Dying Light 2
Developer: Techland
Publisher: Techland
Platforms: Xbox Series X , Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 4 Feb 2022
Price: $59,99 USD – Available Here $99,95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
It’s safe to say now that 2021 wasn’t exactly an exciting year for gaming. The impact of COVID on the gaming industry was obvious so we didn’t have a large repertoire of high-profile releases last year. I did enjoy spending my time with Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2, and such but I wasn’t exactly drowned in new releases like the year before. But there was one game from last year that I eagerly awaited and then it got delayed – Dying Light 2. And then it got delayed again. But here it is now. Almost a year later but released and playable. You might wonder what is so special about this game. It’s simple. Dying Light combines some elements that you rarely see in other games. Parkour, melee combat, simple RPG elements, and an engaging story. I had fun with the previous game so let’s see if the sequel lives up to it.
Story
The story is set 15 after the events in Dying Light. Harran Virus has spread across the world and it is evolved, plunging the world into a period known as the Modern Dark Ages. And no more Kyle Crane, you now play as Aiden Caldwell. He is a member of an outcast group known as Pilgrims, constantly wandering the world looking for resources. His path takes him to Villedor to search for his sister Mia. She might be a key to the past he cannot remember. Your adventures in Villedor will inevitably have you engaged with two of the main factions there, Survivors and Pacifists. Siding with either of those in the certain mission will have an impact on the story and give you some benefits depending on who you assign certain city districts. More on that later.
Gameplay
In Dying Light 2 some features are taken away and some newly introduced. Techland giveth, Techland taketh away. What is easy to notice right away is more emphasis on melee combat. No more guns, except for bow. But now we have new toys in the form of paragliders (excellent for covering large distances) and a grappling hook. Also, enemies are keen to block on your every 2nd or 3rd hit, so combining your melee attacks with parkour is a must. The weapon drop is pretty generous from what you can find in boxes and on enemies. They always scale around your level but you can improve them with various mods. Those range from shock, freeze, bleed damage to durability. As for armor pieces, you can combine them into your own custom build or focus on a certain class. There are sets aimed for tanks (emphasis on health points and survivability on combat), rangers (emphasis on ranged damage aka bow) or you can match all the armor pieces into a set that will give you more experience in parkour. Speaking of experience, you earn it after completing quests, fighting, and parkouring. The skills points you earn are divided into two main parts, combat and parkour. One peculiar thing about all the unlockable skills is that I found none of them to be a “game-changer”. Sure, it’s nice to have a rotating jump or a wall run or a sliding kick but the combat is already a great mixture of melee and parkour by default so you’re not exactly missing out if you take your time in acquiring skills. And as I mentioned, later in the game you get to assign certain city resources to either Pacifists or Survivors. Giving more city resources to Pacifists will reward you with various traps and weapons placed all over the city, while the Survivors are keener on strategically placing ropes, gliding spots, and jump pads to help you while parkouring.
Visuals
Let’s be clear, the visual jump from Dying Light to Dying Light 2 is astounding. The characters are way more detailed, as well as zombies. I also love how you can completely change your melee weapon visually just by attaching different mods to it (while improving its stats along the way). Every piece of armor on you (pants, top, gloves, etc) is distinct so once you hit a decent level you can stop caring about armor stats and focus on the only thing that matters at the point – the fashion. And notable mention also goes to the incredibly detailed infrastructure and level design of Villedor. Sure, you unlock fast travel points pretty early in the game but they are no match for parkouring from one point to another, no matter how big is the distance between those. Start from any point of the city, put a map marker anywhere else on the map, and on your way to there you will have just one continuous run that includes slides, jumps, gliding, and a grappling hook. Parkouring in here takes some time to master but once you get the hang of it, you will be pretty proud of yourself for what you can do.
Audio
The adrenaline-filled parkour, combat, and night runs are so intense that it took me a while to pay attention to the music here. But once I got to the nearest safe house and decided to do more sidequests instead of just aimlessly running around, I noticed things. Things like muffled and slowed down dubstep while I’m climbing to one of the buildings, the shift in music once you unlock a radio tower, and the tense pounding of the drums as I am being chased by a pack of volatiles. The voice acting is also superb, with a notable mention of Lawan, voiced by Rosario Dawson.
Overall
Far from it that Dying Light 2 is a flawless game, but there are some hiccups that I only noticed after 30 or so hours of playtime. Some sidequests are pretty simplistic in nature and can only be described as filler quests. I remember a certain that required me to go to a building next to a quest giver, kill a few zombies, take the quest item and come back. All of it was done in under 3 minutes. Paragliding is also rough around the edges, especially in one sidequest that requires you to go through 27 checkpoints with tight turns and not enough speed. But these are all things that are far from having any negative impact on the game. All I can say is that Dying Light 2 is a definite improvement over the previous game, visually and in terms of gameplay. The wait was justified, even with all those delays. You know how they say – all good things are worth waiting for.
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