Can a game be too gory? No, and this can be filed under “Questions Billy and I Have Never Asked Ourselves.” This is especially true when it comes to using a machete equipped with fire and electricity to lop off the heads, arms, and legs of the undead vying for your brain, with a side of shoulder meat. A few months ago, CD Projekt Red answered the call of gory and gave the world Dying Light, a zombie slayer’s dream come true.
In Dying Light, you take the role of Kyle Crane, a contractor for the Global Relief Effort (GRE) sent into the City of Harran, a quarantine zone teeming with various zombies large, small, slow, and fast; all seeking you out as you parkour your way through the city. The GRE provides airdrops in Harran containing various supplies and zombie antiviral meds to aid in survival. After realizing the GRE has only sent him in to do their dirty work, and not to help the survivors, Crane begins the task of helping the survivors find a cure, while saving the city from zombies, thugs and complete destruction.
“Look at this meat grinder I’ve got set up!” -Billy (with a pile of zombie bodies and parts stacked up on a car hood.)
Soon after arriving in Harran, Crane is bitten and must keep up a regiment of the antiviral drug Antizin. Frequent doses of Anitizin are necessary to prevent the infection from turning Crane into one of the undead meandering the streets waiting for you to bisect them down the middle with your shiny new katana. Unfortunately, the GRE stopped dropping Antizin, the supply is low, and the remaining stockpile belongs to a local thug, Rais. This scenario got me thinking: what hard to find frosty brew could possibly pair with one of my favorite games of the year?
The only beer to pair with this game had to be scarce, delicious, and worthy of what might be the last beer you ever drink in a zombie apocalypse. I’m talking about a beer harder to find than your next hit of Antizin, but even more rewarding. Luckily, just in time for the latest Dying Light update, and the release of the Bozak Horde expansion, our friends at The Alchemist were kind enough to airdrop some Heady topper on the front porch.
“I love how even your character is disgusted by the zombie guts he’s rubbing on himself.” -Jason
I’m not sure there is anything Heady Topper doesn’t pair well with, but it definitely pairs well with Dying Light. Heady Topper is simply one of the most exquisitely well-balanced Double IPAs hop lovers, like us, can get their hands on. Too much malt? Not here. Too bitter? Too resinous? Too sweet? No, no, and no. Heady Topper is unfiltered liquid gold bursting with citrus, pine, and just enough malt to round it all out. The delicious bitterness of this hop heavy hitter will keep you sipping and savoring right from the can resulting in less spillage when a zombie bursts through a closed door and sends you northbound. The 8% ABV will warm your soul while the distant screams of the undead send chills down your spine.
The higher ABV is also perfect for day-time runs filled with such activities as:
*Setting off car bomb traps for zombies
*Drawing groups of zombies together with fire crackers and then burning them with a Molotov cocktail.
Or maybe a little buzz might stimulate more creativity. Maybe you’d prefer to slather on some zombie guts, wander into a crowd of the undead, and swing a fireman’s axe in a circle to see how many zombies you can cut in half at the waist? The world is your oyster, but this pairing might just make you crazy enough to venture out at night to gather Bolter flesh while you evade Volatiles. A couple cans of Heady Topper should only add to the zombie slaying fun.
Bottom line: Heady Topper pairs well with everything. Seriously: life, death, and everything in between, especially zombie dismemberment.
Drink up and button mash responsibly!