Summary
Techland has recently announced the upcoming release ofDying Light: The Beast, one of thebiggest reveals from Gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live. This game, which was originally planned as a DLC, looks to bridge the stories ofDying Lightand its sequel,Dying Light 2. This presents the perfect opportunity forDying Light: The Beastto synthesize the best elements of both games.
Dying Light 2had its fair share of naysayers, but it also had many vocal supporters. This divided opinion means there is plenty to learn from community feedback aboutDying Light 2, both the positive and negative elements. If it wants to outdo its predecessors, it will need to learn these lessons fromDying Light 2, purchasers of which might be able toplayDying Light: The Beastfor free.
Dying Light 2: Faction Guide (& Who to Side With)
Dying Light 2 players can side with either the Peacekeepers or the Survivors, and each faction gives rewards for a different playstyles.
10Bring Back Dying Light’s High-Flying Parkour Mechanics
Easier Exploration Matters More Than Physics Realism
Dying Light 2changed many elements which made the first game great, including its signature parkour mechanics, despite technically havingtwice as many parkour moves. These changes were a departure from the parkour ofDying Lightin that they focused more on realistic stunts and weighty movement.Dying Light 2’s parkour has a feeling of momentum propelling the player forward, and each movement feels like a bigger commitment. While this is a positive for some players, many preferred the parkour of the originalDying Light.
Whichever approach is chosen, hopefully Dying Light 2’s paraglider will make a return.
Dying Light’sparkour felt like it never stopped. The player flowed from zombie to rooftop with ease, and there were few lulls in the action. WhileDying Light 2’s parkour is weightier,this can slow down the pace of exploration and combat. WhetherDying Light: The Beastembraces the approach ofDying LightorDying Light 2will ultimately depend on whether its developers choose a bombastic style or weighty realism. Whichever approach is chosen, hopefullyDying Light 2’s paraglider will make a return.
9The Dying Light Grappling Hook Needs To Make A Return
The Simple Point And Shoot Mechanic Feels Great
One example of each game’s approach to parkour can be found in a simple item: the grappling hook. The grappling hook inDying Lightisthe more traditional grappling hook seen in other video games likeSekiroand theLegend of Zeldaseries. The grappling hook in these games launches forward, latches to a point, then propels the player toward that point. This is one of the less realistic elements ofDying Light, as a grappling hook like this would likely result in dislocations or fractures on a regular basis, a major liability in a zombie apocalypse.
After all, the series' original protagonist, Kyle Crane, will make a return in Dying Light: The Beast.
Dying Light 2made some changes to its grappling hook. Instead of launching the player forward, it essentially adds a swinging rope to a spot. While this would be less likely to result in injury, it is also less exciting than being shot forth as if the player is being launched from a cannon.The grappling hook inDying Light 2is also one of the last tools of the game, obtainable by the player only after completing a significant portion of the story. The lack of a grappling hook means many activities are completely walled off until obtaining it.
If the grappling hook returns toDying Light: The Beast, it will probably use the version from the originalDying Light. This choice would be a better fit for gameplay, butit would also make more sense given the game’s storyline,Kyle Crane is returning from the first game.
8Chained Melee Weapons Are Notably Absent From Dying Light 2
Its Great Being Able To Pull Throwable Weapons Back
One of the more interesting mechanics inDying Lightwas tied to one of its outfits.The Van Crane outfit allowed the wearer to have thrown melee weapons return to them on a chain, and this added a whole new layer of gameplay where it became feasible to focus on throwing weapons. This was balanced by a short range and the fact the weapon could not be used in melee while being thrown or returning. While this feature was enjoyable, it did not make a return inDying Light 2.
Dying Light 2: How To Get The Crossbow (& Bolts)
The crossbow is a powerful ranged weapon in Dying Light 2 that, along with its bolts, can only be obtained by aligning with the Peacekeepers.
While players can throw their weapons inDying Light 2,there is no weapon or ability which allows them to return to the player. This makes throwing a weapon an act of desperation, as it will force the player to scramble for their weapon while potentially surrounded by zombies. Adding a chain modification to weapons which would make them automatically return would bring this beloved feature toDying Light: The Beast.
7Guns Need To Play A Larger Role Again
Guns Drew Zombies But Were Great Against Humans
At its launch, there were few options for guns inDying Light 2, and these options were not designed to be considered seriously. The boomstick acts as a shotgun, but it is limited in comparison to other guns fromDying Light. The only other option is the gunhammer, which is just a gun tied to the end of a stick. Neither of these options do significant damage, andthey both lack one of the primary advantages of firearms, which is range.
Because the sound drew zombies, it was usually preferable to save guns and ammunition for fights with other humans.
InDying Light, guns were rare, but they were an option. Because the sound drew zombies, it was usually preferable to save guns and ammunition for fights with other humans. Techland seems to have learned about the value of guns forDying Light 2, as the developer eventually added true firearms to the game despite promises to never do so. Similarly to the firearms ofDying Light, the guns ofDying Light 2are designed to be used sparingly. Based on existing trailers,guns seem to be more prominent inDying Light: The Beast.
6Dying Light: The Beast Will Benefit From A Better Story And Characters
Side Quests Don’t Feel Like A Distraction
One of the positive lessonsDying Light: The Beastcould stand to learn fromDying Light 2isthe value of a good story and strong characters.Dying Light’sstory served well as a vehicle for its gameplay, but it was short and fairly simplistic. Few characters are notable, and those that stick out usually do not do so for good reasons.Dying Light 2, however, gave greater importance to its worldbuilding and storyline.
The story ofDying Light 2is primarily about a search for a loved one. Unlike similar stories in games likeFallout 4,Dying Light 2presents the different tasks leading to the end goal as true obstaclesrather than distractions from the main story. Characters like Lawan and Hakon had their own backgrounds and consistent personalities, and these served as anchor points for the player to become attached to the story.Dying Light: The Beastcould focus on a smaller cast of well-developed characters.
5Nights Should Be Truly Horrifying
Exploring And Gathering Vs Battling And Surviving
InDying Light, gameplay was drastically different between the day and night cycle. Daytime was focused on gathering supplies, completing missions, and exploring.When night came, however, gameplay became a struggle for survival, with hostile Volatiles chasing the player and getting ever closer to catching their prey. Even once the player had solid weaponry, Volatiles were not easy to take down, and each one hunting the player drastically reduced their odds of seeing the sunrise.
Dying Light 2’s New Update Makes Nights In Villedor More Tense
Dying Light 2’s latest update, Patch 1.2, introduces a host of improvements, including a few that make the nighttime terrors even more terrifying.
While nights are still dangerous inDying Light 2,they are closer to a hard mode than a switch to survival horror gameplay.Some activities are even easier at nightas zombies leave their dens. Updates eventually made the game more difficult as the sun went down, but it still never matched the terrorDying Lightcould instill. This is a shame, as the game’s title directly references the danger of its nights.
4The Natural, Overgrown Setting Should Be Embraced
Climbing And Survival Among The Nature
The originalDying Lighttook place in a large, abandoned city, which makes sense given its parkour mechanics. In one of its DLCs,The Following, the setting changed to a rural landscape, which was more easily traversed by the vehicles it introduced than the base game’s parkour mechanics.Dying Light 2acted as a light combination of these settings, presenting a city overgrown by plant life and being taken over by nature.
Dying Light: The Beastseems to take place at least partially in a more rural setting, similar toThe Following. It should be inspired byDying Light 2’sovergrown landscapes, especially from the part of the game before Aiden reaches the city.This pre-urban part of the game was a missed opportunity to utilize the game’s mechanics on less traditional parkour targetslike trees, cliffsides, boulders, and other parts of a natural landscape.Dying Light: The Beastcan iterate on this idea and embrace the climbing of natural features.
3Parkour Time Trials Need To Be Removed
Or Be In Context And Way Rarer
Dying Lightintroduced Parkour Fever challenges, which required the player to speed run through obstacle courses.There were 10 of these challenges, and players were encouraged to competefor the top of the global leaderboard.Dying Light 2saw the return of parkour challenges, though they lost their luster in comparison to the first game for several reasons.
How Dying Light’s Survival Elements Can Help Techland’s New RPG
Survival elements from Dying Light can help Techland’s newly announced fantasy RPG create another fun system once it roles into full production.
First,Dying Light 2added too many parkour challenges. Rather than 10 trials,Dying Light 2included 30 challenges to attempt. This made them lose their importance, despite the game’s attempts to make them more intriguing with attached side quests.Many were also broken with Nightrunner tools, with the paraglider being the most notable tool for clearing the challengesin Old Villedor.Dying Lightrestricted the player’s use of the grappling hook and designed its challenges to all use the same, consistent toolbox.
Dying Light: The Beastshould take the opportunity to learn from these changes.If they are not outright removed,they will need to be revamped and much rarer. Existing challenges could include tool restrictions likeDying Lightforbidding the grappling hook. These restrictions could even be specific to each course, encouraging the player to use different mechanics than they may be used to while preventing the challenges from suddenly becoming a cakewalk.
2Melee Combat Needs To Better MatchDying Light
Unreal And Larger Than Life Fights Can Be Awesome
Dying Light 2made several changes to its melee combat, some of which changed the feeling of clearing hordes.Similarly to how the game’s parkour focuses on making the player feel weighty, combat has been slowed down. Each swing bites into its target more and requires a larger commitment in terms of time and stamina. However, other changes were more closely associated with visuals than mechanics.
Dying Light 2toned down the gore of the original, making the animations rarer. Its limb-based combat was also changed. While dismemberment is still an option, the player needs to be much more accurate with their swings and use a weapon with high damage in order to accomplish it. This,combined with the slower combat, can make melee combat feel clunkier than inDying Light.Dying Light: The Beastshould make it easier to land dismemberments and embrace the viscera of the first game, as these help reinforce the original game’s darker tone.
1Zombies Need To Be An Actual Threat In The Story
After All, They Are The Real Commom Enemy
By the time ofDying Light 2, zombies do not seem like much of a threat to the inhabitants of Villedor.The story is instead more concerned with the conflict between its human factions. While these conflicts can be interesting, it makes the zombies seem less threatening to the player. If other people in the world treat them like a minor pest, the player has no reason to feel threatened by the zombies.
Dying Lighthas conflict between humans, but the zombies were still the focus. Kyle Crane was infected within seconds of dropping into the city, and his struggle against the infection remains a plot point for himself and other survivors. The main villain of the game is driven by a desire to escape the threat posed by the zombies, and most of the city’s inhabitants are simply trying to survive. WithDying Light: The Beastfocusing on Kyle Crane, zombies might take center stage once again.
Dying Light 2 Stay Human
Dying Light 2 is the sequel o the cult-classic original release and continues the Dying Light franchise. It was created and developed by Techland and sees players embarking on a new parkour journey solo or with a friend cooperatively. Players will need to unlock new skills and weapons, complete tasks, and race against the clock to finish certain missions.
