Dying Light 2 review

• Author : Anton Latoshkin
• Where Buy : Steam ,PlayStation Store , Xbox Store .
• Release date : 04.02.2022
• Platform : PC

Dying Light 2 review

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is a sequel to the original game released back in 2015. And if in those days such a giant as Warner Bros. helped publish the game to the Polish studio. Interactive Entertainment, then in recent years Techland has become a true giant of the industry. This allowed her to develop and publish the first-person action game on her own. Such nuances are important: you don’t need to report to anyone, you can fully focus on the project, and the money you earn, believe me, will go to something even cooler. For example, Dead Island 2.

But let's talk about Dying Light 2. The game tells about Aiden Caldwell, and the events unfold 15 years after the so-called Fall. Aiden is a pilgrim, a human who travels between the remaining human settlements, delivering news, supplies, and messages. Among other things, he is trying to find his sister Mia, from whom he was separated in childhood.

The first thing that caught my eye was the additional name Stay Human, which, after beating the game, reflects its essence as much as possible. Aiden is infected, and in an attempt to find his sister and find out the truth about the experiments that were performed on him as a child, he is simultaneously trying to remain human.

Players are introduced to the character shortly before he gains access to one of the largest cities in the world. The scientist who performed experiments on Aiden and his sister lives here. In the meantime, the hero finds himself embroiled in a civil war between the Peacekeepers, the unstable Renegades, and the free but unstable Survivors. As the player travels through the city, the player becomes immersed in the political intrigues of what is happening, gets acquainted with the tense and strained relations between the factions, and then becomes part of the Peacekeepers or Survivors, gradually plunging into their past.

The basis of the narrative can not be called innovative, but the main thing is that the game remains what it was intended to be - a real zombie action in a post-apocalyptic setting. As dynamic, fun, and creative as it may seem, the most compelling aspect is the storytelling. The characters of this world are as realistic as possible, it is completely clear who they are and what they do, what principles they follow, what they think about their surroundings. Peacekeepers are soldiers who unquestioningly carry out orders, follow the charter and live in order. They believe that a divided city is more likely to be destroyed than saved. At the same time, the survivors reject the Peacekeepers' totalitarian stance and their attempts to occupy Villedor, but are apparently also wrong, as their leaders allow a lot of freedom and are therefore unable to control their impulsive subordinates.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human consists of numerous choices based on storytelling and mechanics. The developers and screenwriters managed to give real, tangible consequences to almost all the decisions made. And even if the decision you make does not affect the plot, it will at least make you think about whether you did the right thing?

Narratively, decisions can have both minor and significant, sometimes devastating consequences. The wrong choice, an unnecessary call can lead to death, which makes the game much more atmospheric. What makes it more realistic is that you can't just go ahead and reload your last save to choose another option. There were some real Russian swear words and absurd, carefree moments that made me smile more than once. The setting is gloomy, showing a future in which people are deprived of all the benefits and advantages provided by modern technology. However, the world is filled with characters trying to make the most of the available funds and not forgetting to help others. Therefore, the game lives up to its Stay Human title.

The decisions you make will have a huge impact on the mechanics as well. Not only can decisions made throughout the storyline change the set of available quests, how you complete them, and which areas of the map you visit, players shape the overall picture of the city through their actions. For example, as Aiden improves the city by creating more safe havens, running substations or water towers, he can give them to Peacekeepers or Survivors. Both factions offer their own set of upgrades that apply to all of Villedor. The Peacekeepers set up various traps to make it easier to fight the zombies, while the Survivors set up means of rapid movement (ropes that allow you to move from one building to another, mattresses that cushion falls, and so on).

Outside of storytelling, gameplay consists of parkour, combat, looting, and crafting. Collecting loot and crafting is something that fans of the original game are familiar with. The locations have a variety of resources that can be used to create medicines, consumables, and weapon modifications. You can craft throwing knives, Molotov cocktails, lock picks, bandages, firecrackers to distract enemies, and even a firearm that acts like a shotgun of sorts (but only fires twice, after which it can be thrown into a landfill).

Parkour allows gamers to run across rooftops, climb buildings, jump from great heights onto mattresses, and slide down ropes. Combat is a delicate balance between parrying, dodging, and using normal and powerful attacks. During the fight, you need to monitor stamina. As your character improves, the line between combat and parkour gradually blurs: you can use various elements of parkour right in the battle, stunning and jumping over enemies in order to attack another enemy directly on the fly. The main focus is on melee weapons - one-handed and two-handed. These are handicraft items collected from what is at hand. There are also standard solutions for long-range combat fans - bows and crossbows.

Like its predecessor, Dying Light 2 features a day/night cycle. At night, the streets are still filled with infected, but they are not as dangerous and violent as they were in the original, in my opinion. At the same time, night is a great time to explore buildings and other structures like metro stations. During the day they are filled with biters, which sleep off after night outings. If you stumble upon a howler, this will, as before, lead to the start of the chase: numerous infected will try to catch up and kill the hero, but for the most part it is quite easy to get to the nearest shelter and hide under the rays of ultraviolet lamps. This is the only step back taken by the developers of Dying Light 2, but in spite of everything, the game turned out to be more than successful.