We were just finishing up a long mission and were heading back to one of the hubs, hoping to reach it ahead of the looming night, during which Dying Light’s

Growing Up Playing Games Together

“ Gaming went hand in hand with spending time with my older (and only) brother, and we both gravitated towards games from an early age.

Becoming Infatuated with Dying Light

An artist's impression of the author cowering at the top of a pole.

“ One night every week, we would play for a few hours. We explored every inch of the zombie infested world of Harran...

Games and Connecting with Others

Good times.

We decided the only way through was to camouflage ourselves in zombie guts (one of the many perks you can attain as you upgrade). As we slowly walked through the terrifying pack, trying to avoid bumping into any of them, we knew it was only a matter of time before they caught on, so as soon as we were through the main group, we ran for our lives.We shouted and squealed as they chased us, leaping over cars and trucks and dodging the mass trying to tear us apart. It was intense to say the least. Eventually, after applying the parkour skills we’d honed over dozens of hours running, jumping and climbing through what had become our playground - the fictional city of Harran, we managed to escape into the night. Only once we were safe, did I realise I was panting from the chase; we then both started laughing. We’d made it, we’d survived another night.Unfortunately it was late; my brother had work the next day and I had classes to attend in the morning. We turned in the quest, said our usual reluctant goodbyes and logged off. As I headed to bed I was already looking forward to our next night of adventures in Dying Light; it had become one of my favourite times of the week and the best way to connect with my brother in the years since we’d both moved away from home.Playing games was an important part of my life growing up, particularly as I lived in a country town where there was a limited number of ways to entertain yourself after school and on the long, empty weekends. Gaming went hand in hand with spending time with my older (and only) brother, and we both gravitated towards games from an early age. I can still remember spending several evenings before dinner, taking turns to see how far we could get through Pinocchio’s unforgiving levels on the original Game Boy (there was no save system, but this just added to the pure ridiculous challenge) and the days spent battling our way through Ratchet & Clank Gladiator’s (known as Deadlocked in North America) epic campaign in co-op. I also spent many hours as a spectator in the early years watching my brother play games - something I’m sure fellow younger siblings can sympathise with – but it was how we often connected and spent time together growing up.Eventually, Dying Light caught our attention. The trailers made it look exhilarating and scary (my brother loves horror), plus, in a world where zombies were somewhat played out, Dying Light dropped masses of them into an open-world and added a gameplay-defining day/night cycle, making them feel fresh once again. Most importantly, it had online co-op. It would be several months after its release that we would both buy it and finally set a date, hoping this would be the one we could bond over after being away from each other, for over two years.We both played the opening separately, which is a thrilling experience in itself, but Dying Light truly shines in co-op play. Facing the many horrors of Harran and laughing in the face of the many breeds of horrific zombies became all the more achievable for a scaredy cat like myself. When normally I’d avoid large groups of foes, with my brother we would leap into the zombie masses; we loved the fight and the danger of always being one wrong move away from death. However, the tension was unbearable at times and occasionally got to me. One such time we were sneaking up on a group of zombies at night. We had the drop on them, but as we got close, I lost my composure and threw a molotov at the group, only to miss, startling them. I quickly fled and was found by my - thoroughly unimpressed - brother hiding at the top of a telephone pole.Our sessions were filled with silly antics - sneaking around during the terrifying but exhilarating nights, running for our lives through tight laneways and dense suburbs and racing between locations, just for the hell of it. After burning out on competitive-focused military shooters like Call of Duty, Dying Light was a breath of fresh air, as its co-op actually had a pretty relaxed vibe. It allowed us to work together, but also to mess around, and this combination became a deciding factor into why it became one of our favourite pastimes. We soon fell into a regular schedule of playing Dying Light together, which would last for nearly two years.Polish developer Techland recently celebrated the third anniversary of Dying Light, and my brother and I have been there for a lot of that time. We’ve seen the many and varied improvements, the content drops and new modes and even the substantial expansion The Following , which added a vast rural region with customisable vehicles. Dying Light is a better package than ever, and with 13 million copies sold so far, it is the studio’s most successful game to date.Games have always been how my brother and I have connected best. Sure, we went to each release of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies over the years together, spent several nights with each other at concerts and even discuss and swap books from time to time, but they all pale in comparison to the connection video games allow us to have; especially over long distances. We embody the characters in the games we play, so when I joined my brother’s session in Dying Light each week and I saw his character, it was almost like I was seeing him. It wasn’t just our characters battling hordes of zombies, or racing each other over rooftops, it was us, together, like back when we played games in our lounge room throughout my childhood. It gave us a reason to catch up on a regular basis, to do something we both loved and had a shared history with.Our long distance love affair with Dying Light did eventually come an end, after nearly two years. Techland had done a sterling job keeping the content coming, but eventually we needed to move on. Since then, games like Far Cry 5 and A Way Out have ensured there’s been plenty to dabble in, but we still haven’t found that essential, ongoing new co-op experience to replace Dying Light. No matter, it’s out there - or will be - and in the meantime we’re having a whole lot of fun together looking for it.My experience with Dying Light is just one example of how video games are a great way to bond with someone over long distances, or even in person. How have you stayed connected with family and friends over the years? What are some of your most ridiculous or epic moments playing co-op? And most importantly, what would you recommend my brother and I play next?

Seamus Mullins is an Australian journalist and writer who loves video games, electronic beats and Scott Pilgrim vs the World (in no particular order). You’ll be sure to see some of his antics with his brother on Twitter