Dying Light

Dying Light

Brad: As a whole, zombie slugfest Dying Light really doesn’t really hang with the top 10 games of the year. The story missions are snooze-fests that all too often devolve into simple, overly long fetch quests, and the main character’s voice acting is atrocious. (He always sounds so bored.)

But! Some of my favorite gaming moments of 2015 came from Dying Lightbecause the core gameplay just feels so damn good. Free-running up and over the zombie hordes in this massive, open city is satisfyingly fluid, and smacking zombies around with melee weapons feels physical and brutal—as it should. Every corner of the map is brimming with hidden blueprints for over-the-top weaponsand hilarious easter eggs (like this Mario Bros. recreation). Even better, you can bring friends along for the ride, as Dying Light offers full four-player co-op.

Just forget the main story even exists after you’ve unlocked the basic abilities and a couple of safe houses. Grab a buddy or three, whip up some secret SiCK bombsthat force zombies to fly off farting into the sunset, and then parkour out into the wilderness. Dying Light’s great once you stop worrying and learn to love the dumb.