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The Slums is the starter location within Harran in Dying Light & Dying Light: Bad Blood, and is the first zone the player explores.

Overview[]

DL-32

The Slums.

Before the globalization due to new oil discoveries and the Harran Global Athletics, this area of Harran is named aptly so: as it is essentially a slum. A low classed neighborhood, cheap housing and a poor district, the slums are the worst living district of the city. Sometime in 2014, the Slums came under an "Urban Renewal" building scheme called the "Harran Redevelopment Project", where the project started with the The Tower. It was supposed to be "Two multi-family residential located in New Town", and is evident that the slums were to be converted into 'New Town'. Two main factions are now there, The Tower and Rais's Bandits.

Real World Relevance[]

The city of Harran is a fictional city which is meant to exist in Turkey. Harran is probably a recreation of Istanbul. There are several slums within Istanbul, with poverty being a prevalant issue faced by the city. The percentage of people in Turkey living in slums and shanty towns has decreased since the 1990's, though thousands of children experience terrible poverty within the countrie's capital. Gecekondu is a Turkish word meaning "put up overnight" and could be used to describe the rudimentary housing within Dying Light's slums. Although we aren't told whether Harran relates to a specific city, it's most likely to be Istanbul, given it's size and variance in the prosperity of different neighbourhoods. Having said that, gecekondu districts exist all around Turkey, so it could simply be a representation of the overall state of the country, not a particular nod to any one area. 

GameSpot Expert Reviews

Architecture []

It's evident that the slum's buildings are decrepit, low-quality and collapsing in many cases. After the outbreak, its inhabitants were forced to construct make-shift repairs and defences onto their homes in order to repel the invading zombies. There is a marked difference between the architecture of the Old Town which is classically designed, with tall buildings and open plazas. The slums are unsophisticated, ramshackled and in need of improvement. As Crane explores the buildings in the slums, it becomes clear that very few people could've lived within these homes; the rooms are cramped, perhaps indicating that small families would've inhabited them. Furthermore, the interiors of the buildings are disorganized and haphazardly decorated; this can be seen by the random layout of furniture and indoor amenities. It's evident that people attempted to leave their homes as quickly as possible; food is left out in the open and they look largely like regular houses. The severity of the outbreak may have driven people to escape with their lives, thus leaving their property and treasured items behind.

Safe-Zones:

A wide range of different safehouses can be found in the slums and established by the player. These include but aren't limited to houses, shops, apartments, rooftops and tunnels. Once the safe-zone has been secured, the player can access their outfits from this area; it's likely that a shopkeeper will setup within these locations and bounties can often be found on a dartboard.

Quarantine Zones:

Throughout the slums, a number of locations were originally designated as "Quarantine Zones" which could be used to isolate those who succumbed to the Harran Virus, these can be accessed by the player and offer a unique challenge within. The most notable quarantine zone is the Stuffed Turtle shopping mall.

Commerce[]

Various types of commercial outlets can be seen throughout the slums. Grocery stores, pharmacies, cafes and garages can be explored by the player. Each one holds both unique and common items which can be scavenged and used to create different items. For example, pharmacies are likely to contain gauze and alcohol which Crane can combine to produce a medkit which restores HP. Every commercial building has individual assets which have been used to design their interior and exterior appearance. Prior to the infection in Harran, these commercial outlets would've provided work and supplies to the population of the slums, possibly helping to reduce the extreme poverty within this sprawling neighbourhood. 

There is a distinct lack of luxurious, high-end commercial outlets within the slums, reflecting the districts poverty. The vast majority of shops sell basics and essential products which people would struggle to live without; food, clothing and medical supplies being the most common. This affects the player, because they're less likely to find valuable items to sell or scavenge; despite this, jewelry can be taken from lockboxes, chests and other private collections within resident's homes. Perhaps this demonstrates how they hoped to protect these important items due to their sparsity in the slums.

Dying Light Kitchen

An Old Town Kitchen

Locations[]

There are numerous unique locations which can be found in the slums:

  1. Black Serpent BazaarRais's Headquarters / Infamy Bridge
  2. Harran Public School / Courtyard / Ivy Road / Mirmar
  3. Fisherman's Village / Ferry Harbor / Jaffar's Wheelstation
  4. The Tower / Stuffed Turtle / Demolition Zone / Bridge HQ
  5. Chemical Storage / Sunny Apartments / Mikla's Bikes
  6. Underground Parking / Bites Motel / Lake of the Drowned / Harran Prison

Random Encounters[]

Whilst navigating the slums, the player can find random encounters which will provide a reward upon completion. These rewards include money, weapon blueprints, weapon upgrades and information about the lore of Harran. One of the most common encounters involves protecting survivors from the infected who threaten their lives unless you intervene. Such scenarios can be located by their blue blip on the radar, which pulses when you come into close proximity to one of these encounters.

Rais's men can also be found attempting to secure GRE supply drops; you can take them for yourself if you reach it before them, or kill the bandits and obtain the supplies. These can be returned to the Quartermaster in The Tower for survivor XP.

Dying_Light_-_Random_Encounters_In_The_Slums-0

Dying Light - Random Encounters In The Slums-0

Easter Eggs[]

  • A bakery can be found within the slums which is called, "Left 4 Bread"; a reference to the zombie game series Left 4 Dead, made by Valve.
  • The player is able to obtain a sword called "Expcalibur" which can be found in the far south east of the slums, on a little rock. The sword is a reference to King Arthur's magical weapon which was said to have special powers.
  • During an escort mission, a switch can be activated within a lighthouse which causes the zombies inside the building to dance; it looks very similar to Michael Jackson's Thriller
  • A "Loot Cave" can be accessed by swimming through an underwater passage. It's a reference to the areas in Bungie's Destiny where players would try to "farm" enemies to gain experience and rare loot. A message will pop up and say, "Your destiny is to build your legend (and get loot)"
  • Within Crane's bedroom in the tower, a guitar can be activated and a single note will play. If you locate the guitar music book within the school in the mission Siblings this enables Crane to improve his ability to play the guitar.
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