There’s a lot to be said for the ambition of Dying Light 2. Developer Techland has assembled its largest ever team (over 200 people) and has spent more than two years working on the game. Not really what you might expect from a sequel to a ‘cult classic’.
Yet, here we are. The original Dying Light might not have set the world alight, but it was played by millions and is still played today. Techland clearly knows it’s onto something good then, as what we’re seeing in Dying Light 2 is very much what you’d expect: more, done better.
This is — unsurprisingly — a sequel that feels very familiar to anyone who’s played the first game. A mix of first-person parkour, melee combat, the odd bit of shooting, and running away to hide from the horrors unleashed by the infected (Dying Light 2’s version of zombies). It was refreshing first time around, and it still feels novel in the sequel.
Parkour and Pistols
That’s largely down to just how satisfying it feels to play. Your navigation isn’t handled by just pressing a button and watching the magic happen – Dying Light 2 demands some level of competence from its players. Here, you’re managing your stamina bar as you’re figuring out which path is best to take; weighing up how you can make it safely from one area to another across rooftops and windowsills, before climbing – and running – along walls, and just generally shimmy-shimmy-shimmying your way about the place.
This need to actually think on the fly has even been accentuated in Dying Light 2 thanks to the addition of parkour puzzles. Some areas will require you to really think hard about what it is you’re doing, where you’re going, what direction or even which environmental tool (like, say, a rope) you’ll need to help you in a given situation. It’s a smart addition to the game that doesn’t feel out of place in the slightest – if anything, it just makes you wonder why it didn’t feature first time around.
It’s not just running, jumping, rolling and climbing, of course – this is a post-apocalyptic world full of marauding gangs and the previously mentioned infected. In the daytime you need to be wary of other humans – they might not always attack, but if they do you’re in for a tough brawl. Unless of course you have a firearm, but bullets are scarce and making noise isn’t something you often want to do, lest you draw the attention of even more aggressors.
They mostly come at night… Mostly
But all of these threats pales in comparison to the dangers that appear when night falls. Weak in the sunlight, you’re not at huge risk from the infected from dawn to dusk. When the sun sets, though, you’re in for a world of trouble – these beasts are fast, aggressive, and numerous – and won’t stop going for you if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You can fight your way out – though you definitely don’t want to make much noise in the dark – but if you fall into, say, an infected nest at night, you’ll definitely want to look more at your parkour skills (hopefully honed thanks to parkour puzzle practice) to get out of these ASAP.
This constant balance of threat and disorder is a central theme to Dying Light 2, and it’s also where one of the most surprising changes rears its head: you, the player, have a direct impact on the story, and so a direct impact on said balance/disorder.
And Peace Keeping For All
The example shown off to demonstrate how decisions impact the gameworld is a straightforward one, but does a good job of highlighting how impactful the system can be. In short, the player is tasked with stopping a gang which has wrenched control of a local water supply and is refusing to share it with local residents unless they pay.
Reaching the top of the water tower, a discussion begins – ultimately leading a to a one-or-the-other choice: carry out your mission and eliminate the gang, or listen to their offer and side with the current power structure. One is good, the other bad – right? Well, it’s not as clear-cut as that.
Choosing the former option results in a fight, which – if won – leads to the water supply being taken possession of by the seemingly benevolent Peace Keepers faction. This neo-UN group moves into the local area, clears out the gang presence, nullifies the infected threat on the streets, builds new structures that help you make your way around the region, and allows the water to flow freely for any and all.
For the player, this means a few things: a cleaner region to explore with the ability to navigate much quicker; a health-replenishing water supply on demand; and a safer area without as much threat from hostile entities. So why would you choose the other way of doing things?
Well, it’s not all as good as it looks on the surface. The Peace Keepers might act benevolent, but their methods are brutal and draconian – former gang members are beaten to a pulp in the streets, and petty criminals are murdered for their crimes. Peace arrives, but at what cost to humanity?
If players go the other way and side with the gang, the change to the region isn’t as immediately positive as it is under the PK regime. There’s no extra building, so navigation gets no easier. Gangs aren’t run out of town and infected nests aren’t decontaminated, meaning danger lurks everywhere. And the local populace is, largely, left to die of thirst – unless they can pay up.
The benefits to the player are seriously tempting, though, and placed in a broader context might well be the better way to do things. You get a regular payment from the gang boss – a cut of the water profits – meaning a constant flow of cash throughout your time with Dying Light 2. There’s also the fact that, thanks to the lack of local lawmaker presence, a black market opens in the area – perfect to spend your ill-earned monies at, and the kind of boon that can really help a person when they’re trying to stop an infected outbreak.
How’s Dying Light 2 Shaping Up?
Which is the greater good? Which is your way of doing things? Which is right? That’s all up to the player. Thanks to narrative designer Chris Avellone, whose previous work includes the phenomenal Fallout: New Vegas, Dying Light 2 will present players with plenty of choices and forks in the road, as well as plenty of consequences for their actions. More than just getting one reward or another, the entire city will be impacted in more ways than we’re even aware of.
It’s this surprise addition of narrative depth and player agency that shifts Dying Light 2 from a sequel to keep an eye on into something that’s genuinely getting people excited. It builds on strong foundations, it’s already looking great, and the chance to directly impact the game world around you? Well, that’s too tempting to pass up on.
