Dying Light 2: Stay Human review – as dead inside as the zombie hordes

PC, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X, Nintendo Switch (upcoming); Techland
If you've played a zombie game in the past decade, this mishmash of tattered post-apocalyptic stereotypes will feel all too familiar

Aiden is a pilgrim, a nomadic survivor who wanders the zombie wastelands of Dying Light 2, taking goods from one settlement to another like some sort of post-apocalyptic Deliveroo rider. The search for his long-lost sibling has led him to a sprawling city somewhere in Europe. Here, three warring tribes endlessly fight for resources, using a familiar combination of melee combat and unconvincing dialogue. You take on missions for various shouting sociopaths, all competing to either save the world or blow it up, or some unfeasible combination of the two. Sound familiar? If you've played a zombie game in the past decade, it certainly should.

The various territories of the city are all teeming with the undead, and also side-quests. Everywhere you go there are hidden weapon caches, bandit camps and train stations to unlock for fast travel, and windmills that must be powered up to create safe houses - a game design trope instantly recognisable to anyone who's played an open-world adventure since 2012's Far Cry 3. Indeed, Dying Light 2 feels like a B-movie undead reskin of Far Cry or Assassin's Creed - rather like Days Gone.