DayZ vs Dying Light
DayZ is an FPS horror game from Bohemia Interactive (2018) while Dying Light is an action-adventure action-RPG game (2015).
What each one is
Steam files DayZ under FPS and Horror. In contrast, it files Dying Light under Action-Adventure and Action-RPG.
How long can you survive a post-apocalyptic world? A land overrun with an infected "zombie" population, where you compete with other survivors for limited resources. Will you team up with strangers and stay strong together? Or play as a lone wolf to avoid betrayal? This is DayZ – this is your story.
First-person action survival game set in a post-apocalyptic open world overrun by flesh-hungry zombies. Roam a city devastated by a mysterious virus epidemic. Scavenge for supplies, craft weapons, and face hordes of the infected.
At a glance
| DayZ | Dying Light | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Mostly Positive (78%, 468,392) | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%, 494,569) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 87/100 |
| Price | $24.99 | $24.99 |
| Install size | 25 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | verified |
| Released | 2018 | 2015 |
| Developer | Bohemia Interactive | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
DayZ vs Dying Light, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
DayZFPS horror gameDying LightAction-adventure action-RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
DayZSurvival, Open World, Online Co-OpDying LightZombies, Survival Horror, HorrorThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
DayZScore 7.6 · 78% on SteamDying Light ✓Score 8.3 · 95% on Steam · 87 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
DayZ468,392 reviews · 3 add-ons · 25 GBDying Light494,569 reviews · 41 add-onsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
DayZ$24.99Dying Light$24.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
DayZUnsupportedDying Light ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Dying Light takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDayZ and Dying Light on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Dying Light (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Dying Light (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
SurvivalOpen WorldOnline Co-OpZombiesMultiplayerPost-apocalypticPvPAction
Where they differ
ShooterMassively MultiplayerSandboxCo-opAdventureSimulation
ParkourOpen World Survival CraftGorePvEStealthStory Rich
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, DayZ is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Dying Light is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| DayZ | Dying Light | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 / AMD Radeon™ HD 6870 (1GB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i5-4430 | Intel® Core™ i5-2500 @3.3 GHz / AMD FX-8320 @3.5 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 25 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: DayZ · Dying Light.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for DayZ and 1 for Dying Light. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are DayZ and Dying Light in scope?
DayZ has drawn 468,392 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 25 GB. Dying Light has drawn 494,569 Steam reviews and ships 41 add-ons.
Is DayZ or Dying Light better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Dying Light rates higher (8.3 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, DayZ or Dying Light?
DayZ is cheaper right now at $24.99, against $24.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.