Review of Dying Light: The Beast - The Sequel We Wanted
Dying Light: The Beast is just what Dying Light 2 should have been. My hopes were cautious, as the previous game had been released to such mixed reception it had bugs galore, a weak narrative, floaty parkour, and a diminished sense of horror. But what began as a DLC-sized project has turned into something far more ambitious. Techland listened, and it's a nice love letter to the fans who loved the original and the entire post-apocalyptic genre.
After spending countless hours in the literal world of their gaming, I can confidently say that this is a stunner of a recommendation. The game is fun, engaging, and terrifying all at once. It doesn't just borrow heavily from the past; rather, it forges its own identity and feels like the proper evolution this franchise needed to carry itself into the future. Let's break those down into every aspect of what makes Dying Light: The Beast so special.
The Foundation: Unmatched Attention to Detail
"This whole world-caster woods-is a self-contained environment designed and handbuilt from scratch," Techland proclaimed. And it disclaims itself as not false. Passion is evident in every roof, ledge, and shape by having a deliberate synergy with the movement mechanic of the franchise by making parkour feel quite natural and fluid. Parkour puzzles feel intentional and unique, requiring you to consider the movement in new ways.
The interiors of the game struck me most of all. Most of it is destructible. If you swing a stick in the kitchen, the cabinets and dishes and bottles burst into pieces and scatter. This much interactivity in a world felt so alive and responsive, something that the older game never completely captured. Lighting also plays a big role. It captures the creepy, dreadful tone of the old Dying Light, especially at sunrise, sunset, and night. A new dynamic sun casts moving shadows.
A New Cinematic Language
Definitely large strides forward for the camera work and new cutscenes. The narrative switches fluidly between first-person perspective as in the traditional sense to more dynamic and cinematic ones. This makes the world into a character and a bigger sense of scale within the story to make it even richer and more seamlessly intertwined with gameplay. Dying Light 2 was briefly experimented with in that direction, but here it has been expanded across the entire game, elevating both main and side quests.
Identity of The Beast: Rage and Triumph
Core to this is the story of Kyle Crane's revenge-the entire story told is thus a very grounded, personal, and individualistic story. The game identity, essentially, is raw aggression mixed with empowerment-a mixture of rage and triumph. This contrasts with Dying Light 1's focus on dread and survival. Dying Light 2 is all about hope and rebuilding. The Beast builds on all these themes to create a brand new one, perfectly fitting for the new location: Caster Woods.
The former national park of Caster Woods feels quite dense and captures natural environments. Areas from farmlands to an industrial park to a castle comprise a delightful mix of different areas; really, the whole map astounds with its diversity. Those weather dynamics combined with improved lighting and terrifying nights prove, as long as Techland continues providing interesting new locations, that the gameplay will always feel fresh and interesting.
The return of horror: Night is Terrifying Again
If ever the beast has horror, it is at its prime and should be the very scary one beyond the original version. There is pitch darkness at night, meaning that flashlights become essential survival tools. Easily navigable nighttime in this second installment of Dying Light took away a vital feature of this franchise, but The Beast has brought back that heart-thudding test of survival. I found myself looking actively for safe havens to skip the night just as in the good old times.
Wandering Volatiles and heavy chases, all brought on in the new design of this world, make darkness a truly threatening place all over again.
I Perfected Parkour and Combat Gameplay
Core mechanics are at their best in polish. This parkour is no longer floaty-it feels heavy and responsive. The one-of-a-kind environment that is Caster Woods introduces new challenges, such as very difficult rock-climbing puzzles, thus giving traversal a new flavor.
Combat is just as well polished. Very good ragdolls and physics ensure every impact feels exactly as it should. The gore pushes limits with visceral finishers and location-based damage that feel raw and unapologetic. While the RPG systems like crafting and looting are fairly standard for an open-world game, the clean UI and options to customize the HUD are welcome improvements.
Beast Mode: This makes the franchise strong but not flawless.
Beast Mode is arguably one of the finest additions to this franchise. Narratively, it comes as a natural evolution for Crane by giving him in-universe suffering with some cool zombie powers. The two themes present in the game-rage and triumph-are perfectly represented in the embodiment. As he learns its use and to turn the pain into a weapon, he creates a gameplay loop that is dirty, bloody, and incredibly satisfying.
The trees feel a bit over-simplified and safe when referring to Beast Mode, parkour, or combat. And I would have liked to see some more creative risks taken by Techland. It could have been fun to attach the new abilities in Beast Mode directly to the Chimera bosses you defeated, creating depth and personalization in player builds. However, while it has some power, Beast Mode feels like it has even more potential for future titles.
SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major story elements: character fates and plot twists. Proceed at your own risk if you have not completed the game yet.
Spoiler:
The Story: A Grievous Start Towards a Sweet Ending
Risky as it may be to bring back a legacy character like Kyle Crane, it was a risk that Techland took with care. This is the same Crane, but this time he's broken-harder, colder, and less forgiving-after 13 tortuous years. What pushes him is that raw desire of revenge against the Baron, his tormentor. His trauma does lend itself from time to time to reactions that feel outrageously over-the-top, but it does bring in a good hook for the character arc.
But, unfortunately, the story stumbles significantly in the first hours. The dialogues are mostly cheesy, cringe-worthy and littered with heavy-handed exposition. The first few hours with Olivia are nothing but a sludge of info-dumping that kills the pacing. This part is easily the weakest in the whole game.
Yet once the story leans towards the deeper, more bizarre mysteries of the infection, it goes completely upside down and becomes grand. This will then allow for a more focused and touching experience; it ties up many of the loose ends in both previous games and delivers some truly emotional and rewarding side quests.
Aiden's Return and The Exiled
That revelation that "The Beast" is actually turned Aiden from Dying Light 2 is terrific. He stands in perfect contrast to Crane: Aiden represents the attributes of heroism and selflessness, while Crane reflects the representation of vengeance and rage. Their interaction builds this interesting dynamic of contrasting responses to tragedy.
Equally brilliant is the introduction of the Exiled, a group of infected that have embraced their powers and communicate through telepathy. Grounded in this plotline is where the music of the backstory really shines above and beyond the most common form of zombie media. Lydia, their leader, controls other infected, who is another brilliant character that adds phenomenal depth to the world and raises exciting possibilities for future adventures.
Climax: An Emotional Peak Well-Earned
The final event, a raid on the Baron's castle, is what makes it stand out in the game. The buildup, the very tense dinner table section-the most emotionally resonant of all the scenes in the franchise-and the cathartic boss fight are dramatic to the degree that they completely merit the finale. It's pretty much the end that crashes all themes of revenge, control, and sacrifice together and sets the perfect stage for Dying Light 3.
pros
- Amazing detail in world design.
- Horror returned; night times indeed filled with terrors.
- Parkour and combat are smoothed and atramentous.
- Compelling storyline endowed with strong characters (after a slow start).
- Beast Mode-feature uniquely fun to new empowering dynamic.
- Excellent sound design and substantive music.
- Technically stable and well-optimized.
cons
- Dialogue is rather weak and full of exposition early in the game.
- Skill Trees have become too safe; they exhibit little creativity.
- Although refined, the core gameplay loop is not radically innovative.
Final Judgment
Dying Light: The Beast, then, is a glorious return to form, making up for nearly all the major flaws of Dying Light 2 as well as hitting all the gritty, identify-giving horror of the original. While often weak, the dialogue potentially feels a bit safe, but the incredible attention to detail, refined gameplay, terrifying atmosphere, and surprisingly good story make this a must-experience moment for fans. Techland is back on course, and the future of the series has never looked so bright.
