![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.greenmangaming.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/dying-light-bad-bloog-insert-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTechland\u2019s zombie-killing parkour-em-up Dying Light was a surprise hit upon its release so it\u2019s no surprise that we\u2019re going to be getting much more Dying Light in the near future.<\/p>\n
Whilst there\u2019s a straight-up sequel being developed, entitled Dying Light 2, there\u2019s also a spinoff hoping to bring some of that parkour magic to the increasingly saturated Battle Royale genre.<\/p>\n
Dying Light: Bad Blood looks on the face of it to be a simple affair; \u2018what if Dying Light had a Battle Royale mode\u2019. It\u2019s entirely possible that some may dismiss it and roll their eyes at what\u2019s perceived to be yet another Battle Royale, but having had some hands-on time with the game at Gamescom 2018, it\u2019s clear that there\u2019s some key differences which – if handled correctly – should elevate it above its competition.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Obviously Dying Light: Bad Blood is a PvP game, ultimately you\u2019re facing down against 11 other players (at least in the mode we had chance to try out) in a race for survival. But there\u2019s much more than that here.<\/p>\n
Your first game of Dying Light: Bad Blood might start off very familiar, you\u2019re spawned with no weapons, items, or armour, and you start to explore the surroundings and scavenge up what you need to survive.<\/p>\n
But then chances are you\u2019ll see Them. Zombies, they\u2019re often hiding in buildings right around some vital gear or equipment, or occasionally roaming the streets. In Battle Royale games we\u2019re used to seeing the player count skyrocket in a space race for numbers, but Dying Light: Bad Blood shrinks the players per match down to 12, and once you begin to play and see the zombies, special zombies, and boss zombies roaming the streets you understand why this choice has been made. More people would just muddy this, it\u2019s a tighter and more focused take on the genre, and you can tell extensive testing has taken place to identify the number of players.<\/p>\n
Zombies and other players aren\u2019t the only threats out there though, airdrops can and will plummet from the sky bearing essential loot, they\u2019re the only way to get firearms for example. But each one will be guarded by NPC humans who fight and act much more naturalistically. They don\u2019t lunge mindlessly, they\u2019re humans so they have a mind. It\u2019s very much risk and reward, if you take them on there\u2019s the potential of more loot, but those NPCs may take you out and even worse – the airdrop icon is ever blinking on the minimap so other player are most likely incoming.<\/p>\n
Adding this all up, the world itself is vastly more lethal than in any other Battle Royale, and that\u2019s before we get to the mechanics that\u2019ll bring you and other players into conflict.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.greenmangaming.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/dying-light-bad-blood-insert-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
In Dying Light: Bad Blood the goal isn\u2019t to be the last player standing, although that can help. It\u2019s to collect enough blood samples from undead Hives and other players, which triggers a helicopter which\u2019ll be your only way out of the zone.<\/p>\n
On your minimap nearby Hives are marked out, and each one is your key to escaping the level and winning the round, but in addition the blood samples you gather help you level up making you faster, stronger, tougher. Obviously these are resources that are essential to your survival, so it\u2019s no surprise that they\u2019re often the cause of heated battles between undernourished players desperate for a level or two,<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not all, when the helicopter is called an area is marked where it\u2019ll land. The helicopter only has space for one, so if there\u2019s multiple people waiting for it they\u2019ll just have to fight it out for that coveted seat.<\/p>\n
This means that the pacing of each match naturally comes to a crescendo as that call goes out and the battle for escape begins. In other Battle Royale games there can be long periods of quiet inbetween brief encounters, but Dying Light: Bad Blood aims to keep the pressure on by incentivising hunting down Hives, and then the mad scramble for escape. The developers themselves have also indicated that the ideal length of time for a match is ten minutes, making this briefer and more intense than some others in the genre.<\/p>\n
Combining all of this with Dying Light\u2019s parkour and incredibly violent melee combat system, it\u2019s not a surprise that the developers Techland have dubbed it \u2018Brutal\u2019 Royale.<\/p>\n
Dying Light: Bad Blood is looking like an intriguing twist on the Battle Royale genre, and it\u2019ll be hitting Steam Early Access in September 2018 in a Founders Pack edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"