Dying Light is a first-person, action survival horror game set in a vast and dangerous open world. During the day, players traverse an expansive urban environment overrun by a vicious outbreak, scavenging the world for supplies and crafting weapons to defend against the growing infected population. At night, the hunter becomes the hunted, as the infected become aggressive and more dangerous. Most frightening are the predators which only appear after sundown. Players must use everything in their power to survive until the morning’s first light.

In the city of Harran, a mysterious viral outbreak has turned most of the population into hyper-aggressive zombie-like creatures, forcing Harran's Defense Ministry to quarantine the entire city. The Global Relief Effort (GRE) assists survivors still trapped in the city by regularly airdropping supplies. The GRE hires Kyle Crane to infiltrate Harran in order to retrieve a sensitive file stolen from them by Kadir Suleiman, which he is using as leverage to blackmail them, with the threat of publicizing it if anything were to happen to him. Crane is airdropped into Harran, where he is ambushed by a gang of hostile bandits. As the infected attack, Crane is bitten and infected, but rescued by Jade Aldemir and Amir Ghoreyshi. Amir sacrifices himself to buy Jade and Crane time, and Jade takes him to a survivor sanctuary called the Tower. Crane wakes up and is introduced to Rahim Aldemir, Jade's brother. Rahim then teaches Crane parkour and sends him to Spike, who gives him his first task as a resident of the tower. Crane learns that the Tower, which seeks to help other survivors, is being harassed by a gang of bandits led by a warlord named Rais who steals and hoards the supplies from the GRE airdrops, including Antizin; a vaccine that suppresses symptoms of infection and keeps bitten people from turning into the infected. After Harris Brecken, leader of the tower is nearly killed by a rival runner in a mission to retrieve an Antizin drop, need for the drug becomes immense. Crane volunteers and manages to reach an airdrop containing Antizin, but despite the dire need of the vaccine by the survivors, Crane is instructed by the GRE to destroy the airdrop, instructing him to reach out to Rais in order to buy the vaccine in order to confirm his identity. Crane reluctantly complies and informs the Tower that the supplies have been looted.

Upset, Brecken tasks Crane with the job of making a deal with Rais. Upon meeting Rais, Crane is able to confirm that he is indeed Suleiman. He carries out a series of unethical tasks for Rais under the assumption that he will be rewarded with two crates of Antizin. Crane is unable to locate the file, and is later betrayed by Rais, who only gives him five vials of Antizin. He later breaks off business with the GRE when they halt the supply drops and refuse to help the Tower. The situation in the tower worsens, and a whole floor is sealed off when an outbreak occurs. While doing an errand, Rahim tells Crane that he and Omar were planning to bomb an infected nest. Crane is opposed to this plan. After an argument over the radio, he gives chase to a fleeing Rahim. Upon catching up to him, he finds that Omar is dead, while Rahim has been wounded. He then executes Rahim's plans, resulting in the killing of the infected in the compound. When he gets back to Rahim he discovers that he was actually bitten and had turned while Crane was gone, forcing Crane to respectfully snap Rahim's neck when he attacks him. When Crane returns to the tower to inform Brecken of the news, Jade overhears them, and visibly upset, takes off.