Techland has admitted that Dying Light 2: Stay Human has lost its way and has strayed from the core of the first game. However, a new Dying Light: The Beast will come back with more focus on survival horror.
A Franchise Director’s Honest Assessment
Tymon Smektała, franchise director for Dying Light, spoke candidly about what he believes went wrong with the franchise’s second entry. The team didn’t understand the right balance we achieved in the first Dying Light, Smektała said.
The first game created an environment where everything worked together to create hardcore survival horror in an open world. Suitable strong survival mechanics were there as well. The director believes the team is now wholly capable of doing it again. However, while developing Dying Light 2, the team forgot the core things that pleased their very dedicated fans.
Although Dying Light 2 sold well, Smektała confessed that it let down the audience that should matter to Techland. According to players, the sequel does not have the grit, risk, horror, or tension of the original.
Kyle Crane’s Return Signals New Direction
The creators of Dying Light: The Beast aim at addressing the issue by using the original dismemberment in the game. The new title brings back Kyle Crane (the main character in the first game) and ditches the crowded city locales and dialogue systems of Dying Light 2. Smektała mentioned that they used Dying Light as a reference to balance this experience. The aim was to instill a feeling of isolation in a big city filled with zombies, where players felt genuinely alone and vulnerable.
More Than Just an Expansion
Although it doesn’t have any numbers on the subtitle, The Beast is bigger than a standalone expansion. The map, the characters, and the storyline are completely new in the game and Smektała reports that after playing through the latest version, he spent about 37 hours on the main story and side quests.
The Franchise Director said that while the project began small, Kyle Crane’s return excited the team as did the opportunities offered by the upgraded engine. The project was enthusiastically extended due to this enthusiasm.
Even if it doesn’t have a number, Smektała believes The Beast may actually be Dying Light 3. While a numbered sequel may introduce something revolutionary, you can expect a triple-A refinement from the game instead with no new features added, he explained.
Gameplay Improvements and New Features
A variety of gameplay issues that affected Dying Light 2 at launch have been covered by The Beast. Gamers can experience the thrill of using guns and driving cars from the get-go, which completely eliminates the game’s focus on melee and medieval apocalypse seen in the second part.
The game allows players to use guns by the second level and introduces other lethal options like a flamethrower. Kyle can also utilize a “Beast” form, a combat stance that can be improved as he begins taking damage and can unleash powerful attacks against enemies.
The new setting offers a revamped take on the first area of the original game. Along with it comes choices and possibilities for the players to make use of these grand environments. Unlike Dying Light 2 where players can easily go over ceilings, players of The Beast are forced to stay on the ground to increase tension. Each jump and movement must be considered carefully.
A Spiritual Do-Over
According to Smektała, The Beast is the best Dying Light game the studio has ever built. He goes on to say that the game is a spiritual do-over for Dying Light, after what the studio did with Dying Light 2. Instead of revolutionizing the franchise, this game is all about refinement. The best things get brought back that will have us feeling nostalgic, while also enjoying a certain freshness to things.
The Beast’s design philosophy is a result of player feedback according to the development team. When Techland returned to the game’s roots, they started developing another Dying Light 2 DLC. They aimed to enhance the game’s survival horror aspect.
Dying Light: The Beast is celebrating the return of Kyle Crane and the Dying Light series to form, as it arrives on August 22. The game shows that Techland listens to its community and provides the experience that long-time fans have been waiting for.