Dying Light 2 Stay Human Game Review-the skeleton of a good game

The release of Dying Light in 2015 proved to be a huge success for Techland. The project was well received by critics and players, and he got a lot of loyal fans. Announced at E3 2018, the sequel was supposed to develop the ideas of the first part – it instantly became the center of attention.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

What is Dying Light 2: Stay Human about?

Dying Light 2: Stay Human continues the events of the first part. About 15 years have passed since the incident in Harran, during which the zombie virus broke free again, and all of humanity was under attack by the living dead. This time the action takes place in the City – one of the last strongholds of civilization, where people are trying to adapt and survive among the hordes of bloodthirsty monsters.

The main character Aiden will have to find answers to his questions, as well as his sister Mia, from whom he was separated in childhood. But the hero can only achieve his goal by reaching Waltz, one of the former scientists who studied the zombie virus. This is not easy to do, because the path to it was blocked by the Renegades – a hostile faction, in the fight against which allies will be required.

For Aiden, fighting zombies and running across rooftops has become a daily routine. He is used to surviving in an environment where not only the dead but also living people are dangerous. Thanks to this, he has much more experience than the protagonist of the first part, Kyle Crane, which is expressed in an expanded arsenal of the protagonist’s techniques in combat and movement.

Pic 3 All of Aiden’s actions and decisions in Dying Light 2 affect the narrative and its environment: the plot is non-linear, and the choices made can transform some of the locations. Thanks to this, the story of the protagonist seems to be significant for the City, which is expressed both in the narrative and in the gameplay – each faction, which the hero prefers, arranges their areas in their own way, which affects the skills used.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

What the developers promised and what the players got

According to the description, the game may seem like a worthy continuation of the first part, in which the authors have improved all aspects of the original. In practice, fans may find themselves disappointed by certain things. Apparently, the problems caused by the dismissal of screenwriter Chris Avellone, as well as the coronavirus epidemic and the massive transition to remote work, still affected Dying Light 2.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

Plot issues

The non-linear storyline of the game promised to the authors is easily described by the word “catastrophe”: the story itself does not seem to understand in which direction it is moving. Events take place in two large parts of the city – Old Villedore and Central Loop, analogs of the Slums and the Old City from the first part. Each location is distinguished not only by its unique design, content, and architecture but also by the plot, which greatly affects the integrity.

Aiden pursues his goals, but unwittingly becomes a participant in the events that take place in the City. And if the story in the Central loop is closely connected with the main character, revealing the world of the game and Aiden as a character, then Old Willedor, where the events of the first third of the game unfold, feels like one big filler – the main character in this segment is just an errand boy in opposition to the two sides. This is especially noticeable in side quests, most of which are written according to the “find-bring” formula.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

The conflict of people with each other is expressed in the confrontation between the Survivors and the Peacekeepers. Players have to choose one of the sides, which greatly affects the narrative and gameplay. By capturing special structures on the map, you can choose which faction will receive the territory – in return, the hero will receive a certain reward. However, there are a couple of problems here.

First, the bonuses offered by Peacekeepers and Survivors are not equivalent. The former offers the widespread installation of traps against zombies, and the latter will arrange aids for parkour. Considering how important the movement mechanic is in the game, the choice is clear.

Secondly, the developers were unable to properly register the opposing sides: it becomes almost immediately obvious who the authors sympathize with the most. In addition, the choice system itself turned out to be disastrous for history. Yes, the player’s decisions change the course of events, but the consequences are not always noticeable. Often, the dialogue wheel looks like a mockery, because you can choose only one plot option for an answer. At such moments, alternative branches in the dialogues only allow you to get additional information.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

In addition, the decisions made by the players can lead the story in the direction that the authors simply poorly prescribed. So, even after the finale, some questions in the narrative remain hanging in the air. In places, there is a feeling that the script was written by different people who did not interact with each other in any way, after which their works were somehow stitched together.

Throughout the passage, the player seems to move along the rails, only in a couple of places changing the direction of the scenario trolley, which is not at all like the non-linearity concept announced during the announcement. Even in the trailer dedicated to plot forks, the developers are cunning – the demonstrated chains of events are taken from different quests, and they go in a different sequences.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

Gameplay issues

What does not fit in my head at all – Dying Light 2 limits the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe task. It is worth taking a step to the side or falling off the platform, as the countdown of the time for which the character must return to the area of ​​effect will begin. It is simply impossible to imagine something like this in the first part, where the players were given complete freedom! Obviously, both games are based on completely different ideas about gameplay.

The authors promised to improve it since Aiden lives in the world of the zombie apocalypse and has learned a lot – this is expressed in the combat system and his parkour skills. Indeed, the character is much faster than Kyle in the first part, his movements are more diverse and more deadly for enemies. So Techland’s promise was partly kept. Parkour feels both more dynamic and fluid at the same time, but the situation is somewhat overshadowed by some specific skills of the hero.

In the buildup of combat and parkour talents, some of the skills turned out to be extremely controversial. Some acceleration methods require special conditions that you still need to try not to forget, and a third of combat skills are completely useless. For example, despite all the possibilities of the bow, the skills associated with it are extremely ineffective – most of the talents are designed for close combat, so it turns out to be easier and faster to kick enemies.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

In addition, the enemies themselves are not demanding the skills of the players, and are almost unable to offer at least some kind of challenge – even the final boss. Human opponents differ in the weapons they carry, and zombie fights are almost always the same. Diversity in the fight against the dead could bring especially infected, but meetings with them are rare. In addition, the design and behavior of old mutants have been greatly simplified, and there are only two types of new unique monsters in the game. Even the title hunters for the first part come across in the game twice in the story and do not really interfere with the protagonist. Dying Light 2 generally rarely offers interesting situations in which players would have to adapt and change their style of passing.

Maybe it’s because items, zones, and enemies now have levels. A pumped character kills weaker opponents in two hits, regardless of whether they are people, zombies or mutants. But as soon as the enemy is a level higher, the battle immediately turns into torture. Why a zombie in a forgotten quarantine zone is more enduring than a street dead man in rags is not clear, but it will take longer to fight him. Using the same bow against enemies with a higher level makes this weapon absolutely useless – especially if the rarity of the bow itself does not reach the current one.

In addition, in Dying Light 2 you can improve not only the main character but also his equipment. Special zones are scattered around the city, in which the hero can come during the day or at night (depending on the type of zone) in order to profit from the necessary components. Due to the fact that absolutely all tools require a huge amount of resources to create and improve, players will have to grind frankly. Equipment will also need to be farmed – in the sequel, the hero learned how to use clothes.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

Unfortunately, the developers failed to implement all the promises properly. They talked about a great sequel, but in practice, Dying Light 2 is more like a product inspired by the original game. True, the first part did not immediately become popular – it took patches and time for the players to get the game they loved.

What and how is Dying Light 2: Stay Human similar

Techland created a unique series of games: a combination of parkour mechanics, survival, and fighting hordes of monsters in a large open world is rarely seen in the gaming industry. Therefore, it is quite difficult to look for analogs that can replace or inspire the passage of Dying Light 2.

Mirrorʼs Edge released back in 2009, focuses entirely on parkour – this is the only gameplay feature that allows you to put games on a par. But both Dying Light and Mirror’s Edge offer that unique sense of freedom that comes with moving quickly around a city. In the continuation with the subtitle Catalyst, the feeling of endless running was preserved, although it suffered due to the skills closed behind the skill tree – a similar feeling can also arise in Dying Light 2, because the design of some levels was clearly made for high-level heroes.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

Much of the plot focuses on the conflict between the Peacekeepers and the Survivors, reminiscent of the clashes between “Duty” and “Freedom” from the STALKER series of games, respectively. The moods and ideologies of the factions are sometimes so similar that associations arise too often and involuntarily. Periodically, the main character manages to get to know the characters better by talking heart to heart with them. At such moments, the level of storytelling, as well as production, improve dramatically: and here in front of the player is one of the best moments that could find a place in Metro: Exodus. The game from 4A Games also focuses on the problems of humanity in a world where every day you have to fight for survival.

If you remove parkour and the first-person view from the formula, then you can join Days Gone. In it, the main character will also have to survive in the fight against hordes of the infected, driving around vast locations – the hero is not as agile and fast as Aiden, but he has his own motorcycle.

In the world of Dying Light 2, people have been surviving surrounded by the living dead for many years. Looking at the settlements deployed in the siege of the infected territories, one involuntarily recalls The Walking Dead. What a series, what a comic – the story in all its forms tells about how difficult it is for people to survive. And that often the enemy can be the one to whom you trust your own life.

But one of the main associations with Dying Light 2, inspired by Old Willedor, is Fallout 4. The hero there also runs from one settlement to another, performing routine and often annoying side tasks. The dialogue system in Bethesda’s game is not much better, and the story has one big common flaw – the main goal of the character is interrupted by absolutely insignificant events. Even the design of some locations turns out to be suspiciously similar.

Outcome

Fun and dynamic gameplay with a bunch of small flaws, and an absolutely stupid story with barely noticeable forks and rare soulful scenes – Dying Light 2 is a mass of contradictions brought together. After passing, you feel that in front of you is not so much a sequel that develops the ideas of the original, but a game inspired by the first part – they are so different.

So far, the developers have not been able to fulfill all the promises. Obviously, they simply did not have enough time to implement all the ideas. But Techland, using the example of the last project, has already proved that they are able to support the game with content and new stories for several years. For Dying Light 2, this will be extremely important, because at the moment it is worth getting acquainted with it only for the sake of its unique gameplay.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Game Review

The five most important facts about Dying Light 2: Stay Human:

Dying Light 2: Stay Human develops the story of the game world, but does not require the player to familiarize themselves with the first part. The focus is on new characters in a new setting.

The city is much larger than the map from the last game, so the sequel introduced fast travel points.

You can play the game alone or with friends in co-op.

In the story and side quests, you can make decisions that will affect the passage.

Players will have to carefully explore the world – the hero receives combat and parkour points for the corresponding activity, and you can increase the level of stamina or health only with the help of inhibitors scattered throughout the locations.

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