on gameplay over all else, including graphics and story. A game where everything the game does is in service to its gameplay, and nothing else.
If you did make a video like that, I'd be ok if it was only 20 minutes long, since those kinds of games might be deep mechanically, but in a way that doesn't lend itself well to lengthy discussion.
I always felt this game warranted its own video.
40:45 One note about buggies. If it's turned over, you can reset the vehicle by holding A on the hood to make it upright again in a safe, nearby location. This is also the case if you dunk it into the ocean or get it stuck in a tight environmental squeeze. Recalling the buggy from a safehouse is only ideal if you've become so side tracked from your vehicle that running to a safehouse is more time consuming than returning to the buggy and driving to your next destination.
Noah I've only recently stumbled upon your channel and I've got to tell you, your videos are fantastic! Thank you for such detailed analyses.
Nicely done.
I remember that in the bridge UV lights sidequest, you could swim underneath the bridge and climb upwards directly to where the lights are, thus enabling you to get past all the volatiles without breaking a sweat. This is pretty much essential in nightmare mode because there's no way you'll be able to outrun that many volatiles. (Stealth is still possible). I thought this was a neat touch to this game with already incredible depth.
That being said though, I do believe you need to play in nightmare mode to get the true sense of progression because at the start, even a single zombie can kill you without breaking a sweat and you might be throwing stones at them for all the damage you're doing to them. But towards the end of the game, you feel like 'zombie batman'.
Easily my favorite single player game I've played in recent years, cannot wait for the sequel.
Damn dude ... you've got a thoughtful and very cerebral approach to these games ... You wrote this right? ... and then read it over gameplay videos .... Respect! ... for the unique perspective.
My dad is back from the corner store.
Mine too, mine too
You ok?
John Graham yes, now that he’s back and uploaded
Wait that's illegal
my dad has been gone for 35 years
I remember playing this a couple years back. I absolutely hated. It grew on me though. It's really well made. The story is birdemic-tier, but the mechanics are so fucking satisfying and deep.
I hated dead island, but you could tell techland tried to improve the formula from that game. I admire that.
i dont understand how you hated dead island but liked dying light,they are at their core the same game,dying light just has parkour and a more serious tone
@@Bigdaddymittens what movement systems you mean?
Great analysis man, you’ve obviously put a lot of thought and time into the script.
This game is like Farcry, Fallout, Mirrors Edge, and Dead Island all wrapped up in a platinum bow. Didn't bother playing it till 2021, I missed out
Wow what a beautiful and detailed review! One of the best i have seen, not only for dying light but for all other games overall.
Was just thinking about replaying this after getting completely deflated by Farcry 5. Great timing.
unspent skillpoints !!! great video as always
Amazing work -- thank you for this content as well as your donors.
I honestly thought it was a April fools joke until I clicked it yes it's a good day whenever u release a new video
Noah, its always such a pleasure to hear your thoughts and musings. Very interesting! I'll definitely give the game a shot! :-)
I love every single one of your videos they're really amazing and interesting thanks for keeping on making them!
Your writing has improved a lot man.
Still playing it right now, the Enhanced Edition, and i just downloaded recent stuff like the prison, a new enemy and 3 new characters for co-op... A compelling story in games is very important, i feel that this vital point was lost since the 90s and early 2000s... But while i feel DL's story is nothing superb and fairly cliché, the atmosphere, immersion, fantastic and ever-changing gameplay, soundtrack, the impeccable technical realization, and how you can interact with lots of stuff, giving a very good sense of realism, all makes up for it, in my opinion... One of the very best and most fun games i ever played, and definitely the best zombie-free roam's game, who set a very high standard for the genre...
I passed this one due to severe zombie fatigue, but you've convinced me to give it another chance.
Best part for me is always the names at the end.
One thing that kept me playing this game was the night hunter invasions
Friday was three days ago, now..... _RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!!!!_ :o
- Nice easter zombie vid NC XD
Been watching a lot of your videos, I just finished the following about ten minutes ago.
Excellent analysis and presentation. Great work!
i watched this, and 10 seconds in i subscribed already. awesome job my man