Dying Light 2 Stay Human: What you need to know before you play

Dying Lite 2 Stay Human: What you need to know before yous play

(Image credit: Techland)

Originally scheduled to launch in 2020, Dying Light 2 Stay Human underwent multiple delays, ultimately – and arguably – making it 2022's first major game release. With the open-earth, zombie-slaying sequel beating heavy hitters such equally Horizon Forbidden Westward and Elden Band to the punch, you might consider taking look at Techland'southward accept on surviving the undead apocalypse.

If you skipped 2015'south Dying Light, you may be wondering what you lot should know most the original game earlier braving its monster-infested follow-upwards. In terms of story, you lot're in luck. The sequel, while non an entirely standalone experience, represents a generally fresh start for the series' narrative. Stay Human introduces a brand-new timeline, setting and protagonist. While the 2 games take place within a shared universe, Dying Light 2 too serves equally a great starting bespeak.

DL2'south gameplay, on the other hand, relies heavily on what came before, including a potent focus on melee combat and first-person parkour. While the sequel retains many of the mechanics and systems that defined Dying Lite, however, it has likewise significantly refined and evolved them.

Whether you lot're a newcomer wondering what to await or a lapsed fan looking for a refresher, we've got you covered with a primer that should fully prepare you for Dying Light 2.

Dying Calorie-free: Gameplay basics

When Dying Light launched vii years ago, information technology was far from the simply game that let players slaughter zombies and survive the post-apocalypse. But while its encephalon-craving antagonists and dilapidated settings were familiar, Dying Low-cal'due south clever gameplay generally immune information technology to stand apart from the shuffling pack.

Foregoing the usual armory of firearms and explosives in favor of an inventive array of melee weapons, Dying Calorie-free focused on visceral, up-close gainsay. This resulted in the sort of gory, in-your-face encounters that shooting foes from afar merely tin can't lucifer.

Techland complemented the ability to brutally cleave upward zombies, from brain-stalk to bellybutton, with a crafting system that encouraged creativity. Past gathering resources and collecting blueprints, players could fashion upgrades that leveraged burn, electricity, poison and other life-siphoning furnishings to deliver maximum damage.

Beyond the focus on melee combat, Dying Calorie-free stood out for its novel have on navigation. The game'south open world was essentially a playground, built around a fluid first-person parkour system. Yous could walk the city's streets, just it was far more fun — and safe — to stick to higher basis, traversing rooftops, balconies and anything else out of harm'due south style, using an armory of acrobatic skills.

The parkour abilities, forth with your gainsay and survival skills, were also continually evolving via skill trees. The RPG progression system, cleaved into Power, Agility and Survivor categories, allowed y'all to invest experience points into your preferred upgrades and unlocks. These included a number of passive perks and buffs, as well as some more significant options, such as a grappling hook, or a death-dealing combat motion.

Across Dying Light'due south most defining elements – many of which Techland had previously toyed with in 2011's Dead Island – information technology also featured some other notable mechanics. The game utilized a solar day/night bike, which saw its ugly enemies become stronger and more aggressive later on dark. There was as well a deep system for crafting deadly traps. Players could besides utilize UV lite to stun powerful foes, such equally the night-stalking Volatiles.

Dying Lite: The story so far

Dying Light put players in the boots of protagonist Kyle Crane. At the outset of the game, Crane is an hugger-mugger operative for the Global Relief Endeavor (GRE), a seemingly humanitarian branch of the government's Ministry of Defence. The GRE drops Crane into the fictional Middle Eastern-inspired urban center of Harran, which contains two sprawling areas: the Slums and Onetime Town. Of course, both are under attack past a virus that'south turned most of its citizens into flesh-eating monsters.

From there, Crane must recover some sensitive intel, just information technology's not long before an infected foe bites him, shifting his priorities considerably. Much of the plot revolves around Antizen, a powerful drug that doesn't cure the virus, but keeps its worst symptoms at bay. Crane spends his time helping the Runners, a group of survivors who have found relative safety in a building dubbed "The Tower." This also serves every bit a sort of dwelling house-base for players. The Runners are the game'south "good guys," helping others survive and e'er hunting for Antizen.

Autonomously from the infected, Crane and his newfound friends likewise fight warlord Rais and his army of thugs. On height of serving every bit Dying Lite's primary human baddie, Rais also takes function in many of the story'due south unexpected twists and conspiracies. By the game's conclusion, Crane and his remaining friends confront the ruthless leader in a number of gear up-piece battles. There's an specially memorable encounter in an loonshit total of zombies, every bit well as a final confrontation that sees Rais fall to his death from atop a skyscraper.

Dying Low-cal's narrative runs deeper than just Crane and the Runners taking on Rais and his goons though. Without getting too deep into the weeds, nosotros'll say that the regime — especially GRE — are not who they outset appear to be. In fact, rather than seeking a cure for the infection, the shady organization has plans to weaponize it. There'southward fifty-fifty a plot to bomb Harran to comprise the virus and cover upward GRE's nefarious deeds, as well as that tiny detail concerning Crane's employment.

In the end, Crane sides with the survivors, fifty-fifty refusing extraction by the GRE in favor of staying behind to help Harran'south struggling populace. He also refuses to requite GRE valuable data on the virus, instead handing it over to a local physician who'due south working on a cure.

While Dying Light's ending isn't happy, it is hopeful. That'south not the case, even so, with its DLC, The Following, which brings Crane's story to one of two devastating conclusions. By the finish of the expansion, Crane either transforms into a full-on infected, or launches a Harran-obliterating warhead.

Dying Light ii Stay Human: What to expect

In terms of gameplay, Dying Lite 2 has largely adopted an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-information technology approach. Once more, players driblet into a large open up world, where hordes of undead wait to turn them into tiffin. Navigation is again parkour-based, while fighting is heavily melee-focused. Toss in a mix of RPG elements, survival/horror scares, and plenty of gore-soaked action, and the sequel should feel similar home to existing fans of the serial.

While Stay Human being has smartly retained what worked the first time around, it's also polished and evolved those aspects, while adding plenty of original features. For starters, fans tin plan on exploring a significantly larger, more than various post-apocalyptic world. Additionally, players tin can acquire new gear, including a para-glider, as well as new acrobatic skills.

A fresh focus on thespian-driven choices will fuel a more malleable narrative path, leading to both immediate and far-reaching consequences. Players will also spend more than time working with — and against — different factions, as well as employing stealth to complete missions that might otherwise cease with their spines existence used as dental floss.

While Techland hasn't been shy about sharing gameplay details, information technology's guarded story details every bit if they were the last remaining vials of Antigen. We know the sequel picks up 20 years afterwards Kyle Crane's tale, in a new European setting dubbed "The City." It likewise introduces brand-new protagonist, Aiden Caldwell, too as a mysterious survivor played by Rosario Dawson. Across all that, Dying Calorie-free 2's setting, story, and characters are largely under wraps.

Thankfully, nosotros don't have to expect much longer to dig into the game's secrets, mysteries, and surprises. Dying Light two will be out for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC on February 4.