Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Is it better than the previous title?
The virus won and civilization has fallen back to the Dark Ages. The City, one of the last human settlements, is on the brink of collapse. Use your agility and combat skills to survive, and reshape the world. Your choices matter.
Techland created and released the 2022 survival horror game Dying Light 2 Stay Human. On February 4, 2022, the follow-up to Dying Light (2015) was made available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Currently in development is a cloud-based Nintendo Switch version. In the first month after release, 5 million units were sold.
Gameplay
Action role-playing survival horror game Dying Light 2 Stay Human has an open environment with a zombie apocalypse theme. It takes place 22 years after the events of Dying Light and features a new protagonist. His name is Aiden Caldwell (voiced by Jonah Scott) and he possesses a variety of parkour abilities. To move fast across the city, players can engage in behaviors like wall running, sliding, climbing ledges, and leaping off of edges. It has been verified that there are more than 3000 parkour animations available for a free-running experience that is more fluid. The use of a grappling hook and a paraglider is also helpful for navigating the metropolis. You can stop Aiden from falling to his death with the hook which is a great detail.
Combat
The majority of battles in the game are melee, with melee weapons being used most frequently. The player’s weapons have a finite shelf life and will deteriorate as they are used in battle. You can also utilize long-range weaponry like crossbows, shotguns, and spears. By disassembling weapons for craft pieces, different blueprints and components can be uncovered that can be used to enhance different types of weapons. The illness has given Aiden extraordinary abilities as well. Similar to the first game, the zombies move slowly in daylight but get violent and hostile at night.
The Story of Dying Light 2
It is felt that the story has progressed compared to the original. However, I can’t say that the story is what I will remember this sequel for. Dying Light 2 Stay Human puts us in the shoes of Aiden Caldwell, a character who comes to the last city on Earth to find his sister Mia and the scientist Waltz who performed experiments on them when they were children. He hasn’t seen his sister since he was little, and Waltz is the key to finally find her.
Aiden is infected with the zombie virus. Through the story, he gets a biomarker, a bracelet that monitors how far the infection is progressing. During the game, you have to be careful not to run out of time, otherwise, Aiden will become a zombie and it will be game over for you. In order for the infection not to progress, you have to find UV rays, collect mushrooms or make inhalers that will bring you back to normal. What I particularly like about this mechanic is the addition that you are not instantly dead when your time runs out, but have a set period of time to find a safe place as much as your health allows. It’s also a nice detail that you hear Aiden’s voice change from human to monster as your immunity drops.
The Map
The setting of Dying Light 2 is humanity’s last hope, the last city on Earth. Villedor is divided into two parts – Old Villedor and Central Loop. Although they are part of the same city, they are definitely not designed the same. Old Villedor is home to old and low-rise buildings. However, the Central Loop is full of tall skyscrapers that offer an idyll as far as the eye can see once you climb to the highest point in the city. What can be said about the whole city is that the rooftops are filled with life. Unlike Harran in Dying Light, which was a gloomy and sad city, the situation here is somewhat different.
Warm and bright colors prevail on the tops of buildings and houses because that is where the surviving people moved. Grass, trees, branches, and plants grow on the roofs, which now symbolize the “new normal” for the residents of Villedor. Once you hit the streets of the city, notice the contrast between the sky and the earth. Zombies walk the streets of Villedor, and in contrast to the vivid heights, the land is still lit by gloomy and numb colors. This contrast is more pronounced in Old Villedor than in the Central Loop.
Bad things about Dying Light 2
There are a surprising number of impassable roofs in a game where climbing is the main objective. Some roofs are simply inaccessible due to large impact boxes. You will fall to your death because the parkour mechanics will freak out.
Sometimes you can’t grab something since the hitbox where you could grab it was somewhere else, even though it appears to be grabbable. Ropes can be grabbed, with the exception of those meant for lift services. With the exception of the entry points at the top and bottom, these ropes are identical to normal ropes in appearance but cannot be grasped. You’ll perish in the fall.
As well as the voice acting is done, Aiden as the game’s protagonist is not someone you can relate to. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments in the story when this comes to the fore and there is a possibility that you identify with him, but it falls into the background very quickly.
Closing thoughts
This game is noticeable not that well made. It seems as if it was an overly ambitious project hastily released to satisfy the demands of financiers. However, the game can still be enjoyable and provide you with entertainment. You can go around feeling like a parkour god and kicking zombies over the rooftops of skyscrapers!
