Dying Light E3 gameplay trailer shows us we're all murderers of zombies

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"I'm not a murderer," the man in the trailer says, mere moments before setting off on a murder spree notable for both its creativity and staggering number of victims. But is it murder if the victims are already dead? These are the questions that Dying Light , Techland's upcoming zombie game, may or may not inspire you to ask yourself as you bury your hatchet into the forehead of a staggering, shambling creature that used to be somebody's mother.

Zombies aren't the most original material to mine for a videogame, especially for Techland, the team behind Dead Island. But I dig the Mirror's Edge-esque parkour angle, and I'm also taken by the idea of a day/night cycle that turns "the infected" into far more dangerous and powerful threats when the sun goes down. Classic zombies by day, fast zombies by night; it's a good reason to stay inside when the sun goes down.

The new video also touches a bit on themes highlighted by the " Humanity " trailer released in April, a sombre reminder that before they turned, zombies were people too. That in turn had echoes of the famous Dead Island announcement trailer from 2011, which doesn't necessarily work in Dying Light's favor: That Dead Island video is quite possibly the most stunning piece of videogame PR I've ever seen, but was completely unrepresentative of the actual game.

So is it true that, as Judge Death says, "You cannot kill what does not live"? Or do you bear some moral burden for ending the "lives" of even those inhuman creatures in order to maintain your own? Eh, whatever. Let's shoot zombies! In 2015, that is, when Dying Light is scheduled to launch.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.