Dead good? Or just dead?

Dying Light 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the popular action role-playing survival horror game from Techland.

When I first saw the announcement trailer almost 4 years ago, the game looked dark, horrifying and bleak in tone - but, was it as good as I imagined?

The original had a real hardcore fanbase, despite some glaring issues within the game itself, there was no denying the fun side of it especially in the height of what I call the 'zombie game craze' era (It's like the current Battle Royale craze but with zombies).

This Zombie-Apocalyptic themed Open World story takes place after the original, in a near future where the world has been consumed by a killer virus and continues to lean on a lot of the popular mechanics that the first game introduced.

Let's dive into my review of Dying Light 2 on PC.

What Is Dying Light 2?

The original game took place in the City of Harran where there were ultimately no survivors. However, the Global Relief Effort developed a vaccine for the Harran Virus to end the pandemic. Despite promises to cease all research, the GRE continued on in secret and a mutated variant quickly spread. While the vaccine was ineffective, UV lights appear to suppress the effects.

Over 20 years later, you play as a 'Pilgrim' named Aiden Caldwell who travels between various settlements in this zombie infested post-apocalyptic world in search of his long-lost sister.

During the opening moments of the game, Aiden is following a lead before being attacked by a Zombie and consequently becoming infected. He’s brought to the nearby city of Villedor where he almost turns and the citizens attempt to hang him before being saved by a stranger (and your new companion) Hakon.

ROBIN HOOD: Hakan is a modern day Robin Hood looking out for your best interests

Thus starts the main story as you play the errand/messenger boy for the different factions and citizens living in the politically-tense city of Villedor; hoping to find enough information to be reunited with your sister.

Fortunately, if like I, you didn't play the original, you're in luck. You don't need to have played it to play the second. While the game does follow on from the same universe and include the same ideas, the story and characters are completely different. In the first game, the pandemic was isolated to the city of Harran, now it's gone global. But, you're still isolated to one city even if that city is huge.

This RPG revolves around Combat and Parkour mechanics in a vast zombie-filled open world, where you'll need to survive the city during day and night, with extremely contrasting environments. Your experience is influenced by the relationships you form and the people you cooperate with, impacting what's available to you and how the story unfolds.

I’m a big fan of RPG games and with Dying Light 2 clearly showing ambitions to be one of the biggest, it’s obviously borrowed inspiration from some of the best – I get real Skyrim and Fallout vibes from how the characters interact and behave. It doesn't end there, a lot of familiar concepts are mirrored from other titles and genres such as Far Cry with the way the factions and settlements operate.

Story

I don't want to divulge too much about the specifics of the story, because I would be in danger of not doing it justice and I think it would defeat the purpose of playing it.

As mentioned, if you haven't played the original, you won't be out of place. Especially as the game gives you an overview of how we got to this point via a narrated overview of the events that took place post-Harran when booting up the game.

The overarching story involves you searching for your sister, but in order to find her and get an idea of where to locate her, you'll need to work with the various factions present in the city to gain their assistance. The story revolves less around the protagonist and more around the city and its people.

DYING LIGHT 2 PROLOGUE: Catch up on how we got to this point by watching the video above

Is It What I Expected?

Now that I've had the chance to play the game, I can say that the trailers paint a very different picture to what the game actually is about and how it operates. The trailers and other snippits demonstrate how the citizens of Villedor have adapted to life by living on roofs and tall buildings - almost like wading through the streets is a fate worse than death.

While this may feel like the case in certain scenarios, it couldn't be further from the truth as a lot of buildings are still inhabited on the ground level and traversing via the streets during the day is perfectly fine...night time is a little different however.

It also created the impression that their new Utopia was a huge fortified paradise, but in most cases it's just a bit of scaffolding and plywood. Mind you, a lot of the structures aren't in place until you've done the hard work of securing the area for base camps to be set up.

I would argue it's an excuse to make the most use out of the Parkour mechanics embedded in the game - without the variable height differences, you'd look a bit stupid vaulting over trash cans swinging off street lights.

Perhaps that's on me for expecting something much more extravagent? It is a Zombie-Apocolypse after all...

STANDING ON THE ROOFTOPS: Villedor's structures aren't nearly as impressive as I expected...

Please, Tell Me A Story...

Overall, there’s a nice story bubbling under the surface of the game that, for me, never really gets out of second gear. The beginning of the game starts out very tense and eery with plenty of questions and possibilities. You’ll find yourself eagerly pushing through to explore what twists and turns come next. But as you progress, the main story fails to capitalise on the platform it creates.

The game seems to get confused where to put its focus. You enter Villedor with your own agenda and reasons for being there and as you expect you're dragged (kicking and screaming) into a political conflict between its inhabitants. To get to your end goal, you need to help those in Villedor sort out their issues. By helping them, they'll help you.

Every now and then the game reminds you you're looking for your sister with the occassional name drop or weirdly placed flashbacks from Aiden's childhood.

Meanwhile, the Zombies are just chilling in the background. Rather than being the focus of the game, they're just an obstacle to make life difficult.

I think all of this is fine, but they never really commited to one or the other that makes the whole thing a bit disjointed.

A DEAD STORY?: The story's focus can be a bit confusing

The Choice Is...Yours?

Throughout the game, you can opt to approach conversations in different ways with multiple dialogue prompts. But there’s usually only one option that progresses you forward with the rest being meer filler content. Occasionally, you can make your own choices by siding with the different factions and choose to act how you wish in dramatic scenarios.

While you’d hope these decisions would make massive impacts on the story down the road, they don't really have an impact on the scale I was hoping for – at least not deeply enough for it to be noticeable. Some fights that seem like a fight to the death are somewhat meaningless as you see them re-emerge moments later with a few cuts and bruises. But, from a gameplay perspective some of these choices will impact rewards you receive to aid you in your quest.

For example, each faction will grant you unique bonuses depending on who you side with in certain scenarios. The Survivors may put up more ziplines, making it easier to navigate the rooftops of Villedor. While the Peacekeepers will set up Car Bomb traps to help demolish hordes of the undead.

50:50: Decisions can impact some aspects of the game, particularly with rewards

Characters

Throughout the game, you can opt to approach conversations in different ways with multiple dialogue prompts. But there’s usually only one option that progresses you forward with the rest being meer filler content. Occasionally, you can make your own choices by siding with the different factions and choose to act how you wish in dramatic scenarios.

While you’d hope these decisions would make massive impacts on the story down the road, they don't really have an impact on the scale I was hoping for – at least not deeply enough for it to be noticeable. Some fights that seem like a fight to the death are somewhat meaningless as you see them re-emerge moments later with a few cuts and bruises. But, from a gameplay perspective some of these choices will impact rewards you receive to aid you in your quest.

For example, each faction will grant you unique bonuses depending on who you side with in certain scenarios. The Survivors may put up more ziplines, making it easier to navigate the rooftops of Villedor. While the Peacekeepers will set up Car Bomb traps to help demolish hordes of the undead.

Throughout the game, you can opt to approach conversations in different ways with multiple dialogue prompts. But there’s usually only one option that progresses you forward with the rest being meer filler content. Occasionally, you can make your own choices by siding with the different factions and choose to act how you wish in dramatic scenarios.

While you’d hope these decisions would make massive impacts on the story down the road, they don't really have an impact on the scale I was hoping for – at least not deeply enough for it to be noticeable. Some fights that seem like a fight to the death are somewhat meaningless as you see them re-emerge moments later with a few cuts and bruises. But, from a gameplay perspective some of these choices will impact rewards you receive to aid you in your quest.

For example, each faction will grant you unique bonuses depending on who you side with in certain scenarios. The Survivors may put up more ziplines, making it easier to navigate the rooftops of Villedor. While the Peacekeepers will set up Car Bomb traps to help demolish hordes of the undead.

You've Got Character: Some characters are fantastic, while others are truly forgettable

When I did veer off the Beaten Path to other pastures, I came across some characters who I was far more interested in and their stories actually seemed a lot more colourful than the protagonist.

Where I got frustrated is the fact the game tees up choices to divide its citizens and get you to pick sides, but because they don't massively impact the game, you're not to bothered by what side you pick. These decisions should always play on your conscious and make you draw a line in the sand, but I never felt even remotely conflicted by my choice.

It's also hard to want to side with anyone when betrayal is so rife, usually happening with the same set of characters all within the span of 30 minutes. In one scenario, I went from being Sophie and Barney's best friend (they're the key figures in the Survivors), to their enemy they wanted to kill, to their ally and then their enemy once again before coming to an agreement to work together.

In a way, it's a really interesting insight into their way of life - you're out for yourself and the rules are there to follow but are frequently broken and overlooked if it benefits them. A bizarre example is how a leader of the Peackeepers is murdered early in the game and everyone wants to know who did it. But no-one seems to mind you or others slaughtering humans inbetween the investigation. Given the state of the world, you would think life would be a bit more precious rather than something out of the Walking Dead.

Gameplay

Dying Light 2’s gameplay is probably the most redeeming factor for the game as well as the most frustrating at times.

I can't sing its praises enough in terms of ease to pick up and pure enjoyment. There’s not a lot to it: Run, smash, grab and run some more - keeping it fun and to the point.

FLYING WITHOUT WINGS: The movement is an adrenaline junkies dream

Parkour!

The Parkour system in Dying Light 2 is remarkably fun and engaging. Where in most games, you’re travelling from A to B in tedious ways, there’s so many ways to travel across Villedor you always need to be paying attention and calculating where you’ll jump to next. It’s especially important because if you make a wrong move, you’ll probably fall to your death and if you don’t, you’ll be mauled by zombies.

Everything is climbable and when I say everything, I mean everything. The movement isn’t limiting in any way as long as you have the precision and idea, you can do it. This is only enhanced later in the game as your stamina bar becomes more effective, allowing you to climb and hang for longer.

This feature of the game is without a doubt the most rewarding part of the experience and makes even the most mundane tasks interesting. This is even more enhanced when you unlocked the Paraglider, allowing you to leap from tall buildings to truly enjoy the sights of Villedor.

I will say that it comes with some flaws that could be ironed out, as times you’ll experience a delayed affect that can cause you to question whether you have actually grabbed something or you'll be caught out by randomly vaulting objects without warning. It becomes particularly frustrating in intense chases.

A lot of these errors may be smoothed out if it weren’t for some issues with how it interprets mouse movements. I felt like the inputs from my Mouse were delayed just enough to cause an issue in some scenarios and when you paired it with some of the off-putting camera effects, it really left you frustrated at times. None of this was eased when experimenting with the settings in the menus. While keyboard inputs register well, the animation times seem to take far longer than necessary as you catch some uncomfortable airtime waiting to latch on to a zipline. It meant on more than one occassion I would press the space bar too many times (thinking I hadn't latched on) and Aiden would consequently fall to his death.

Despite these issues, I thoroughly enjoyed swinging, climbing and jumping around Villedor finding more creative ways to traverse the murky world. It really shines when you're forced to solve some more puzzle type parkour scenarios as climbing some structures are far less obvious.

THE CLIMB: There are some truly unique ways to get around Villedor

Combat

As for its combat, it was undeniably bland due to the lack of weapon choice and the variety in combat – not to mention that the enemy AI were far from the sharpest.

I also need to question the decision to remove guns from the game considering the combat is so dry. Yes, there's a bow, crossbow and even a mysterious finger fun, but it deterred my interest in collecting weapons and the thought of kitting them out faded with only melee weapons available.

Most fights came down to aimlessly swinging a blunt instrument and occassionally blocking when necessary. But, I will admit, there was something oddly satisfying about mashing left-click on someone with a pipe. It's worth noting that some of the 'Heavy Attacks' can't be blocked and you will take damage so you'll need to dodge them; which again takes very little skill unless you're surrounded by multiple enemies.

As you get better in combat, you'll unlock skills such as the jump kick that make things more interesting, but also even easier.

FIGHT: The combat is far from one of the highlights within the game

Progression And Looting

A progression system forms the back-bone of most RPGS. The progression system and skill tree doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but it’s a big part of the game and how you’ll get better, stronger and faster. Just by running around like a headless chicken you’ll gain Parkour experience to help rank up, likewise scrapping with enemies will help your combat skills grow faster.

You'll then go to your skill tree to upgrade your health and stamina bar so you can survive more hits before death and climb for longer before needing a rest.

Looting until your heart’s content is a favourite past time of mine with ample opportunities to do so. Admittedly, sometimes it’s easier to buy objects in order to grow stronger, although you’ll pay extortionate prices and typically anything you sell is worth nothing.

I honestly didn't make massive use of the shops and trading system as things were so expensive and what you needed to get by was available in good quantities around the city. Having recently played a game like Pokemon Legends Arceus, where the economy and loot ecosystem are much more fair, makes Dying Light 2 look far less appealing. You don't get much cash, what you can buy is expensive and most of the items are obtained by general gameplay. For a newcomer, it can be daunting exploring the city, so giving them a chance to get going could be a crucial moment where they decide to press on or give up.

GOODIES: Dying Light 2 does offer a number of weapons and collectable gear

Day And Night

Much like the first game, there's a day and night cycle. During the day things are extremely straight forward as you jump around the roofs of the vibrant environments. There are far fewer Zombies kicking around and they're extremely docile.

However, once night comes around, stronger and trickier types of zombies start to surface and flood the streets and even the roof tops. Should you be unlucky enough to set off a 'Chase' sequence (where hordes of zombies will swarm you until) you'll wish you hadn't. Of course, these sequences can be ended by reaching a safe zone.

RUN: If you find yourself on the streets, get out of there FAST

Immunity Mechanic

Alongside this, it brings the Immunity System. Because Aiden is infected, he must stay in the light to stop himself from turning. Which makes travelling at night a real pain to the point I would avoid being out at night almost entirely unless it was necessary for the story or missions. You can use consumables to keep the effects at bay, but those are consumables you can’t get back which you can just avoid for the most part.

Admittedly, this idea is only really inconvenient in the early stages of the game because you're unfamiliar with you surroundings and the time restraint feels more pressing than it actually is.

As you progress through the game and unlock more settlements, more safe zones will appear around the city giving you more options to retreat and stay safe so you can (more) safely navigate at night.

NIGHT-NIGHT: It's far easier to just avoid the night cycle and sleep 'til morning

Graphics And Sound

Graphics

Dying Light 2 is absolutely stunning – there’s no denying that fact. It’s one of the most visually impressive games that I’ve seen for some time. From the very moment you boot up the game, the environments are filled with beautiful detail and astonishing lighting effects that set a brilliant atmosphere. It’s almost Euphoric, in what should be a time of disaster and despair.

It's not often I stop and stare at what's infront of me, but as I vaulted AC units and jumped from rooftops the lighting effects would often catch my gaze and distract me enough to fall flat on Aiden's face.

If I got high enough I would just stop and stare at what is infront of me. All with beautiful framerates that never really dropped. It has to be said that the game has been very well optimised and my 3060 ran the game like a dream.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Dying Light's 2 environments and accompanying lighting effects are gorgeous

Sound

Lets not forget about the expertly crafted sound, the ambient noises are eery, creepy, scary and so satisfying - if you enjoy getting your heartbeat pumping.

In particular, the opening sequence with Aiden and Spike is the best example of ambient audio. The sheer uneasiness of hearing Zombies growling and screaming with no undead in sight is something out of a horror film. You're looking at the beautiful scenery whilst being constantly reminded that if you stop for too long you'll be met with the horrible reality of the world you live in.

When roaming the streets of Villedor, there's usually a lot to take in, so it can be overwhelming listening to the many sounds running through my ears. But, now and then the odd scream of a citizen or growl of a zombie pierces through and stops me in my tracks. It's incredibly easy to pinpoint where it's come from and it's always worth investigating what's going on.

DEATH CRY: The creepy sounds are truly intense wherever you go

Something Is Off...

While I’ll praise Techland for this contrasting and conflicting set of emotions flowing through me in the first hour or two, the atmosphere is quickly U-Turned due to the fact that the zombies no longer become the focal point of the game but rather something going on in the background.

Other than a few scenarios inside the walls of Villedor, the atmosphere never really reaches the same heights as the opening few hours of gameplay.

I was also not a fan of some of the graphical immersion techniques and effects it chose to use, such as motion blur, when navigating around the city and around objects at high speeds.

Content

How Long Is It?

Dying Light 2 has so much content it’s a little scary, there’s a lot to do and places to see, which can be enjoyed as much as you want thanks to the Co-op functionality.

As Techland states, the main story lasts about 20 hours, with a further 60 hours of side quests on top. But, to max out the game and 100% complete it, it will run over a staggering 500 hours! Most players are finishing the Main Story in 22 hours.

It’s true, the game is filled with hours of content, but I’d argue that it’s probably a bit bloated in all actuality and had they scaled it back a bit it would have improved the quality of the content in it as you start to repeat a pattern the more you do.

I also wonder how much less content there would be if a lot of the cutscenes were dropped. There are SO many cutscenes, that aren’t massively interesting or necessary and can quite regularly cut up the flow of the gameplay.

If I can see an end in sight, I will go the extra mile, but it is a game with an almost endless number of tasks. It also didn’t feel like the rewards were particularly worth it in the grand scheme of things where other RPGs reward you with cool weapons and tons of XP to unlock new abilities. It’s sad to say because an RPG like this can never truly be enjoyed to its full potential unless you explore all it has to offer in the world.

It left a bad taste in my mouth, feeling like the hours of content and work had been put into keeping the player busy in the middle of the rather than fleshing out a detailed story arch and an epic finale.

I’m a player who plays RPGs such as these to play solo, as a solo experience, it was a fun game to play with a unique perspective and some interesting game mechanics, but as a solo player the content wasn’t rich enough for me to want to explore everything it could possibly offer.

DLC

If you buy the Deluxe Edition of the game, you'll get access to a story DLC that will become available in a few months. For this DLC to really shine, it needs to have a more colourful and thought out story with more impactful choices.

I'd personally like to player as a new protagonist set in the past, before Aiden arrived in the city so we can understand what it was like at its worst.

NEW STORIES: Dying Light 2 can improve upon its story issues with future DLC

Verdict

Everytime the game started to pick up, it just never took the momentum and ran with it. The tone established early on didn’t seem to carry out through the game as the story’s focus shifts away from the main reason for being, to focusing on a politically-torn city; where it never really does a lot to push the buttons of controversy and forgetting about their Zombie inhabitants almost entirely at times.

Dying Light 2 is not the game I was hoping for when I first saw it announced. I think that's why the tone of this review maybe paints a negative light. While I firmly believe there is a lot of room for improvement, Dying Light 2 gets the basics right. A good gameplay experience with plenty of value for money.

If you’re a fan of the first Dying Light, RPGs and Co-Op games, this is a must have. If you don’t fall into those categories, my advice is to watch some playthroughs first and consider what other titles you’re interested in before pulling the trigger on this one.

Techland have made a smart move launching in February with fewer games to compete with. Had it released at a different time of the year, it may not have been as desirable or maintained interest as long due to the overwhelming amount of content it features and the fact I think other games coming out this year will have a higher degree of quality in the content it offers.

Final Score: 7/10