After Techland’s falling out with Deep Silver over “creative differences,” Techland set out to create their own version of a zombie game, free of Deep Silver’s publishing demands (in exchange for the apparent creative freedom that Warner Bros. gave). Dying Light was the final result of Techland’s venture into more “serious” zombie games, unlike Dead Island.
Dying Light might be more serious than Dead Island, but no one would ever call it a “serious” zombie game that could be put in the same category as The Last of Us or The Walking Dead. No, in Dying Light it is the gameplay that sets the game apart from the other meat grinding zombie games.
Dying Light does the unique thing of combining several mechanics from other games, like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and a touch of Dead Island. From Far Cry, it borrows radio towers, some environmental design, and characterization. To each of these Dying Light throws a unique twist.
For example, instead of ridiculously bland towers to climb, Dying Light uses its radio towers as treasure troves for skill points. From Assassin’s Creed, Dying Light borrowed climbing mechanics and made them first-person. After Mirror’s Edge, we were all very surprised that Dying Light made the climbing mechanics work beautifully.
That said, there was plenty wrong with Dying Light. The story was bland, boring, and achingly predictable, though somewhat improved by the story DLC later on. The zombie enemies could be more diverse, especially when the game gives the player so many creative ways to kill them. Most importantly, the multiplayer could use a revamp.
The still in beta Bad Blood mode is fine but can get boring quickly. It’s the Be The Zombie mode where players really wanted more. Luckily, Techland did just that somewhat recently, improving a great deal of the gameplay and mechanics that had issues before. As such, these recent updates could be a sign that Techland is testing out their ideas for Dying Light 2 and that such the game is currently in development.
Dying Light 2 Announced At E3 2018 (Update)
Dying Light 2 appeared at E3 2018 and it has been significantly reworked and improved upon. Instead of just fighting off zombies and a night mechanic that will have you running for the hills, Dying Light 2 has a focus on building a community where every decision will change the game around you. You’ll still be going for those hills at night, but now it matters which faction you join, what you do for them, and the decisions you make. Every “useful piece of land” is coveted and must be protected at all costs. That isn’t always so easy, as shown in the demo.
The demo gave us a glimpse of what impact your decisions in Dying Light 2 have. In this “modern dark age,” you have joined a faction called the Peacekeepers. The demoed mission is to secure a source of water currently being held by a small group of survivors. You can either take of them in the most brutal way possible, or you can negotiate with them.
Killing them will secure the Peacekeepers’ hold on the area and create a stable community. Stability does not come without a cost, however, as they brutally kill whoever does not follow their rhetoric. Negotiating with the survivors may not be the best decision either, as the community becomes even more unstable and “attracts the worst possible people.”
The point of the demo is that your decisions matter in Dying Light 2, so much unlike the previous title. The consequences of your choices include how the game looks, the gameplay, and the events that occur in both combat and narrative. As such, the developers claim that every player’s experience with Dying Light 2 will be unique.
Other updates to gameplay are an improved parkour mechanic and a more tactical combat system. Parkour is now more fluid, natural, and still in first-person. The latter, though a remarkable decision to keep, is the perfect way to retain the spirit of the game. Frankly, it looks great and significantly improved from the last game.
After all that, the night terrors of Dying Light 2 are still there to ruin all of your perfectly laid plans. There have been no details on what night time will be like compared to the first game, but we’re sure to see more details as the year goes on.
The release date for Dying Light 2 was not revealed at E3 2018.
Note: From this point on, this article is speculative only. The official Dying Light 2 news is above this message.
Why We Should Expect A Dying Light 2 Announcement
For one, recent updates to Dying Light‘s multiplayer make it clear that Techland has the IP in mind. Secondly, the title was all but confirmed back in 2016 in an interview with Eurogamer when Techland’s CEO Paweł Marchewka stated that Techland is working on two games.
The first is described as “an open-world fantasy game with RPG elements” which are “maybe in a slightly bigger sense than Dying Light … [but] it’s RPG elements rather than RPG game.” The second game was not described at all, and when asked directly Marchewka stated he couldn’t confirm either way.
Indirectly, however, Marchewka stated that though Techland and Deep Silver had mended their relationship, “I think Dying Light and Dying Light 2 would be games which are…” At which point PR manager Anna Lada-Grodzicka stepped in to say that “the Dying Light brand is more important for us.
It’s not exactly official confirmation, but it is a very strong implication that Dying Light 2 was being worked on at the time and still is today.
When We Should Expect Dying Light 2
So if Dying Light 2 is in development, the big question remains: will Dying Light 2 be at E3 2018? Well, we would say it is a definite maybe. Judging by the usual rhythm of the gaming industry, games are usually announced 1-2 years into their development, with a release date set a year or two later.
The goal is to announce the game at the tail end of development, to give marketing enough time to build fans and customers up for the product itself. This is usually where they sell pre-orders and special editions, often revealing any timed exclusives and multiplayer as well.
As such, if Dying Light 2 was in early development back in 2016, and really started happening during 2017, we should see an announcement in 2018 in the Spring or Summer, and release date later in the year for either 2019 or 2020. Depending, of course, on whether or not the development went smoothly and the project was not canceled for some reason or another.
What We Should Expect From Dying Light 2
Dying Light 2 Multiplayer
First things first, Dying Light 2 will improve and build upon the original game’s multiplayer. We’re going to see at least two new modes involving PvP and player versus zombies. There will likely be a campaign of sorts involved in the multiplayer, something that requires teamwork like the Be The Zombie mode.
Dying Light 2 Story
Secondly, we’re going to see a stronger attempt made to write a better narrative. It will be something that more clearly communicates what Techland originally planned for Dying Light; a similar sense of humor to Dead Island, or a more serious tone like The Last of Us. Either way, it will still be a strong deviation from Dead Island, making Dying Light 2 unique and exciting.
Dying Light 2 Gameplay and Balance
Speaking of exciting, the gameplay is going to get a major update. For example, climb mechanics have vastly improved since Dying Light launched. The world will likely be a lot less sticky and the controls more intuitive to players. More importantly, Dying Light 2 will have improved on the balance between human enemies and the player.
As you might have noticed while playing the game, some human enemies take way more shots they should (one psychopath comes to mind) and others are an easy headshot. Furthermore, guns need to consistently matter, even when you are dealing with human enemies.
When you first got a gun in Dying Light, using it came at the cost of alerting all nearby zombies. You could never really clear an area when you kept making so much noise. Until you fight humans, of course, then that whole concept goes out the window and it doesn’t matter. Granted, you can’t have mechanics that overwhelm the player, but there needs to be a balance struck here. Hopefully, Dying Light 2 will do that.
Most important of all, Dying Light 2 needs to be structured so that fighting the final boss is not a series of ridiculously easy quick time events. An actual fight would be nice, and of course, a challenge. This might require a little railroading in Dying Light 2, but that is a price most fans would be willing to pay.
What do you hope to see in Dying Light 2? Do you think we’ll see it at E3 2018? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!