I can officially rebuke any claims on social media that Dying Light: The Beast is ‘just Dying Light 2 DLC’. At the Summer Game Fest event in Los Angeles, I got to sit down with the developers to play a segment of the game, and being a solid Dying Light fan for the last decade, I can honestly and openly report that it feels like Dying Light 3.
When I spoke to Tymon Smektala, franchise director, he stressed that the team at Techland has been referring to The Beast as Dying Light 3 for some time. I can see why; my preview gave me an unrestricted view at the evolution of this game, which has enough meat and enhancements to make it feel standalone from Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
Better Than Ever
Smektala, who has led the franchise from a direction perspective for a decade, told me that the consensus at Techland is that this is the best Dying Light game they’ve ever made. The Beast is a leap ahead of 2022’s Dying Light 2: Stay Human in many ways. It looks better, feels more modern, and boasts some intense survival mechanics that make it much more challenging as a game.
As I played Dying Light: The Beast, I was invited to explore a mission leading to a decrepit factory, fighting against followers of the game’s big bad Baron, and liberating a gas canister to lure in a vicious and hulking new enemy: a Chimera.
Every step had me immersed and inspired, and everything from the dynamic weather effects to the new damage system for zombies, and from the terrifying day-night cycle to the intricacy of internal environments had me hooked. I was against the clock, but if Techland had given me free rein to explore, I would have happily probed the map of Castor Woods for many hours.
It feels like a perfect, sublime marriage between 2015’s Dying Light and 2022’s Dying Light 2. The visuals are impeccable, the combat feels weighty and satisfying, and the parkour is smooth and refined. The physics have been upgraded, and elements like weapon handling and vehicle mechanics are tantalisingly realistic.
I was told by the developers that they employed the talents of a former racing sim developer to make the vehicle handling feel as accurate as possible, and I can attest to the success of that element – vehicles have real density and move impeccably across rough terrain.
As I neared my objective, housed in a crumbling factory district, I was advised that my options for approach were limited only by my imagination. I opted to go stealthy, using takedowns, a scavenged bow, and throwing knives to slim down the opposition before pulling out an assault rifle and a shotgun and wreaking havoc.
The ballistic-based combat elements feel better than ever. It’s a league beyond anything Dying Light has shown so far, and for what I feel is the first time in the franchise, bullet-based weapons are so enjoyable to use.
Hefty Impressions
As I reached the climax of my demo, I came face-to-face with one of the most transformative enemies from Dying Light: The Beast – the Chimera. This intense, immovable enemy is key to the development of Kyle Crane (played by Roger Craig Smith for the first time in a decade) as the game unravels.
The fight was incredible and required me to utilise all my newfound senses as a Dying Light: The Beast player. I was blown away when I whipped out a new flamethrower weapon and doused the Chimera in some of the most gorgeous fire effects I’ve ever seen in a game.
In the end, I smote my enemy with a devastating finishing move, and my demo wrapped up, but that wasn’t the end of it for me.
I then sat down with Tymon Smektala, who advised me that Dying Light: The Beast contains a crucial sequence that sets the story for the road ahead.
By that, he means that there is more Dying Light yet to come.
Are you looking forward to Dying Light: The Beast? Let me know what you’re feeling on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Fallout probably won’t ever leave the United States
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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