Dying Light 2
In a market seemly oversaturated with zombie survival games, one stands to change what you thought was possible. Gone are the days of fearlessly slaying hordes of the undead. Humans banding together is a thing of the past. Techland hits the ground running, sliding, and swinging with their follow up to the 2015 smash hit Dying Light with a sequel that’ll blow its predecessor out of the water.
The Story So Far
The game takes place 15 years after the collapse of the civilized world and while it does share a universe with the first game, it takes place in a different corner of the world. That corner happens to be a beautifully dystopian European city full of grandiose architecture. This is your stage and you, the player, can traverse it at you see fit. Whether you take a rope line up (a la Robin Hood) or use the dozens of new parkour moves to scale the map, your city is your playground.
The most interesting part is that, slightly different from the first game, other humans pose a much larger threat. I’m assuming this is to leverage the decision making aspect that, with zombies alone, probably wouldn’t leave you with a lot of options. This is not to say that the infected are a walk in the park. During the day, the streets are unassuming, but enter the wrong building or find yourself out at night and you’re in for a challenge. We didn’t get a whole lot of zombie slaying action, but Techland did showcase the nuances to their new combat system.
Combat and Choices
The demo we saw had us confront a pair of thieves about a missing emissary sent from another human faction. After a few choice words from our dialogue option wheel, we found they killed the emissary and we decided to “serve justice”. This fight was fast-paced, but it wasn’t the run-and-gun style from its predecessor. Since this was another human, it was necessary to rely on blocking and creating openings for attacks. At one point, we were even able to pick up a bucket and throw it at our enemy to lower his defenses. Once the opening presented itself, we grabbed on to a pipe hanging from the ceiling and swing-kicked him off the tower. This was immensely gratifying.
The choice system is something that intrigued me as well. Like games akin to Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect, you can make choices on how the story is told. The only difference is that these choices don’t only affect the ending or whether or not you get someone killed. Your choices affect your entire world. Do you choose to help the Peace Keeper faction and restore order to the street? Or do you strike a deal with the thieves and become involved in the underground black market? Whichever you choose will change your city and how it functions forever. And don’t think these are simply “good” or “evil” options. Each choice has a consequence. Each choice has a price.
Friends in the City
If you notice I’ve referred to the map as “your city” or “your world”. This is because the popular co-op feature from the original is coming back. It’ll be closer to what Far Cry 5 did in the sense that joining your friend’s game does not progress your story. While the story isn’t shared between sessions, players will still be able to transfer loot and weapons between games. The bright side is that because the choices are so impactful, by playing in a friend’s game players get to see outcomes they may not choose on their own. If you don’t like what happened when your friend sided with the thieves, then you can make a different decision and play almost a completely different game. Not only that, but you get to experience the entire game with friends. And who doesn’t love killing zombies alongside your besties?
The aptly titled Dying Light 2 combines free flow parkour, consequential decision making, and horror survival while still capturing the same spirit that drew up many to Dying Light in the first place. This game is still in the alpha phase, and unfortunately, has no slated release date. We’ll be watching it closely so check back in for any information in the future. Until then, gather your friends and prepare for the night!
You can read Josh’s reactions to the announcement trailer here.
And you can watch the teaser trailer from Techland here.
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