Who wants to play a zombie game? I know that we do, and who doesn't look a bit of the gruesome undead? Well, I suppose as long as it remains in the video game media, and we’re not munched on by zombies in real life.
In one form or another, zombies have been a popular formula in the world of horror storytelling. From Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s monster to George A. Romero’s zombie shufflers to the pop-culture phenomenon of The Walking Dead comic book series and its live-action TV adaptations.
The thought of someone rising from the dead to have a cannibalistic instinct to make us lunchtime dinner will forever resonate and play on our inner fears. This is why zombies in video games have collaborated so well, as a horror universe can be created with imagination and little in terms of restriction.
In franchises such as Resident Evil, Dead Rising, Dead Space and Dead Island, zombies in video games are something that won’t be going away anytime soon. One other popular zombie video game franchise is from the original Dead Island developers, Techland with Dying Light.
In 2015, Dying Light was released and taking what Techland had previously learned with Dead Island in 2011, the studio blended its open-world approach with parkour gameplay that would even put Assassin’s Creed to shame.
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Dying Light also had a great sense of horror, especially when night falls and the creatures would become deadlier than ever, in particular with its relentless Volatile zombie type that will pursue the player until they are killed or have found safe haven.
Then in 2022, Techland’s sequel arrived with Dying Light 2: Stay Human. At its core, the sequel promised to be bigger and better than its predecessor. Sadly, however, it could be argued that the sequel may have lost some of its horrors with its colourful and vibrant new map of Villedor.
As reported by PlayStation Lifestyle, (via recent Dying Light 2: Stay Human stream), losing some of its scare factor in the sequel is something that the developers at Techland are aware of and a free update looks to change all that.
“We really wanted to bring back the night from Dying Light 1, but we kind of overdid it in the first version of [Dying Light 2],” said senior producer Michał Borecki. “So we tried to find a balance between the scary dark nights [of the first game] and the more approachable nights in Dying Light 2. We think we’ve struck the balance [between both games].”
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So what changes will the update make? For starters, Volatiles will be a threat in the sequel and players will have the choice of an optional filter that will make nighttime in the game darker. What’s more, Borecki said that the flashlight and sound effects will also be improved to make it more accessible for players to use stealth tactics, parkour will also be enhanced and more. The ‘Good Night, Good Luck’ update will go live on 29 June 2023.
In our review of Dying Light 2: Stay Human, we said it’s: “essentially a by-the-numbers sequel that doesn’t offer much that’s new. But that’s no bad thing when the reality is that I haven’t had quite this much fun with a AAA video game in years.
“Techland’s long-awaited zombie RPG mostly delivers the goods in style, providing an expansive - if not entirely original - an open-world playground that’s filled with epic action, pleasingly brutal combat, and some difficult choices. The end of the world has never been so entertaining. Just try not to rush through the main story, okay?”
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Dying Light 2: Stay Human is out now for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
Topics: Dying Light 2, Techland